Roman Lacroix could feel the jitters as they arrived at the estate. Maybe he had overestimated his potential. If the Russian mafia were as brutal as Oliver had told him, then he would back out. They had only one night to pull this off. It was insane. Just over three hours ago, Roman had been at a party in New York trying to stop Lilain from going after Viper Don. How he was in New Jersey trying to help Oliver take down a Russian mafia boss. The plan was simple: Susan and Oliver were going to search the house and try to save Daimonte while he kept the Russian mafia boss, Henrik Smolov, busy. He was going to use the artifact as a distraction. He was going to be the diversion while they searched for Daimonte. The plan had seemed simple when they had discussed it, but as Roman stared at the huge mansion before him, he was reconsidering his options. Maybe he should have stayed at home in New York and let Susan and Oliver handle this. It was their mess after all. And they had only called
“Alright. Can we all relax?” Roman asked with his hands up. There were about ten guards in the room all pointing their guns at him. Roman had calculated the probability of taking all of them out and the numbers were in his favor. He clenched his jaws as he scanned the room. They would probably be more outside. He was fighting an unrealistic battle. Henrik chuckled and took another puff at his cigar. He had Roman Lacroix where he wanted. It was a big surprise that he would come here. He had the nerves too. The name of Roman Lacroix had spread around the big cities in the country. He was troubled and everybody tried their best to ignore it. Not Henrik. He was going to make this as fun as possible. “Why are you here, Roman? What do you want?” Henrik asked. “I already told you. I just want Daimonte, and I will hand over the artifact to you.”Henrik raised an eyebrow at him. “I know you too well, Roman. How do you expect me to believe that you would willingly give me the artifact tha
Oliver Debaucher and Susan raced towards the van with Daimonte in their grasp. They could hear the sound of gunshots coming from the house. All the guards that were on the lawn seemed to have gone in to help out. This meant that Roman was in trouble. “Come on. We are almost there,” Susan said. Daimonte was about to pass out. He was too weak to keep up with them, and they were too exhausted to keep holding him—he weighed a lot. “Come on, Daimonte,” Oliver said as they approached the gate. “We are almost there. Don’t give up on us now.”Daimonte clenched his jaws and tried to carry himself. He could see the van now. They were almost there. Only a few more steps were needed. It took only a few moments for them to arrive at the van. Susan swung the back door open, and Oliver helped Daimonte into the van. When he was in, Susan stepped in and Oliver stared at them. “What about Roman?” She asked. Oliver reached into his black overall and brought it a FN 5’7 cocking it. “I’m going to g
EIGHT HOURS AGO. Lilian slumped on the couch completely exhausted. The party had been crazy, and she had been lucky to be there. She had a chance to speak with Roman, though she doubted it added to anything she already knew. Roman was hiding something from her. And she wondered why. When he spoke about Florence, he sounded so cautious. Who was Florence Weah? And why was Roman so protective of her? It increased her suspicion. Lilian wasn’t going to stop until she got to the bottom of it. She had tried stalking Florence one time and it had ended up with her being caught. Florence never confronted her ever since then, and she felt it was her luck. It was only now she realized there were other things Florence had to worry about that to talk to her. She was a busy woman and whatever she was going to do with their company, Lilian was scared. She was scared of how her father would react when he found out that their company was no longer under their control. They were mere passengers. Her
Lincoln Troyes stepped into the house with his luggage. It had been a long flight back home. He had returned from a business trip and was happy that he was home. He realized that he couldn’t stay away from home for too long. He had missed his daughter, and most importantly, he couldn’t leave the affairs of the company in the hands of someone like David. David reminded him of when Roman had been with him. There wasn’t much distance from him, and he was infuriated that he couldn’t get rid of him the same way he had done with Roman. Lilian wouldn’t forgive us if he tried to. “Daddy. You’re home earlier than expected.”Lincoln smiled as he stepped into the house. A maid hurried down the stairs coming towards Lincoln to take his luggage. Lincoln handed it over to her and she headed to the stairs immediately. “Well. I couldn’t stay away because I missed you so much.”Lilian giggled at that. She wasn’t sure that her father coming home now was a good idea. Everything was in a mess and he wo
The doors of the hospital swung open and Lincoln Troyes was rushed in by the paramedics. Besides his lifeless body was Lilian who was trying her best to keep up with the nurses but they had flocked to take over control from the paramedics who had played their part. It all felt like a dream to Lilian. Her father was in critical condition. He had slumped after she had told him about the company. Maybe she had been too plain with him. She should have told him the company was in limbo instead of being so direct with him. Lincoln had slumped from the shock and had passed out. He had cardiac arrest according to paramedics, and he had been rushed to the hospital. The door swung open and David came into the hospital. He scanned the busy hallway so Lilian couldn’t find her. She had left with the paramedics in the ambulance while he had used the car to come down here. It seemed surreal to him. He felt they should have kept the truth from Lincoln. He wouldn’t be in this condition if they ha
Lilian sat before the casket all dressed one black. It seemed like Deja vu. Just over a month ago, she had sat here to mourn the death of Timothy Belton, David’s uncle. And now it was her turn to mourn someone close to her—her father. It all came as a shock. It still felt like a dream as well to Lilian. She felt that she would wake up soon. This wasn’t how this was supposed to end. Her father wouldn’t die off leaving her here. There had to be something wrong about this. As Lilian gulped hard, she fought back the feeling of reality dawning on her. Her father was truly gone. His lifeless body lay in the casket before then as the priest said the prayers. It was all her fault. The news of the company not being under their control anymore had come as a shock to Lincoln. That was what triggered his heart attack, which ultimately led to his death. Lilian panicked as he was brought to the hospital, but she had expected everything to turn out well much later. She had expected it to be just a
“What are you doing here?” She asked. David, who was talking to some people, turned around and met Lilian. She seemed to be in a conversation with herself. Roman didn’t say anything apart from that. He only smiled at her which began to annoy Lilian. But deep down, she was glad that he was here. That is if he was really here. “What do you want, Roman?”Roman took a step closer until he was face to face with her. Lilian could feel her heart thumping hard against her chest. She couldn’t remember the last time she was this close to him. It was many years ago. But she could remember how he smelt. Roman placed his hand on her cheek and caressed it slowly. Lilian closed her eyes and savored his touch. She was glad that he was here. She couldn’t deny the fact anymore. Roman had been the first one to meet her father, Lincoln. He had stayed with them a while so he understood how she felt presently. His touch was soothing, and she wanted it to last a bit longer. “Lilian?” David’s voice soun