It was too late. They weren’t fast enough. Behind them, there was an explosion as the countdown got to zero. But nothing happened to any of them, nor did the building collapse or go up in flames. Just the loud sound of something exploding but no effects. Alarick, still in the cover of his men, opened his eyes when he noticed that he felt no pain. His hands touched parts of his body to make sure that he was actually alright and not just in shock. Once he was sure that he was fine, he looked around. All his men and Maurice were alive and looking around the room wondering why they didn’t die from the large explosion that they heard.“What the hell just happened?” Maurice said.Alarick looked forward and walked towards the bomb fragments that he saw on the floor a way back. He bent down and picked up something that he didn’t expect to see from a bomb. Confetti. Alarick scrunched his nose at the revelation. The bomb had blown up like it was supposed to but instead of actually killing every
Alarick arrived at the office early that morning with a grim look on his face. He had called all the members of the board for an emergency meeting that weekend. Most of them were not happy to come around the office on their days off but they had no choice. It was important matter they needed to discuss but he didn’t know how the board members would take the news.Alarick walked into the lobby of the company where he was accompanied by his secretary Vivian who had a tablet in one of her hands and a heap of folders in her other. She balanced the load as she walked behind Alarick and into the elevator. “Sir, I don’t really mind being here on the weekend but why are we here especially this early in the day? Did something go wrong?”Alarick pressed the button of the floor that they needed to go to before speaking.“Sorry for the early call. I know I don’t normally do this but I needed you to work overtime this weekend. You'll be paid a bonus for it so don't worry.”The elevator opened up t
Alarick had woken up the next day with a bad mood and a text message on his phone. It wasn’t an unknown number this time. The name connected to the number clearly showed Grace. He sighed before taking up his phone and checking the message. I’LL MEET YOU AT THE COMPANY FOR THE SIGNING AT NOON. DON’T TRY ANYTHING FUNNY, REMEMBER THAT I STILL HAVE CHARLOTTE. I’LL SEE YOU SOON ALARICK. Alarick frowned. She wanted to do the signing at the company? Why? He had thought she would insist on meeting elsewhere for the signing and only come to the company after signing the documents to make the company hers officially. What was she going to gain by doing this instead? He couldn’t wrap his head around what Grace was planning but right now he didn’t have any time. He had to get to the company and place some things in order. It all had to be done before Grace arrived. He hadn’t expected her to do this so he would have to restructure some things that had already been set up. Alarick got up from his
Grace’s fingers dug into Alarick’s shoulder as she grinned at the crowd. Alarick composed himself but moved away from Grace successfully removing himself from her iron grip and gave the press a small smile. The crowd didn’t notice the tension between them so they kept on shouting out various questions. Each of them wanting to get the scoop on the King family that could catapult them to the next stage of their career.Alarick frowned. He knew that this was Grace’s plan to turn the tables and tell her own form of the story to the public. No doubt she was going to use this to her advantage but Alarick was also going to use this. He was going to beat her at her own game. He would show her that he too could stoop down to her level. A stocky male reporter stepped up and shouted a question above the rest.“We got some information that you were signing over your company today. Is that true Mr. King?”“Yes, it is.”No one was interested in knowing why she was alive because the details of her f
Alarick’s car pulled up to the location that was on the phone that Grace had handed over to him. It was an old decrepit building and by the looks of it no one could tell what it actually was unless they had been in it. Alarick got down from his car and eyed the building. It looked like there had been some homeless people living there at some time due to the sheer number of abandoned tents and mattresses that he saw laying outside on the asphalt. Alarick paid no mind to the rubbish that laid on the ground. He went in through the front door and instantly the musty smell of the room hit him. He wrinkled his nose and covered his mouth. “Ugh. What is that?”Alarick glanced over to the side of the door and saw several dead rats around what he could only assume to be food laced with rat poison. He gagged and turned away from it. With the amount of machinery that littered the room, Alarick could tell that the building was probably a warehouse for large construction machinery of some sort.
Charlotte stood in the bathroom with her hair tied up in a towel and one tied around her body. She looked at the image staring back at her in the mirror. Her hands grazed the mark on her neck and she winced at the pain she felt from the burn. Her hands dropped from her neck and went to her wrist. The rope burns were still hurting a bit and they stood out from her skin colour. The women had helped her relax a bit and washed off all the grime and dirt that coated her body but it wasn't the same. She didn't feel the same as how she did before all this happened. Although her skin was clean her mind had been darkened and stained by what she had endured. They scrubbed her severally but they can’t scrub the memories away.Charlotte's hands dropped as tears began to swell up in her eyes. She couldn't believe how she looked. Being captured and tied up had turned her into a distasteful version of herself. She bit her lip, willing the tears to go back. When she was taken by Alarick, she cried.
Alarick watched as Charlotte walked away without turning back. He pulled his hair at Charlotte’s dismissal of his proposal to work together. He knew it was going to be tough to get her on his side but he was hoping that he wouldn’t need to convince her that much. He thought of when she called him out for being self-centered and he winced. Charlotte was right about that in some cases but being narcissistic was out of the question. Alarick let out a sigh. He really couldn’t do anything except to go after Grace himself. He couldn’t force Charlotte and he wouldn’t dream of it especially after what he did to her.Alarick looked at the tombstone again before walking away and going to the mansion. His father knew that today was the day for signing over but he didn’t know that Alarick had already signed it over yet. Cillian had still expected Alarick to come up with a plan so they wouldn’t lose all they worked for but it didn’t turn out that way. Ever since Alarick told Cillian that Grace was
Alarick's car pulled up in front of the penitentiary. He alighted from the car and huffed. He hadn't even gone inside the building but he could already tell that he was going to have a hard time in there. The building reeked of hate and contempt as the degenerate convicts out in the yard glared at Alarick while he approached the main gates. They all stopped what they were doing and went towards the gated fence to get a good look at him. It wasn't everyday you see a trillionaire consciously and actively walk up to prison by himself. Normally, they only get dragged in to live like the convicts when sentenced. The convicts shouted and hooted at him to get his attention but Alarick paid them no mind."Name and purpose?" The guard at the gate asked, looking at the clipboard, wishing that he was anywhere else than at the security post."Alarick King. Here to see Micah King."The security guard looked up at Alarick and licked his lips. The man grinned at him and smacked his lips."Did you s
The judge walked back into the courtroom and the room immediately turned quiet. She took her seat silently and looked at the jury. It wasn't a guess what the jury would pick. The massive amount of compelling evidence that was shown was more than enough to convince everyone in the room of who was innocent and who was guilty. She turned back to the crowd while hitting her gavel. "Court is now in session. I have to ask both sides. Does either the prosecution or the defense have anything else to say in this case?"Both sides of the court shook their heads, no one wanting to come forward and say another word. The judge turned to the jury."Has the jury come to a decision?"A man from the jury stood up."Yes we have, your honor.""Could you read it out for the court to hear?"The man opened the envelope in his hands and brought out the paper. He looked at it and read."In the case of Alarick King versus Grace King, the jury found the defendant, Grace King, guilty of defamation."The crowd i
It had been a day since the fire incident at the King mansion. Luckily they had all made it out alive and unscathed apart from the man on Alarick's security detail that was shot, Henry. They had disposed of the dead bodies of the attackers and had rounded up the culprits who were caught. It took them some time to get rid of or repair the damage that was done that night but they pushed on especially when they knew they finally had their smoking gun. The thing that would end Grace. The day of the long awaited court hearing had arrived. Alarick sat beside Charlotte and they both sat some distance away from Grace and her new lawyer. Grace eyed them both still angry at the fact that they had survived the fire. The tables were turned. Now they were the prosecution and Grace was the defense. She was going to be the one to fend off their attacks and just like the night she sent men to get rid of Alarick, she would lose.The tension in the air was palpable and with the agreement of both parti
The group stayed glued to the floor for some seconds when some of Alarick's security detail barged into the room armed to the teeth and lifted them up from the ground. Alarick, who had landed on Charlotte to shield her from whatever was going on, got up and looked away, avoiding the gaze that Charlotte gave him when she stood upright. Scarlett noticed the exchange and bit her lip till she drew blood. She said nothing though, not wanting to incite a fight when they still weren't sure of what was happening.The guards immediately turned around and pointed their weapons at the door as if expecting for assailants to come running in guns blazing. One of the security men shouted over the deafening noise of gunshots coming from outside."Mr Alarick, are you okay?"Alarick gave the guy a nod before the man who was seemingly the head of the security team turned over and asked the same questions to the women in the group."What about you ladies? Is anyone hurt by any chance?"Charlotte, Scarlet
Five days had gone by and there hadn't been a peep from either Grace or the company on the business scene. It had been unusually quiet and Alarick didn't like it. He paced in his study as the sun set with Charlotte watching him while she arranged the papers on the desk. They had finished creating and compiling evidence in their argument for the court hearing that was going to take place in the next two days. All they had to do now was wait. Alarick ran his hands through his hair frustrated. Charlotte knew the feeling all too well. It's not like anything bad had happened but they wanted it to. They needed it for their plan to fully be realized. A few days ago Alarick and Charlotte had come upon a video of Grace commanding someone on the phone to burn Alarick's house down so that he and Charlotte would die in the fire and not be able to make the court date allowing her to legally take the company as her own. Alarick had already put in contingency plans for her attack but him dying and
It had taken two grueling days for Charlotte to draw up a defamation lawsuit to give to the court and incidentally the court date was set to take place in a week. On the same day as Alarick's real birthday, the day he was actually born before he was stolen from the King family, not the day he thought was his birthday, given by whoever had found him. But even though that was the case Alarick wasn't enthusiastic about it.Alarick and Charlotte sat in the study and like most times went through some documents that could further increase their chances of winning the case. They had gotten over their little misunderstanding that day in front of the courthouse and planned to just win it all and then move on. As they worked in silence, Alarick's phone rang. He looked for his phone as it continued to ring out amidst the vast amount of documents that covered the desk at the time. In another second or two he found it and checked the caller ID. It was one of the members of the board. Jameson Clay
Alarick and Charlotte walked out of the courtroom together. The reporters rushed towards them as the duo stepped out, and they were also swamped by the crowd that gathered outside the building. Alarick's guards did their best to keep the crowd away from the both of them and they succeeded in that, but they weren't successful in quickly taking them through the crowd and to their car because the bystanders were just too much.The light flashing from the several cameras partially blinded them as they tried to leave the premises through the steps but when they found it impossible to, they decided to stay back and answer the questions of the masses so they would be allowed to pass through. Alarick spoke to his men and told them that he wanted to stay a bit and speak to the crowd and the guards relented, opting to just shield him rather than try to break through the impenetrable wall of the people who wanted answers. Just as the group had stopped their descent, the questions came flying."M
Everyone that was in the courtroom before the break was called back in as the court was about to be in session. They all took their seats anxious for what was to come next. Some bit their nails and some sucked in a breath, nervous. This was the time that the verdict would be given. Would the prosecution win or the defense win? What would happen if the verdict didn't go the defense's way? What would happen to the company that so many people respected in the business world, not to talk of the King family if the allegations were indeed true and they were involved in shady business? All these were questions that the crowd in the court had. Everyone including the prosecution and the defense. Alarick and Charlotte took their seat as they shared glares with Grace and her lawyer. The tension in the air was palpable. A knife could cut it in half. They were all on their toes. The jury had to decide on this case and all they could do was hope that the verdict went their way.The door opened up
“I won’t waste any more time by going through the process of how the evidence was found. Instead, I’ll show everyone the proof and allow them to make a decision for themselves. This is exhibit A.” The lawyer for the prosecution took a file from off his desk and showed it to the whole room. He brought out a copy and gave one to the judge and then another to the jury to peruse. He crossed his fingers and gave it some time before he continued. “In the file that you were given you will find the dealings between the King Corporation and a well-known notorious cartel headed by Lorelie Mandan. This was for the shipment of a large number of guns and possibly explosives to an undisclosed location somewhere in the Mexican desert. The drop off was made by the company and the cartel picked it up. If you still have doubts then I would like to call a witness to the stand.” The lawyer turned to the judge and he gave his go ahead for the witness to be called out to the stand. “I call Matteo Sanch
Just as Alarick had predicted there was a huge trial that was going to be held due to what Grace had released to the press. It had only been a day after her false announcement when he had gotten a letter saying that he had to be in court for a hearing concerning his company’s activities. Surprisingly, Charlotte was ready for the hearing. The zeal to crush Grace at her own game had pushed her even more to provide everything that they needed or might need when the court case held. Alarick had also prepared until he was ready to face Grace again and confront her.The day of the court hearing came and the buzz of how the day might end filled the television stations, news outlets, media rooms and even gossip mills with so much anticipation that the hearing was allowed to televise live due to the pressure that was put on the courthouse. The press had used the excuse of trying to educate the masses to get the exclusive content but everyone knew the truth. Everyone knew that no matter what ha