Elton Ross' POV "He's on to us, sir," Dane mumbled hurriedly the moment Elton got to where the man was standing.Elton scowled, unable to comprehend what Dane was saying, the man had better speak clearly or he would walk away: "What do you mean, he's into us? Who is on to us?" He asked, arching a brow.Dane pulled his fingers through his hair, looking increasingly irritated and scared. Elton couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Dane like this, especially without his shadow, Jackson, following him.Dane was always well coordinated and could control his emotions well. The man made sure that he didn't wear his emotions on his sleeve and it was difficult to discern what Dane was feeling at any given time.Seeing Dane looking scared, made him frown in worry.Dane sighed, "Nathaniel Hayes. He is fucking on to us...I knew we shouldn't have messed with him," Dane remarked through tight teeth.What? Nathaniel was on to them? He had no means of knowing about their plans. Elton had merely
Elton Ross, POV Rivers Estates was far more significantly better than Solace Enterprises. Even Ross construction was considerably superior to the Solace operation, Elton thought as he entered the building. He hadn't given up on Project 100 and was actually at Solace Enterprise to check out his rival and encourage the CEO not to accept any deals from Hayes Holdings. If Hayes Holdings was going to take Rivers Estates out of the project, it was very likely that they would go with the company that finished in second place in the competitive bid. Surprisingly, Solace Enterprise, with its limited resources, had submitted a better proposal, but Rivers Estates won due to its name and reputation in the sector.That was what they wanted others to know. The only reason why Rivers Estates had won that bid was because he had offered some huge incentives to some decision makers in Hayes Holdings and right now, they were failing him.He sighed and tucked the envelope he was holding, under his ar
Elton Ross' POV Elton groaned; he had thought David would listen to him and not force him to do what he had planned to do in the first place, but the man was clearly stubborn and was still relying on his little pride.He took out the envelope and threw it on the floor in front of David. He arched his brow, waiting for the man to pick it up. He had no respect for David Lakewood right now, and he was willing to go to any length to ensure that Solace Enterprises did not receive the fucking contract.The entire country knew that the Project was going to be managed by Rivers Estates, with Ross construction as the subcontractor, even if Hayes Holdings has not given an official announcement. It would look bad if they didn't get the contract, only for Solace enterprise to be awarded the contract. People will talk and it might affect the company stocks when rumors starts flying."Pick it up," he ordered.David chuckled dryly. "What's this? A joke?!" He muttered. "Why should I pick up someth
Nathan's POVNathan awoke that morning, feeling ill. He had no idea how he had developed a fever throughout the night, and as he rolled to the edge of the bed, every inch of his body ached. It was as if he had been hit by a trailer carrying a truck load of goods. Getting out of bed had never seemed like a big effort until that morning. He took in a deep breath as he closed his eyes to allow the wave of dizziness to subside. After finally getting out of bed, Nathan headed straight to the restroom and peered at his reflection in the mirror. He looked like hell.Nathan's hair stuck in different directions. His eyes were somewhat puffy, his face appeared pale, and his top lip was chapped. What the hell? he wondered as he stared at himself in the mirror.He looked more like a ghost than a human at the moment.Nathan sighed as he opened the cabinet filled with containers, at the top.He was confident that Jane had stocked up a regular supply of pain relief medication, so he chose one of
Nathan's POVThe news kept playing and he frowned when several other blurred out pictures were shown on the screen.What the hell was that? He thought, reading the headlines.Nathan spotted David Lakewood's face again and quickly read the headline beneath it. He couldn't understand what he was seeing at first, but after processing it, he sat up and asked, "Can you turn on the volume of the television?" with a grimace.He felt shivers run down his spine. There was no chance he was reading correctly because it wasn't true, he thought. Perhaps the editor accidentally typed the wrong headline. It had to be a mistake.Jane nodded and rushed to get the remote of the television, adjusting the volume of the television.The newscasters voice was soft and filled with an underlying disgust. He listened to what the newscaster was saying and cursed loudly, "Fuck!" "What is wrong?" Jane inquired, staring at the screen. She could clearly identify David because he had already visited the house and i
Scott's POV"I'm looking at a long-term relationship between the two companies, so you'll have to subsidize your products to make it easier for us to continue with your company after the first distribution." He reasoned."Would that be okay with you?" Scott questioned the man standing in front of him.He had heard the man's proposal of being the distribution company for the next gym business proposal and like everyone in the room, he was pleased. The company was far better than the others who had presented before him. He only had this slight problem and didn't know how Nathan would take it if Scott presented an expensive budget to him. Not like money was an issue.Nathan was overjoyed when he told him that he was finally ready to launch the small chain business project and that he would start by building gyms across the country.One of the reasons why Nathan was glad is that Scott would no longer need to fly outside of the nation to Tokyo. He still didn't understand why Nathan was up
Scott's POV"Hello, how can I help you?" She said.Scott inhaled. He had checked the man's schedule before deciding to meet him somewhere that wasn't his office. "I'm here to see Elton Ross; I believe he's on the golf course now." That's what he said.The receptionist grimaced. Scott sincerely hoped that seeing someone outside on the golf course did not violate their policy, and if it did, he seriously didn't care. He wouldn't leave until he spoke to Elton Ross."Does he know you're coming? Has he invited you? If he did, you'd need to be a registered member to get out there. Or You could simply call him out here," she suggested.Scott raised his brow. He was clearly expecting the rule, but he didn't want to sign up simply to meet Elton Ross. Their membership registration probably cost a lot. Money wasn't the problem, it just would be a waste to throw that huge amount away.He planned to be brief. He groaned and asked, "Can you call him out here then?" He tucked his hands inside his
Nathan's POV"Can you stop shaking your leg?" Scott questioned him quietly, eyeing his leg.Nathan sighed. He was quite tense, and his body was reacting to the circumstances. There was nothing anyone would tell him now that could make him less tensed. His head felt like it was about to explode at any moment, and his heart rate had surely increased, threatening to go over.He had tried calling David Lakewood several times, but the calls always went to voicemail. He was unable to leave a voicemail other than 'call me when you get this message'. His mind raced with ideas for how he could defend David in the emergency meeting.But then his heart began to question whether David Lakewood was guilty, as alleged. Surely it was the media and public opinions that the board would look at. He couldn't support the man if he hadn't heard anything from him."Please stop, Nathan. You are making me worry." Scott mumbled, resting a palm on his thigh to halt his leg movement.Nathan breathed deeply. "I
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