The cool evening air kissed her face as she sped down the freeway with the windows rolled down.The events of the previous day kept replaying in her mind.She'd been drugged and assaulted by Kingston Luxe but somehow, on the insistence of her mother, here she was, on her way to Luxe Holdings headquarters to see her assailant.Rhonda had never been one to be ruled by her emotions—head over heart always. It's why she'd been able to keep the company running despite the ups and downs. This was also why she had seen the reason behind her mother and sister's worries.Yes, they were being selfish, but Rhonda could not deny the fact that they needed the Luxe family.The Luxe holding headquarters was situated in the heart of the city.Its chrome and glass walls and domed shape gave it an intimidating look and made it stand out from other buildings in the vicinity.She found a spot in the parking lot and eased in. Pulling out a compact mirror, she inspected her looks once more before stepping o
The one who looked to be the leader stepped forward. He was the tallest of the four, and his nose was bent at an awkward angle as a result of being broken multiple times."We're not here for you, Miss Carter." He turned towards Elijah."We've been ordered by Dr. Frederick Hill to escort you to his residence," He said, arms folded across his chest.Elijah was a little surprised, but his face remained stoic.Dr. Frederick Hill was a well-known name in the medical and business world. He was highly sorted, and his services were only rendered to the rich and privileged, but that didn't faze Elijah at all."Tell him I'm deeply flattered, but as you can see, I'm presently occupied," Elijah replied, sounding bored."I'm afraid we have to insist," Broken Nose said, taking a step closer."I said, " I refuse his offer. "Unlike you, I don't take orders from Dr. Hill," Elijah said, maintaining his ground."We don't want to have to do this the hard way, sir. You either come with us peacefully or we
Mr. Nathan Luxe was seated at a table in the right corner of the restaurant waiting for his guests.A waiter dressed immaculately in a crisp white shirt and maroon pants stood beside him meekly while he perused the wine menu.He didn't see his guests arrive until he heard his name being called. He glanced up from the menu and smiled warmly at Winnie Carter.Putting aside the wine menu, he stood up and offered his hands. "Miss Winifred Carter. Pleasure. Looking lovely as always.""Thank you, Mr. Luxe. You're looking well yourself." They shook hands firmly."I don't believe I've met your associate," Nathan Luxe said, referring to Elijah."He's a friend accompanying me, Mr. Luxe," Winnie replied evasively.Elijah shook hands with Nathan Luxe, and they all sat down as the waiter reappeared with more menus."My son will be here shortly. He excused himself to go use the restroom only moments ago," Nathan Luxe said, picking up the wine menu to resume perusing."Your son?" Elijah asked just
A crisp black Lexus LFA pulled to a stop in front of Helena's. The chauffeur hurried over to the back, carefully pulling the door open. Black stilettos came scrapping against concrete before the full frame of a woman became visible. Rhonda parted the strands of hair threatening to cover her face to the side, as she observed the restaurant for a few seconds. It wasn't that packed, exactly the way she liked."If I'm not out in two hours, call me." She said to her chauffeur. He bowed his head a little, as she walked ahead.Inside the five-star restaurant, it didn't take long to locate Nathan Luxe. His head covered with grey hair was a dead giveaway. She approached the group, not exactly taking note of who was present, or not. It wasn't until she was standing before the table, that she realized what she had walked into. Unfortunately, it was a little too late for regrets. The tension her presence offered could be cut with a blunt knife. And as she stood awkwardly, waiting for the next lin
"Sorry for wasting your time. I took a quick detour to the restroom." Nathan said, joining the group again.The first thing he noticed as he sat down was the subtle tension at the table. He hid a smile, very much aware there was a developing story here."Perhaps the point of this meeting will finally be made known? Or should I just leave?" Winnie who had been quiet the whole time finally spoke.Elijah quietly took note of the testiness in her voice. She never allowed her frustrations to slip through, so something was bothering her."You're right. I should apologize once more for the distractions. Of course, we can discuss now, but in private." He took a glance at Elijah, who instantly understood what he was saying."Do you want me to leave?" He directed at Winnie."Yes." She replied, without looking up at him."Okay." He quickly rose to his feet and walked away.Rhonda's eyes followed him until he disappeared out of sight. She hadn't wanted to, but she couldn't help noticing he had as
Winnie stepped out and was immediately joined by her driver, who escorted her to the car. She stepped into the back seat and almost jumped out when she saw someone already seated."What the hell!" She grabbed her chest, realizing it was only Elijah."Hey, you're finally done." He said with zero emotions in his voice that acknowledged her surprise."You're still here?" She began to relax, as her breath returned to normal."Oh, I would have left if you wanted me to. Thought I should stay cus we came together." That made her pause midway into putting on her seatbelt, and she turned to him."Weird." She said, after what felt like a whole hour."What's weird?" He settled into his seat, as the car began to move."Nothing." She shook her head, returning her attention to the road.He sensed something was off. Could tell she was not completely being honest with him, but he wasn't the one to push things. When the time was right, she was going to tell him why she was acting strange. But first, h
The event had already started when Elijah, and Winnie stepped in. Elijah heavily underestimated the kind of presence a party hosted by Nathan Luxe was bound to garner, until he spotted the president of Flames Electronics, casually conversing with another person he was certain was a big shot too."Some party right?" Winnie said, and he nodded in agreement.They were still standing looking around when a man approached Winnie. Soon she was thrown into a conversation with him that told Elijah he needed to move. This party was not just for the rich to converge, and have fun. It was also a networking opportunity if you were smart enough to capitalize on it. Slowly, he surfed through the crowd. His eyes shot past a man standing beside Kingston Luxe too quickly. Slowly, it returned, resting on the guy with the silver eyes. A jolt of electricity suddenly passed through his veins, and against the will he had cultivated for the past five years, he was transported back to ten years ago.—TEN YE
"When you think of a fox, the first thing you associate with them is their cunning ability. Kitsunes or fox spirits are highly intelligent creatures. They can possess nine tails in a lifetime. The higher the tails, the stronger they are. It's difficult to tell who is one at first glance. They live in human bodies and act normal. But some people can tell. If you're a believer of the extraordinary, you may even be inclined to believe they're in our midst." By the time he was done speaking, Winnie was transfixed. She couldn't tell you half of what he had just said, because she was more interested in the glow his face took every time he just rambled on. For a man who didn't exactly fit in their world, the world of the rich, and elite. Sometimes, it felt like he was above them all."Are you okay?" He waved across her face when she didn't react.She blinked and pulled her face away. Taking the last drop of the drink in her glass to wet her dried tongue, she raised the empty glass, signaling
A crowd gathered at the streets of Quantum City to watch the elites light up the place.They were all grateful to have been invited to the fundraising of Colin Trust. It was rare to be invited to these events, or that the events were even held in public.Amongst the people in that crowd weird Cleo and Tobias.Tobias was waiting for the signal he needed before he did what he prepared to do. As he turned his head around, he came face to face with Laura Anderson.She drew closer, and stopped in front of him. “The least you could do was answer my calls, you know? My mother was dying in the hospital, and I needed your help. I know about everything done to Elijah, so you can't even use that as an excuse. I just needed to talk to someone,” she said, tears in her eyes.Cleo was ready to go off when she turned and saw Laura Anderson. “You're the one that has a crush on my boyfriend,” she said before Tobias could respond.Laura painfully tore her gaze from Tobias, and turned to Cleo. “So you're
Lexington knocked at Elijah's door at seven in the evening, and the door was immediately opened by Cleo.“Hey, you came,” she said, stepping aside so he could go through.He found Tobias, and the god in the living room, but Winnie was nowhere to be found.“Where's Winnie?” He asked.“What do you mean, where's Winnie? Isn't she supposed to be with you?” Tobias asked.“No. She texted that she would be spending the night here, and I told her I'd pick her up for the fundraiser this evening,” he replied.“Are you sure? Because I'm pretty certain she received a call from you shortly after you left, and zapotec out to receive it.”“Wait a second,” Lexington took a step forward. “You're trying to tell me you haven't heard from her since she stepped out to receive a call?”“She said you wanted to speak to her. When we heard her car drive away, we assumed she was going to meet up with you,” but as Cleo said it, she began to realise the situation was not as straightforward as it seemed.Lexingto
“Leave me alone. Just go away,” Elijah muttered over and over again, as he scraped the walls of his cell with his fingers.It had gotten dark, and everytime it was dark, the voices got louder and more menacing.“Elijah?!” The most off-putting of all the voices sounded.He knew who he belonged to, but he couldn't quite place it. His mind was too disorganised.“Leave me alone,” he begged.“Why? You don't want to be reminded of your sins? I thought you were a self righteous prick!”“I didn't do it,” he shook his head continuously. “I didn't. An accident. She did it. She caused it.”Darius laughed. “But no one that matters knows. In the papers, you're a murderer. You need to see the paper stands, and the news on the city's projector screens. They're all carrying your face and your crime. Maybe you should have publicised your healing abilities. If you had, the, would have been more inclined to support you.” he laughed maniacally.“I'm innocent. I'm innocent,” Elijah repeated.The more he s
“You're a murderer! A monster. You've claimed you save lives. You claim you can't fight the urge to be a messiah to ailing people. Look at you now. A murderer!”“Leave me alone! Leave me!” Elijah closed his ears, and dropped to the ground in a ball.He rolled from one end of the room to the other, trying to wade off the voices in his head.Still, they didn't relent. The more he tried to keep them away, the more they laughed and mocked him.“Do you know how many people you killed?” Another baritone voice began in a singsong tone.“Not one,” one shrieked.“Not even two,” another thundered.“Not five either,” a third chirped.“So many!” The first voice screamed and broke into a feat of laughter.“No, I didn't mean to. It was a mistake. A setup. Please. Mercy!” He begged, and cried.“No, you did! You put on the ring when you knew how blood thirsty it was. You wanted this. Craved it, because deep down, you're truly a monster!”“No I'm not!” He screamed back.“Yes you are!”“No I'm not!”“Y
They were driving along the highway when Avery turned on the radio and began to sing along to the music being played.“You haven't changed that much,” he said, as she sang.Despite the volume turned all the way up, she could hear him clearly.“It's the curse of being a star, my darling.” She continued singing loudly, pulling a head shake out of his head.He didn't care what she chose to do. The only thing he was happy about was the fact he had managed to get the sixth herb. Despite every setback be had to face, it was just the remaining two left.His thoughts became bothered as he wondered what they were going to be. He assumed if he hadn't seen it yet, it was because of how life threatening they were bound to be.He didn't care though. No matter what it was, he planned on doing it just to see his mother up and about again.She had spent so much time being unconscious, she probably didn't know how the world worked anymore.“Why aren't you singing? You just achieved a major feat. You s
Avery shot forward, and dropped to the ground beside him.“Elijah!” She smacked his chest.“Move!” He screamed at her. “It's just the ring. It's trying to control me,” he explained.“Oh,” she looked reluctant to leave him alone, nervously twisting her head from side to side. “Is there something I can do to help you out? Tell me, and I'll do it,” she asked desperately.“Just move, Avery. Move please,” he pleaded.“Okay,” she rose to her feet. “But I'm not moving far away. Just in case you need my help.”He sighed and rose to his feet. She was stubborn, but it was understandable. She just wanted to help.“You listen to me,” he spoke through his bringing the ring to his face. “You're not going to keep doing whatever the fuck you want to do. I'm going to get that herb, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it!” With every word he spoke, his tone grew higher and higher, until the veins on his forehead formed a poll of creasing mass.With a determined stride, he pushed forward an
Elijah drove to a stop in front of the Trusts mansion.“There's a way we can play this off without alerting Colin's boys. But if you want to go the badass route, then we can just walk in.”“What way?” Elijah asked, his trouble sensing tingling.“With your tongue shoved down my throat. They'd think we're in heat and just want to make love. Without any questions asked, they would open the door and let us in.”“No!” He said, immediately she was done.“Okay, Mr God. Chill with the outburst. It was only a suggestion. It's either that, or we go in together. If we do, there's a chance one of them might recognize you and report back to Colin. Are you willing to risk that?”“I'm already here. I don't care if anyone recognizes me or not. All I want to do is get in there, take the herb, and get out.”“You say it like it's that easy,” she said, withdrawing her legs from the dashboard. “Doesn't it take a whole process? Or are you willing to risk the ring working against you?”“The ring feeds on vi
“We will have to return to the exhibition one after the other, though. Just follow my lead,” Winnie said.Elijah blinked multiple times as he tried to wrap his mind around Winnie’s enthusiasm. She had the biggest smile on her face, as if she had been waiting for this day all her life.“Are you ready?” she lifted her head, her gaze darting between Elijah and Avery.“I don’t know what exactly you’re trying to do. But I’m bored and down for anything, so let’s do it.” Avery shrugged. “That’s the spirit!” she pumped her fist, then turned to Elijah. “You?” she asked, eyeing him gently as she waited for his response.“Do I have a choice?”“No!” Both Avery and Winnie screamed in unison.“Fine.” He threw his hands into the air in surrender. They stood aside, as Winnie stomped her foot on the ground twice before storming towards the exhibition room.“It’s not just me, right? She’s really enjoying this.” Elijah observed out loud.“Yeah buddy. You got yourself a show girl. In other words, a dra
Elijah thought about it for all but twenty seconds before he shook his head, rejecting the idea. “No. I absolutely cannot use Winnie that way. If I have to wait until the day of the fundraiser, then so be it.”“Look, I get it. Winnie is special to you. She’s the one you love, or whatever. Regardless, this is your best shot. Colin knows that you’re a god.”“What!” he raised his brow, temporarily startled?“I had to tell him about us, because he pretty much figured out the basics. Anyway, that’s not even the case right now. If you don’t find a way to sneak into the house soon, he’s going to set you up so bad when the time comes, I’m afraid you may not be able to escape the ambush.”He let her words sit in his head for a few minutes. His biggest enemy at the moment was time. By all indications, Colin planned on using the next weekend for his fundraiser. This would make it exactly one week from today. In a way, he could admit Avery was right. He had to move fast if he wanted to thwart C