In his brightly lit room that beamed with the falling sun rays, Cade sat, tense as tense could get. He was acutely aware of the unwavering determination in Alex's tone when they called earlier, and so he understood the gravity of the situation. He knew that he could not surrender to Alex's demands without risking Raegan's life, yet defying him might lead to an irreversible tragedy. In a desperate bid to protect Raegan, Cade decided to turn to someone with the skills and resources needed to navigate this perilous situation – Macaulay, the trusted security staff of the president and Raegan's father.Cade determinedly slipped out from his bed, his very footsteps heavy because of worry. "Hi, Mac," Cade said over the phone. "How's it going today, Cade?" Macaulay asked over the phone even though the day was only beginning. "Can we meet this morning? There is something urgent and pressing that I need to discuss with you," Cade said, the worry evident in his voice. "Sure, I'm not very bus
Macaulay did as he told Cade. He was getting his team to gather information on Raegan's location. After he had assembled his team, he called Cade again. "Do you have any idea if they have other residences apart from his penthouse?" Macaulay asked. He was referring to Alex and his mother. "No. I only know of the penthouse. They were never important enough to make me bother to find out information like that.""I'll send my men to the penthouse and see if they can find anything, though I doubt it.If they’re smart, they must have left that penthouse and run somewhere they think they’ll be safe from you."Immediately he ended the call, he instructed two of his men to go look at the penthouse. Macaulay still continued trying to search for more information on Alex and Cassandra’s frozen assets. They had no extra properties registered to their names as far as he researched but that didn’t mean much. They could have bought other properties under an alias. This wasn’t his first time dealing
The president's study, usually his place of serenity for work, became a place where he poured out his emotions. He thumped severally on the table and said as many cuss words as his brain could think of. What even was the matter with Cade that so many people hated him and were now taking out their hate on him by hurting Raegan? The president wondered in anger. Macaulay had assured him of the surety of bringing Raegan back safe, but the president, however, was not content with assurances. He wanted to see his daughter immediately, and in the event of delay, the president would take out his wrath for the singular target he had in mind—Cade. He did not care how many enemies Cade had, if risking his daughter's life was what he would get for letting him be with her, then he did not mind becoming an enemy of Cade too. The president, further driven by a father's desperation, went on to call Macaulay on the phone. His cold voice cut through the phone.He began, "Make it clear to Cade: if so
While they were waiting for a response from the military, surprisingly, the forensic report on the gun came back. It was done quicker than Cade had expected so Macaulay must have pulled some strings. Partial fingerprints had been gotten from the gun and it took a lot to finally match it correctly. The person's name whose fingerprint was on the gun was identified as a criminal named Tom gGrey. Though the gun itself wasn't registered which meant that it had been stolen or gotten from the black market as expected from a criminal. "Tom Grey, twenty nine years old and a high school dropout. He was first sentenced to one year in juvenile detention when he was sixteen for petty theft. Two years after he was released, he was jailed for selling drugs. Then after he was released, he was accused of murder though no evidence was found so he was released. The most recent crime was sexual assault and he was released from his six year sentence just last month." The personnel read out loud. Cade a
As expected, Alex came back later that night but without his counterpart. His counterpart, Grey as he was known by Alex and Cassandra, had gone back with the grocery bags to the store to get something they had forgotten to buy while Alex came inside empty handed twirling their keys in his hand. His face fell to a distorted representation of surprise upon entering the living room to see his uninvited guests. But it was only fleeting, as Alex would not give Cade the satisfaction of seeing him caught off guard. Alex looked at the faces staring back at him as he got in. He could see his mother, bound and seated by Cade's counterpart, while Cade held Raegan in his arms like a protective father. He glared at Alex as soon as Alex came in.“Don’t try anything stupid or I’ll shoot you in the head.” Macaulay warned."I see you have come for your damsel in distress?" Alex said to Cade, trying to hide his surprise that was still a little evident in his voice. "You didn't think I'd find you, did
"Come and drive," he said to his mother."What?" "Mom, take over and drive. I am tired of your nagging. If you want to go faster, then take the wheel." He said as he left the driver’s seat.Cassandra wanted to argue with him but they were running out of time, the van would soon catch up with them. Quickly, they changed seats and Cassandra sat behind the steering wheel to drive. With Cassandra taking over, the driving pattern changed and became even more reckless. Cassandra even though in trouble, revelled in the chaos that her driving was causing. It took her back to the days of her youth, when she didn’t care about things like consequences nor did she care about people's opinions of her. This was one of the reason why she got involved with Mackenzie in the first place even though she knew he was married. She had seduced countless men before him but he was the richest man to ever pay her attention which was why she latched on to him and refused to let him go. Having Alex for him furt
The first day of the court hearing was marked by the cross examination of both the defendant's and the prosecutor's client respectively. The courtroom, buzzed with anticipation as Cade's lawyer, the prosecutor, initiated the court proceedings against Alex and Cassandra. Since the public was already made aware of the situation, there was no need to hold a private court session and therefore it was being televised. The charges, ranging from murder to kidnapping and attempted murder, set the stage for a legal drama that would unravel the complexities of familial discord.The members of the media watched intently as Cade's lawyer approached the witness stand. Alex and Cassandra, the defendants, sat side by side, their expressions veiled in a mix of defiance and uncertainty. The judge watched both parties and so did the jury. The trial was trending on every social media platform. Everyone was interested in the drama revolving around the country's most influential family.Cade's lawyer, the
"Let us first address the murder charge. The prosecution contends that Mr. Alex harboured motives to harm Mr. Robert, but where is the concrete evidence linking him directly to the crime? Motives alone do not equate to guilt. Mr Cade also brought forth a witness, the man who broke into his home and whom he claims was the murderer of Mr Roberts, but have we forgotten that people lie?" He paused for dramatic effect. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, also remember that this man has been in police custody after he was caught trespassing. What if they had paid him to lie or promised him a reduced sentence so he could slander my client? The man has no proof that he was hired by Alex. And concerning the kidnapping, I do admit that it looks bad on my client but as you can see, the family is in the midst of a feud. He was accused of heinous crimes and had all his assets frozen, he thought of taking Mr Cade’s lover just so he could get money. He had no intention to harm her, they both plann
When they all returned back home, Cade and Raegan had a room prepared for Rosa. This was done to subtly convince Carlson to move in with them. They didn’t even have to convince him to move in, he willingly moved in from the dorm to their mansion to be closer to his mother. William was the only one who wasn’t happy with the arrangement. He hated that there were strangers moving into his home. He refused to talk to Rosa no matter how many times she tried to be nice to him. He never spoke to Carlson, and he was also antagonistic towards his parents. Before Carlson resumed school the next monday, Cade and Ragen made a public announcement to tell the world that they had finally found their long lost son, Noah Milton. The news became viral immediately. The board members already knew Carlson through his hard work during his period of internship. They were shocked to learn that he was the true heir of the Milton Conglomerate but they were also happy that they had finally found someone worth
Carlson was a bit self conscious when Cade and Raegan came to pick him up from his dorm room at school. They didn’t even wait for him outside, they walked directly to his door to pick him up. Everyone in school who Cade and Raegan were, the college belonged to the Milton family after all. But they were shocked or confused why the owners of the school came to pick Carlson up. The people staying on campus began to share the news on the school blog and speculations began to fly around. Some said Carlson was in trouble which was why the owners came and maybe he was going to be expelled. Some said it was because of the internship. No one would have ever guessed the real reason was because he was also a Milton.Hewas even more shocked when he realised that they would be travelling with a private jet. He had never entered one in his life. It slipped his mind that he was travelling with trillionaires, so of course they wouldn’t travel with commercial planes. The insides of the private jet loo
“You sound like they’re going to kidnap me or something.” He chuckled. “I thought you said they would respect my choice.”“Yes, they definitely will. If you decide to stay away from them, they will let you do that, but they will never give up on you because you’re their son. You have no idea how much your disappearance broke them. I wasn’t born during the incident back then, but I’ve witnessed several anniversaries that they held for you. Every year, on the day you were taken, Aunt Regan was always so depressed that my mother always took her out to try and cheer her up. My dad does the same for Uncle Cade. They told me that having William made them gradually stop feeling too much grief. All the love they had for you, they gave it to him. Too bad he turned out to be a selfish brat.” She said and Carlson laughed.“Isn’t he your best friend?”“I’ve officially disowned him after his childish display. How dare he demand they send you away? The next time I see him, I’ll make sure to pull hi
Carlson was still in shock when he returned to his dorm room. He had no idea what to do and for a moment, he began to regret why he told Leighton to stay behind. Maybe if she had come with him, she would be able to keep him company at least even if she wouldn’t have a plan of action. But he had thought he needed to be alone. Now that he got his wish, the silence was just too deafening. He knew he should use the opportunity to call his mother, Rosa and ask of the situation, but he just couldn’t seem to make himself move out of the bed where he was currently lying down.He decided to try and sleep but, sleep was not forthcoming so he called his girlfriend after about an hour of trying to sleep and failing. He didn’t know what to say so he just kept quiet. Leighton was waiting for him to speak but after several seconds, she realised that he may not know what to say because of the emotional state he was in. “Hey.” She said to him.“Hi.”“I know this is a silly question to ask, but I have
“Ley, what’s wrong?” Carlson asked her with a concerned expression. Even her parents turned to her. She was speechless, she just looked at Carlson and tears began to run down her face. She didn’t speak because this announcement was coming from Raegan. But after figuring out the truth, it just made her so emotional. “Leighton, you’re scaring me. Why the sudden tears?” Her mother asked but it was Raegan that spoke. “I’m guessing she understood the point I was trying to make. Since the rest of you are clueless, I will have to spell it out. The Doctor did a DNA test when Carlson turned out to be a perfect match for you.” Now, the point she was passing had begun to sink into their heads. But before any of them could speak, Raegan continued again, this time, finishing it up. "And when the results came out, it showed that Carlson…” Her voice shook as her eyes became teary. “Carlson is our son, Cade. Carlson is Noah.” And as though she had known to arm herself with proof in the case th
Hours and hours later, after the procedure was complete, Cade opened his eyes again. The Doctor allowed only Raegan to go in to see him. When he made an attempt to sneeze, Raegan ran to his side as though to stop whatever pain his sneezing might cause him. He wasn’t strong enough to receive plenty of visitors yet. It was relieving for Raegan, as much as it was quite burdensome, given that she would have to relay the news that she had just found out about Carlson to him sooner or later and it may be too much for him to handle in his current state. Cade went back to sleep and the Doctor took Raegan aside to speak with her.“How is he, Doctor? What are his chances of recovery now?” She asked with a worried expression.“Well, from what we’ve observed, his body received the bone marrow well. We still need to keep him here for a few days to monitor him closely, but from what his results show, there might not even be a need for added chemotherapy. It seems like just the transplant will be en
“How? How is this possible, Doctor?” She asked as she stared at the result in her hands through her teary eyes.“I have no idea. You told me your son was lost so I was really surprised when that boy turned out to be a perfect donor match. I was reluctant to do a DNA test but I knew it was rare to have a stranger that’s unrelated to the family be such a perfect match. And my suspicion was correct. Like I said, if you still doubt it, you can run the DNA test elsewhere to determine it’s authenticity. Mr Carlson is your long lost son.” The Doctor said.“We searched for him for years, and for a while now, he has been right under my nose and I didn’t even know. What kind of mother am I?” She sobbed and the Doctor stood.He went around the table and began to console her.“Don’t blame yourself for that. Just be grateful that somehow, he found his way back to his family. I know the story of his disappearance though it happened many years ago. I was still in Medical school back then when the ne
“Good day everyone.” The doctor smiled grimly. "We have been able to diagnose Mr Milton’s ailment and…”“Wait. Why is he here?” William asked, referring to Carlson. “He’s not family, neither is he related to us in any way. This is confidential information, send him out.”William seemed to have recovered from his shock earlier and of course the first person he would turn his displeasure to was Carlson. “Is that seriously what’s more important to you right now, William?” Leighton asked with a scoff. “Will you ever outgrow your selfish behaviour?”“It’s the right thing to do, but of course you don’t agree. You’ve been blinded just because you’re spreading your legs for him like a …”“Do not complete that statement. Watch your words and tone, especially when speaking to my daughter.” Gale warned sternly.“I want him out of here, now!” William snapped.“And who do you think you are to give such a command?” Leighton asked. “Only Aunty Rae can send anyone out of here, or the Doctor. And for
It was the day of their date. After that night that William tried to make Leighton his girlfriend, he invited her out on an official date and they decided to go on a day when they were both free from internship work. They planned to spend the whole day together and decided that at the end of the day, they would discuss their next action if they would move further and officially enter a relationship or wait for some more time. Their date included going to the city’s museum to see a new artefact that Carlson was interested in. At first, he had been reluctant to add that to their plans because when he dated Jeanne, she was never interested in things like these. She always called them too ‘nerdy’ for her tastes. Jeanne had been more interested in shopping, and cinemas. But surprisingly, after getting the courage to tell her about his fascination with the museum, Leighton had smiled and agreed to go. She told him that when she was younger, her father always took her to museums. Nowadays,