"So, how exactly is Mr. Luxe causing your business trouble?" Winnie asked.
"It's not Mr. Luxe himself, but rather his son, Kingston. And it's my ex-wife's business not mine," Elijah swiftly clarified.
Winnie was taken aback, as she found it unusual for most men to be concerned about their exes. "You're still invested in your ex-wife's life even after the divorce," she remarked.
Elijah heaved a sigh and his expression remained stoic. He didn't feel the need to elaborate. "It's just... complicated," he replied.
Winnie, seated at her sleek L shaped desk, tapped her manicured nails thoughtfully. "I'm truly sorry to hear about the divorce. If I recall correctly, your ex-wife is the CEO of Prestige Enterprise, isn't she?"
"Yes, that's her."
"Okay, I'll handle the Luxe situation. Don't worry about it." Winnie paused, and took a deep breath. "But I need a favor in return."
Elijah's interest piqued, and he paced around in a small invisible circle. "What do you need?"
Winnie's voice softened, a hint of vulnerability lacing her words. "My grandfather's health has worsened. I fear he's nearing the end. Despite consulting the finest doctors, they've been unable to find a cure. This time, I'm relying on you to assess him."
"Hmm, but you know that my methods don't always align with standard practices. Are you comfortable with that?"
"I don't care," Winnie declared, urgency edging her voice.
"Your family might," he cautioned.
"I'm aware. That's why I've made arrangements to relocate him secretly, away from prying eyes."
"Alright." Elijah stopped pacing, placing his hands on his waist. "And what about the stuff I tasked you with finding?"
Winnie's lips curved into a subtle smile. "I believe I may have already located one of what you seek. Whether I'll share it with you, well, that hinges on our arrangement. Save my grandfather, and I promise, I'll spare no effort to obtain anything you need, no matter how far I must go."
Elijah’s eyes brightened, feeling intrigued. "Which one have you found?"
"The Devil's twig." Winnie was satisfied with his reaction.
Devil's twig was one of seven rare herbs that Elijah needed to save his mother's life and now,he’s finally one step closer.
Breathing heavily,he said eagerly,:” I’ll come to you right now.”
"I'll be sending someone to get you. Where are you?"
"The Starlight Suites."
"Alright."
After ending the call, Elijah made his way outside, seeking some fresh air. As he stepped out, he noticed his mother-in-law giving money to Anita. He suddenly became aware that she had planned the event that caused his divorce.Approaching them, Elijah's cold aura radiated from his every step.
Anita, catching sight of him, hurriedly made her exit.
"Leaving so soon?" Elijah blocked his mother-in-law's path.
Tiana's eyes flashed with disdain. "Have you lost your senses entirely?"
"I saw what you did with Anita. The exchange of money for your scheme."
Tiana scoffed, disbelief etched in every line of her face. "You're weaving fantasies, Elijah. You'd go to great lengths, even stoop so low, to save face, wouldn't you?"
His fury surged, ready to spill over, but he took a deep breath to calm down.
"I'm not weaving fantasies and you know this," Elijah asserted, striving to contain his temper.
"Even if that was true, who's going to believe you?" Tiana asked with a wicked smirk. " You’re just a shameless man who cheated on his wife. And your mother must be a shameless slut to raise a son like you. And it's clear you've taken on her slutty ways!"
Elijah's blood ran cold.
No one could insult his mother like that!
A cold aura flew out of his body while he stared at Tiana who couldn’t help but shudder underneath Elija’s aura.
She had never seen the look she had just seen in his eyes ever since she met him.
“H-how dare you stare at me like that,you bastard!”
With a swift motion, she aimed to slap him, but he caught her wrist in a tight grip before the slap could land on him. Giving it a little squeeze, Tiana yelled in pain.
"Help! Someone, please help me! He's attacking me!" Tiana's cry pierced the once calm lobby, shattering its peace.
"Help! Security! Help! He's killing me." Tiana's scream cut through the air, drowning out any semblance of peace. She held Elijah by the waist of his trousers and refused to let go. A growing crowd watched the turmoil unfold, a sea of curious onlookers drawn by the escalating event.Elija grit his teeth, raising his eyebrow,looking at his ex mother-in-law’s clumsy performance. Though he had the strength to remove her hand from his trousers easily.The hotel security sprang into action at the sound of Tiana's piercing scream, moving towards the unfolding scene."What's happening here, Mrs. Anderson?" The head of security, familiar with Tiana, swiftly positioned himself at her side.All eyes in the vicinity fixated on the resolute security guards flanking Tiana."Why did it take you so long, Rack? This man has been abusing me both verbally and physically because my daughter divorced him. I insist he is detained for his actions," Tiana proclaimed, displaying her bruised arm before the
Rhonda was taken aback, her heart pounding in disbelief. "He did what?" she exclaimed. "Now, why would Elijah do that? Why would he get into a physical altercation with you, mom?"Rhonda had been with Elijah for some years, and he had never shown a hint of violence. Her mother's claim seemed incomprehensible."He- he was taking out his anger on me," Tiana replied, her voice trembling. "He said I'm the reason for the divorce. I'm telling you, if the security men had not come, he would've killed me."Rhonda couldn't quite believe her mother. She gripped the phone tighter. "Mom, please, you have to stop with all these. I don't believe Elijah would hit you, let alone try to kill you. Can you please stop making more trouble for me? I can't bear the emotional turmoil any longer. You've already done enough."On the other end of the line, Tiana's voice wavered with surprise. "Rhonda, I never thought you would doubt me. It's rude to question your mother. You should trust my words without rese
Elijah's gaze remained steady, revealing little emotion. "That seems none of your business."Winnie, sensing the tension, interjected with a clipped tone. "I'm sure you two can argue ethics later, but for now I need your cooperation."David, still skeptical, glanced between them and scoffed. "I don't see how we can work together. We're dealing with a delicate case here."Winnie turned to Elijah, who simply nodded his acknowledgement and said, "I'll do my best."Elijah did have a teacher, but due to his reclusive nature, he kept this information tightly guarded. He chose to maintain a low profile, even if it meant occasionally bending the truth about his background.Winnie briskly cleared a portion of the cluttered table, her eyes focused intently on the men."Well, gentlemen, don't just stand there," she urged.In a swift response, Dr. David, seemingly engaged in a silent competition with Elijah, sprang into action. He began by checking old man Carter vital signs, noting an irregular
The table scraped against the floor as Winnie stood, her eyes widening in alarm at Elijah's ominous caution about Dr. David's herb mixture for her grandfather."Death? How could these herbs possibly lead to that?" she questioned, her voice echoing her concern.Dr. David, visibly upset, shot Elijah a disapproving glance. "Mind your words, young man. My medicine won't cause anyone's death. Are you out of your mind?"Elijah, maintaining his composure, calmly responded, "I'm not crazy. While your medical knowledge is vast, there are aspects to healing beyond textbook sciences."Elijah wasn't just good at helping people get better. He was skilled in both healing and poison, and also knew the cure for most poisons. "Enough!" Dr. David bellowed, thumping his foot on the ground, prompting a groan from Winne's grandfather."Now, look what you've caused," Elijah pointed at Winne's grandfather."Could you both just take a step back?" Winnie asked, stepping between both of them. "Elijah, why wou
"What have I done? I've done nothing, but save this man's life you moron!" Elijah said tersely. Winnie gently held her hand beneath her grandfather's nostrils. Briefly, it felt as if his breath had halted, but it was merely a pause as he inhaled. Moments later, he exhaled, the warmth of his breath brushing against her finger."He's alive!" Winnie exclaimed, her eyes beaming up at Elijah. "My grandfather is still breathing." Observing Winnie's joyful response aimed at Elijah rather than himself, Dr. David snorted, "Clearly, it was my herbs that healed your grandfather, Miss Winnie. Given a few more seconds, his convulsion would have ceased. Mr. Elijah, once again, attempts to take credit away from me. He is an opportunistic scoundrel who has consistently sought to steal my success since entering this room."Winnie, absorbed in expressing her excitement through repeated kisses on her grandfather's cheeks, paid zero attention to Dr. David. "Are you genuinely convinced it was your herb
The connection was severed before Elijah could deliver a response. Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he swiftly packed his belongings. Winnie, observing the sudden shift, stared at him in surprise."What's going on?" she asked, a mixture of concern and confusion in her voice.Elijah paused for a moment, contemplating how much to share. "I have to go. There's an emergency."Winnie's eyes widened with realization. "Is everything okay?"Elijah nodded, reassuring her, "I'll handle it.""Can't I help? What if you need assistance?"Elijah appreciated her concern but shook his head. "This is something I need to handle alone. Your grandfather needs you here. I'll be back as soon as I can."Winnie nodded,:“Alright. Let me know if you need any help from me.”Elijah offered a small, appreciative smile, and without responding turned to leave.As Elijah stepped out of the building, a surge of anticipation raced through him, ignited by the abrupt end to Rhonda's call."Please save me. I'm at…
"Did everyone catch that?"The leader turned to each side, earning nods from his subordinates. "He says he doesn't give a hoot about the Luxe family. Now, I hate to repeat instructions but I'm going to give you one last chance to turn around and leave."Elijah, unfazed, asserted, "I've got business inside, and not even a hundred of you are going to keep me out."Anger and irritation flashed in the guard leader's eyes and his fist hurtled toward Elijah. With swift reflexes, Elijah intercepted the punch, countering with a forceful blow that landed squarely on the man's nose. Staggering backward, he cradled his bleeding nose, invincible stars spinning over his head.When they saw their leader being attacked, the other guys rushed at Elijah. He grabbed one guy and used him to knock down two others. Then, he quickly moved back, dodging a kick and breaking the assailant's leg with his elbow. You could hear the bone crunching.The guys pulled out their guns, and Elijah swiftly changed the
“L-let me go,Elija will come to you,he won’t let you go if you dare touch me.” Rhonda uttered weakly.“Your useless ex-husband? “ Kingston said with a smirk,”Well,then I’ll be waiting for him. You little bitch.”With a forceful motion, Kingsley pulled her bra off, revealing her bare form. He sniffed the fabric, savoring the fragrance with satisfaction, before casually tossing it onto the floor. Swiftly, he unfastened his belt and bound her hands with it. He briefly slid off her, discarding his underwear.Elijah's senses jolted as Rhonda's desperate scream pierced the air, followed by a bone chilling silence.Without a second thought, he propelled himself down the corridor, traversing the long distance from room 005 to 010 into a blur of crazy speed.Bang!The door came crashing down with the force of his adrenaline-fueled kick. His protective instinct was now in full swing. Kingston, caught off guard, had no chance to register the shock before Elijah seized his arm, forcefully pul
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