SHADOWS OF INFLUENCE

CHAPTER 5

A month later Kelvin returned to New York, after he had recovered from his gun shot wound and had put most of his businesses in order. He had to sort out his situation with Maria, he couldn't wait to see her face when he told her who he was and who was behind her sudden wealth, he couldn't wait to tell her she was just a puppet and he was the puppet master.

It was past seven pm when he got to the house, he had gone with his men but asked them to remain outside, he opened the door with his spare key as nobody was home, he had however done his findings and knew she'd be home at any moment. He heard she had been gallivanting around town with some guy name Chris. He sat down on the living room sofa waiting patiently for her to return home. After about twenty minutes of sitting in the dark he heard the lock turn, from where he was sitted he could make out the figures of two people one was maria the other was a guy, most probably Chris. They were in a complete frenzy, kissing each other and throwing off pieces of clothing, he cleared his throat and they jumped with Maria giving a shrill cry. Chris turn on the lights, he was shirtless and Maria was in nothing but her underwear.

"What the hell are you doing here you son of a …"

"I would have waited for you to finish up but I'm sorry I have somewhere to be," he cut her short.

"You haven't answered my question you dim wit!!" She shrieked trying to put her clothes back on"

"I'm here to collect everything that belongs to me Maria, if you don't want me in your life, you should also remove anything that belongs to me don't you think?"

"Boy bye I threw your wretched things out of my house, you can check the trash" she scoffed "now if you don't mind I'd like to get down to business, I hate to keep my baby waiting " she kissed Chris passionately. 

He stood up "By the time I am done with you would wish you were never born girl, I'm gonna take everything that belong to me"

Chris and Maria laughed at him while still caressing each other.

"By the way" he said on his way out the door "the name is Alexander Kutnetszo not Kelvin".

Alexander strode out gingerly to his waiting convoy.

Chris and Maria looked out the window to see a fleet of cars leaving, Maria sat down in shock. So kelvin wasn't Kelvin but Alexander Kut….she couldn't recall his last name. Chris quickly checked the internet for Alexander, he whistled as he showed what he saw. The Kutnetszo family was one of the richest in Paris and Alexander was the successor.

"Looks like your boy is who he says he is" Chris broke the silence

"Shhh….let me think" Maria responded beginning to get irritated by Chris' excitement. What did Kelvin or Alexander mean by he was going to take everything from her, she needed to act fast, Alexander Kutnetszo may be wealthy and have connections in her places but this was New York, this was her city.

"We have to come up with a plan, to beat him before he brings us down, I'd rather die than watch him take everything I've worked for" she said shakily

"Relax, you are tensed" he said massaging her shoulders and trying to caress her breast, Maria slapped his hand away she was in no mood for this.

"Babe we're going to work something out I promise" Chris said trying to comfort her.

"Okay" she sighed and let him hold her in a warm embrace, she felt a deep sadness at her missed opportunity, she had been married to a multi billionaire, someone so influential yet she had let him slip out of her fingers, she hated him for lying about his identity. Her heart ached for an opportunity lost but she wasn't going to give up.

Alex was still trying to pull strings to see that Maria went down. He hadn't had anything from her since the last time he saw her. By the time he was done she'd come crawling and begging.

He was in a meeting with one of the connections here in New York, he had been working on some business proposal that he would like to set up here, as a shrewd business man he had noticed the vast opportunity that abound in the city and was ready to leverage on it. No sooner had he finished his meeting she called asking that they meet up and straighten things out. He gave her his location and time.

She came later that evening dressed in almost nothing, he had asked that they meet in his luxury suite where he was staying at the moment.

When she entered the room he asked Specter to give them some privacy. 

"You can sit Maria" he gestured towards the sofa opposite him.

"Thank you" she replied

"you wanted to see me please speak"

"Kelv…I mean Alexander, I know I've treated you badly in the past, I've been mean and all but I still love you, I was just naive and inexperienced then I know better now" 

Alex scoffed at her statement, so much for love.

"I know it's hard but find a place in your heart to forgive me" she pleaded

"Maria you are forgiven, I hold no grudges, I just want what's mine, what you didn't know was that I orchestrated your rise to wealth, the promotion, the money, the connections it was all me….I did that for you, for love but all I got in return was hate" he said calmly.

"I am sorry…..I..I.. love you I swear" she stamered

"Too late my dear, I'm over it"

As he was talking she let down the strap of her dress, she was wearing nothing underneath, he stared at her blankly as she stood and moved towards him

"Whatever you're doing won't work Maria, it's late already" She ran a finger down his chest

"You can have me however you want" she said

"I have no interest in this Maria don't make me push you off me, kindly wear your dress" Alex didn't want to push her off him, he had never laid a hand on a woman before and would not start now. He stood up and walked over to the window.

"If you don't have anything to say then I'm gonna ask you to leave"

Maria looked stunned, she never thought he could be this cold. She put her dress back on and left.

Back at home, Chris couldn't contain his anticipation as he waited to hear the outcome of the whole ordeal. He was seated in the comfortable living room, accompanied by an unexpected guest he had recently made acquaintance with. The room's atmosphere held a subtle tension, but Chris was determined to keep things cheerful.

Maria, on the other hand, didn't appear to be in the best mood as she entered the room. She offered a brief greeting but seemed keen on heading to the bedroom.Chris, somewhat oblivious to her less-than-happy demeanor, called her over, asking her to come and say hello to their guest. It was as if he couldn't sense her discomfort, but she obliged nonetheless, joining them on the couch. Her facial expression hinted at her annoyance.

Their attention was absorbed by what appeared on Chris's laptop screen. They were intently focused on the content, whether it was something they were watching or reading. After a moment, Chris took it upon himself to introduce Maria to their guest. He shared that this guest was in search of someone named Alexander Kuznetsov. He knew Alexander came here but had been unable to track him down ever since. 

Their guest was Alexander's sworn enemy, he knew things no one knew about him and had sworn to bring him down by all means. It was just what Chris needed at the moment, someone with enough dirt on Alexander Kutnetszo to pin him down and place him where he belonged. So far the things he had heard about his father was scary but this guest had said Alex never directly killed anyone, the guy was too soft for a mafia lord.

As the guest explained, Maria became even more animated by what she was hearing, if she could not seduce Alexander and keep her wealth, even get more while she was at it, at least she could blackmail him. They made their plans and plotted how to execute it. The guest provided a picture of Alexander Kutnetszo pointing a gun at his uncle Fernandez, after the death of the church had been thrown into total disarray, the loss was too great to handle, it came as a complete shock to them. The police had started the investigation immediately and all the clues they had were pointing to Alexander, he, the guest was the only one with that picture and if it got to the police it would be all they needed to put him behind bars.The guest had a score to settle with Alexander so for now he would use that picture as collateral. The plan was Chris and this new guy would invite Alexander for a meeting, but ii would be Maria who would lure him out afterwards they'd handle him. 

Alexander decided to meet up with an old friend here in New York, during the time he worked here they had been work colleagues and he had been a close friend, always encouraging him. He met up with Audrey and they caught up on old times. Audrey was surprised to see how he had changed and who he really was.

Alexander offered to set up a business for Audrey if he had any in mind and also encouraged him to reach out to him if he needed anything. Audrey was grateful.

Alexander got a call from Maria three days later, she had been calling non stop. He decided to answer the phone. She sounded distressed and was crying, according to her Chris had hit her. Alexander could not stand a woman being hit by a man, he didn't care if he knew the woman or not, it was against everything he believed in, his blood boiled. He asked for where she was and she gave him her address, she wasn't in her house. Alexander left angrily, he decided to drive over there himself, Specter didn't like the sound of it but his boss was hell bent on handling the case on his own.

Chris and his friend were already at the venue, it was an old abandoned warehouse. When Alex arrived at the address that Maria had sent him, he was surprised to see that it was an abandoned warehouse, had Chris kidnapped her and left her to die here. He walked into the building, it was dimly lit and he had to pause before his eyes got accustomed to the darkness. 

"Maria!!" He called

No answer.

"Maria, are you there?" He called again as his eyes scanned the building.

"Maria isn't here but I am" Chris walked into sight

"Where are you keeping her?"

"Who? Your ex-wife? My babe, " Chris answered. "She isn't here"

Alex moved towards him ready to throw a punch, he didn't have the patience for a chit chat.

Chris pointed a gun at him, Alex stopped in his tracks.

"Not so fast Mr mafia" he said, gun still in place. "I brought someone for you"

 Someone emerged from the shadows, as he walked towards them, shock registered on Alex's face. It was Audrey!

"What the hell is going on?" Alex asked, still in shock but masking it.

"Welcome to the party" Chris hollered

"Alexander Kutnetszo, the one and only son of Sebastian Kutnetszo" Audrey cooed

"What's all these supposed to mean" Alex asked again "Audrey you're in cohort with this guy?"

"Do not speak my name out of your foul mouth!!! You act like a fucking saint but you're a murderer! You and your entire family have done nothing but harm to my family!"

"I have never met your family Audrey, what are you talking about? Is this guy making you do this, I can help you"

Audrey laughed hard at him "help? You killed my father, just when I was getting to know the man that I didn't know from birth you ended his life!!"

"Who the hell is your father!" Alexander retorted. 

Chris watched the exchange of emotions in amusement.

"Paulo Rodrigo! He was my father and you murdered him in cold blood" Audrey was shouting now, shaking with rage.

"Paulo never had any children " Alex answered calmly, looking for a way out.

"You may not know this but a month before you killed him, I found out he was my father from my mother on her dying bed, I was only getting to know him but you cut it short.

"I didn't kill your father Audrey, I understand you're hurt but I need you to listen to me"

"Shut up!!! Stop patronizing me, I know who you are, you killed your uncle, Fernandez '' he pulled out a picture from his breast pocket, it was the picture of him pointing a gun at his uncle.

"Where did you get that from?" 

"It doesn't matter, just know that I would do everything in my power to bring you down even if it is the last thing I do" it was at that moment that Chris shot him down.

"Phew good talk right there but I don't have time for a pep talk"

"What the hell are you doing? " Alex asked, could the day get any worse he thought.

"Killing him, just the way I killed Maria"

"You killed Maria? Stop bluffing"

"Don't worry, it was a quick death I promise, the person that gave me the poison assured me of that"

"You're so pathetic" 

Chris took the picture from Audrey's lifeless body.

"I hear the police are after you Mr mafia, with this I could put you behind bars" gun still pointing at his opponent "so I am here to negotiate, I have no interest in sending you to jail. How about you make this work for us, you know….me and you"

"Take it to the police, I will not negotiate with a criminal" Alex answered, he had been looking for something to distract Chris.

He didn't want to use his gun, he noticed a piece of wood by his side, picked it up and hit Chris' hand with it. The gun clattered to the floor, Alex threw a punch at his face, Chris retaliated with a punch to his stomach, Alex slammed him against the wall. He scampered away from him searching frantically for his gun, he found it. Both of them were breathing heavily as Chris pointed the gun at him ready to shoot but he suddenly dropped the gun as blood sputtered from his mouth, within minutes he was dead. Alex looked to see who had shot him, it was Specter, he saw some of the men behind him. Alexander's nose was bleeding. He had never been more glad to see Specter in his life, that man had saved his life one too many times.