Chapter 1
“You stupid fool, you had just one job. One freaking job. But you couldn't get it done. You just had to mess up. You want nothing but to disgrace this household in front of the entire family.”. Mrs Nancy Dalton, who couldn't control her anger yelled,walking fast in her stiletto heel as she entered the house.In an attempt to soothe her mother's nerves, Rosa Dalton hurried to her side, gently taking her mother's hand and speaking to her in a soft, reassuring voice. “ Mom, don't walk too fast, you're going to hurt yourself”.But Nancy wasn't taking any of it. She jerked her arm out of her daughter's grip.“Hurt myself?!. No, I'm going to hurt that bastard instead. Just imagine the embarrassment he caused us today”.“Mom, calm down. I'm sure there's was a misunderstanding somewhere”.“Misunderstanding?!”. Nancy flared up again. “Why do you always give excuses for his incompetence? Huh?”. She threw her heels at the young man in question, targeting his head, but luckily for him, he was fast enough to dodge it.“Mom!!!” Rosa’s eyes widened at her mother's action.“You know what?. I blame your dad. I blame him for all of this!. If he stopped you from seeing this fool while you were in school just like I advised, then I wouldn't have to deal with this. But your father was so stubborn and strong headed. He approved your marriage to this fool. He even went ahead to give him a job at the company. Now look, he isn't even alive to witness the embarrassment this bastard is causing this household”.The young man who just stood and received all these insults was Adrian Grey. Adrian is an orphan who was lucky enough to have charmed Rosa Dalton, the daughter of one of the wealthiest families in the country during their University days. The whole Dalton family was against them seeing each other, but strangely, Rosa's father, Late Mr Walter Dalton approved of their relationship and even got him a job at the company after their wedding.Rosa and Adrian have been married for five years and Adrian's love for his beautiful wife has never reduced, instead, it grew everyday. But after Mr Walter’s death one year ago, Rosa suddenly grew cold towards Adrian.Adrian's gaze drifted from his ranting mother-in-law to his wife's face, which held a dark expression he could not read. She was definitely getting fed up of the continuous embarrassment.Adrian felt his hand closing up in a fist. He needed to defend himself. He didn't do anything wrong at the office today. Someone definitely misplaced those files and is trying to pin the blame on him.“Mother, what happened today at the office wasn't me. I haven't even laid eyes on the files they said I misplaced before. Someone definitely misplaced those files and is trying to shift the blame on me…”SMACK!!!Before Adrian could finish what he was saying, Nancy sent a stinging slap across his face. The slap reverberated across the room. The silence that followed was deafening, as Rosa's eyes widened in horror. Nancy's face was flushed with anger, her eyes blazing with fury.“Who asked you to speak?!”. She hissed, her voice sharp and menacing. “And how many times have I told you not to call me your mother?!. I am not your mother!. You are nothing but a fool and you will never be good enough for my daughter”.With that, she stormed upstairs. Adrian stood there, stunned, his cheek burning from the slap. Rosa stood there for a minute, taking in the scene before her. Her mother's words and action had left her feeling numb, her emotions shut down in self defence. She couldn't bring herself to feel sorry for her husband, couldn't bring herself to care about how he must be feeling. She walked up to him, her eyes cold,“Listen”. Her tone showed a glint of annoyance. “We have to get ready for the party. When we get there, please behave and don't embarrass me further”. She paused, as if letting her words sink in. Then, without waiting for a response, she turned and walked out of the room, her heels clicking against the marbled floor.*********Adrian, Rosa and Nancy arrived at the venue where the party was being held. It was the Dalton's annual party hosted by Dalton Industries Inc which belonged to the Dalton family. Although the Dalton's were rich, they weren't considered the top families in NewYork. They were a third rate Family and also Rosa's family.Nancy strutted into the hall, all adorned in a glittering dress and shiny jewellery, wearing a kind smile on her face and greeting anyone that passed her. Rosa wore a simple long white dress that hugged her body, bringing out her curves, with a split that reached her tanned smooth thigh. She let her hair fall graciously down her exposed back.Although she was dressed in a simple attire, Rosa was incredibly beautiful. She was considered the top beauty of the Dalton's family because she attracted men wherever she went.“I told you not to bring this fool here. He is killing the vibe in this room”. Nancy whispered to Rosa as they walked down the room.“Mom, he is my husband. He is supposed to be here.”Nancy rolled her eyes at her daughter's response. “ If he embarrasses me tonight, I'll literally kill him. I promise you that”.Adrian on the other hand, walked beside his wife and mother in-law, ignoring all the sneering eyes glaring at him. He was used to it already and mastered himself to ignore them.“Oh!, If it isn't our beauty goddess and her loser husband. You guys finally decided to join the party. Do you guys realise you are late?. And grandma detests people who are late” Sean Dalton, Rosa's cousin brother announced, patting Adrian on the back.Rosa scoffed and rolled her eyes at himIt was evident that Sean had a strained relationship with Rosa, which was evident from his sarcastic comment.“If I wasn't a gentleman, you'd get a punch in the face for laying your hands on me”. Adrian seethed.Everyone around gasped at Adrian's words. They had never heard him say something like that. He was quiet most of the time.Nancy approached her daughter, Rosa discreetly.“Rosa, I told you bringing this fool here was a mistake. Look, he is causing trouble now”.“Wow!!!. You really have the guts to speak, after tampling with company files?”.“You know that wasn't me. I know you did that and you're just trying to pin the blame on me.”. Adrian gritted his teeth,closing in on Sean.“Pin the blame on you?. Who the hell do you think you are ?”. Sean raised his brows, glaring at Adrian as if ready for a fight.“He doesn't know he is just this family's leftover”. Lily Dalton, Rosa's third cousin, approached the group, adding fuel to the fire. “And it seems Rosa doesn’t know she has to tame her dog”.Lily has always held a personal grudge towards Rosa. She hates the fact that Rosa is rated first in beauty. And makes sure to ridicule her whenever the chance pops up.“Well Lily, it's fine. The files don't matter anymore. Because what Adrian doesn't know is that our beauty queen here has covered up for him and is divorcing his broke ass”.Adrian’s eyes widened, “What?!”Chapter 2Adrian was sure he didn't just hear divorce.“Awwn! Surprise, surprise”, Lily said in her usual high pitched voice, giving a short scornful laugh at the end. Sean joined her too.“Oh stop Lily. The poor fool. Did you really think Rosa here was down for you? Really? Is that how you really think of yourself?”, Sean said, with a scoff.“That's enough Sean”“What? It’s not like I’m lying. I’m just stating facts”. “I said enough!!”“Rosa…”. Adrian tried drawing closer to his wife,but she stepped back, using her hand to stop him from coming any closer. “Look Adrian. I'm tired. I want a divorce”“A divorce?Are you serious right now?”“Yes Adrian. I want a divorce. Here and now”, Rosa said, her hands folded under her chest.“I… I don't understand Rosa. Wh.. wha.. what's going on? Where's all this coming from all of a sudden?”“All of sudden? This isn't all of a sudden Adrian. You've just been too blind to see it.”“What are you talking about Rosa? I don't understand”“Clearly his
Chapter 3 Adrian sat bruised and battered in his cold, dingy prison cell. He paced the small cell, a stabbed feeling in him. He had now spent three endless months locked up for a crime he didn't commit. The wounds from the daily beatings were nothing compared to the sting of betrayal he felt. He couldn't still comprehend why the woman he'd dedicated his life to loving would order for a divorce so cold-heartedly - in a way that was capable of striping him of every last form of dignity he had.“Get up you idiot. You have a visitor”Adrian stood up reluctantly, not wanting to go through another round of beating for stubbornness. He was in no mood to see anybody be they his friends. Not to even talk of any of his in- laws. Now Rosa had come once again to torment Adrian under the guise of being a concerned ex-wife. “Oh Adrian, look at you! This is what happens when you try lying and avoiding accountability for your actions. All this pain could have been avoided if you had just admitted
Chapter 4“Adrian!”“Who… who's there?”, Adrian looking around him. The thunderous sound of the voice had caused him to almost fall over as he managed to catch his step from all that stumbling. The voice seemed to walk on the ground around him, with something heavy to his feet striking on the ground, like metal hitting metal - a vibrating aura to it.Andrea rubbed his eyes, finding it hard to believe what he was seeing. The form was obviously headed in his direction and a strange feeling overwhelmed him. He could feel the strange energy in this ethereal place and it sent chills down his spines. He didn't want to be overwhelmed by fear so he asked the questions.“Who … who are you?”, Andrea said as the blinding figure came within his view. It was in the form of a man and his face was illuminating extremely, that Adrian couldn't even look at him straight.“Adrian”, the deep voice called out to him again.“What.. what do you want from me?”, Adrian said, his arm over his eyes to prevent t
Chapter 5“Master? Good… morning Master Adrian”, Martinez greeted again, thinking Adrian hadn't heard. But Adrian just continued to stare on at him, his eyes darting quickly away to other things. Martinez watched his master act strange. He touched his body like as if he couldn't believe he was alive and looked all over the place like he had never been there. This was a first.“Master, are you okay?”, Martinez asked in concern. Adrian just looked on, his face pale with shock and confusion. “Certainly, I must get the home nurse”, he said to himself finally. On hearing that, Adrian quickly stopped him as he was already on walking his way to the door.“Hey! Hey! Stop!”, Adrian called out to Martinez. His legs were already out if the duvet ready to catch up with him.Martinez breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh master! For a minute there, I thought you had gone completely dumb, Master. You looked so lost. Is anything the matter, Master?”“No…I'm fine. I am”, Adrian replied, trying to look assu
Chapter 6Martinez was back yet again but just as alone as he had gone. This time he looked more upset than the last time. He was complaining, throwing both hands in the air.“Yet another incompetent housestaff!” Martinez shouted as he walked into Adrian's room.“Can you believe, Master? The house nurse didn't even clock in for work today! How outrageous? How can anyone decide to take a one day vacation with a crucial role like that? How can the head of staff in the house allow such negligence of duty? Isn't that madness, Master? I mean…”“Hey, hey, calm down…”, Adrian said, slowing down on his last words as he noticed the name tag on his servant. “Marti…”“Oh my name tag, Master? I forgot to even mention it to you, Master. They spelt my name wrong”“Ahhh… let me see”, Adrian demanded and Martinez dutifully took off the tag and handed it to his master “Martinoz Lucruez”“Can you believe, Master? Tell me, who can't spell Martinez right? It's the simplest Spanish name!”Adrian smiled,
Chapter 7The soft knock came on the door just as Adrian picked up the cufflinks. It was Martinez.“The car's ready, Master”“Oh, okay”. He picked his jacket up which Martinez took from him. Giving one last comb to his hair, he looked at himself in the mirror shortly in the mirror. He couldn't deny - the suit looked really good on him. He smelt nice too- the scent of deep masculine musk all over him. Adrian hesitated, wondering what new faces he'd see if he went down the stairs.“Shall we?”“After you, Master”, Martinez said, opening the door. It made a beep sound immediately Martinez closed it, indicating that it had automatically locked. Adrian went down the stairs slowly and as he did, the maids greeted him. Martinez seemed to savor such things, because he let out a deep breath of satisfaction as they stepped out into the verandah.“ At least, a few dutiful ones”, he said under his breath though it was just loud enough for Adrian to hear. As he went down the steep stairs that led u
Chapter 8 Silence fell on the rest of the board as soon as the Sales director finished his presentation.“A commendable presentation”, Leonard complimented, breaking the silence immediately. “Any Questions?”, He asked, glancing from left to right. Adrian wondered if he should speak up now. What he had to say would not only discredit the Sales director's work but would definitely get him sacked because there was no way he could say he made such a big mistake in reporting. It was obviously schemed and he probably wasn't expecting that the Shilla would do her own reporting. But if he didn't say anything, then the information provided would prevent the company from improving and he could definitely see unrecoverable loss in the future, not to mention the fact that there'll be more chances of embezzling funds from the Sales department.“Very well then… I …”Adrian raised his hand, cutting his Father off.“Yes Adrian?”“Thank… Thank you sir”, Adrian said, clearing his throat at the end o
Chapter 9“Welcome Master”, Martinez greeted with a bow as Adrian came to the room of the door. “Martinez, how are you?”“Very well, Master. Should I have them bring up your lunch”“Umm…not really, Martinez. I had lunch on my way here”The gasp that escaped from Martinez made Adrian think he'd just murdered someone. “What?”“Master, why would you choose to eat lunch at some local undeserving restaurant, amongst…. uhhh”, Martinez said dramatically, shuddering at his last words like he'd just seen something ominous and overwhelming.“What… What's wrong with that? Did I do something wrong?”“Wrong?!. It's outrageously forbidden to be caught outside as a Grayson. What if someone caught you on camera or some paparazzi videoed you, Master?”“Calm down, Martinez. I'm… pretty sure there wasn't any … paparazzi anywhere” “But you can't be too sure, Master. They are very sly people and they could get such things all over the internet in no time!”“There was no paparazzi Martinez”“But Maste
Chapter 250(Two days later)Elder Jackson decided to send a letter to every member of the family, informing them of the long-awaited family dinner. The message reads;This is to cordially invite every one of you to the long-awaited family dinner. It comes up this night by eight, you are all to be there on time, none of you is expected to come late. Audrey, no excuse."They all burst into laughter when they got the message because Elder Jackson mentioned Audrey's name. Audrey laughed so hard when she read the message, but at the same time, she also had a bad feeling about tonight's dinner.Immediately she sent a text message to Adrian, which reads;"I don't feel good about tonight's meeting, I feel something bad might happen, but we also need to be careful, everyone needs to be watchful. We shouldn't get carried away by the activities."Immediately Adrian got the text, he replied to her, by thanking her first, and asking that she send the message to the group. She did so immediately a
Chapter 249Adrian walked towards her, and she took off her headset, "What brings you to my house, are you here to disgrace me once more?"Adrian chuckled, with his hands in his pocket, "What do you mean by am I here to disgrace you once more? Aren't you the one who went all out to disgrace yourself? You know I don't like you, you want me to get married to you, how do you expect it to work?""That doesn't answer my question of you being here, why are you here young man?" She asked, walking towards him, as she put on a harsh look. "Well, I am here to inform you not to try anything stupid again, don't you dare send anyone to me.I repeat don't you dare do that, listen Hailey, I might look and act cool, but if you push me to the wall, you are definitely going to regret it, do you understand?"She chuckled, clapping her hands, "I see, you have the guts to step into my home, and threaten me? Well I don't blame you, I blame the guys who weren't able to do their job.If they had done their j
Chapter 248Hailey Wilson was seated in a bar, and Craig was seated beside her, she slid an envelope towards him, "Listen up, that plan is simple, there you are going to find every detail that you need, and your money is right there in the envelope.All that's needed is for you to do the right thing, and I believe you know what I am speaking of?"Craig shook his head, "How do you expect me to know about it, I don't read minds," he muttered."Ohh I forgot about that, but there's no problem with that, this is what I want from you, and please listen attentively," she paused and moved closer to him, while he did the same."I need you to kill the target, that's it, I am not saying bet him up to death, I am not saying you should do that. I need him dead, real dead, that's all I am asking from you, can you do this for me?" She asked.Craig raised his head, and looked at her, "I am sorry I can't, I have stopped the business of killing people. The best I can do right now is to threaten people
Chapter 247Liam exhaled, as he placed his hands on the table, "I want to know how you were able to join Adrian. I mean we all know you weren't on good terms with him, what changed?"She smiled, "Thank goodness you said, I wasn't on good terms with him, that was in the past. But right now, I think I just decided to re-evaluate my decision, and do what's right, that's it.""Re-evaluate your decision, and do what's right?" Liam muttered.She nodded her head, "You know, I was always jealous of Adrian, you know what I mean right? The dude had everything I wanted, he was closer to Elder Jackson than we all. I don't need to tell you what that means automatically right?"Liam nodded his head, "I understand what that means, he that's closer to Elder Jackson has more chance of being chosen as the heir. But if I am not mistaken, there were times you attempted to take his life right?"She nodded her head, still gazing into his eyes as they spoke, "Yeah, there were times when such an incident hap
Chapter 246Hailey, and her father were still bitter from what happened yesterday, in that bitter state of his. He walked to his garage, got into one of his cars, and drove off to Grayson's office. He was going there to give them a piece of his mind.Not only that, his mind was made up, he was going to terminate every contract he has with the Grayson cooperation. He just couldn't believe what Adrian did to him, after walking out on him, the respect people had for him, dropped automatically.It made him wonder what type of influence Adrian has been able to wield over the years. It's just so surprising to him that he has been able to build himself deep, rooted into the hearts of many people, including his staff.Just because of what happened, about five percent of his staff resigned. It was freaking hard for him to believe, but it was reality. He drove to the garage, and came down from the car in rage. Everyone who saw him, definitely knew he was angry, and they had to give way for him.
Chapter 245"I am in, how can I not be part of a team that works, you saved my life. The best I can do is to repay you guys for everything you have done for me," Liam replied."Really, that means you are officially joining our team right, big bro?" Audrey asked and he nodded his head."That's great, but what we have to do right now is to make sure that you are safe, and you also play the role of Aaron. To me that's the best way to guarantee your freedom, if you ask me," Adrian muttered."I don't doubt that's the best way, but all finger's crossed, he's going to be fine, and we are going to do our best to make sure that he's fine," Aaron replied.They all hugged each other, before returning to their different room.(Present)"I think we have waited for so long, the best we can do right now is to look for ways and means to bring him down. Don't you think, we have given him much space to rest," Liam asked, folding his arms on his chest as he sat up.Aaron nodded his head, "That's the sam
Chapter 244Adrian and Shilla both walked to their office, Mr. Brooks who was dressed in a three piece black suit, turned towards them, when he heard the clicking of their shoes on the floor."Good morning Adrian, hope you had a great night's rest?" He asked as they got close to him."Yes I did Mr. Brooks, good morning," he said, stretching his hands for a hand shake. They both shook hands, and he moved to the door of his office. Adrian placed his thumb on the censor of the door, and it opened up.They got in, Shilla moved over to her desk, while they moved to his office, "Please have your seat," Adrian said as he moved over to his seat.Mr. Brooks sat down, "I am sorry I showed up and announced, I was here four weeks ago, but Elder Jackson revealed to me that you were kidnapped. It didn't quite sit well with me, but there was only little I could do.""It's okay, if I may ask why are you here Mr. Brooks?" Adrian asked as he set up his table."Why am I here? I am here to see you, and I
Chapter 243Elder Jackson cleared his throat, "Are you trying to say, you aren't going to get married?"Adrian raised his head as tilted his head towards Elder Jackson, "Honestly, marriage isn't top of the list, for now, I doubt if I am going to get married."Elder Jackson let down his cutleries, "Adrian, can you hear yourself, what do you mean by you aren't sure you aren't going to get married. Don't you know how important the institute of marriage is?"Adrian exhaled, he knew it was going to be a long discussion about the subject of marriage, and Elder Jackson won't allow him to be. "Yes Elder, I know how important it is, but I don't think it's for someone like me.""You don't believe it's for someone like you because you are some Greek god, or what?" Madeline chipped in not hiding the hatred she has for him.Adrian looked at her for a few seconds, before tilting his head back to Elder Jackson, "It's a decision I have made many years ago, and I can't just back out of it. I just don'
Chapter 242Adrian nodded his head, he opened the laptop and shut it off, before they walked out of the building to library. They both walked to where his car was parked, and they drove back home, just In time before Ethan could return home.Immediately they got home, Liam didn't say a word to anyone, he went straight to his room, and locked the door. He walked into the bathroom, took off his clothes and got into the bathtub crying his eyes out.Now he has to be extra careful around the one he so much trusts, and he has to trust the one he so much hates, life they say is not only filled with ups and downs, it's also filled with plot twists.*****Ethan asks them to bring out the dead body of Liam, they quickly hurried to Liam's car, and brought out the body of the guy they had killed. From afar he was smiling, he thought it was Liam, but when they brought him closer.But when they brought him closer, that was when he realized that it wasn't Liam, but another person, who had close rese