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
“What do you want in return for the information you want to give to me?” Micah placed his hand on his chin.“Hmm, I really want some good food. Prison food is trash. Maybe a fillet mignon and some red wine. Obviously, a large side dish. Then an extensive menu after that for me and whoever I choose to feed as well for at least a month.”Alarick looked at Micah confused.“You want food? Not protection. Not security or to be let out early?”“You can’t do anything without your company right now. I’m sure that by now everyone knows that you aren’t in charge anymore and most people in the business industry wouldn’t want to associate with you anymore. Sure, you might still have some friends that are willing to bend over backwards for you but they can only do so much for me. I just want to have a nice meal because the food in here sucks. I’ve already been working on my own protection since you put me in here to rot. I’m not at the top of the food chain yet, but I’m close. And I’m not stupid,
Alarick, Charlotte and Scarlett sat down in the living room of the mansion, looking at each other with no one saying a word. Alarick looked at them, still a bit surprised that they were here as they both stared pointedly at him. Some moments of silence went by before Alarick said something.“You said we needed to talk so why the silence?” He asked Scarlett.Scarlett crossed her legs and leaned back in her seat.“It’s about your company.”“And am I to assume both of you came here together?”Charlotte shook her head.“We came here separately and for different reasons but we had a talk while we waited for you to come back.”Alarick intertwined his fingers.“Talk? About what?” “Your situation with the company. When I saw it in the news I couldn't believe that you would actually sign over your company just like that. I needed to know why you did that.”Alarick turned to Charlotte after Scarlett spoke.“And you? I thought you wanted nothing to do with me or the family.”“Scarlett came here
Hours passed and after some more planning the women began to leave. All except Charlotte. She stayed behind and pored over the files that littered the room. Alarick, who had left a bit earlier, walked back into the room with a bottle of water in his hands.“It’s getting late. Are you sure you don’t just want to stay over so that you wouldn’t have to stress yourself when you want to go to bed? I could get you some food too.”Charlotte spoke without looking up from the paper in front of her. “I’m not hungry and I’d rather go back to my house than spend a night here.”Alarick placed the bottle on the table.“Grace might still be out to get you. I could send some men with you to keep an eye out but it’s still dangerous for you to be out there alone.”Charlotte looked up and eyed Alarick.“I’ll take my chances.”“Don’t be stubborn. I know that you don’t want to be near me right now but I don’t want anything bad happening to you because you decided to take your chances with a deranged kill
Alarick sat down in Cillian’s study, waiting for Charlotte to finish speaking with his father. He had a little anxiety about the meeting between them but he could do nothing but hope for the best. He flipped through some of the documents that Vivian had brought the day before, trying to differentiate what was important and what was not, when the door burst open. Charlotte poked her head into the room and on sighting Alarick, she entered. She crinkled the dress as she looked around the room. It had been ages since she had been inside that space. It was still the same from the tapestry to the clock on the wall to the same wooden desk she had scribbled on whenever she came to see Cillian. From what she remembered, the last time was when she was a child and she came to see her father. Jonathan was in the study with Cillian going through some files, like always when she ran in and embraced them both. Charlotte shook her head to get those thoughts out of her mind. She didn’t need to be thi
Charlotte pressed play on the remote causing the news to continue to play the news.The King Corporation has been accused of being involved in implicit and illegal business activities. Various implicating documents and activities have been found and documented. This was brought to the attention of the financial authorities, the IRS and also the local police by the current CEO of the company who says that all this was done under the watch of Alarick and Cillian King, the financial business moguls. The news has made its way to the chief judge and we speculate that this may turn to a court case. Hold on for more information.The reporter placed a hand on her ear and squinted a bit. She turned around and walked towards the steps of the building. Alarick and Charlotte hadn't noticed it until now but the reporter was right in front of Alarick's company. They had been so engrossed in the news that they hadn't realized that this was even televised earlier today. Grace walked down the steps o
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