Mr. Elias’ investments had always been very steady and it would be a big problem if he stopped investing. Mr. Billing would never forgive him if he knew that Elias stopped investing because of him - as it was already, he was already having doubts as to whether Mr. Billing was going to embrace him after the show of shame.Lesley managed to part his lips and let out a few words. “I am mentally alright Mr. Elias…just suffering from the sins of my past.”“Suffering from the sins of your past?” Mr. Elias was even more confused, his brows furrowed in bewilderment as his eyes were wide with perplexed wonder. What sins had Lesley committed that he thought he was suffering from? A flurry of questions was coming into Mr. Elias’ mind. Tobiat had heard enough of the conversation so he pulled Lesley along with him as they made their way to the exit of the mall.****Mr. Billing’s voice erupted in a deadly roar of anger, his tone sharp and biting as his eyes were red with fury. “What the hell is g
CHAPTER 16***Lesley Billing had served his punishment which was well administered by Alan. “Boss, I am sure you must have seen everything going on in the media. We have done as you wanted,” Tobiat informed Alan, his posture exuding a sense of duty.“Oh, I am quite satisfied with the outcome,” Alan settled back with an air of satisfaction, a sigh of contentment on his face. “I am sure this must propel a lot of controversy and that is what I want. The Billings must learn to behave humanely toward others and sometimes you have to give them a taste of their own medicine for them to learn.”Tobiat nodded his head in agreement with what Alan had said.Lesley was in a private room monitored by two guards as he put his clothes back on. His mind was reeling with what he was going to face when he returned to the Billing family manor.What would Rose think of him? What would Margaret think? What would everyone think? Of course, he was going to tell everyone about what Alan did to him. But h
“If you gave me this new responsibility to distract me from the fact that you have cancer or the fact that you have something bothering you, then I regret the day I signed the document,” Alan continued. “Either way, I would continue with as much vigor as I can gather, and trust me, this might just be the last time you see me.”Alan darted fiery glances and stepped aside in readiness to leave Mr. Greyson’s manor. Alan’s eyes were red and contorted with pain. A part of him wished that he didn’t have so much empathy for his father who was ready to use him as the fall guy for federal offenses and send him to jail.Mr. Greyson blinked away in tears of sorrow as he watched Alan leave. His face was contorted with a twist of misery as a drop of tears escaped the corner of his eyes.He whispered, his lips quivering with anguish. “Alan,” he called.Alan arched his neck as he heard his father whisper his name.“I will tell you everything you need to know,” Mr. Greyson uttered, wiping away the te
“Hello, you have new instructions. Close up the gates and do not allow Lesley in. Is that understood?” “Yes, Sir,” a voice responded through the phone.“But, dad—” Margaret tried to intercede further but was met with a shush from Mr. Billing.Lesley was still struggling his way through the microphones and cameras until he finally broke free of them.The reporters decided to wait behind while they watched what was going to happen with Lesley and whether he was going to enter into the manor.One of the reporters in carrying out his duty uttered. “As you can see. Here is Mr. Lesley Billing knocking at the Billing family manor. We await to know if he will be let in considering the delicate situation that he seems to have put himself in.”“Isn’t that so, Kelvin?” He transferred the podium to another reporter.“Yes, still reporting for Eagle TV. As my colleague reported earlier, Kelvin seems to be keen on getting through to the manor. It appears that Mr. Billing, Rose Billing, Margaret Bil
“Alan,” Lesley stuttered with a deadly hitch of terror, his voice shaking with a tremble of fear.Mr. Billing flinched his eyebrows countless times again in a trial of comprehension. “Alan, who is Alan? What Alan are you talking about?” He asked, his eyes desperate for an answer.“The same Alan dad. The same Alan who used to be our errand boy,” Lesley responded, his chest heaving in a shudder of distress as he let out desperate tears. Mr. Billing’s eyes were wide open in confusion and it looked like he was stuck to the spot. He couldn't open his mouth or respond to what he had heard.“It's surprising, Dad. I know it is but it is the truth. Alan forced me to go naked on the streets - he trampled on my dignity,” Lesley continued, his voice tinged with despair.“No! No! No! Something is wrong here. When did Alan have money to hire thugs to bully someone? He can't even fend for himself if not for the little stipends he sees while working here. What exactly are you even saying? Did you se
Everyone looked at the front page of the newspaper and it read - “Alan Greyson takes charge as the leader of Greyson Consortium after being passed the mantle by his father Mr. Greyson.”The faces of everyone in the room froze in a deadly shock, their gaze stuck in disbelief. They all stared wildly in utmost amazement. Was it the same Alan who would sometimes serve them food in the kind of meetings they were having at that moment who was now the head of a consortium? This was boldly written as the headline on a newspaper so there was no doubting it. Oswald turned the newspaper to the next page and it was boldly written again - “Court unfreezes Greyson Consortium assets as banks restore billions of dollars into Greyson’s account.”Almost everyone’s mouth gaped in disbelief. They couldn't believe that Alan was a Greyson all through the years that he served as their errand boy. They kept asking themselves questions in their minds. Why did he hide his identity?Mr. Billing’s senses were h
The response brought shivers down Mr. Billing’s spine. Perhaps this was the time he had been waiting for. He wanted to see for himself if everything about Alan being rich was really true.“Put him on then,” Mr. Billing said.The employee connected his laptop to the front of the meeting hall so that everyone could see it. Mr. Billing took a comfortable seat to make sure that he was at the heart of the conversation.Rose’s heart was beating very fast. She couldn't believe that she was about to see her ex-husband in a wealthy condition. Goosebumps were growing all over her skin as she tried to cover her face from being seen when the technician put Alan on the screen.Alan’s image soon appeared on the screen after the setup was completed by the technician.Alan’s smile was bold and revealed a deadly flash of teeth, his presence radiating an aura of villainy. Mr. Billing gritted his teeth in silent displeasure as he could now see for himself the transformation of Alan. His face was now m
Each time she closed her eyes, she saw an image created in her head of Alan wearing the most beautiful suit in the world and sitting on his CEO’s office chair delivering instruction. What could have been if only she hadn't let a moment of anger eat up her mind?Rose went over to see Mr. Billing who was waiting just by the corner of the hall with a glass cup of scotch in his hand.“You were a little moody throughout the meeting today. What could be going on?” Mr. Billing asked, his brow furrowed in concern as he looked behind him to make sure no one was hovering around to hear what he was going to say.“I am good. There is no problem, Dad,” Rose responded, her expression a mask of false warmth.“Hmm, are you sure?” Mr. Billing inquired again, his nose squeezed in a silent discovery. “Is this about your brother, Lesley? He deserves to be treated harshly you know. I hope you don't have any sympathy for him.”Rose nodded her head in denial, her eyes contorted with a mask of innocence. She
He was in a hurry to get things done quickly because he knew that it was going to be only a matter of time before the guards would discover that the public service system had been hacked.“When you get on the other side of the purple fence, just hang in there until we come to get you okay?”Jackson’s hands were large and measured, his touch gentle as he took Brody’s hands into his own.“Come on, I will show you the way and then you will complete the move,” Jackson’s voice was soft, his voice sincere as he was careful not to scare the boy with too much haste even though he was in a hurry and rightfully so.They crept until they got to the entrance which was just a few meters away from where they were. Jackson’s eyes were alert as he watched to see that there was no guard close to them that would impede their move.They hid behind the cars, creeping through the shadows with their eyes narrowed with a tense intent to get as far away from view as possible.Jackson then reached a point whe
“Come on, let’s go. We can't just sit here and do nothing after all. We have to do something.”With a grim determination, the guards all filed out of the lobby one after the other, their footsteps resounding through the empty hallways.The tension was palpable in the air as their weapons glinted in the harsh fluorescent light.Their bodies were taut with adrenaline as they headed towards their destination.Alan’s face glimmered with a relieved twinkle of gratitude the moment he saw that the guards had all gone.He then whispered to Jackson. “Hey, Jackson. Call Fred now and tell him to his way to the purple fence area. That’s the easiest route out of here. Tell him to get there as quickly as possible. That’s where Brody would have to go meet him.”Brody was confused, his face darting left and right as he was trying to understand what Alan was saying.Where was he saying that he was going to go? Since when did the plan become that he was going to go somewhere?Alan crouched down, his fa
“No one, I believe. You see what I am saying. What if they already got past this place and they are already heading outside.”“Think about it, I don’t think they would want to escape through the outside. Look at the way that they came in. We didn’t even know. None of us knew until they got to the top floor and killed two guards.”“It’s obvious they are trained so we have to think along the line of the fact that they are more than prepared for this.”“They probably outlined every step of the way before they came.”“Not probably, man. They did, it’s quite obvious.”“I guess it’s a draw right now. Mr. Lawrence already has one of them while they have gotten Brody.”“We must get back Brody, man. That’s the instruction. Mr. Lawrence has ordered a closure of all entry points right now and it is already in process. Everything must be on lockdown until Brody is found.”“We can’t afford to fool around.”“What if they are holed up in one of the offices? We should search each room systematically.
Mr. Lawrence then moved his eyes closer to Della’s face to get a clearer view of what was going on.“Wait, what? You look familiar,” Mr. Lawrence’s eyes narrowed, his gaze piercing into Della with the intensity of a predator sizing up its prey.His expression was hardened as a cruel smile spread across his face.“You look awfully and strangely familiar I must say,” Mr. Lawrence remarked again.He wasn’t sure of whether to keep up with his suspicion or to ignore it. He was sure that there was something about her that was too strange to ignore.It dawned on him that the person that she traced her face to was actually that of Rose Billing, the same woman that he murdered.He paused once more and spoke. “I know who you are, don’t I?”Della’s lips curled very slightly by the side as if she was trying to give Mr. Lawrence the clue that he needed.And Mr. Lawrence picked up the clue. He was shocked by the resemblance that Della had with Rose and even though he tried to ignore it as nothing b
“You are Brody, aren’t you?” Alan asked.The boy nodded in affirmation. Jackson’s grip on Brody’s hands loosened and Brody’s shoulders were relaxed gradually even though he knew subconsciously that there were most likely going to be some problems lying ahead.“I know you,” Brody spoke to Alan. “I saw you the other day when Mr. Lawrence killed Rose. You are Rose’s husband right?”Alan paused as if he was in a deep emotional thought before he then nodded.“Yes, I was.”It was a moment of reflection for both Alan and Brody as they both seemed to have missed Rose.Brody didn’t get to spend much time with Rose but it was obvious that the little time that he had spent with her was more than enough for him to miss her for a lifetime possibly.“And Della, the lady who texted on the phone. Are you her partner? Do you work with her? Where is she?” Brody asked.He was in a hurry to receive answers to his questions because he was still a little bit scared.“She is going to be with us soon, Brody
The air seemed to thicken with tension, the silence broken only by the faint click of gun safeties being engaged.Alan then whispered into his radio, hoping that he was going to connect with Della. “Della, are you there? We are about to open fire on the guards who want to lock Brody in the basement. We are going to need backup, over.”That was all Alan needed to say and he believed that he had said enough already.They moved a few more steps with deadly precision, their footsteps soft and stealthy as they crept closer to the guards. They saw as the guards were shoving and dragging Brody and this time, they were going to lock him into the basement.They were no longer interrogating him about the phone because there were bigger issues to deal with.But Alan and Jackson thought that it was time to raise a response.The guards burst the basement door open and were prepared to shove Brody into a dark room but there was a sudden startling noise of gunfire.Pow! Pow!Boom!The hail of bulle
Alan was just a few feet away hiding behind one of the pillars. The moment she saw the harsh slap that was performed against the boy, he gritted his teeth in frustration as he became provoked to cause a disruption.Why would they treat such a young boy like that? He had to hold and keep himself in check so that they would stay according to plan.But considering the way he was feeling, he wished that he could just start a gunfire right away. He began to rethink whether it was best to engage the guards with gunfire right away or if they should wait a while until Brody got locked in the basement and they would try to open it up.Just as he was still having a deliberation in his mind, the guards continued with their harsh treatment toward the boy.“Yeah, right, we are not stupid,” Guard two spoke. “Look at the faces of all of us standing here.”Brody’s face was still facing the ground as he was dealing with the harsh effect of the assault but he felt a hand shove his head back up so that
Alan and Jackson froze in place, his breath caught in his throat as he clung himself to the wall. His heart pounded in his chest as he heard the guards’ footsteps growing closer.Time seemed to be very slow as the guards drew nearer, their footsteps echoing off the walls of the hallway but Alan gripped his weapon tightly just in case the situation was going to demand it.But as they got closer, two other guards joined them. They now seemed to be five and they were discussing.Alan and Jackson were picking up on their conversations.“The boss said to keep him in the basement.”“There are many ways that the boss can get the boy on his side. After all, he is his son. I don’t see why there should be an issue between them.”“The boy is a cool guy to me.”“This isn’t about whether he is a cool guy or not. We should listen to what the boss says.”“Come on, this is not to say that I wouldn’t listen to what he says. I am only telling you as a colleague that there is no need for being so harsh
Fred was ready to go for it all. “If you need our main ID badge, my colleague can go them now. She will get mine too but I was hoping you would already know the company we are coming from. We already have a contract here.”The guard who was talking balderdash earlier scurried into the conversation. “But I haven’t seen you guys before. Especially the bright-skinned darling we have here. I would have known if I had seen her before.”Fred responded. “Well, we are not always the same and I am sure you already know that. Today, it is our shift to come to complete the repairs and as we said, we are actually running out of time.”“My colleague can quickly go and get the ID badges if that is what is delaying us from entry.”Fred was speaking with the hope that the guard was going to shrug off the situation and ask Della not to worry.But he needed to show that he wasn’t hiding something and the only way that he could do that effectively was to pretend as if everything was going fine and as ex