"Good evening everyone, my name is Zara Queens." Zara started the live evening broadcast as she looked at the people in the broadcasting room with one final look through the glass barrier quite far from where the camera was on."And I am here to reveal the dirty secrets of Arizona Media." She said as the director's head raised up to look at Zara and the other people in the room. What the hell was she talking about? They thought. She was supposed to broadcast a certain news instead. The director waved at her from the room, but Zara looked at him then looked away."The Arizona Media isn’t what it seems. It is one of the corrupt media companies in the country. You might be wondering why I am doing this when I am its News Presenter, but I am…." Zara's sight of people running around trying to disrupt the news but poor them. It won’t be possible. Just like the trick they played to stop Trillion Dollars news from reaching out to the world, Dan had given her a kind of bug to fix in their syst
"That one is easy," August chuckled and turned to Dan. "We've got a mission, the reward for this one is a billion dollars.”“What?” Dan's eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he reeled from a mixture of anticipation and excitement.“Yeah, and I think this one is your thing," August said."I don't think so," Dan sighed. "Each task grows harder and harder."“It’s a Superhuman AI. Not just any superhuman AI, one that can do literally anything. You should be able to create that," August said optimistically as Dan's jaw dropped."Don't tell me…" August stopped when he realized Dan wouldn't be able to do it. "Shit!" He cursed out loud. “I thought you were a genius!” August exclaimed in frustration.“I am a genius in computers, not robotics! And what’s with the hilarious task? A superhuman AI that can do almost anything. I think this System is starting to play tricks on you, August,” Dan scoffed with an incredulous laugh, hoping August would suddenly say he was just joking.When August
August wore a hoodie as he bypassed the reporters who stood in front of the Arizona Group company. The issue with Arizona Media has blown up after the broadcast that day, and everyone now eyes the Arizona Group. August smiled to himself as he imagined the look on Dave’s face at the moment.Successfully inside the company, he walked up to the reception area where he met a receptionist with a wide smile. “Hi.” August flashed a charming smile, one he knew affected the ladies in the way he wanted.“Hi, sir. What can I do for you today?” She asked politely.“Ah…I am the maintenance guy for the robotics department. Here’s my ID.” August handed her a fake ID as the lady watched him with a nervous smile. August watched her closely as she examined the fake ID Dan had crafted for him. He had asked him to craft a fake ID for the biggest tech maintenance team in the country in a bid to gain access into the Arizona Group.“Hey, beauty. I haven’t got the whole day. Can I go in now?” August asked as
“Why? Scared I will take him away from you like I took Arya Stone back?” August asked with a cheeky tone. “How dare you, scumbag,” Dave glared at him angrily, his hand forming a fist to hit him at the same time. August tilted his head to the side before saying, “Take care of your people well, Dave. If you must know, I have found a new hobby.” He smiled before saying, “That is stealing your people,” he completed while Dave smirked, in a bid to hide the fact that the threat got to him. August Sullivan had proved to him that he was a hungry lion who would retaliate tenfold if anyone dared him. This man whom he thought he could contain was giving him the worst headache. What could he have done differently in the past to have stopped him? August smiled again and turned around as he headed towards the door; the smile disappeared from his face the moment he left Dave’s office. “That bastard,” he muttered as he hopped on his BMW and swerved out of the company’s building. A few minutes la
“What the hell just happened?” Dan breathed in disbelief the moment August went off the live chat. August took off the mask as he grinned at Dan.“I can’t believe they fell for your lies! Have people become so gullible?” Dan asked while August had a cocky smile plastered on his face as he reminisced on the one username that caught his attention.“The attention seeker,” he said out loud. “I need you to track a username for me,” he said all of a sudden, brushing off what Dan had said.“What’s that?”“AK’s username,” August said with confidence.“Are you hallucinating again?” Dan almost snapped at him.“No,” August shook his head. “I told you this channel was set up to lure AK out. And boom! He came out of his lair without me lifting a finger,” August shrugged.“And how are you so sure this user with the name The attention seeker is AK?” Dan asked with a knowing look. August pretended he was seeing reasons with me, then suddenly smiled. “While you were busy checking the stats of people t
August ditched taking his car out to work that day. He was too angry to drive. Whenever he felt like this, usually when he was overwhelmed or cornered, he would walk to unwind. He started to walk down the desolated path in the estate and out to the busy street.As he walked down the road, he pondered on Dave’s words. Was AK sick? Did he depend on Dave for support? A $500 million pill per month? What was that supposed to mean?He exhaled as he stopped by the traffic light with the other pedestrians. When the light turned green, he resumed walking with the others. Then, at that moment, from the corner of his eye, he saw a car coming on the third lane which had no cars. The car that was on the third lane, coming with full speed, seemed to not have its brakes. August noticed an older woman who was in front of him was at risk of getting hit by the car. So in a swift moment, he rushed towards her and stood in the middle of the car and the woman. He drew off the lane as he fell on him with h
August shifted and started to get off the bed. “What the hell are you doing, August? You shouldn’t be moving around just yet,” Lila almost cried in a frustrated tone as August stifled a groan and avoided her hand when she tried to hold onto him. “I’m fine. But I won’t if you both try to keep me while I get the answers to the questions I have been dying to get,” he hissed as Dan came to stand in front of him, his arms outstretched as he tried to stop me from making further steps.“What the hell, Dan?”“You are sick,” he said with a stern tone.“Nonsense,” August hissed. “AK is somewhere in this building and this might be my only chance to find out the mystery behind this $500 million pill.”“What? A $500 million pill?” Lila asked, surprised.August glanced around the huge hall where different beds were in, each patient had nurses or doctors attending to them but no one spared them a glance. “Close the curtains,” August instructed as he walked back to the bed.Dan did so immediately and
"What did you find out? Why the hell do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?" Dan immediately asked as August returned, while Lila focused on him, leaving the talking to Dan."Things have become tricky, Dan," August said as he explained all that transpired at the oncology department with the nurses."This is wild," Dan sighed, rubbing his chin and standing beside the curtain they had pulled down to avoid others listening in on their conversation."Maybe it’s a blessing that I got into the accident. I could use it as an excuse to stay here for more days to find out more information about Akash’s mother.""Who is Akash?" Dan asked as August eyed him warily."I can’t believe you don’t know the real name of the man you introduced to me," August rolled his eyes then continued. "The nurse called him Akash earlier, so I guess that’s the full name.""Oh…," Dan nodded slowly. "Big scientists like himself prefer to just have a stage name and stuff.""I will have to find a way to talk to that nurs
“I think you’re mistaken, Miss. I hope you can check through again in case you missed something….”“Are you trying to teach me my job?” The receptionist snapped, shocking Aliya with her abrupt outburst.A mere receptionist was talking to her rudely, and there was nothing she could do. They weren't in the same league, but if she caused a scene with this secretary here, what would the trillion-dollar company think of her?She pressed her lips together for a while, trying to suppress the growing anger within her.“I am not trying to teach you anything, Miss. I only want a chance to meet the chairman,” Aliya managed to muster in a calm tone.“And I am telling you right now that there is no room for you, Miss. Please leave, or I will have security drag you out,” she hissed impatiently and shifted her attention to the system in front of her.Aliya wasn’t sure how to behave afterward. Even from the beginning, this whole thing had worn her out. Pushing through was something she was barely cop
“I can’t believe you agreed to it just like that, Grandfather.” Simon walked into Pa West’s study room later that evening to vent. Even though he had looked calm when everything was concluded earlier, deep down he was pissed.“Don’t be such a fool. Didn’t you realize the stunt that loser was trying to pull? He is trying to delay the vote to take down his wife.” Pa West took a gulp of his liquor while seated on the luxurious leather seat in the room. He relaxed backward and gave a satisfied groan as the liquid went down his throat.“If we had dismissed his suggestion like that, the shareholders might start to think we only want to remove Aliya due to personal reasons. These people don’t give a fuck about sentiments. All they care about is profits. And Allen, that weird pauper, knew that and played his card well.” He placed his hand on his chin, a thoughtful look on his face. “I wonder how he got the idea to bring in the trillion-dollar company into this. He talks about the company like
“The both of you could compete for who could bag the contract with the trillion-dollar company,” August suggested with a confident look. “I am sure the owners won’t mind if they see that the West Corporation is enthusiastic to work with them.”“Don’t be ridiculous,” Simon chuckled as he tried to wave off the suggestion. “They would think the company is divided if my sister and I submit different proposals to them for the same company.”“And who said you would be the next chairman if it isn’t Aliya? What do you take me for?” Landon immediately cut in as Simon shifted his gaze slowly to meet his enraged brother.“Shut up and stop embarrassing yourself, Landon.” Pa West seemed to be pissed too as a deep frown formed on his face.Landon gritted his teeth as he tried to hold himself from speaking again. But he knew better. His grandfather, who was his only backer, was solidly behind Simon. It felt like all he had been working hard for was a waste. He had been fighting Aliya all this while
“This is why I keep talking about the importance of marrying people with brains. How could you just suggest something like that?” Landon spoke up, immediately seizing the opportunity to humiliate August again while August maintained his calm and composed look.He stared straight ahead without sparing Landon a look. He knew Landon was dying to see him crumble. Too bad he was done being a punching bag to them. This would be the beginning of their sorrows.“You always end up saying nonsense whenever you open that mouth of yours. What the hell do you know about business, huh?” Pa West asked.“Do you truly care about my sister? Do you actually want her to lose her position deep down?” Simon asked with a cocky grin. As always, he was the only one who made a point.Normally, they were supposed to just agree to it and watch Aliya fail because bagging a deal with a trillion-dollar company is like an ant trying to move a mountain. The West Corporation is a small company and not among the top th
Simon noticed how Aliya entwined her fingers together. He could already see how tense she was, and he would definitely use that to his advantage. He was always like this—watching with sharp eyes like an eagle and pouncing on his prey when they let their guard slightly down.“Are you tense, sister? If you’re uncomfortable about the whole arrangement and would prefer not to go through with it, you can just step down willingly. Everyone would understand that you’ve grown wary over the years and would like to focus on your family now,” Simon said with a cool gaze, making a face as if he was truly looking out for her.“Don’t be ridiculous, brother. Just because I am a married woman doesn’t make my career hopeless. Forget about stepping down—I dare you to say you are capable of handling West Corporation half as well as I have,” Aliya said in a cocky tone, causing Simon to clench his fist, which was placed on the table.It wasn’t always easy to get her brother to lose his composure, but when
“Did the beating affect your head? What the hell are you saying?” Aliya laughed, not taking his words seriously. He didn’t blame her. He is a pauper with nothing to his name. How could he possibly help her?“You will see how I will make everything easy for you.” August sat up, brushed away the hair covering her face, and placed a peck on her forehead. Aliya watched him, unsure how to react.She pressed her lips and watched him in silence as he lay back. “Could you get me an apple, please?” he asked politely.Aliya, who was deep in thought, shook her head as she came back to reality. She flashed him a smile and nodded. “Sure,” she said and started to walk out of the room.“Babe,” he called when she grabbed the doorknob and was about to open the door. “Make sure to take your time,” he said with a calm smile.Aliya gave him a half-suspicious look before nodding.Immediately after she left, August located his phone by the bed stand and dialed Lila.“That was quick,” she commented the mome
“I will do neither, and none of you has the right to make me do any of it if I don’t want to,” Aliya said stubbornly.“You are testing my patience, girl,” Pa West gritted his teeth. As Aliya made to say something, August held her hand. She turned to look at him, an almost helpless look on her face. August shook his head.“I don’t care,” Aliya still turned around to say. “You all should go to hell for all I care!” she blurted in annoyance and made to leave when Landon rushed after her and grabbed her other hand.Aliya swung around to find Landon staring deadly at her. He raised his hand to slap her. “How dare you speak to Grandfather like that!” he berated.August couldn’t believe what had just happened. He stared wide-eyed at his wife’s now reddened face. He grabbed Landon by the collar. “How dare you!” he fired at him.Landon had never seen August like this. August rarely spoke, but now he looked like an enraged lion about to pounce on its prey.“You crazy psycho. Get your hands off
“What! No!” Aliya blurted out almost immediately, glaring at anyone who dared to look at her.“Are you glaring at me right now because of this piece of trash?” Pa West asked, a disgusted look on his face as August's fist clenched. This wasn’t him. He wasn’t used to people treating him like trash. In the past, he would usually put whoever tried to cross him in their place. Dave's case was a perfect example. At that moment, he felt a sudden urge to reincarnate that part of him that he killed years ago.But he couldn’t do that. He had managed through all this while. Besides, he barely cared about insults as long as Aliya was still very much in love with him. But what he wouldn’t tolerate was anyone trying to take her away from him.“She is feeling like a big shot because Dad made her the CEO, Grandfather. Uncultured people like her, who are raised by nobodies, will always act like they want. It’s so disappointing,” Landon chipped in, indirectly insulting her mother.“How dare you insult
August walked into the room that seemed as quiet as a graveyard. It was the exotic living room of the Wests. They were among the wealthy people in the country, more like among the second tier when it comes to ranking from top to bottom. But theirs was the best of the second tier. They were not to be trifled with at all. With the kind of achievements Aliya had made for the company, it had grown significantly over the last five years. Besides that, August used his secret connections with influential people he had worked with in the past to help Aliya secretly.“Babe, you’re here,” Aliya said, walking toward him the moment she noticed August standing in the doorway.August was carried away by the sight of the familiar yet unfamiliar man sitting on the single-seat couch in the middle of the room. He suddenly realized why nobody bothered to use that particular seat in the room. It was reserved for someone.Pa West. The head of the West family who had been away from the family for the past