Kayla had grown up ignored and dismissed in this patriarchal home. Her fiery passion and business acumen meant nothing here - without her brother to speak for her, she may as well not exist in her father's eyes.How many times had she turned to Hamish over the years, forced to hide behind his victories and advocacy to have any chance of realizing her ambitions? It grated at her soul.She had hoped marrying Reynold would finally allow her to grasp some independence. With him as a passive husband, a trophy to legitimize her while staying neatly out of her way, she could finally take center stage and prove her abilities, prove to them that she was better.Or so she had thought. But his outburst tonight had ruined everything. Kayla could feel the fragile control she had managed to get after years of hardwork slipping through her fingers again. She didn't want to support of any man. That would just be the same thing repeating itself. She had strictly married Reynold because she thought
The shrill beep of the alarm clock jarred Reynold awake while the sky was still inky black. He silenced it quickly to avoid waking Kayla, even though her room was quite far.He walked out of his room and to the kitchen, opened a few cupboards with calculative eyes. After checking the row of cupboard, he returned to the first and began to bring out some ingredients as softly as he could manage.He put on the gas cooker and began to boil water. The sky subtly transitioned to orange and shades of blue…by then Reynold walked with tray of covered food, steamy out and a savoring aroma to bless the morning air.He dropped them on the table, gently preparing all she will need down to the spoon and fork.“I hope she enjoys it.” He says with a smile and looked towards her room.Immediately he turned and walked to his own room. Dressing in silence, he slipped out into the chill dawning air for his morning run.A few minutes later, Kayla's eyes gently opened. She had a beautiful morning smile.
Reynold continued down the road, with no destination. He had been running because he wanted to get away from the young lady.‘Was I overreacting?’ He asked himself. But didn't think so, he clearly had sensed something up with the way the lady talked to him. And it was good he dismissed himself quickly, for his own sake - the lady was not as beautiful as his wife but she was beautiful for any man to get tempted, her curves accentuated by her tight pants could make any man momentarily forget his wife.So, he made a run for it.“Hmm, it was a good call.” He mumbled and nodded, coming to a stop as he slowly was running out of breath.He bent down with both his hands resting on his knee then stood up and turned around to search for where he could take a rest.The morning sun was beginning to harshly lick his skin.Squinting through the blinding rays of sunlight, he noticed the faded sign first - "Ren's Self Defense - All Styles Welcome."Odd for a second floor establishment. He looked up pa
Kayla woke to the smell of sizzling onions and garlic. She rolled over, glancing at the clock. 6:14am.Reynolds was already up cooking breakfast. She lay still for a moment, taking in the comforting smells wafting from the kitchen, before dragging herself out of bed and feeling bad afterwards.She stole a glance towards her door before shuffling to the bathroom, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror - messy hair, her oversized pajamas failing to conceal her delicate curves.Kayla turned on the faucet and splashed cool water on her face to wake up. As she patted herself dry with a towel, her mind wandered to the long day ahead at the office. Meetings, emails, presentations to the board - it was all a bit exhausting if she was honest. And it seemed there was always more to do.But this was the kind of life she had dreamt for herself. Nothing right now was out of place and it was going to get even busier in the future.Her mind wandered a bit towards Reynold and she let out a deep
Tate leaned back in the butter-soft leather executive chair, steepling his manicured fingers as he surveyed the sleek minimalist office. Floor-to-ceiling windows displayed a breathtaking panorama of the city skyline while recessed lighting illuminated abstract paintings on raw brick walls."More scotch, Tate?" Sean murmured, pouring three fingers worth from a crystal decanter into an identical glass. Tate accepted it with languid grace, taking a slow sip as he stretched his long frame."I must say, Lloyd's behavior recently has me...concerned, brother." Tate swirled amber liquid meditatively. "All those excuses and awkward pauses. The boy's clearly hiding something."Sean grunted agreement, scrolling irritably through emails on his tablet. "Or lack thereof. He always was spineless. Should never have trusted him to monitor that gold-digging worm Kayla calls a husband." Tate opened his mouth to reply when sudden raised voices and scuffling erupted outside his office. Before he could r
The leather couch creaked as Kayla shifted to pull her phone from her pocket. A notification lit up the screen - a news alert from The Financial Times. She scanned the headline and bolted upright, feet planting on the hardwood floor."Reynold!" Kayla called out, clicking the article to read more. "Reynold, come quick!"Footsteps pounded down the stairs as Reynolds rushed into the living room, still pulling a shirt on over his head. "What is it?"Wordlessly, Kayla handed him her phone. Reynold's eyes grew wide as he read through… at first he had a difficult time understanding what Kayla was showing him because on the phone there was a table of names and a chat to one side, her phone was a foldable type so the screen was split.But as soon as he saw his name somewhere, his eyes widened."I don't understand," Reynolds murmured. "Does this mean I've been accepted into the family?”Kayla leapt up from the couch, heart racing. This changed everything. Not only was Reynold now legally family
The words tinged in his throat and foaster his imagination to roll wide and unfold within his head.In his mind's eye, Hamish unleashed years of pent-up frustration. In that single moment but in reality, nothing but a sweet-nighty silence ensued between the two.“Do you have a problem with my actions towards your sister?”Hamish lowered his gaze, hiding the contempt that formed on his face for a few seconds before responding. “No sir. I trust your decisions and actions. I have no right to question them…”“And so why are you here?” The chairman inquired.“...” Hamish spent a few seconds of silence, his gaze however was unwavering. He stared at his father in those few seconds with a stone cold ferocity.“Nothing sir. I just wanted to confirm it is true.”The chairman smiled and crossed his hand, “Well, you have. It is true.”The heavy oak door swung inward and Kayla strode in, fixing Hamish with an icy stare. "Well, dear sister, congratulations seem to be in order,” Hamish said quietly
Kayla plastered on a smile as yet another subsidiary called to offer stilted congratulations about her ascension. Yes, it was that, everyone sort of knew that the chairman moving that way was he acknowledging her - naturally, the women directors of the company were beginning to move towards her side.Kayla idly doodled curling vines along the margins of a briefing memo, half listening to the Benefit Cosmetics executive prattle on about synergies.Normally she didn’t mind this part of her role heading the luxury beauty division. Schmoozing, strategizing, making connections - it energized her. But today it was just noise, her thoughts continuously circling back to her father and Reynold.What game was her father playing, upending succession plans on a whim? Did he actually intend for her to take over the conglomerate one day instead of the boys? And making Reynold a part of the family- even she couldn’t deny the brilliance of that chess move. Legally her husband now, no one could under
One life ends. Another begins. Such was the world.That was what Rey was thinking as he fondled his ten-month-old baby girl distractedly. He still felt empathy toward Hamish, even though it irritated him. Hamish was his brother-in-law. He shouldn't try to kill him. Nobody's brother-in-law should try to kill him. But unfortunately, that was life. Things happened even when they were absurd, even when they where undesirable.They had charged Hamish and his aide, Sparks, with manslaughter, attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder. Whenever Reynolds thought about it, he shook his head. It was bad. If either of the two men received a light sentence, it would be life. That was what Hamish got for throwing his life away. On the other hand, the world had not skipped a beat. The three of them had recovered fully (at least physically) himself, Kayla, and the Chairman. The Chairman was no longer a 'Chairman,' corporately, legally, and technically. To Reynolds he was now only a father in-
Sparks was looking for that one lucky strike.He had tailed Hamish, parked far from sight, approached the building on foot, scaled the fence and come in unnoticed. All according to plan. He knew Hamish was with Reynolds already, and they had been speaking for a few minutes. Hopefully, the stage was well set for his arrival.He went round the building, loathing that he had to use the stairs instead of the elevator. His job always sucked and he hated it.The building was generally deserted as planned. Yes... perfect. At the bottom of the stairs he paused, said a lucky prayer, then set the timer on his watch. Ten minutes for everything... Godspeed.****Hamish and the Chairman stared at each other in bewilderment for seconds."I heard you son. Everything you said," his father told him. For a moment Hamish's mind was blank as he stood transfixed, still holding Reynolds at gun point. Slowly he collected himself, becoming even angrier."I'm not upset at you. Only disappointed. But I don't
If there could be any reason to spare Sparks life and dispose of him, it was the fact that he had an instinct. He hadn't been a henchman these years for nothing. He knew a trap when he saw one. So, when he phoned the doctor requesting to have the package ready by noon, he became aware that he was not speaking to him.Well, technically, he was. But situationally, he wasn't. The doctor was damaged goods now. He sensed that the guy was bugged.How it happened, he had no idea. But it happened real fast.He phoned Hamish and told him. They'd have to take care of the guy, but not too soon, so they don't throw off a scent. It was a tricky situation for the tricky-minded. The better move now, Hamish told him, was to go directly for Reynolds.There were reasons for this. Beforehand, he had noticed that Kayla had vanished from the hospital ward where she was being treated. Of course, he didn't ask questions or raise suspicions (since the hospital staff couldn't link him to Kayla). But Hamish
There was one more person to put away when the scheme was done with. That doctor.As much as Hamish hated to deal with it, another clumsy character on the scene meant another loose end. He was going to go all out till he got his package... and till it worked. They he'd pay the man in full before making him disappear.Of course basic logic would question his choice of paying first. He just thought it necessary to stick to one's part of a deal no matter what. So he'd pay the man's family for his service, then kill him. He knew he'd needed a new aide for that job, since Sparks would have to go, too. Either in the process or after the process.In fact, he had started to feel a sense of urgency to do away with Sparks before something spilled. The man was already becoming disgruntled. He was already becoming too important. Nobody became too important with Hamish.But first Sparks needed to get the dirty work done, before he eliminated and dissociated him.****When Benny launched himself
Doctor Benny liked the concept of a bright future. He had always liked it and other terms like it. Future. Success. Opportunity. Yes, that one. Opportunity. There wasn't very much of it for him in his profession. He wasn't poor or anything—of course he had stuff to be grateful for. But he sensed it could be more. So he tried to get more.Wen he had got the call from Hamish's aide to get a lethal solution ready, he, as any rational person, did not like it. But what choice did he have? His wife was a compulsive shopper and his children sometimes forgot he wasn't a billionaire. So he asked himself what he had to lose and the answer was not much. He didn't know if he had a strong or weak conscience. He only knew he could use the money they were offering. He took the offer. He had hoped it would be a one-off thing. Prepare the solution, have it delivered, get his money, forget any of it ever happened. Now it was staring him on the face. That was the problem with crime. It made for str
Impatiently, the Chairman waited for Rey to arrive. More than clarity, he needed to prove to his son-in-law—and himself—that he was mistaken. If they hadn't been from Rey, he would have paid the messages no heed. He found it rather confusing under the given circumstances. He waited in his topfloor office in the conglomerate that morning, when he should have been busy with other concerns. Reynolds needed to explain. It was not that the strings had no connection whatsoever. No, the Chairman wasn't imprudent. It was the way they connected. And the who they connected to. Those were the things he could not accept. At least, not without hard, infallible proof.His desk phone beeped and he picked it up. It was Rezei, asking if he wanted to see Reynolds."Yes, let him come," he said. Then he glanced sharply at the central air conditioner, feeling like the temperature in the room had fallen by a hinedered degrees Celsius in one second. The door opened almost immediately to reveal Reynolds
Hamish was painstaking meticulous at planning. He knew when things could go slow, when they could go fast, and when they needed to go fast. Killing Rey was a fast game. It had to be if it would be played, as it was also a cagey game. Not that he was not a cagey man, or that he doubted his own genius. His master-mind. Rather, because he knew that perfection was not cheap, and if you were going to kill your next-door neighbour without taking a dent, you required perfection.He had two usable routes. One was direct: strike Rey. This required precision and care, seeing as the man had become his father's favourite. The other was a bit more accommodating: Strike Rey through Kayla. That is, strike Kayla, and when it impacted and exposed Reynolds, he’d then put the man to rest permanently.Being the genius that he was, Hamish kept both routes open. It would be like a double barrel, a kill-both-birds-with-one-stone formula. He was almost enjoying the prospect. All his track would be clean.
The police never got around to finding Riker. He was ghost, they said. Came and went as he pleased. In truth, he was aboard the next flight out of the country after the Johns foiled his coup. With his absence came peace. The Chairman gave Reynolds a position in the company to work alongside Hamish. Kayla's baby continued to grow, her belly ballooned, pushing against her buttons. For the couple and the Johns, the world seemed a kindlier place.All except Hamish.He was angered by the turn of events, especially with Reynolds' new position as his managerial superior. Bloody Reynolds? His Superior! They had no inkling what he was capable of. Maybe he would have to show them. By himself this time. He would restore his honor by taking out all his enemies and their accomplices, in any form they manifested. Including those who directly limited him, and those who did so indirectly, by being dumb and sluggish, by playing with his goals.The first, perfect victim would be Grant.Luckily, a d
The tracker vanished all of a sudden and Jovian's head jerked with a start. He had been watching his wearable monitor almost boredly up till it happened. “What the--?" He spat."What?" asked Ceneau who had also been observant."Do we move?" one of the aides asked. Jovian nodded. He dd not want to say that the tracker had been lost. They'd just drive to where it was last seen.Everybody prepared hastily. Even Ceneau fiddled with a rifle he probably couldn't use. They piled in and hit the gas, hard.****The first thing Reizei did was strike the overhead sensor. He guessed that damaging it could shut the mantap on one end (for both doors) and lock half the guards out momentarily. And it worked. The only people to cross were the three of them, Riker, and about half the escort party.Once Reynolds grabbed the nearest guard's gun, he had acted, ramming his fist into the circular sensor above his head. There were screams, including his.The Chairman scrambled. The guard behind Reizei gra