Alan craned his neck as he searched through the court premises, peering his head over the crowd and scanning the faces of every man who had the posture of his father.
There was no progress. He was getting frustrated - was his father trying to pull a stunt? If he was truly happy about seeing him after a long time like his previous attempt to embrace him suggested, would it not make sense that he started building back the trust they once had?
Alan wondered why he even cared in the first place - this was a man who wanted him as the fall guy for very serious offences. He started to doubt Ms. Daniels’ statement about his father's willingness to transfer ownership of all his assets to him.
He would just check a few of the empty courtrooms and after that, he would go on his way. The amount he had just received was already more than enough to build a life of his own.
At last, he found Mr. Greyson in one of the courtrooms on the utmost floor of the premises. He wasn't alone as another man wearing scrubs and putting on a stethoscope was with him. There was a name badge on the scrub he was wearing so there was no mistake that he was a healthcare professional.
“Dad, what are you doing up here?” Alan asked, his face flushed and his cheeks damp with sweat. “I saw you when the judgment was given but you disappeared all of a sudden. Are you sick? Why are you?…..”
The words hung in Alan’s throat as he nudged his head forward and got more sight of what was going on.
Mr. Greyson had an IV inserted into his arm by the doctor and there was a metal pole that had an IV bag attached to it.
Mr. Greyson’s posture slumped as he avoided eye contact with Alan. It wasn't the right time to tell him, he wasn't ready to reveal yet.
“Son, you should have a seat,” Mr. Greyson said calmly.
“No, I am not having a seat. Not until you tell me what is going on.”
“It's the same stubborn Alan again. I see you haven't changed since 10 years ago. Always confrontational and rigid.”
Alan shot Mr. Greyson a withering look, his teeth bared. “You think I am confrontational? Do you have an idea what it has been like all these years harboring the thought that my father was going to throw me under the bus?”
“Did you hate me so much that you wanted me in prison? Do you know what I have gone through all these years since the companies were frozen?”
Mr. Greyson hung his head low, his body language conveying regret. “Well, it's not the companies or my companies anymore. It is now your company - you are now the head of the Greyson empire.”
Alan did not understand. It was a big deal for him to take charge as the head of a consortium. He would deal with his wicked ex-in-laws who humiliated him but it was not enough for his father to just say that without some proper explanation.
“I don't get it. Are you transferring all your assets to me because you regret your betrayal and you are doing that as compensation or is there something else you aren't telling me?”
The doctor administering the IV to Mr. Greyson had a weird look on his face. He was getting distracted by the father-son controversy. He wished that he could excuse himself because it was clear that it was supposed to be a private discussion but he was in the middle of administering an important treatment. He couldn't stop it halfway.
Mr. Greyson could notice the uneasy feeling coursing through the doctor’s nerves. “Son, you already have Ms. Daniels’ contact and you can also discuss anything with her. I trust her and that is why she has been our legal adviser and lawyer for many years.”
“Can I also discuss your betrayal with her?” Alan said sarcastically, shooting a dark glare toward Mr. Greyson but he was careful not to spill the exact details of the betrayal especially when the doctor whom he didn't know was around.
“Just a few hours ago, you were all up over me trying to embrace me, and now you are hiding something from me.”
“Oh, an embrace which you skillfully rejected,” Mr. Greyson reminded him in a petty manner.
Alan was swearing under his breath, his brow furrowed with anger. If that was how Mr. Greyson wanted it to be, then he would let it remain that way. At least he tried. Coming up to the 4th floor of the court premises just to find his father showed some intent.
He flared his nostrils and turned his back ready to leave when he heard Mr. Greyson’s deep voice.
“I have cancer, son.”
Alan angled his gaze back toward his father. His heart was pounding fast and he couldn't catch his breath for a moment.
“What did you say?”
“That's by the way actually,” Mr. Greyson said, trying to change the topic. “Do you by any chance know Lesley Billing?” He asked.
Alan’s brain shuffled a bit. He was receiving very odd news all at once. He knew his father was only trying to change the topic but Lesley Billing was surely a familiar name.
How could he forget Lesley? The same man who accused him of destroying his wristwatch while attempting to slap him only a few days ago? The same man who kept poisoning his ex-wife’s mind against him and telling her why she should divorce him?
Of course, Lesley was still very much in his mind and he couldn't wait to have his revenge on him. He was sure that the footage that Rose showed to him where he was allegedly stealing the Billing family pendant must have been altered by Lesley. Such cruelty must have had his fingerprints written all over it, he thought.
“Yes, I know Lesley Billing,” Alan responded.
“Very good. There goes your first assignment as the boss of the Greyson Consortium. He is one of the candidates on the shortlist for those who want to become Chief Operating Officer of Retro Corporations.
Retro Corporations was one of the groups of companies under the Greyson Consortium.
“I need you to vet him as well as the two others vying for the position. I hear good reports about Lesley but I don't know what to believe yet.”
Alan's lips twisted into a sinister smile and his eyes gleamed with an evil delight.
Time for Lesley to have a taste of his own medicine, he thought.
Alan allowed his father to complete the treatment without further questioning but the thought of Mr. Greyson’s cancer didn't leave his mind. He kept contemplating a lot of things - perhaps his father would die soon and that was why he was transferring his assets to him. What if he wasn't enthusiastic about the chemotherapy?He noticed that Mr. Greyson’s face was dampened and a sense of hope being lost could be seen on his face. Why would he be receiving such important treatment in court premises if it wasn't that he forgot or he was pressured to do so against his will? Was it his father’s will to surrender to the cancer and keep blind faith in him to take his legacy to the next level? That would be a very huge responsibility, he pondered.In any case, he felt relieved to be back in business and this time even more active than 10 years ago.***Lesley Billing was dressed in a well-tailored suit, its fabric having an impeccable outlook. He knew that the first impression mattered a lot
Lesley had urine escape from under his pants in the tension of the moment.His head was spinning destructively as he thrashed on the ground, his body writhing in a jolt of torment. He clutched his hand to his face as his mind calculated the impact of the punch he received.“Come on, get up you vile entity,” the voice from which the hard punch connected to Lesley’s face made its way into his ears.The deep voice sent a jolt of tension into Lesley’s body. He looked up slowly and saw the figure standing over him.‘That must be Tobiat,’ Lesley thought. ‘I have seen that face before. Was it not the same guy who fought Alan in the ring? Of course, it was him.’Lesley’s back arched in pain as he tried to get up, his breath coming in silent gasps. A little more push and he would be back up. Tobiat stood impatient as he darted dark glares toward Lesley and waited for him to get his two feet on the ground.But before Lesley could gather his feet together, he lashed out again with a deadly kick
“Y—-” Lesley muttered under his breath unable to complete the statement. He still felt like he wouldn't allow his ego to be bruised in such a manner. He was a Billing for f**k’s sake - the first son of the Billing family. He wouldn't possibly cower for a man like Alan.Alan with a burst of anger walked closer to Lesley who was writhing in pain on the ground. “Get your feet together and kneel to me.”Alan could sense that Lesley wasn't going to have his useless ego bruised so easily so he had to put himself up to the task. He wasn't going to let Lesley go without giving him the humiliation of his life. One good turn deserves another and in this case, one terrible humiliation deserves a worse disgrace.Lesley’s lips pressed into a line of uncertainty as he tried to apprehend what was happening to him. Instead of making it straightforward and serving his punishment, he tried to mock Alan, showing how strong his resolve was. “Are you doing this as revenge for how badly your face was disfi
“How dare you!” Alan seethed. “You are such a shameless fool. It was you, wasn't it? You were the one in the footage. Don't you find it very embarrassing that you try to make yourself look like me just so that Rose could divorce me?”Lesley didn't respond as his face was still red and hurt from the impact of the slap and he clutched his hands to his face in pain.“I prepared just the right punishment for you,” Alan’s face curled into a disdainful smile.Alan signaled Tobiat with a twinkle of his eye and he responded immediately as if they had already planned what they would do to him.Tobiat walked towards Lesley, fastening his fists with his face stern and cold.“Drop your phone,” Alan said firmly as he placed a bowl in front of him where he would put his phone.Lesley’s eyes narrowed in a glare of defiance but he eventually dropped his cell phone into the bowl.“Now, stand up and pull off your clothes,” Alan instructed Lesley, his words laced with a deadly bite of forcefulness.Lesl
“Come over here please, Tobiat,” He said while Tobiat brought Lesley closer. He figured out that Alan was going to handcuff their hands together so that he wouldn't get to escape while they were outside.With Alan’s face set in an expression to subject Lesley, he clamped the cuff around his wrist, his fingers fast with a silent speed of power as it clamped onto Tobiat’s wrist as well.“Now, you are both ready to go,” Alan said, clasping his hands in silent excitement.He knew that Lesley parading the street in broad daylight almost naked was going to draw a lot of reactions from people and many of the reactions were going to be embarrassing. It should be a huge shame to the Lesley family.With pain in Lesley’s voice, he screamed. “You will regret this, Alan. You won't see the end of this.”Tobiat didn't mind being cuffed with Lesley. He wanted to make sure that Lesley served his punishment. Even before he was imprisoned by Mr. Billing, he never liked him. Lesley saw him as a pompous b
A large number of customers at the mall whipped their heads around in a speed of surprise, their necks turned in sideways and opposite directions as they kept their mouths wide open in amazement at the scene they were witnessing.Many of them didn't first realize who it was at first because Lesley tried his utmost best to hide his face from the public view. It was too late though - several people who had recognized him before he got into the mall followed him into the mall to tell the others that it was indeed Lesley Billing - one of the famous businessmen in Townsend County who was naked on the streets.“Could that be who I think it is?”“It is very well who you think it is - Lesley Billing.”“But is this some sort of prank? Why is he cuffed? Perhaps he is being tamed because he has run mad.”“My dear, that is the only explanation for this. He must have gotten mad suddenly. I think the big guy he is cuffed with wants to take him to the psychiatric ward.”Tobiat aligned himself with
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
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