Simon woke up with a deadly headache, he felt like his skull would break in two. His visions were still blurry and the cold tile beneath him made him realize that he was on the same spot when he lost consciousness earlier.Memories came crashing. That woman, Candice, brought food and a bottle of champagne. And the next thing he knew, his head was spinning and he was losing consciousness.“Fuck!” He cursed as she cradled his head. His head was still spinning and he wanted to puke. “That, bitch!” He tried to stand but his body was still weak. He can't believe he was fooled by that woman!He just realized that he was being drugged by his neighbor and who knows what that woman took from his condo. With all his effort, Simon was able to stand. He supported his body by leaning on the kitchen counter. Yes, he was still in the kitchen. As his sight began to recover, he saw the empty glasses of champagne on the sink, it was already washed, of course. That woman wouldn’t want to leave trace
It’s been days since the incident in his condo unit and Simon still couldn’t get over the fact that he was fooled by a woman. He was not just fooled, he was drugged and got stolen into. Giovanni still has no lead about the real identity of that woman. Her records in the condo unit were all fake, her names, age and even her bank accounts didn’t really exist. Simon even doubted that it was her real face, there’a a huge possibility that she wasn’t wearing her real hair and the color of her eyes were fake. That, Simon knew for sure. The press were still hot about him but at least half of those who were camping outside their mansion were gone. Though some were hard-headed and continued to camp outside even though the police had intervened. Simon decided to return to the mansion for the time being to keep an eye on his father and so he can monitor his health. A knock on the door brought Simon back from his reverie. Federico entered the study room after the knock. Simon set a straight
Simon received the address that was sent to him by Giovanni. He wasted no time, he immediately drove his car, the one he just purchased recently, his Lamborghini car. Elton, his newly hired driver and bodyguard wanted to go with him but Simon refused. He wanted to go there alone. “Mt. Giovanni will sever my head if I let you go alone, Mr. Morelli. He made it clear not to let you go without a companion. Elton was an ex-military who was assigned in Pakistan and got dismissed. Giovanni chose the guy among all who applied because of his combat skills and background about guns and man to man fight. He has a clean background Simon agreed when Giov and Marcus insisted on giving him a personal bodyguard. Simon could clearly manage to protect himself but the two don't want to take chances. “Just tell him I have a date and I don’t like being followed.” Simon pulled his coat, an ordinary coat with a cheap brand, and wore it. He had two guns tucked in his shoulder holster. Elton scratched h
The building smells awful. The moment Simon entered the threshold, he was greeted by the smell of stale tobacco mixed with the strong odor of urine. He almost puked when the smell assaulted his nose without permission. “Damn!” he cursed. He also lived in a dilapidated building like this before but the smell here was way worse. A loud music was blaring, it was still early in the morning but the neighborhood didn't care about the noise, they could disturbed the other tenants. Shaking his head, Simon made his way to the second floor. The smell just keeps getting worse with every step that he makes. Simon saw a couple having sex in one corner of the second floor. He passed them but the two didn't care that he witnessed their nasty acts. The woman with smudge lipstick and mascara even winked at him and invited him to join the two. Simon was not new to those kinds of scenes. His father used to take him to strip clubs when he was still a teenager. He wanted him to see how dirty the worl
Mr. John Graham was a resident of the state of North Carolina but he opened a storage locker in Seattle. That’s a far place and Simon wondered what was really inside that locker for the old retired cop to put it away from him. “It must have been so important, I guess.” Simon murmured to himself as he continued to scan the contents of the flash drive that Graham had given him. Aside from the agreement papers of the storage locker, Simon has not found any significant documents in it. He hailed a cab going to the address stated in the agreement papers. It was a local storage locker that looked like a warehouse. The security let him in without any questions. There was no one as Simon walked to the counter. An old lady with strawberry blonde hair manned the counter. She was chewing a gum and didn’t give Simon any acknowledgement as Simon entered. Her eyes fixed on her cellphone while she’s watching some kind of comedy show on it. Simon stood there a total of one minute but still the
Someone was watching him, Simon knew that for sure. He scanned the surroundings, looking for someone that lurked within the shadows. But Simon hadn’t seen anyone, not even one soul in sight. He wondered where the people were. Hadn’t they heard the commotion in the house when Reiley was being attacked. He grimaced at the thought that another soul might be in danger at this very moment because of him. Reiley must have known something really important for him to be dragged like this. “Damn!” he cursed. He went inside the house again, careful not to touch a thing that would leave his presence inside the house. He once again checked the entire house, making sure that Reiley wasn't really there. And he’s right, there’s no sign of the private investigator in the house. “Where could he be?” he asked himself unconsciously. Someone knew that he’s coming here and they made an effort to get to Reiley first before he could get it. The culprit must have him followed. He balled his fist, he ha
Simon had no choice but to go back to the office and work there since it was necessary for him as the acting chairman of the board. His schedule was full, he had a meeting with the board of directors and he met with the head of finance in the company. It was still morning but Simon could already feel the exhaustion. Working in a corporate world was much more exhausting than working as a janitor in the hotel. He preferred those kinds of work. He entered his office and Elton was behind him. He was his temporary assistant until he could find someone who could do the job. He's been waiting for Janus’ call but he hasn’t heard from him yet.He sat on the swivel chair and closed his eyes, his headache was getting worse. “Coffee or vodka?” Elton asked. He was standing in front of his desk. “Vodka sounds better than coffee.” He rubbed his temple using his fingers. He just wanted to go home and take a rest. What happened in Seattle was still a mystery to him. Giovanni has no lead yet about
Simon was just in his office the whole day, he’s reviewing all reports from different departments and he’s not even halfway. He felt exhausted and he wanted to just go home and take a good hot shower. But he still has work to do. He was interrupted by a knock on the office door and Elton came in. “Sir, someone was looking for you. They said you gave them a calling card and give you a call if they are interested in finding a job.” Elton showed Simon the calling card. Simon wondered if it’s Janus. “There are two of them.” Elton continued. Simon realized who they are, those thugs he met at Janus’ apartment. He closed his laptop and leaned back in his swivel chair. “Send them in. And bring me a bottle of vodka, please.” Simon found comfort in alcohol. Whenever he felt exhausted, just a shot of vodka was enough to make him feel energized again. The door opened and Elton escorted the two thugs inside the office. They looked ignorant while they roamed their eyes inside his office,