"Hope there's no problem? You sound like it's something serious." Mandy adjusted, genuinely concerned.
"I'm fine, trust me. Like I said, it's for my ex, May."
"Hmmm. What about May? Never knew you updated your status yet. You hinted it earlier but thought I simply heard wrongly ."
"No, you did not. May and I are separated.... since this afternoon but that's not the point now. I need you to see that Lucien Enterprise keep their part of the deal and quit stressing May out already" He sounded a bit too serious in his own ears and hated it. Maybe he was becoming too desperate for things to work out.
"Relax. I will see to that right away, trust me and quit stressing" Mandy cleared her throat, a known act when she wants to pry.
"But why do you care so badly? I mean— she's your ex now"
"We're exes not enemies, Mandy. Maybe I should get back to work now. Ttyl!" Declan was about to hang up.
"Wait... One more thing. My grandpa's illness has persisted.I need your help." Mandy's voice dropped in a low worrisome tone.
Her grandfather's constant illness despite every effort to cure him was weighing heavily on her shoulders. She doesn't want to loose him and this time, his life seemed to be hanging on a thin thread.
"Alright. I will be on my way right now.
" Declan crooned, taking hint of the critical situation."Thank you so much, Declan. " Mandy's voice had a glimpse of her affectionate self. Her face lit up in a sudden remind and Declan could tell from the light chuckle that escaped her throat.
"Out with it, Mandy. I can tell there's something else."
"Oh you know me so well don't you. My head decided to save the best part for the last."
"I'm all ears"
She cleared her throat in the most dramatic way that made Declan's chin lift in a light smile.
"Well? I found it!"
"What did you find?" Declan's voice was thick with oblivion.
"The herbs, dumb. Now we can guarantee we're one step ahead."
"Really, Mandy? This is great news! Definitely the best thing I have heard today. I should be on my way already."
"See you in a jiffy." Mandy was smiling so hard that her cheeks turned red.
Declan was excited too. He had waited forever for that moment. That was the First herb anyway but it was proof his plan will pull through. He couldn't wait for everything to finally work out and for him to get his life back.
Hanging up the phone, Declan laid staring at the ceiling for a moment. He did a mental calculation on how things were going and was pleased so far.
He finally got up and was out of his hotel room. Going down to the basement and about to enter his car, something he saw struck him.
"Wait a minute. Is that not the lady from earlier? Don't tell me this— No way this woman set me up"
He stood stunned and watched his mother-in-law, Clara hand an envelope to the same lady she had accused him of sleeping with. It dawned on him at that moment that Clara may have planned it all from the beginning .
"Poor May" He looked around and she was nowhere to be found. He could swear May knew nothing about her mother's plotting.
"I knew about your corny ass but never imagined you could go this low."
Declan matched up to Clara just in time before she could enter her car.
"And what's that supposed to mean, Declan? What are you doing down her" Embarrassed, Clara glanced around hoping no one was at earshot.
"You and I know what I mean. I just saw you hand an envelope to the slut you accused me of sleeping with!"
"I beg your pardon. I won't stand and watch you slander my name and integrity. I'm nothing like your low ass!" She continued to glance around in obvious discomfort.
"Oh really? You're also a pathetic liar. Not in the slightest surprised though."
"How dare you? You don't stand before me and utter such degrading words. How can I blame you? I blame my daughter for settling for a lowlife."
"I wonder each day how of everyone in the world, the universe chose you as her mother. She would have been better off motherless."
Declan's words stung Clara and she grew furious.
"How dare you—!" She raised her hand to slap him but he held her hand before she could land it.
"Don't go too far!" He said coldly,staring at her emotionlessly.
"Did you just—" Clara was furious and lost of words. Somehow,his cold aura made her feel scared. She glared at Declan's hand gripping hers tightly and felt helpless. She looked up at Declan in a scowl.
"You will regret this day all your life!"
She turned and began to scream. "HELP! Somebody help me! This man is a stalker and wants to harm me!"
Tears instantly began to roll down her cheeks to Declan's amazement.
Clara didn't stop screaming, to Declan's amazement. He just stood still and watched her create a scene. She was beginning to attract people to where they were. "Are you alright ma'am?" A man in a security uniform walked up to them and asked first. "Please help me. This man right here tried to hit me! Oh gracious." "She's a blatant liar. I did no such thing." "Of course you did!" Clara brought out her other wrist and flashed it before the Security guard. She had an old injury on it but claimed it was a resulting injury from how Declan twisted her hand. Declan was amused by her gaslighting skills only that she tried it with him. "Can I take a close look ma'am?" "Please do" The security man surveyed the red wrist and assured her he would do something to help her. He stepped aside and spoke into his walkie-talkie. In no time, two other guards joined them, each standing at Declan's both sides. Clara had a few other people gather around her asking if she was okay. "He is a c
"You always do this, May. Do you also believe your mom to be Maniac?" Clara's voice was beginning to crack. She didn't expect May not to believe her. She needed just one person to stand by her, knowing fully well herself was a handful. "No mom. Don't do that. It's just that— I know Declan well enough and I can't imagine him as someone that will hit a lady....let alone my mother." May was disappointed at her mom but she didn't want to go too far and make her feel worse. "So you believe his words over mine? You shouldn't be rude to your mother but that's alright" Clara sniffed, to clearly prove that she wasn't okay" "The point here isn't who I believe over the other. I just want you to stay out of trouble. To be honest you've been doing too much lately and it's not good for either you or I. The company is—" "I've been doing too much, you say? Everything I did, I did it for your ungrateful ass. So don't dare castigate me like the rest!" "My bad. Wrong choice of words, sorry. I
Leo felt insulted by Declan's attitude and couldn't hide his hate any further. He walked up to where Declan stood and took the paper from him, folded it and tucked it into his chest pocket. "What if I told you I don't believe any single word you've uttered from your mouth?" Leo started to walk back to Mandy, his hands clenched together at his back as he spoke. "And I don't mean only your claim that you trained on your own. But also the whole facade you pulled on about being a doctor and scamming this desperate woman into falling for your tricks." He looked up to Declan, meeting his eyes. "You know what I think? I think you're an imposter and a quack who just showed up for a high pay. I'm not sorry to blow your cover but will ask nicely just this once, that you leave before I disgrace and make you lose what's left of your dignity." A dead silence came after Leo's last word. Declan smirked and shook his head disparagingly at Leo's attitude. He picked up the fact that Leo was ins
Leo and Mandy instantly turned to Declan in confusion. "What do you mean?" Mandy asked first. She would get pissed if Declan failed to give a reasonable explanation to the words he just uttered. "It's a deadly concoction that can leave anyone dead few seconds after it's been injected into them." He said firmly. He's not just knowledgeable in healing medicine, but also knew quite enough about poisons too. He could tell it easily just from the scent of that mixture. Mandy's gaze didn't leave Declan's face and she could tell he was dead serious. He wouldn't be so unreasonable to play a trick on her in a situation like this. But then there's Leo, who was highly recommended for his expertise. She had heard testimonials from patients he had treated before. "Don't tell me you're taking the words of this maniac seriously. I warned you about having him in here" Leo was furious at Declan's claims. He walked up to his face, anger flashing through his eyes. "How dare you slander me? Why
Grand pa Asher's breath normalized. He was still deep in a coma and needed a few more days before he woke up. "What the hell just happened" Mandy was in shock. Her hands vibrated. She clasped them together to stay still. She couldn't imagine what would have happened if Declan hadn't come through. "Wait Mandy... I can explain. He was going to be better from the antidote I gave him. We should have just waited a little longer ""Wait, you say? He was going to die, Leo! He was losing so much blood!""It's not as bad as you think. I mean.... the blood you saw was the toxins flushing out of his body. I made him better. That last concoction wasn't necessary. This man right here just wants to take the glory of what I did!""You're unbelievable! I can't imagine I trusted you with his life.""So you believe him over me now? He simply finished what I started. Yes! It was my antidote that made him better"Declan was amused at Leo's Chicanery. He was a con and a master at it. He definitely did
May didn't say another word to Declan and his worry skyrocketed. "May! May!" He screamed into the phone before the call dropped. He tried to call her back but her phone was suddenly switched off. "What's up with May? Is everything alright?" Mandy tried to hold down Declan, concern plastered all over her face. "I don't know what's up with her. She's definitely not fine from the way she sounded, now her phone is switched off. I need to get to her right away. " He picked up his jacket and dashed off immediately."Wait! The herb...." Mandy called after him. His medical herb she found was in a box somewhere in the room. She tried to get it out and hand it to him."I will come pick it up later." ***May laid on her back, staring emptily at the ceiling. Her eyes were drowsy and everything around her appeared in twos. Some even in threes. She made to get up but fell back on the bed. Her head hurt like hell and she felt like throwing up. She was in a hotel room that belonged to Nathan W
Declan looked at the men before him, fifteen of them. They were all in dark shades and their faces were expressionless "Step back!" One of them ordered again. Declan assumed he was their leader. Declan's fist clenched at his effrontery. They were wasting his time and that was enough to piss him off. "Where is she?" He relaxed his fist and asked casually. He was going to ask them just once. "Leave now while we're still nice" The leader warned, shoving one side of his blazer open to flash a black pistol. Declan smirked. It's been a while since he got challenged. He looked at all of their fifteen faces and already knew how to handle them. They outnumbered him, but he undoubtedly outmatched them. In a split second, Declan moved swiftly and grabbed the leader by his neck with his left elbow before he knew it. His right hand pressed the leader's gun on his head. "One move from any of you and he would be as gone as yesterday" Declan warned the other subordinates whose guns point
Declan instantly recognized her voice. It was May. What have they done to her? He was terrified at the possibility that they had harmed her. His heart pounded in his chest as he approached the door. "May! May!" He called her name, banging on the door but no answer. The door was locked from the inside but it didn't stop him. This door was stronger than the rest. He continued to bang on it, to at least get a reaction from in there. To be sure she was okay. His fears intensified the same way his energy surged at the moment. Without a rethink, he moved back and kicked the door open in one attempt. What he met in the room was worse than he imagined. May was lying unconscious on the bed stack naked.... alone. "May..."He called. He approached her then paused. May was covered in blood, in her own blood and was unconscious. She had hit her head on the bed frame when she was fighting off Nathan and he threw her back on the bed. The sharp edge of the bed had torn her skull.