NIKAELEON***I leaned back in my seat and gestured for Connor to keep talking.“Some of the reporters that have been persistently requesting an interview outside the office building for several days got into a scuffle with building security. They tried to force their way into the building and in the process of keeping them back, one of the reporters got injured by one of the guards. The reporter fell and sustained a head injury. He was taken to the office medic to receive first aid, but he’s there right now spewing profanities and threatening to sue for assault if you don’t speak to him.”I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. Ever since it got to the media that I was arrested for murder a while ago, reporters had been flocking around my house and office, following me around trying to get pictures and a story to sell. It didn’t matter that an article was released to clear my name, with proof of my innocence and an apology from the chief of police, the reporters still came on to
NIKAELEON***It was almost a week later before my schedule was free enough for me to call Uriel and fix a time to meet up with her. Truthfully, if I had really wanted to see her before then, I would have found a way to do so, but I wanted her to wait to be granted the pleasure of seeing me. She needed to realise that though I agreed to seeing and talking to her, I wasn’t going to make it easy for her to carry out her aim of earning my forgiveness.Although it was a little bit inconvenient, the venue of our meeting today was a park close to the city’s outskirts. I picked the time and place for various reasons. Firstly, we were meeting during work hours so within that time, I would be sure that Connor was still at work. Secondly, that particular park didn’t get many visitors so it was easy to book the whole place for the day, for privacy and security sake. It wouldn’t work in my favour if we get caught together on camera or one of my enemies decides to even a score by attacking me whil
NIKAELEON***When I got back home, I immediately noticed Aina’s bad mood and I wasn’t the only one who picked up on it. She was always so annoyingly cheerful and lively so her pensive mood was easy to notice. We were all eating dinner and Aina was just playing with her food. Usually, she would be blabbering about her day or trying to hound us for details on what we worked on for the day. Antonio wasn’t here with us today because it was one of his days with his family and his son had returned back to the country as well. It was just me, Aina and Marcel. I noticed that every one of us had developed the habit of calling Scorpion by his real name, which was all Aina’s doing, a fact that annoyed me more than it should. She was just too involved in our lives, and now her sour mood was making me lose my appetite.“Stop moping and just say what your problem is. What happened, Aina?” I asked her.“Nothing, I’m fine.” She replied without looking at me.“Even the walls can see that you’re not f
NIKAELEON***The next day was spent making plans on how best to get into Aina’s father’s funeral and will reading without getting our heads blown off. I gave Armando the task of hacking into her step mother’s social media handles to try and get any information that may be helpful. When that proved abortive, he created a virus and sent it to her as a message advertising some beauty products. The moment the stepmother tapped on the link, he was able to get access to their home servers and we discovered something interesting. The will that was to be read on Aina’s father’s funeral day was not the original document, the stepmother was already making plans to swap the original with a forged document before the funeral day.Armando was able to access the legal documents through the law firm that Aina’s father used when he was alive… the guy was a tech genius, or maybe a wizard, because the things he could do seemed like magic. From the history he recovered, it seemed like Aina’s father ha
NIKAELEON***“Calm down, Aina. If you keep pacing, you’ll wear a hole through my floor.” I said to her as she moved from one end of my office to another.“You’re like a breathing ball on a Newton's cradle.” Scorpion said to her.“I can’t calm down, I’m just so restless.” She sighed and continued pacing.“There is no need to be so worried, I have everything under control. We’ve accounted for different possible outcomes of today, we have not just plan B, but other contingency plans too. Now all we need to do is show up at the funeral later today and go through with it.” I said to her.“What if something still goes wrong despite all the plans we have in place? What if someone gets hurt or worse, killed? I can’t have that on my conscience. I’m the one that’s actually in danger because it’s me they’ll be expecting, no one can predict the future, what if I end up being the one who dies?” She asked.“Before I reply to you, sit down, your pacing is starting to annoy me.” I said to her.“Just
NIKAELEON***We got to Aina's family mansion but we didn't step out of the car yet. We waited for several minutes for my security personnel to do a quick check of the house. When they were certain that there was no present threat, they let us know and that was when we went inside the house."Aina, my dear. Welcome." Her step mother said with a bright smile as she walked towards us.“Cut the crap, Beatrice. We both know you’re not happy to see me.” Aina said to her stepmother as she removed her fascinator.“Don’t talk to my mother that way.”Beatrice, Aina’s stepmother, had two children before getting married to Aina’s father. It was her first son, Troy, that spoke to Aina and stepped forward with a threatening pose. Troy was three years older than Aina who was 23, and Alina’s second child, Tiana, was two years younger than Aina.“You better be stepping forward to kiss her feet, boy, if not, you better step back or it won’t end well for you.” I warned Troy and he paused.“I’ll speak
NIKAELEON***“Let the man finish before you start screaming.” Aina said as she leaned back on her seat.We were seated on a double seater sofa and my hand was over the headrest behind her so she was basically leaning on me. We needed to look like a solid team in front of the others. And to my chagrin, I discovered that I didn’t actually hate her being so close to me. I usually couldn’t stand other people being in my personal space, but with Aina, I actually didn’t mind. I guess it’s because I accepted her into my family after she started staying with us and proved her loyalty.“That is a lie, it’s not possible.” Troy said.“Can you all please let me finish?” The executor asked and they all became quiet.“As I was saying, eighty percent of all he owned is to be signed over to Aina, and the remaining twenty percent is to be used for charitable purposes…” There was another gasp of surprise from Aina’s step family.“... Aina is to be in charge of making sure every charity project that wa
NIKAELEON***Uriel continued sobbing, her tears making it hard for her to speak.“Come on, Uri, talk to me. You said you need my help, I can’t help you when I don’t know what’s happening, what’s the problem?” I asked impatiently.“Sophia is s.sick… she needs blood… they don’t have her blood group available at the hos.spital b.blood bank. You’re the only one I know that has the same blood group Sophia has, p.please, Nik, I will do anything you ask of me, anyt.thing at all, just please, help me, save my daughter.”Uriel’s words were barely coherent. Her words were flowing fast and with her crying, I could barely understand her but I got the message… Sophia needed a blood transfusion, and at the moment, I’m the only one who can give to her if I decide to.“What hospital are you in?” I asked her.“Sans Memorial, near…”“Davy Block. I know the place, I’ll be there in less than thirty minutes, I promise.”“Okay, please hurry, thank you.” She said and disconnected the call.“What’s wrong?”
EPILOGUE *** NIKAELEON * I thought I understood nervousness when I was about to get married, or fear when Aina had been held at gun point, none of that compared to the feeling of watching my child being born. Aina and I had already agreed before hand that I would be inside while she was giving birth. She needed my support because this was her first birth, and I wanted to watch , it would help me treasure her sacrifice to have our babies. Yes, babies. It seemed Sophia's prayer for a brother and sister came to pass. We found out we were having twins when we went for a late ultrasound scan. She screamed as another contraction hit her and her grip on my hand almost crushed my bones but I just stroked her hair with my other hand. "I don't think I can do this anymore." Aina sobbed and my heart broke for her. I wish I could take her pain away even if just a little bit and I hated being so helpless because at this point, there was nothing I could do for her. "Just a little bit more, Mr
NIKAELEON *** I never expected to be nervous today. It was usual to be nervous when you’re getting married, but I didn’t expect to be nervous, I expected to go through it calmly like I usually did everything in my life. Instead, I was fidgety, checking my reflection in the mirror a hundred times even though I looked perfect physically. “You look great, son. Stay still before you make a hole in the floor with your pacing.” My father chuckled as he walked into my room. “I don’t know why I’m even nervous. I was fine yesterday.” I said to him as I adjusted my tie again. “I was the same way when I married your mother. A lot of people no longer value marriage, but it’s supposed to be sacred. A lifelong vow of commitment to the one person you choose to live the rest of your life with. And you love her, you’re afraid of making a mistake and ruining what you both have.” I was about to protest and tell my father that this marriage was just an arrangement, after all, as a mafia boss, love w
NIKAELEON *** It has been weeks since Connor was arrested along with the leaders of the Black Knights. Some other lower ranked members had also been apprehended these past weeks. Connor and the leaders had already been tried in court and sentenced to life imprisonment. The others were still awaiting trial but it didn’t matter, they were just pawns, the main players were already in jail. Last I heard, Connor had been nearly paralysed and had to be hospitalised for almost two weeks. I had no sympathy for him and neither did the government, he was still sent back to prison on crutches to continue living with his assailants. My revenge on him was complete. Uriel had also been tried for illegal possession of a firearm and threatening people’s lives with it, but she hadn’t been sent to jail because I didn’t press charges to add to these ones. She was on house arrest for a year, with community service and court ordained therapy. I went to visit her occasionally so she could video call Soph
NIKAELEON***A FEW DAYS LATER*The courtroom buzzed with tension as the arguments echoed through the room, each side presenting their case for Sophia's custody. It was Manolo’s turn to speak now."Your Honor, We have substantial evidence to establish that Ms. Uriel is mentally unstable and unfit to provide a stable and nurturing environment for Sophia. We also have expert testimonies from qualified mental health professionals who have evaluated Ms. Uriel and have concluded that her mental state poses a risk to the well-being of the child."We gave the court a video clip from the security footage from the mansion showing the moment Uriel had grabbed Sophia roughly after Sophia announced that she was having a sibling. There was no sound because it was CCTV, but it was evident that Uriel was being aggressive to Sophia. That was enough to help our case.Uriel's lawyer countered with equal enthusiasm.“Your Honor, I assure you that my client is mentally sound. Those reports were taken wh
NIKAELEON***“I know what you’re going to say, Aina. You want me to release them without punishment, but I can’t do that. Yes, I know they’re in love and no one is above mistakes, I also know that this crime isn’t as bad as it would have been if he had been the traitor.” I said to her as we stepped out of the interrogation room and began to walk towards the back entrance to the house.“If you know, then why can’t you just release them?” She asked.“I’m sure you already know why. I set my rules for a reason, and if someone breaks any of my rules, no matter how justified they are, there has to be a consequence or no one will respect my rules. That’s why there are laws, and prison is the consequence if those laws are broken.”“Can’t you make an exception just this once? She’s pregnant, Nik.” She said and I sighed.“I’m not sending them away if that’s what you think. For their own good and mine. If they aren’t here, they’ll be easy to kill by my enemies or captured and tortured for infor
NIKALEOEN***“Fine. You can come along. But don’t interfere.” I said to her and the look she gave me said she would definitely interfere.“Don’t interfere too much.” I acquiesced with a sigh and she smiled.“And you better not cry.” I said to her and she huffed.“I’m not a baby.”As much as I wanted her by my side, I knew the path that lay ahead would test the limits of her resolve. "I never said you were a baby, Aina, this won't be easy. I may have to resort to violent means, and I may do things you may not approve. I don’t want you to resent me for it and begin to see me as some kind of monster. I really don't want you to witness what might transpire in that interrogation room. It could get ugly." I admitted.“I’ve always known there is a dark side of you, Nik. And I’ve made my peace with it. I know you don’t just go about torturing or hurting people on a whim or for fun, and when you do anything, it’s for a reason. I won’t blame you for anything you do today, you’re trying to pro
NIKAELEON***“And I also wanted to apologise for the scene I caused, it wasn’t my intention to let Sophia know that you’re my baby’s father. I just wanted to get her mind off seeing you both fighting so I told her I was having a baby and showed her the sonogram. When she asked me who the baby’s father was, I just replied without thinking and then she bolted out here to tell you before I could stop her.” Aina explained.“It’s fine. I know you didn’t have an ulterior motive for telling her, and I could see the look on your face when she ran here with the sonogram, I knew it was just a mistake and I don’t blame you for it. In fact, I think I’m relieved, I’ve been thinking of a way to tell Sophia that she would have a sibling soon, wondering how she would react. Now I know that I was just worried for nothing.” I replied to her.“Yeah, she’s so excited to be a big sister. She has already told me in detail all the things she plans to do, and by the way, she says she wants two siblings, one
AINA***I led Sophia away and she followed me, her tiny hand clutching onto me tightly.I took her to my room and sat down on the bed with her in my lap. I put her small hand on my tummy.“I have a baby in my tummy now.” I said and her eyes widened in surprise and childish delight.“You swallowed a baby?” She asked incredulously and I burst into startled laughter.“Oh! Heavens no! I can’t swallow a baby, I’m not a cannibal. The baby is growing in my tummy.” I said to her and there was a look of childish wonder in her eyes.“Babies grow in tummies? I thought they were sent from heaven by storks, I watched that in a cartoon. All the animals were on a train and when it was time for them to have babies, the birds carried the babies in white cloth and dropped them off one by one in the mummy and daddy’s cages.” Sophia said and I laughed again.I definitely wasn’t having the talk on where babies come from with her. It had been awkward when my own mother had ‘the talk’ with me, and I wasn’t
NIKAELEON***“We need to talk, Nik. That’s why I’m here.” She replied to me and I nearly chuckled at the audacity she had to show up at my house to demand an audience with me.“We have nothing to talk about, Uriel. Or rather, I have nothing to talk about with you even though you may have something to say. I have no interest, nor do I have the time or patience to listen to whatever nonsense you want to say to me. So leave before I have you arrested for trespassing.” I said to her.“You can’t do that.” She said and I scoffed.“You have no idea what I’m capable of, Uriel. I suspect it’s the reason why you dare defy me so often.” I said to her. “If the police come, I’ll just tell them that I came to see Sophia and you denied me entrance. It will look bad on you while the custody case is still being deliberated on by the court.” She said.I was about to tell her to go fuck herself when Aina put a hand on my forearm. I turned to look at her and she didn’t need to speak to communicate her