Antonio strolls into the office a few hours later, and sees that the receptionist, Joyce, was busy typing, wondering what they were doing. "Hola, Joyce." He greets her jokingly. She was one of the girls that he had slept with to secure a job in the company."Good morning, sir." She replied harshly and he cocked his head sideways. That was new. He thought. "It's a good thing you're just coming in." She replied dryly.The shiteating grin slipped off from his face as he stared at the way her hands were flying on the keyboard. Never had he seen her this focused before so what changed. "Aren't you working too hard? Aiming for the staff of the year?" He teased trying to understand what was actually going on.Joyce's eyes snapped to him and stared at him with contempt in her eyes at his attempt of joking like his usual manner, "Maybe it's time to actually earn my keep. One thing it does is restores my respect." She flung at him.Antonio leaned over her desk, and peered into her computer to
"What did he say when you arrived at his office?" Leonard inquired from Emma when she entered his office.Not wanting to sound like a complainant at every little thing because she knew the boss, she decided not to talk. Instead she settled for shrugging. "He only asked for my name and whatnot." She replied.Leonard didn't believe her story because judging from her demeanor he could decipher that she was perplexed by something. "Emma, tell me what happened there." He said and she sighed."He was acting a bit flirty towards me but I told him off." She replied, watching his face, gauging his reaction to see what he would do.Leonard balled his fists but maintained a friendly countenance. No one needed to know that he was angry at the moment. His eyes flickered toward her and also gauged her reaction. "Sorry about that."Emma waved her hand in a dismissive manner. She was not taking whatever Antonio did to heart. Neither did she think that it was a representation of him. She had known h
"Then tell me who did it this instant or I will not hesitate to fire you. You don't want to remain penniless after all, do you?" He replied in a very angry tone. Mr. Ben's eyes flickered to the right as he stared at him, he was helpless. He needed this money to feel his wife and children and everything he held dear. Getting cut out of this business would put a dent on his image because he was sure that Leonard wouldn't issue a recommendation letter to him no matter how he begged. "It was your brother Antonio." "How do I believe you? For all I know you might be trying to frame him so that I don't send you out." Ben's hands went straight to the air. " I swear, I don't know anything about this. I don't know if you have anything in mind. we can go to him together. He gave me orders that I couldn't reject, sir. I swear I didn't want to do it. I have the conversation on my phone, the chats, the calls, everything, even the money he gave me to buy my silence." Wow! Leonard thought, this
Leonard was up on his feet immediately rushing out of the door like a man chased by a mad man. His heart pounded uncontrollably as he tried to remember what he was saying. "Where is the driver? Shit! I mean this is ridiculous! Where is the driver?!" Jesus! His heart pounded as a car drove into the compound at full speed and he immediately slipped into it with Emma on the tow as the driver sped off following Emma's directions. His heart was racing faster than the speed of light and he finally remembered to pray. This was something that could ruin his life. His hands practically shook, and at this moment he couldn't even pretend as though he was not afraid one bit. When the car pulled up in front of the hospital, he sighed in relief. The driver had not finished parking when he alighted from his car and rushed towards the entrance and thus into the reception. He saw the principal at the counter and sighed in relief again. "Mr. Leonard, I wanted to reach you but your phone was busy
Leonard rested his head against the backseat for two minutes. Ava was finally stable. There were a few things that got to him but this took the cake. After the spat with Sophie which he thought didn't deserve that title because he basically chewed her up if he wanted to be sincere but he'd let that slide.He shut the door gently, alighted, and marched to his office. The funny thing was that he was still early."Good morning, sir." Joyce said when he walked to the table. There was a small attendance list on her table which he quickly scanned through.An impressive number of people had arrived. It was still a few minutes to eight though so he didn't need to stress himself concerning that. When he entered his office, he slumped on the chair and stretched his legs in front of him. Exhaustion getting the best of him. He waited a few minutes before picking up his folder and going through his schedule for today.Emma was not here to bring in the planner so he was going to have to do it hims
Leonard arrived at the front of the building that was slated for the party to happen. It was an impressive high-rise building. He had only decided to attend because his brother was busy pestering him and also because he talked about the possibility of meeting with great people who would make their company grow bigger which if he wanted to be honest wasn't a really bad idea. The only problem he was having now was the fact that these people would be expecting him to engage in their shenanigans.He didn't think that anyone who was associated with Antonio was a serious person because like the adage said, show me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are. A bouncer opened the door and he walked in immediately. He didn't even need to show them his card which caused him to be surprised. Wasn't that the standard of things?The ballroom was designed to make sure that they were comfortable. It was an amazing decor and he was busy taking notes. if the company ever needed to host a pa
The lady was stunned by the rebuff and waited a minute before speaking, "What did you just say?" She replied.Leonard stared at her. " I'm sure that I didn't speak French, did I? I don't appreciate flirting. We don't do business like that around here." He replied, enjoying the shock on her face as she stared at him. "You can't mean that. I know that you're trying to play hard to get like other CEOS. Trust me, I have most of them on retainer." She bragged while wiggling her brows seductively or what she thought would make his head spin."That's good for you." He muttered and stared ahead, watching a few ladies dancing happily. It was annoying that he was here already, adding all this foolery to the mix was just pure disaster.He should have stayed at the hospital with his daughter. He brought out his phone to call Emma. God bless her heart was with his daughter and here he was wasting precious time.A hand pushed his phone away and he looked up to see a reprimanding look on the spoilt
Leonard peeped through the window of the ward and watched Emma stroking his daughter's hair while reading her a bedtime story. It warmed his heart greatly and he couldn't help but wonder if things would have been different if he had met this sister. He saw her lips move when she was staring at him and he realized that she was staring at him.Emma giggled softly when she saw Leonard standing at the door watching them. A little blush crept up her face which she prayed simmered down before she could talk to her. "I don't think you know how amazing you are when you do these things." He muttered and she shook her head at his words. He cast a glance at his daughter who lay on the bed smiling weakly at him."Daddy, I've missed you." She whispered and Leonard felt his hard heart break at the sight of his daughter still in pain. It was evident in her eyes but his relief was that she was conscious. "I missed you too, darling. I'm happy you're back."Emma rose and excused the duo to have thei
One year laterThe sun cast a golden glow over the vast, manicured gardens of the prestigious Grand Regency Hotel.A venue renowned for its grandeur and elegance. The garden, transformed into an ethereal paradise all thanks to the best wedding planner in town.It was the perfect setting for the wedding of the century between Estelle and Silas, the Controller General.Guests from all walks of life, including dignitaries, politicians, celebrities, and high-profile business moguls, filled the garden, their elegant attire creating a vibrant tapestry of colors. The air buzzed with excitement and anticipation, mingling with the scent of blooming roses, lilies, and orchids that adorned the space.A grand archway, entwined with white roses and ivy, marked the entrance to the ceremony area. As guests entered, they were greeted by the soft, melodic strains of a live orchestra, playing classical pieces that echoed through the garden.Crystal chandeliers hung from the branches of large ancient o
“Hahaha, very funny" Antonio laughed hysterically, glaring over at his brother from the corner of his eyes.“And when exactly did you become a police officer that you think you have the right to tell me to freeze?” Antonio scoffed with malice in his voice.“I always knew you were dumb-witted but this is a whole new low,” he laughed again uncontrollably. “Do you think being a cop is transferable or something? Just because you’re an in-law to one?” Antonio asked sarcastically, but Leonard left Antonio's words hung in the air unanswered while giving time for the police to surround the house. "Leonard, Leonard, Leonard, " Antonio called out his name, his teeth making ‘tsk-tsk’ sounds as he shook his head in disapproval.“You amaze me sometimes, you know brother?” he continued. "Always thinking you were better than everyone else and had it all together but we both know you never did.” He said while he laughed moving towards Estelle but she pushed back from him. “Even taking our sister'
Leonard frantically looked through the CCTV cameras at the venue of the wedding, his face was beaded with sweat but he somehow managed to remain calm compared to the rest of them he was the one who was calm the most. The day before which was the last day before the wedding he had spoken with Estelle so how was it that she had just gone missing on the day of her wedding? How could she have just vanished into thin air without a word of warning? It had been a couple of hours already but the family wasn’t in a hurry to let the media or the public in general know anything about all that had happened, at least not until they got the bearing back together and had figured out at least something about what was going on, could she have run away on her wedding? That didn’t seem feasible, particularly because of how happy she was during the preparation, she was truly excited to be with Silas, but at the same time, she was afraid that something would happen and perhaps as a cruel joke played on
Leonard began to go through the accounts book and began to see a large number of errors regarding the money going in and out of the firm, at this time Antonio had been arrested so it was up to him to take over the company and oversee all that was going on within it. But what he was seeing in the books did not put him at ease at the very least, on the contrary,, it made him feel rather disturbed, what exactly had Antonio been doing for so long in the company, what had he been spending so much money on that he didn’t care about the losses it incurred so frequently?He asked himself inwardly and then with a sigh he stood up and decided to question the people who worked for Antonio starting with Alice.She was the only one he actually trusted to tell the truth about what was really going on in the company and every office, as for the others he could not exactly be certain which ones among them were still in contact with or still willing to work for Antonio. He couldn't be more angry at
Sophie paced back and forth in the place she had decided to take shelter which wasn't anywhere comfortable but was some place in the slums, her past self would never once have even imagined that she would ever have a day of such humiliation, a day when she would be trying so hard to fight a losing battle against the monster that was the law. And as it was in that moment this monster was mere minutes away from finding her and choking her to death, as she pondered she recalled what Antonio had said before, both what he said about having more affluence and what he told her to do then with Emma, but it was as she thought about it that she shook her head and decided not to, she was already in hot enough soup, she didn't need to add any more fire. She really didn't know everything about Antonio or what his endgame really was, but one thing she knew that she could count on if she decided to work with him was the fact that somebody was going to have to die, it was just a matter of who, and
The next dayAs Leonard looked up at the exterior of the company's building, memories started flooding in, he began feeling a sense of nostalgia.The company was a sleek and modern marvel! It appeared as a gleaming giant, its facade a vast expanse of silver-gray glass and steel that seemed to stretch up to the very sky. The entrance was marked by a bold, oversized logo in a bright, electric blue color that seemed to pulse with energy. The walls of the building appeared to be made of a shimmering glass material that reflected the surrounding light, giving it a sense of depth and dimensionality.Overall, it was one damn of a cutting-edge technological company and Leonard couldn't imagine how Antonio might have managed to ruin it.As he climbed the wide stairs leading to the entrance, he cleared his throat trying his best to ignore the nervousness he was feeling.Questions like–would he even be able to fit in? What if no one wanted him there? What if he couldn't catch up and missed ever
A week laterIn the courtroom, filled with a shimmering sense of hope, Leonard stood in his small wooden cubicle before the judge.Everyone present, expecting nothing but good judgment. Through the thick lenses of the judge looking down on everyone from her high seat, with a hand she picked up her gavel with one hand and struck it twice on the gavel stone.“Leonard, you are hereby acquitted and released from all your charges,” she declared with a sounding voice as light applause began to fill the room.As Leonard made his way out of the court, a whole flock of people including the press, news reporters, broadcasters, the media were outside waiting for Leonard to emerge and once they got sight of him, they all came running to him at once.Lenoard tried his best to stay composed as multiple cameras and mics were getting shoved in his face. “Leonard, look here!” One reporter said, “No, Leonard look here,” another blurted out. “So you were really accused?”The questions kept rolling and
Estelle adjusted herself on the seat provided before Leonard, sitting upright so she could get a clear view of her brother's face through the security glass partition.“What do you mean by that Leonard? You don't want to work for the company anymore when you come out?” Estelle asks, trying to clarify.Leonard noded, “Just as I said Estelle, I don't think going back to that company is what I want to do.”“Don't think like that Leo,” she started in a convincing voice. “I mean, the company's faith depends on you. Speaking of which, it has already run down significantly, although we haven't run into any debt. What I'm saying is if you leave now, it will be in total shambles.”Leonard looked away for a moment sighing and if he thought Estelle would give up so easily then he was mistaken.“I honestly don't understand how Antonio is running that company, people literally loved you Leonard! In fact it was those same people who advocated for you to be released after all the evidence came out a
In the boardroomThe atmosphere in the boardroom was thick with anticipation. Silas, a commanding presence with an air of authority, stood at the head of the table, his eyes scanning the faces of the gathered board members.“Thank you all for coming,” Silas began, his voice steady and firm. “Today, we address the matter of the DNA test results.”He looked over at the corner where the police officers he was here with today stood. And with a flicker of his wrist, one police officer came forward, handing him over a brown envelope.Silas took the brown envelope, bringing out the documents within, lifting it up in the air so everyone present in the boardroom could see so there'd be no chances of anyone accusing him that he'd slip anything in.“May a neutral person come forward?” Silas announced and a junior officer appeared before him from the crowd. He hands the documents over to him. “Distribute them.” With that the junior officer nodded, beginning from the first person, he went one aft