HEIRS OF THE HIDDEN FLAME

INTERROGATION

The dimly lit room crackled with tension as Nathan Amber, a man in his late 20s, loomed over the trembling figure of Deltrey Hamel, the powerful president of the Hamel Group, Belloberg City's largest conglomerate. Deltrey was a man in his late 30s with blonde hair and blue eyes. The air was thick with an unspoken threat, and the cold, steel chair on which Deltrey was bound seemed to tighten its grip with every passing second.

Nathan's eyes bore into Deltrey's, as if daring him to speak the truth. The room's single, flickering light bulb cast ominous shadows that danced across the walls. Also revealing Nathan’s dark hair and hazel eyes. Nathan's voice was a low, dangerous growl that cut through the silence like a razor.

"Who is the puppet master pulling your strings, Deltrey?" Nathan's tone left no room for evasion.

Deltrey's pallid face was slick with sweat, his eyes darting frantically as he tried to create a response. He stammered, "I don't... I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just a businessman. What am I even doing here?"

Nathan's patience wore thin, and in one swift motion, he slammed his palm down on the table, causing Deltrey to flinch. "Don't play games with me. The bomb that took my parents from me was manufactured by the Hamel Group. You expect me to believe that you, the president, knew nothing about it?"

Nathan was bent on getting the truth out of Deltrey. Deltrey's voice cracked, and he swallowed hard before muttering, "I... I have no idea what you are talking about, I swear!"

Nathan leaned in closer, his eyes inches from Deltrey's face. "Are you going to tell me that you have no idea about the bomb that your company created? Tell me the truth!"

Deltrey's resolve wavered. Beads of sweat rolled down his temple, and his breath came in shallow, trembling gasps. Even though he was the powerful president of the Hamel Group, he knew he was no match for Nathan. He had no idea what Nathan was talking about or the conspiracy that Nathan thought was going on.

"I....I swear, I am telling you the truth; I have no idea what you are talking about or what you think might be going on."

Nathan's expression hardened as he didn’t believe a word of what Deltrey was saying. He felt that since Deltrey was the president of Hamel Group, he was sure to know about the bomb that the company created.

"The bomb that exploded on my parents' plane and killed them was manufactured by Hamel Group, a company that you are the president of, and you are telling me that you have no idea who was the one that purchased the bomb from your company or who could have planted the bomb on that plane?"

Deltrey shook his head in disagreement, saying that he had no idea about any of that.

“Tell me who is your master and who gives you orders!” Nathan yelled, gazing into his eyes.

Deltrey hesitated for a moment; the fear in his eyes was visible, but he really had no idea what Nathan was on about. "Please, I promise you, I have no idea what you think might have happened that year. I swear to you, I am telling the truth. I don’t want any problems with you,” Deltrey said in a trembling tone.

“A little guy like me can never compete in a fight with a man of your level; please believe me, I am telling you the truth,” Deltrey begged.

Suddenly Nathan’s phone started ringing loudly, interrupting the focus he had on Deltrey. He took it out and looked at the caller; it was his wife, Karina. He answered the call.

“Hey sweetie, what do you want?” He asked curiously.

“We need to talk, Nathan,” she responded in a suspenseful tone.

“About what?”

“I want a divorce from you." Nathan’s eyes opened wide; he couldn’t believe what he had just heard.

“A divorce? Why? What did I do?” He asked in a shocked tone.

“Meet me at the office so you can sign the divorce papers; I don’t want you in my life anymore,” she responded.

“Please, let’s talk about things. I don’t want a divorce, I beg you..” Before he could finish his sentence, Karina hung up on him.

Nathan was in a state of complete shock; he would never have expected to hear that his wife, Karina Blackwood, wanted a divorce from him. After losing his parents during the internal struggle over who was to become the heir of the Amber family, Nathan faked his death and, along the line, married Karina Blackwood and became a humble live-in son-in-law. Over time, he fell deeply in love with her and found peace with her. Hearing she wanted a divorce from him out of nowhere sent his whole world into a whirlwind of questions and confusion.

‘What the hell did I do? Does she not love me anymore? Why would she want to divorce me?’ He wondered.

But Nathan had no intention of continuing to interrogate Deltrey; his entire mental state was messed up. He looked at Deltrey.

He got up and leaned closer to Deltrey as he grabbed his cheeks with both hands and pinched them hard. “Ahh! Please stop!” Deltrey screamed at the top of his lungs.

“I want you to listen carefully to me. If I ever find out in the future that you lied to me today about not knowing about that bomb and everything you said to me were lies, I am going to make sure that I kill all your relatives and siblings in the most painful way possible,” Nathan said in a cold tone, glaring into his eyes.

“Am I clear?” Deltrey nodded his head swiftly, still in pain. Nathan removed his hands from his cheeks as he untied him. He was focused on going to Karina’s office to see her.

***

Nathan's steps echoed through the lobby of his wife Karina's company as he descended the grand staircase, his heart heavy with a mix of emotions. He approached her secretary’s desk. She was a blonde lady with a slender figure who was in her late 20s; her name was Diane.

“I am here to see my wife; is she in her office?” Nathan asked curiously.

“No, but she did ask me to get you to sign some papers,” she responded rudely as she stood up from behind her desk.

Nathan’s brows raised in confusion. He wondered whether Karina asked her secretary to have him sign the divorce papers.

“What do you mean sign some papers?” He questioned.

Diane rolled her eyes at him like she was looking at a piece of garbage. “Don’t act like you don’t know that my boss doesn’t want to be with a worthless man like you anymore."