In a huge living room, there was soft jazz music playing in the background. By the fireplace stop a figure with a glass of scotch in their hand. It was Timothy Belton. Timothy had received the strangest call today. It was one from his nephew, David Troyes. Never did he think that David would ask for his help. They weren’t on speaking terms, so when the call came in, Timothy was intrigued by what he had to say. The doorbell rang and Timothy sipped his scotch. His butler passed behind him as he made his way towards the door. Timothy gazed at the crackling fire before him. It was warm and comfy. He looked at the glass of scotch in his hand before taking another drink. At the door, David stood nervously as it swung open. He was staring at the butler now. He was surprised because he couldn’t record this one. It seemed his uncle, Timothy had changed butlers again. The butler who looked to be in his late fifties dressed in a black suit offered him in. David nodded and stepped into the hous
A black Ferrari swerved into the parking lot of a clubhouse and Roman Lacroix stepped out of it. On the other side of the car, Lydia Rhys eluded the passenger’s seat and closed the door. She was still surprised that Roman had agreed to take her clubbing. It was long since she had done so. It was also to celebrate their victory in completing another phase. With time, they would achieve their goals. Roman was dressed in a black suit with a white undershirt. Lydia wondered why he would wear such attire to a party. Lydia, on the other hand, was dressed in a short-sleeved gown that stopped at the middle of her thighs. Her short black hair and narrow green eyes gave her a dazzling look. Roman gave her his hand and she got her cheeks heated up. Ever since they had talked at his gym, things had gotten better. Roman had begun being nice to her, and it was charming. It was also relieving for her uncle, Ben. He had been worried that he had done too much without her being accepted into the fam
“Would you care for some chicken casserole, sir?” Timothy’s butler asked. Timothy was now in his study room with a bottle of scotch on the desk before him. He looked up at his butler and contemplated it. “Sure.” He replied. “Why not?”“Very well, sir,” the butler said and walked out of the room.Timothy got back to the MacBook that was before him. He was doing some research on Roman Lacroix. It turned out that Roman Lacroix was a well-known businessman. He was a billionaire entrepreneur which made Timothy envious of him. Someone was out there living his dream. Timothy understood why David had come to him for help now. This Roman Lacroix guy seemed like a real problem. If he was after their company, then he must like it. Timothy stroked his chin as he gazed at the image of Roman. He had a commanding look. His smooth black hair and silver eyes were charming enough for Timothy to realize that he was not only an entrepreneur but also a man of many trades. He knew he had heard of the La
Jermaine Rhoades scanned the dark room to make sure nobody was in there. It was all clear. He shouldn’t be here, but he had no choice. It had to be done. For the safety of his daughter, he had to do this. His heart raced and he ran his fingers across the well-polished wooden desk. He moved towards the back of the desk and found the drawers. He pulled out one of your drawers and reached into it. His hand met a stack of papers. Jermaine brought it out and placed it on the table. The room was lit dimly by the faint light coming from the moon’s light. It was night and everywhere was quiet. Jermaine knew he had to be swift for him to get here alive. If he was caught, that would be the end of him. He had to be careful. Jermaine scanned the files looking for a particular document but couldn’t find it. His heart was throbbing hard against his rib cage. Fear and anxiety couldn’t keep him focused. He was going to lose everything. When he couldn't find the document, he closed the drawers and h
“And here you see our stocks in the market drop drastically over the last few weeks,” David said pointing at the chart that was being projected. Roman rolled his eyes at that. It was thirty minutes into the meeting and he was already exhausted. When he had woken up this morning to an emergency meeting text, he knew that his whole day would be slow. The only thing that kept him going was the fact that David was the one presenting. He could barely hide his amusement as he watched the man who had come into his office a few weeks ago threaten to try to convince him to pump more money into the company. The other shareholders which occupied the remaining seats in the table seemed to be paying more attention to David than Roman was. He had a lot on his mind. Like how he was going to convince the remaining shareholders to sell him their shares. With David trying to convince them to add more and reassure them that it was only a temporary issue, it would make it a bit hard to do that. But Rom
Roman Lacroix sat across Jermaine who looked rough. Roman could barely recognize him. It didn’t take him long to arrive here. The urgency in Jermaine’s voice had propelled him to come quickly. “Thank you for coming, Roman,” Jermaine appreciated. “You sounded like you were in trouble,” Roman pointed out. “I had to.”Jermaine nodded. The afternoon sun was over them as they sat by the window in a cafe. Jermaine’s meeting place was public, but it didn’t matter to Roman. All he wanted to do was make sure that Jermaine was okay. And it seemed his work was already done. “So. What is it? Why do you want to see me so badly?” Roman asked, barely hiding his curiosity. Jermaine nodded and leaned on the table. He looked around and outside the window to make sure nobody was watching or following him. Presently, he didn’t have much time left. They would be looking for him right now, but that didn’t matter to Jermaine. He just wanted to ensure the safety of his daughter. She was the most importan
Eric Hilton and Adam Coleman stepped out of the car in the parking lot of Lacroix Industries. They were outside now, and couldn’t believe that the building had two parking lots. It seemed like one of them was for the workers, and that was the underground one. Eric felt a little nervous to be back here. The last time they had been here, they had been stalking Roman. Eric still felt guilty that he had lost track of him. Adam whistled as he stared at the huge building. It was a skyscraper that had a gruesome aura around it. Probably because it was painted black. Today, they were here to interrogate Roman. After many sleepless nights of work, they had finally come up with enough reason to interrogate him. “What do you think of this?” Adam asked, pointing at the building. Eric rolled his eyes. “Adam. Remember we aren't here for sightseeing.”Adam placed his hands in the pockets of his black leather jacket. His sandy brown hair was combed backwards making him look a lot younger. Nobody
Roman stepped out of his black Ferrari and threw the keys to the incoming valet. He straightened his clothes and touched his Joe to make sure it was still neatly combed. Tonight was a party; an unexpected party in all honesty. Roman was surprised to receive an invitation letter from Ben saying that he was invited to a party hosted by the Troyes. After the confrontation at the conference room that day, Roman had doubted that David and Lincoln would make any move so soon. They wouldn’t want to rush anything, because they knew how smart he was when it came to countering it. This had to be something they had planned for a while now. Roman was amazed by this. They had played innocent in his face all alone. Finally, they were making this interesting, and he couldn’t wait to see what was in store for him. And all dressed in a charcoal black suit with floral patterns all over and a shawl wrapped at his waist, he looked gorgeous. The camera flashes from the paparazzi almost blinded him as he
(EPILOGUE)Roman stepped back into the house and he found a figure sitting on the couch waiting for him. He clenched his jaws as he walked into the room. He was eager to see who had interrupted his grieving session. He had been to let all the pain out. The guilt he felt for watching his mother die and also not being there for his parents while they were alone hit him hard. He just needed that space but he wasn’t going to get that now. As he came closer, the figure sat at the couch with a tea cup in their hand. Roman squinted his eyes as he tried to recognize who it was. The figure finally turned around and faced Roman. Roman was immediately shocked by what he saw. “Nuo?” He called in surprise. Nuo Feng, who was dressed in her customary robes, rose from the couch and smiled at him. Roman was in disbelief. The last time had seen her was when he had visited Shanghai. That was because he had been hurt badly in a confrontation with Viper Don’s men which had left him paralyzed. But
“There you go,” Ben said, handing him a bouquet. Roman gave him a weak smile and got the bouquet of yellow roses from him. “Thank you, Ben.”Ben nodded. “If you need anything. Just call me.”Roman nodded and Ben turned around leaving him. He was now alone in the graveyard of his parents all dressed in a black suit. With the bouquet in his hands, he stepped forward and stood before the headstone of both his parents. With a smile, he picked out one of the yellow roses and placed it on his mother’s grave.“Hello, mum. I’m back,” he said with a smile. He moved to the next headstone and dropped another flower on it. This was his father’s. Roman clenched his jaws as he stared at his father’s headstone. He could feel the guilt consume him as he looked at it. It was hard for him because he couldn’t remember what his father looked like, nor did he have any memory of who his father was. The only reason he remembered him was the pictures in their old house, and the video of him leaving th
Roman stretched on the bed as he woke up before opening his eyes. He looked around and realized that the morning sunlight had washed into the room, illuminating the bed on which he lay. Last night was amazing. After winning the award for the entrepreneur of the year, he had come back to the suite with Florence where they had sex. Just as she was about to climax, she said the magic words. I love you. Roman didn’t know what to say back then, but he felt he had an obligation to say what he felt about yet too. And he was going to tell her when they had breakfast. He turned to the other side of the bed to meet her only to find it empty. This startled him. He rose from the bed and looked around the room. There was no trace left of her being her last night. That was awkward for him. Roman rose from the bed stark naked and walked towards the bathroom. He opened the door and stepped into it. He found water droplets on the floor which meant that she had been here awhile ago. He reached
Roman Lacroix opened the door of his suite and stepped inside. On the other hand was his award which he couldn’t quite wrap his head around how he had won it. He had been stunned when his name was mentioned. After making a speech, he received the award which made him feel better. That was two awards he had won now, but who was counting? He wondered if the universe was finally paying him back from all the torture he had undergone at the hands of Viper Don. But that didn’t matter much to him. If that was the case, then he would gladly accept it. The door of the suite was closed and he turned around to see Florence coming in with her purse in her hand. She still looked amazing, and he was surprised that he hadn’t noticed that until now. She was amazing in her black dress which exposed her cleavage. Roman found it hard to look away. Florence noticed Roman looking at her and she couldn’t help but smirk. They had decided to spend the night in suits and travel back to New York the
“Roman! You won’t believe this!” Ben said as he closed the door. Roman who was sitting on the couch with a glass of scotch in his hand turned to Ben who had an envelope in his hand. He wondered what he could do there. “What is it?” Roman asked. “I think it is for you,” Ben replied, handing over the envelope to him. Roman, confused, got the envelope and immediately tore the seal. He reached into the envelope and brought out a letter from it. After reading for a few moments, he was left in awe. Ben noticed the change in Roman’s facial expression which made him more curious about what could be in the letter. “What is it?” Roman read the letter one more time before turning to him. “It’s an invitation,” he said. “To where?” Ben asked. Roman turned back to the letter. “It says here, Dear Roman Lacroix, amazed by the works you have carried out in your hometown, Brooklyn. We are delighted to invite you to the prestigious annual Entrepreneur Awards night. We will b
Roman walked through the hallway of the precinct as he headed towards the other entrance. He had contemplated this for days, and he had finally come to a decision—he was going to get the key to the city. He deserved it. Oliver had made him realize this. After saving his life on multiple occasions, he realized that there were a lot of things that he had done that went unnoticed. He had been able to take three powerful men down with Viper Don being the strongest. It hadn’t been easy, but he had done it. The last mission made him feel that he could do anything if he put his mind to it. Saving Susan from the mighty drug lord, Frederic El Mataso, made him realize that there was more to his capabilities than he knew. Eric and Adam were waiting nervously just as the mayor went to the podium to give a speech. They were still inside the building waiting to be summoned. It was a big day for them, but that didn’t stop Eric from wearing his trademark black leather jacket. Adam on the other ha
Brooklyn, New York. 6:45 AM.“Well, that was fun,” Oliver said as they stepped off the jet. They were greeted by the morning’s golden light which washed upon them as they walked out of the hanger. Oliver still had the black duffel bag in his hand but it didn’t contain ammunition anymore. It was money. A whole lot of it. They had cashed out on all their artifacts last night and made their way with the excess of it. Roman was calm as he walked out of the hangar. He was dressed in a new black suit and his hair was combed neatly. He looked all refreshed. Last night was hilarious, and it was hard to believe that it had happened.They had made their way with one of the most expensive jewels ever, and all Roman did was blackmail him. They couldn’t say that Frederic El Mataso wouldn’t come after them but who cared? They had hit the jackpot again. Roman had the ring in his hand and he stared at it as he made his way towards the crew. At a distance, a black Cadillac was heading towards them
Frederic El Mataso wasn’t fazed by the sight of the guns being pointed at him. He had been through much more than that. What he was worried about was the men at the table with him who were already terrified at the sight of the men. “If you don’t want to end up like the guards there, I strongly suggest you all leave,” Roman ordered. The men looked at each other before running out of the room. The door shut behind them and they were left alone in the room with Susan and Frederic. Susan rose to her feet and went immediately to Oliver, pulling him into a hug. Roman, on the other hand, lowered his gun and walked to the poker table, sitting on the other end of it. He had one of his guns pointed at Frederic who still didn’t seem fazed by this. “I know who you are,” Frederic said. “You’re the famous Roman Lacroix.”Roman smiled at that. Sometimes, he forgot that he was known throughout the country. First, it was the Russian mafia leader, now it was El Mataso. He was making a name for him
“Bring her in here,” Frederic El Mataso ordered. The door opened and Susan was dragged into the room. Her hair was ruffled and her face was drenched in sweat. She had just spent the whole day in the basement and now she was about to be given a death sentence. The room had a poker table with men seated around it, Frederic included. Frederic El Mataso was a plump man with a weird mustache and heavy eyebrows. He was dressed in a black suit with his bloated stomach trying its best to stay in the white undershirt he wore. There was only one thing that caught Susan’s eye. It was his ring. The ring was glowing as he rubbed his chin with a grin on his face. “Bring her closer,” he ordered. The guard dragged her on the floor as he brought her to him. Susan was kneeling before Frederic now who was still rubbing his chin as he stared down at her. “You piece of shit! You think you’re going to get away with this?” She yelled. “She’s a feisty one,” he said to the men at the table who chuckle