When Norman was in the police station, a black Mercedes-Benz pulled up smoothly in front of The Grand Heavens, Valkoria’s most prestigious hotel.
Known for its unmatched luxury, it was a place where only the wealthiest elites could even think about reserving a room. Tonight, however, Lana, her father Lucas, and her new boyfriend, Henry, were here to celebrate their recent success. As they stepped out, Lana tightened her grip on Henry’s arm, proudly presenting him to her father. Henry, dressed impeccably in a custom-fitted suit, looked every bit the part of a wealthy young man from Capital City. As they stepped into the lobby of The Grand Heavens, Mr. Divine, the hotel manager, approached them quickly, a wide smile breaking his typically stoic face. “Mayor Lucas, Miss Lana,” he greeted warmly. “It’s a pleasure to welcome you here. We’ve made arrangements for you in our finest suite.” Lana raised a brow, surprised. Divine had barely acknowledged her the last time she was here, and now he was practically rolling out the red carpet. “The finest suite? Would there be a reservation for the emerald room?” Lana asked. The Emerald room was the most expensive suite in Grand heavens. A single minute spent in the emerald room is equivalent to $10,000. “If that is what you want, certainly it would be available, Miss Lana. And you don't have to pay for anything, along with the meals.” Divine said, maintaining the smile. “What?” Lana was shocked. Just last month, she had tried to book the room, but it was too expensive. She even tried to use her father's influence as the Mayor to request a discount but Divine dismissed her. And now he was offering it to her for free? Lana’s delight was palpable. "I can’t believe it! Mr. Divine must recognize the Havord name," she whispered to her father, casting a proud look at Henry, who nodded modestly, acting like he was used to such treatment. “Follow me,” Divine said, leading them to the grand staircase that ascended to the upper suites. As they reached the Emerald Room, Divine pushed open the doors, revealing an opulent space bathed in deep emerald greens and shimmering blacks. A stunning chandelier sparkled above, casting a soft glow over the velvet furnishings and polished glass tables. Lana’s face lit up, clearly thrilled. “This is incredible!” she exclaimed, taking in the grandeur around them. She looked over at Henry, a satisfied smile curving her lips. “I knew I made the right decision, choosing you over that loser. Just imagine, the manager didn't charge us a dime, all because you were with us.” Lucas clasped Henry’s shoulder proudly. "The Havord influence is something remarkable. I'm glad to know our families will be connected soon." Henry, who doesn't know what was happening, also assumed it was because of him the manger decided to treat them nicely and compliment their meals. After all the Havords are very popular. "Indeed," Henry replied, straightening. "And once I’m officially part of the family, I’ll ensure we bring Capital City’s business opportunities to Valkoria.” “That's so nice of you, thank you for thinking about our city.” Right after they settled down, the door was suddenly kicked open, as deputy Mayor Harris walked in, his expression unfriendly. “Harris? What are you doing here?” Lucas was puzzled. Harris looked directly at Lucas, his tone firm. "Mayor, I need an explanation. Why was Mr. Norman arrested?" Lucas and Lana stared at each other in surprise, how did he find out so soon? Lucas adjusted his shoulder and replied. “Norman was arrested for embezzlement and bribery!” He said firmly. Harris snorted at the statement coming out from Lucas. Being close to Norman for the past two years in his office, he had witnessed how genuine Norman was. He had also joined Norman in a battle once, and witnessed how Norman defended Valkoria with his life. Multiple times Norman had given out his own salary to orphanages, he'd shown no interest in wealth. If there was one thing in the world that would be regarded as Impossible —it was Norman being accused of corruption. “Mayor, how can you say such a thing? Do you have evidence to back up your accusations?” Harris demanded. The room was quiet, he then shifted his gaze to Lana, “Miss Lana, you were the one who brought the police to his office and accused him of embezzlement. Can you show me your proof?” “W-well…I —” Lana stammered, she clearly didn't have any evidence.Seeing that their little lies would be exposed, Lucas intervened. “We have proof, but it's not here. You can see we're in Grand heavens, is this the right time to talk about this?”Harris shook his head. Arresting Norman was a grave mistake. And he hoped this wouldn't bring the downfall of Valkoria. “Removing Norman as the acting Mayor is a big mistake, Mayor Lucas.”Henry, seeing the opportunity, chimed in. “I will be the new Mayor.”“And who are you?” Harris turned to him and scoffed, but his grave expression remained.“I am the second son of the Havord family from the Capital City. I'm sure you will know about my family, we're among the elites of—”Harris rolled his eyes and cut him short. “I clearly don't know who nor your family is, and I don't care either. And for that position you're clearly not fit for it!” He said coldly.“How dare you!” Henry gritted his teeth.Lucas was also displeased with Harris’s behavior towards Henry. “Henry is right, he'll be the next acting Mayor.”
“He committed bribery and embezzlement. So I got him arrested.” Lana responded proudly.Donald was getting annoyed by her gestures. “How's that possible, Mr. Norman would never do—”“Well maybe he's just been pretending, hiding in the shadows. A hypocrite and a liar!” Lana interrupted Donald from completing his speech.Donald had been tolerating her disrespect because she was Norman's fiancee, but with what he was hearing he had no reason to remain nice anymore. “Mr. Norman is a good man, he'll never do such a thing!” Grand heavens was worth a billion dollars, and yet Norman bluntly refused 90% of the shares. How can such a man accept a bribe?Lana boiled in rage, she hated the way Donald was defending Norman. “You think you know him better than I do?” She gestured, her fingers pointing at Donald's chest. “He's my ex, and if I say he's a criminal then he is. He's a corrupt pest!” She exclaimed.“You're getting too arrogant. And I'm afraid, your meals are no longer complimentary, you'
Meanwhile, at a mountainous landscape. A helicopter landed gracefully, Norman, Bethany and two other escorts stepped out. The Mountains were a little farther, crossing the territory of both nations. So technically they were still in Valkoria, about 20 ft away from Eldrida. Norman sighed deeply, staring at the mountains. About to climb up before a noise caught his attention. He heard angry voices echoing down the dirt path. He turned to see a group of seven men surrounding an elderly villager. The old man was holding onto a small wooden crate, his knuckles white from gripping it so tightly.“Come on, old man,” one of them sneered, his tone dripping with menace. “Hand it over. Don’t make this difficult.”“These are my supplies!” the old man protested, his voice trembling. “Materials for my clothing shop. I’ve been waiting weeks for this delivery. My name’s even written on the box! You’ve got the wrong person.”The apparent leader of the group chuckled darkly, taking a step closer. “Wro
The men exchanged panicked glances, their earlier confidence evaporating. They had been caught red-handed, and now they realized their worst fears were standing before them.Norman’s gaze swept over the scene—the beaten villagers, the scattered goods, and the trembling spies. His expression hardened.“Who were you trying to silence?” Norman asked, his expression darkened, and his tone dangerous.Immediately all seven soldiers dropped their knees. “Please forgive us, Executioner. We've made a terrible mistake crossing the border.”The residents all came out, immediately they saw Norman. Their hero had come to save them, like he always did.Norman’s eyes narrowed. “Mistake? Crossing into Valkoria, beating innocent people, stealing their goods—these are not mistakes. Who sent you? Was it the president of Eldrida?”The men were trembling. They were in fact a spy, sent to check if the defenses of Valkoria were as strong as before. If their defenses over this area had weakened, their next
Noticing how their cars were covered with snow, it meant these men had been waiting for him all night. Bethany was at the corner, mouth widened in shock. She never knew Norman had connections outside of Valkoria.Although Norman suspected their visit was more than just to escort him, so he asked. “Just to escort me?”The leader of the men sweat, he stammered. “And also…to ask for your pardon for what our soldiers did yesterday. It was against the law, and we greatly apologize.” He said, bowing his head lower.The men came to two reasons, to apologize and to make sure Norman wasn't very angry, and wasn't planning to attack Eldrida. The entire Eldrida force isn't ready for an enemy like the Executioner. He could single handedly wipe them out if he wanted to.Stacey's mouth dropped open, she was shocked in utter disbelief. Norman had disfigured seven of the Eldrida’s soldier's legs. And yet they still came to apologize against his wrath?“It's okay, as long as your soldiers won't repeat
After hours of traveling, Norman and Bethany finally returned to the police station. Bethany walked inside, glancing around with a worried expression, her gaze moving from one cell to the next. Each cell looked the same: plain metal beds, hard mattresses, cold walls. She bit her lip, trying to imagine Norman spending even a night here, and it didn’t sit right.She began pacing, glancing at the narrow bunks and concrete floors, her hands threading anxiously through her hair. She couldn’t let him stay in these conditions; it felt wrong. Even though Norman had assured her more than once, “I’ll be fine, any cell will do,” Bethany refused to listen. She needed to make this right—this was her way of showing her respect.Bethany decided she wouldn’t settle for anything ordinary; she wanted to make things right. She arranged for the finest linens, the kind reserved for luxury suites, and layered the bed with plush pillows and a cashmere blanket that exuded warmth and comfort.Next, she brough
At the Ryders Villa, Lucas walked in with some documents in an envelope.Lana and Henry stood up from the coach when they saw him. “Dad, did you find anything?” Lana asked eagerly, her eyes glinting with anticipation.They had been looking for ways to bring down Norman totally. Norman's influence was undeniably great in Valkoria, with his sudden arrest it could cause commotion in the city, if they didn't have enough evidence to back up their accusations. Just yesterday they had been confronted by Mr. Harris and Donald had confronted them immediately they heard the news. Donald even went as far as refusing to waive their bill.And with the looks of things, the city would soon turn against them if they didn't act quick.“Mr. Lucas, did you figure out anything?” Henry also asked, he was fully concerned, after all if everything goes smoothly, he'll be the next acting Mayor.“Yes, I've got something.” Lucas said with a smirk.“Really?” Lana was revealed by the response.Lucas sat down on t
Bethany refused to believe this, maybe he just said that because be didn't want to come out of prison. Norman hadn't been making any effort to free himself, so maybe he just agreed to this.She couldn't take Norman's words, so she decided to investigate for herself.Bethany rushed down to her office, and was surprised at the number of people waiting for her.Amongst them was, Lucas, Harris and other high officials, these were all the people that had worked in office with Norman. He hasn't been in office for some days, and then they found out he was arrested for embezzlement, surprised they all rushed down to the station to confirm themselves.“Good thing you're here, Chief Bethany.” Lucas said with a grin.Bethany's mood changed the moment she saw Lucas, she has had an unimaginable hatred for him after his accusations of Norman.She glared at him. "What proof do you have that Norman is guilty of any crime?"Others in the room quickly chimed in, their voices rising."Yes, Mayor, let's