"Dad, I'm having another call from Ms. Elaine. And I think it's more urgent than yours." That was a big lie. I had to end the call before Celestine completely disappeared from my sight. "Can I call you back in a few minutes?" "Of course, son!" Dad replied and I could hear his overwhelming excitement from the other line of the phone which meant my attempt to lie to someone as smart as Dad worked. After the call ended, I put the phone back in my pocket and followed Celestine from afar. She went into one of the rooms. Imagine my surprise when the students greeted and addressed her as a professor. "Good morning Mrs. Stroem!" the students greeted her. "Good morning, class! So sorry for being late today. I had an early appointment with my OB gyne." Celestine explained. "Anyway, please open your book to page 45, and will continue discussing..." "She's a new professor at this school? Since when?" I frowned in disbelief as I kept myself hidden behind the wall. Far enou
Ten minutes later, I hopped out of the car and bolted to my condo with the soles of my shoes, not touching the surface of the ground. "Grams... Gramps! What are you all doing here instead of searching for him in the countryside?" I yelled at them from the distance. They could have reported the incident to the cops to help them analyze the case instead of traveling all the way to the city for three hours. They could have done a lot of things instead of wasting that long hours to get here. Imagine my surprise when my son's nanny dropped to her knees the moment I stood in front of Grams and Gramps. "I'm so sorry, Mr. Llamas," she uttered despite having a hard time breathing. Her eyes were swollen, and her face was soaked with profuse sweat and tears. She has been crying like for an entire day if I was not mistaken. "You should be," I replied as I looked at her with my eyes burning in rage. "Because if my son will not be found within a day, I don't know what I can do
As much as I hated the idea, Dad left me with no other choice. I must not let my guard down when Dad and I feel the same thing. So, I encouraged Grams and Gramps to follow Dad's order as I didn't want something bad to happen to them. Mom also waited for our arrival instead of coming into my apartment. The next morning, I followed Dad's advice to remain calm and trust him with the process. He was working hard on the case and promised me to get my son back by all means. "What time is the meeting with Sebastian?" I asked Jennie in the middle of her work. Jennie grabbed her iPad and scanned my calendar. "It's ten in the morning, Mr. Fisher. Do you want me to cancel or reschedule the meeting? Or if you're not ready to face him, John Dave and I can do that on your behalf." "No, that's not necessary. I will be meeting Sebastian's company, not as the Young Master, but as the CEO of my own company." I replied before I dropped a bulk of documents on her desk. Those were the
The cops didn't give me the chance to explain - to tell them my side of the story as they dragged me out of the meeting room by force. Jennie attempted to help me, but I refused to make sure the case would not get complicated. All my employees, including John Dave, were stunned and dumbfounded upon seeing me being handcuffed and assisted by five police officers heading to the main exit. I lowered my eyes to the floor to avoid making eye-to-eye contact with anyone in the office and pretended not to feel their sharp and penetrating stares toward me. As soon as we got out of the office, I was even more surprised when more people, mostly Dad's employees were looking at me with confusion and curiosity. Some stares were mixed with disgust and bothersome. "Isn't he the man who was beaten up by his friends the other day? Do you guys have any idea what he did this time?" "Couldn't agree more. He was also the man who caused the commotion last week. Many confirmed that h
A part of me wanted to burst into tears, to lash out, but I tried to toughen my core while sitting still in front of Dad. As much as I wanted to, he didn't deserve a single drop of it. I took a deep breath, composed myself, and calmly explained the situation. "Clark and his friends visited me in that fucking holding cell despite the non-disclosure agreement you let them sign," I added as I grit my teeth to surpass the pain that lingered on my wounded lips from talking. "And they bribed the cops so they could beat me up to death again." I looked deeper into Dad's sky-blue eyes to see if he had the slightest clemency for me at least. But no matter how hard I tried, I could not see any feelings of understanding or love for his son. "Of course." I continued, "How could you know all that? You protected them instead of me, your son - your family. You would rather see me being beaten to death than see them rot in jail because you were more afraid that your noble name to get
"Dad, what the hell is going on? Wasn't this supposed to be a family meeting only? What is that bastard doing here?" Clark blurted as we grabbed our seats at the huge wooden table. I can see the veins in his neck popping out in too much confusion and curiosity. Dad and Mom were seated next to Mr. And Mrs. Cedrick while Van was next to Elaine whom I finally met for the first time even after a few nights of conversations over the phone. She was indeed a goddess just like how Van asserted every time I asked him about her. I, on the other hand, was seated across from Clark, making each other feel more uncomfortable. But I'm prepared for this kind of inevitable setup. I have been waiting for this day to happen. Dad agreed to give Clark the chance to break one rule listed in the Non-disclosure Agreement which was to keep his distance from me. He and his evil friends already broke that rule, to begin with. So there's no reason for us to keep and follow that fucking Non-
Ellaine attempted to defend someone, either her dad or Clark, but Van, played his part in this family gathering well as he stopped her from meddling. "I'm not gonna say it again, Clark. Apologize to Mr. Fisher now." Mr. Cedrick added, however, this time, his voice becomes more terrifying and condescending. "Come on, Compadre," Dad said before he looked me in the eye. "It wasn't me to whom he should apologize, but Mr. Llamas. Perhaps if he could drop to his knees in front of Mr. Llamas, we don't know, he might not sue him for attempted murder and for bribing the cops. And I'm afraid that's a long way to live in jail." Instead of apologizing, everyone, including Mr. Cedrick was taken by surprise when Clark ran away faster than the speed of light and never came back. One down. That's my cue that I just had my first unanimous win against one of those people who ruined my life for the first time. "We're so sorry about that, Mr. Fisher." Mr. Cedrick bent half of his body
"Where did you get all that?" Sebastian scowled. "Why is our attorney unaware of this?" then he fixed his burning eyes on Celestine as if he was seeking an answer. "Did you know anything about this evidence?" Celestine wagged her head sideways. "Not that know of," she replied. "and I believe taking photos and videos of someone without their approval is dismissible. The judges will not grant to use of that evidence." "Not unless it was taken illegally." I corrected them. "Of course, I am well aware of that. My attorney never missed a single detail and explained everything to me about my case. The chances of either losing or winning this game. Good luck, Celestine. Looking forward to seeing you at the court hearing." Jennie grabbed my arm before we left the parking lot and walked toward the courtroom. She intentionally showed her deep affection in front of Celestine and Sebastian since they believed Jennie and I were in a relationship. But it appears to me that Celes