Nathan's POVNathan's legs led him to the back of the house, and he was happy to find that he wasn't the only one who was having a bad day.Scott was sitting outside on the patio, staring at his laptop that was open in front of him with a frown etched on his face. Nathan sighed and slumped into the seat opposite Scott."How bad is your day going for you to frown at your laptop like that?" he blurted out. " What's your story…"Scott sighed and pushed the laptop toward him. "Worse than yours, especially considering the fact that your cooking adventure almost burned the entire house," he snickered.Nathan growled, "Geez!" Will you all stop? I can cook. I'm just not sure what's wrong with me!" He murmured.Scott shook his head, " that's your story? Because that is a lame excuse even for you Nathan." He chipped." For the umpteenth time, I. CAN. COOK" Nathan said, putting much emphasis on the last part of his statement.Scott snorted. "Yeah, I'm black," he said."You're not black, Scott."
Nathan's POV"If there are no objections, it means that everyone supports the acquisition plans and is in board to move ahead." Nathan stated, glancing around the room.The board had unexpectedly supported his intention to acquire Solace Enterprise, which had stunned him. No one, not even from the financial department, protested, which made his day.When he had been preparing for the meeting, he had thought about how to react if the board disagrees with his suggestion and one of the ways he thought about was to move the decision forward but using his veto power.It save him a lot of stress that they didn't disagree with him one bit as if they had done a meeting beforehand.When no one commented, he nodded and concluded the discussion. “ then the lawyers would take it up from here…” he said.Everyone stood up and began conversing among themselves. Some people departed the room to attend to other appointments. He tidied the space before him on the table and nodded at Scott, who left the
Nathan's POVDr. Maxwell had helped him out a little by checking with other hospitals to see whether a man named Lucas had been admitted that night, though he didn't tell Dr. Maxwell the full story of who Lucas was and why he was looking for the man.For all he knew, his body could be lying in a hospital bed in a coma while he occupied Nathaniel Hayes body.His search for what had happened had taken him to many burial grounds and funeral homes, but he had been unfortunate in not uncovering a single detail concerning Lucas's whereabouts.Except that Elton had burned his body or thrown it into the Pacific Ocean, he couldn't explain how his body had vanished out of the surface of the earth without a trace.He sighed and changed lanes, grateful that the road was slightly free from motorist. The second alternative was to face Elton directly and question him about his body, but that would require disclosing his identity to the man. It was a bad option because he needed to conceal his true
Nathan’s POVNathan held his breath while watching her flip through a large inventory book. What if his body was really present at the funeral home? What was he going to do?Would he cry? Surely, it would confirm his fears, but it would also mean that he was dead and had no body to return to if the real Nathaniel Hayes took back his body.Shit! This reality was harder to process than actually being dead.His phone beeped and showed an incoming message. He grimaced as he opened it and discovered it was from David Lakewood, CEO of Solace enterprise.“Can we meet when you are free today? Perhaps after work?” It read.Nathan raised an eyebrow, wondering why David wanted to meet. Was he no longer interested in the deal? Or had something else occurred? He had a thought.“Okay. I will see you after work,” he replied back.He was about to call the man when his attention was drawn to Martha. She was acting strange as she flicked her gaze briefly to him. She sighed and opened another record boo
Nathan’s POVNathan had seen this scenes play out before in most action films, and all he had to do was block the SUV to see who was behind it. He drove out of the space in between the two cars in another lane.If Scott was here, he would probably be having a heart attack, seeing how Nathan was driving so recklessly. He wasn’t sure if he could pull the move he had in his head, but he had to do it. One wrong and he was going to either be dead or in the hospital.One more glance at the rear mirror, Nathan saw an opportunity and dived into it. After he was certain that the black SUV was now right behind him, he slammed the brakes, bringing his car to a halt in the middle of the highway.He hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt and hopped out of his car without wasting much time, hurrying to the SUV that had stopped forcefully behind him.The SUV driver attempted to drive out, but Nathan’s quick stop led other cars behind the SUV to stop as well, blocking his exit path. Fucking kill that engin
Nathan's POVNathan arrived at the office twenty minutes later. As he walked out of the elevator, it actually felt as if he was marching into his doom. He didn't know what reason he'd give Amber because he couldn't tell him that someone sent by Elton Ross had been tailing him since he left the office or probably since that day.That was so lame and unbelievable. Why would Elton Ross send someone after him? They would all wonder. The excuse wouldn't fly even though it was genuine. He was seriously dreading Amber's reaction.He knew Amber was soft and gentle but not when the guy was pissed off . He had seen Amber being pissed at some employees during their secretary meeting, so he knew the guy was not to be toiled with.He was on his way to his office when he noticed Amber standing outside, his head bowed to his phone as he typed furiously into it.If Amber was outside his office, does that mean that Dual investments was no longer around. Shit! Had Amber failed to stall and keep them u
Nathan's POVNathan needed to get Scott off his back for the time being, and if promising to meet Hayden would accomplish that, then he would go.He just needed to go to the station and talk to the man. Scott didn't need to know exactly what they had talked about. Nathan wasn't sure about how he felt with letting Hayden know what had truly happened. He still had that feeling not to trust anyone for now. He sighed.Scott arched his brow, as if he didn't believe Nathan would go to the station, but he reluctantly nodded his head. He knew this would not be the last time Scott would raise the issue.Knowing Scott, the guy would make sure Nathan kept his word."Okay," Scott said after a while."Now you can actually go home and rest. I'll handle your schedule for today and reschedule any meetings that can wait. The meeting with Dual investments, I'll brief you on that later." Scott murmured.Nathan was not going to argue with Scott about this. His body felt worn and exhausted, and all he wa
Nathan's POVHe raised an eyebrow at her, wondering what she intended to say.Jane cleared her throat, “ I can take him to the kid’s room to you know play there while I watch him so you both can talk…” she said.Nathan frowned. Did they have a kid's room in the Hayes mansion? He had a thought. Is that what the room before the game room was? He'd always wondered what the colored door besides the game room was for and since it was not being used, Nathan had not bothered to check, thinking that it was empty.However, this was the first time he had heard of having a kid's room, considering the fact that there were no kids in the house. Instead of asking Jane about the room, he nodded and looked at David.Keeping the child engaged while they talked was a smart idea. At the very least, David would pay attention to the discuss rather than try to keep his son from touching anything in the room as he had been doing since they arrived.Nathan also trusted Jane to take good care of the child l
Lucas's POVLucas heard familiar voices all around him, but his brain couldn't figure out who was speaking. They had tried to be as quiet as they possibly could, but was failing miserably.He tried to open his eyes, but they seemed to have a mind of their own and were taking their sweet time to do so.His interest piqued as he overheard someone speak. "He's awake! His eyes are shaking. Shouldn't we call the doctor…"Who's awake? Lucas thought. It had to be him that they were referring to. He was lying down on a warm bed too.He attempted to move his body, and while it was impossible at first since his body felt heavy like a log of wood, he was able to finally shift his hand.The folks in the room were conversing quicker and moving around, judging by their heavy footfall. He was now curious about what was going on around him.Lucas tried again to open his eyes, and this time he was successful, but he had to close them again, almost immediately, when blinding light entered his eyes."C'
Nathan's POVNathan shifted his sitting position so that he was half lying down on the plush couch as he watched Elton Ross being carried out of the court and down the stairs.The reporters waiting for an interview outside the court rushed towards him and tried to get near the man despite the officers holding Elton on both sides attempting to stop them."What can you say about the final verdict?!" Someone shouted, prompting more questions from other reporters." Did you plead guilty or not guilty! Are you responsible for the death of your son in-law?!"" What do you have to say about your daughter's murder!"Nathan sighed. Shaking his head. Elton Ross had this coming for him for a very long time. He watched the man lower his head in shame. He rolled his eyes and switched to another channel, but they were still reporting the same story about billionaire CEO, Elton Ross ordering the murder of his son-in-law, Lucas, and how he had pleaded guilty to the other four counts laid against him
Elton's POVTo others, Piper was just another person who succumbed to the cruel grasp of death. The notion of being responsible for his daughter's death occurred to Elton, but he took a deep breath and buried it.'Now was not the time to deal with trivial matters, Elton'. He reminded himself mentally."Thank you, doctor. How is she?" He asked, alluding to Margaret.The doctor exhaled and shook his head. "She's not well. Her body is frail, and she is deficient in some nutrients, which we are currently injecting into her. I assume she took your daughter's death the hard way," he stated.Elton sighed. "You might say that." He mumbled. He admitted that he should have taken her to the hospital sooner, but assumed she could handle the loss and grief on her own.Margaret has experienced loss before. She lost her parents at a young age. So this shouldn't have taken a toll on her especially when she wasn't close to Piper, but perhaps, the bond between mother and daughter was too hard to ignore
Elton's POVElton Ross stood still, staring at the lifeless body in the ironically beautiful casket. He couldn't believe it had been almost two weeks since he received the news that shocked him to his core. His only daughter had been shot dead by none other than a henchman he had hired.The plan had been simple: shoot once to scare Nathaniel Hayes. But the plan, which had been simple, had grown so complex the moment the henchman had decided that killing Nathaniel Hayes instead would scare the man, and that had brought Elton the most regret.He could still see Piper's smile in his sleep, her smirk, and deep calculative frown, when things didn't go her way, which she had inherited from him. Her seductive stare as she was about to ensnare a man in her fingers.He always woke up dreaming about her and the dreams always ended with that disappointing stare from his daughter. He had killed her.How could he forget her nagging? She had gone to him a few days before her death to protest abou
Nathan's POVHayden laughed and said, "It's funny how you guys could do things that even the police force wouldn't think of." He said, nodding to August.August rolled his eyes but stayed silent. He had the sensation that the man moved mostly in the dark and kept hidden unless it was essential to reveal himself, which explained his location behind the door.Leslie scoffed. "If you want to survive in a large family like ours, you have to learn to do things on your own. After nearly three hours, they left in different directions. I have a feeling they might not even know the members," he remarked."They fucking wore masks inside the house and blindfolds inside the car while leaving. I was only able to catch a glimpse because the compound was surrounded by a huge wall…" August revealed from where he was half hidden."Give me a coordinate, and I'll get satellite footage of the building and its surroundings. Except, they are hidden underground." Chris murmured.While Chris was talking, Myl
Nathan's POVEveryone huddled together in the living room. Nathan was sitting on the couch, while Scott sat on the armrest, half leaning against him."How are you?" Hayden questioned him.Nathan frowned. He last saw the man months ago. If Hayden needed to notify them of something, he would always call, or Scott would go down to the station. This was the first time he had seen the detective in a long time, and the way that Hayden was acting gave him the impression that he had conclusive evidence and was only waiting for their agreement to proceed with his plans."I'm fine." He responded. "You were shot at, and Scott said you've been asleep for two days; don't you think it's best you get checked out at the hospital to be sure you're in great shape?" the police officer inquired.Nathan arched his brow; he hadn't considered it before, and now that detective Hayden had mentioned it, he wondered why he hadn't woke up in the hospital instead, especially given Scott's overprotective and cau
Nathan's POV“So, is this a visit or what?” he inquired, smiling. He didn’t want them to notice how tense he was. Too many Hayes in one house was enough for one person to notice something unusual about him and begin connecting the dots.It wouldn’t be long before they discovered that he wasn’t the real Nathaniel Hayes.Noah narrowed his eyes at him, then shifted his focus to his brother, Nolan. Nolan was the one who spoke first.“You were shot, Nathaniel. I didn’t expect you to forget that.” Nathan blinked. He remembered the experience vividly. He remembered nearly avoiding the gunshot because he had shifted slightly, but he didn’t see how this solved the question of why they were all there.August sighed and approached him, laying an arm over his shoulders. “Someone made the mistake of attempting to kill you, Nathaniel. You didn’t expect us to fold our hands and keep them out of it, right? And no,” he replied, shaking his head. “It became our business the moment someone pointed a
Nathan's POV“So what do we do if they are everywhere, dad?” the child said. The man stated, “We fight for what we have.”If the child was Nathaniel, and he had called the man dad, then it was clear that the man had to be Oleander Hayes, Nathaniel’s father. This was his first time hearing the man’s voice. Why did it have to be now? He wondered. Now that he felt Nathaniel’s consciousness gradually leaving him. He wasn’t sure if he was going to wake up as Nathaniel Hayes again or if he was going to return back to his body as Lucas.Nathan stepped up to the lamp, hoping it would give him an indication as to what was going on in the room. But when he looked closer, it had no switch. The lamp was turned on without a switch.Weird, he thought. How could a lamp be on without a control switch.“ Fight?” the child; Nathaniel asked. “ can’t we do something else, like run?” The question attracted Nathan’s attention. His first instinct when there was trouble had been to run, but Oleander had
Nathan’s POV The drive home was calm in the car, but the country was not silent that night. He was calm but his mind was running in circles, wondering what had just happened.One minute, he had been talking to Piper, the next, the gunshots went off and he was collapsing on the floor with Piper’s blood around him.He gazed down at his now blood stained sleeves and gasped in shock. He quickly pulled off his jacket and started unbuttoning his shirt when a hand stopped him.He tried to bat the had off, but the person held on strong. “ Let me help you Nathaniel!” Amber muttered.He sighed, calming down when he recognized Amber’s voice and allowed Amber to help him. Amber unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it out of his body, dropping it together with the jacket on the front seat. They remained quiet after that.Nathan with his eyes closed, leaning on the seat and Amber making and answering calls. He didn’t feel his phone vibrate, so he assumed that Amber was the one with his phone and wa