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
After throwing that one hard punch and letting out those threatening words, I evacuated the toilet room before anyone could see us, and before Sebastian could follow me to the lobby where Jennie had been waiting. "Is everything alright, Mr. Fisher? Did something happen to you in the toilet room?" she asked as she scanned my entire face which was filled with sweat, her voice laced with concern. "Do you think this kind of face looks fine to you?" I defensively replied as I walked straight to the exit as if a hungry dog was chasing me from behind. "Just walk faster before Sebastian can follow us to the parking lot." "Wait. Did you do something bad to him?" She asked again. "What do you think of me?" I debated with her assumptions. "Do you think I could do something to that bastard? He choked me first, so I punched him in return and told him to be ready because I was going to make his life like a living hell." "Can you do that as Zachary Llamas?" She asked, this t
At the end of the message, John Dave added with a laughing emoji, "Welcome to the group, Young Master! Expect to have tons of messages from your inbox since you are now disclosing yourself to everyone. They might be asking you a few questions about yourself. It's up to you if you answer them or not. You always have my respect." The tension in the chatbox went too deep as it made all the members of the group feel uncomfortable and too tight-lipped. So I decided to change the topic to something more light-hearted. I typed and sent: "Anyway, I'd be holding a royal party in my Dad's five-star hotel in two days. Everything is free of charge. Also, this message is to formally invite you all to join the party. The theme would be masquerade 'cause I love hiding faces and all. Just present this message to the security guards as it represents your free pass. See you there!" "That would be great, Young Master! Couldn't wait to see you soon." "Wait. Really? Does this mean we c
The next day, I woke up with my grandparents already gone from the mansion. What we talked about last night was still fresh from my clouded mind. They were the ones I had left who supported me unconditionally since then and I believe were true to themselves. On the bright side, Dad let them go, not knowing it was I who begged him since their names were already freed from his accusation that they had something to do with the kidnapping. "Young Master... Here's what I got from Ms. Pineda so far." Mr. Logan, my driver, slid me a brown envelope on our way to work. "She will turn thirty in three days. Single and only child. Ms. Pineda has been working as the Chairman's secretary for the past eight years. Her parents died when she was ten years old. She's an orphan." I removed the seal from the envelope and took the documents out. "What about the place where we dropped her off? What did you get about her permanent address?" "That's the most confusing part, Young Master. I co
"By the way, correct me if I'm wrong. Have we met before?" Mr. Cedrick added, his voice deep but his entire face wrinkled. "Don't know when or where but I believe we have met somewhere before." Yes, of course! We have met at the golf course with Dad and some of the company's business partners before, Mr. Cedrick. Unfortunately, everything that happened that day was dimmed from your memories. I know you have some kind of illness that forgets things or incidents easily. That's why Dad and I were too confident to manipulate everything at the family meeting. However, today, you scared the hell out of me. And I was in the middle of confessing the truth to you or not. If I'm gonna do that, what will you do? "Are you sure I said that? Couldn't remember though." I defensively replied. "Of course, you remember that, Mr. Llamas! How could you forget that so easily? You just let it out five seconds ago. What do you mean by that?" he insisted. "Are you the Young Master'