THE COST OF DEFIANCE

Daniel's fingers brushed over the edges of the papers. His lips curled into a mocking smile as he skimmed through Marvin's meticulous calculations and notes.

"Marvin Marvin, you have really put a lot of effort into all this haven't you?" He mused, as his tone feigned admiration.

His eyes darted back and forth over the equations, but the glint in his eyes betrayed his true intentions.

He took one of the papers and held it in his two hands. "I wonder how it would be when it is torn into two." He said mockingly.

"Daniel, don't." Marvin warned with a voice that was firm but tinged with desperation. "Those are years of research, they are my life's work. You surely do not understand the magnitude of what you are doing."

Daniel looked up from the papers, his expression shifted from fake curiosity to cold indifference. "Oh, I understand perfectly." He said with a smirk. "You see, Marvin, what you think is so important to you—these scribbles on paper—they are nothing but trash before my eyes."

Before Marvin could react, Daniel's hands moved with a flash, tearing the papers one by one.

The sound of tearing filled the room, and each rip echoed like a knife slicing through Marvin's soul.

"No!" Marvin bellowed. He lunged forward, with his heart pounding in his chest. He couldn't let this happen—he couldn't let his Daniel destroy everything he had worked so hard to discover and create.

But just as he reached out to grab Daniel, a searing pain shot through his head. The pain was so intense that it brought Marvin to his knees.

Daniel's Synapticore mark glowed faintly on his forehead, pulsing with a sinister energy.

It was the same energy that now coursed through Marvin's skull, causing his vision to blur and his thoughts to scatter.

"You see, Marvin." Daniel said calmly as he continued to tear the papers. "You never stood a chance against me, and with this mark on my forehead, this useless paperwork of yours is of no use for the betterment of the company."

Marvin could barely focus through the agony, but he forced himself to look up.

As expected, Mr Richmond cared less for Marvin. That was because to him, Marvin was useless.

Even his dead body was of no value to him.

Meanwhile, Marvin's eyes were filled with a mixture of rage and helplessness as Daniel continued to tear apart his paperwork, reducing his life's work to shreds.

With one final tear, Daniel let the remaining pieces of paper to flutter to the floor like confetti, and not just that, a twisted grin of satisfaction spread across his face.

"Now, what will you do?" Daniel asked mockingly.

Marvin, who was struggling to stay conscious, could do nothing but watch as Daniel casually turned his back on him, leaving the shredded remnants of his research scattered on the floor.

The burning sensation in Marvin’s head subsided, but the pain of his loss—the total destruction of everything he had poured his heart and soul into—remained, etched deeply into his very being.

"I…I promise you…Daniel, you would pay for this." Marvin said through ragged breaths.

Daniel turned back. "Hmmm. I will love to see you try, but funny enough, you lack the ability to initiate any powerful idea to move the company forward." Daniel said before kicking Marvin on the stomach.

"Ugh." Marvin grunted.

"It is okay Daniel, you have done enough." Mr Richmond ordered. "Let's get out of here. We have things to do."

Daniel looked up at his father Mr Richmond and nodded. "Yes dad."

He turned back to Marvin and spat on Marvin before moving out of the room with his wife and children.

Mr Richmond followed suit, but turned back to Marvin. "In the next forty eight hours, I don't want to see you in this house…and one more thing. I am aware of what happened between you and Daniel at the mayor's bite restaurant." He paused for a moment.

"I let go of your first altercation with Daniel, but it seems like you always try everything possible to get at Daniel even at the slightest provocation. As such I consider you as a threat not only to Daniels life, but also to the future of my company."

Marvin's face contorted into a frown while he lay down in pain.

After all that was done to him he was being considered a threat?

"With that being said, you seize to be my son. You are free to leave my estate alongside your mother as I have already divorced her."

Marvin felt too pained to react to the bad news, but he got the message, his father had kicked them out of his estate and out of his life.

"Your little expertise could be valuable elsewhere, but you are and would always be useless to me." Mr Richmond said before moving out of the room.

With everyone gone, and with Marvin still in pain, he struggled to get to the closet so he could wash his face and cool the burning temperature within him.

After washing his face, he took out his phone and dialled a number.

"Hello Gideon."

"Hello Mr Marvin, how are you?"

"I don't have time to exchange pleasantries, I have a new directive." Marvin retorted.

"Oh…yes…yes what could that be master Marvin?" There was an element of surprise in Gideon's voice, this was because Marvin was always kind and careful with words towards him.

"Cut off all supplies of iron and aluminum to the Richmond tech group immediately."

"What are you saying master Marvin? Are you not aware of how much your company stands to lose if I stop the shipment that was supposed to deliver these two thousand tons of iron and aluminum?" Gideon was truly shocked.

"From now henceforth the Richmond tech group has no business with your delivery of iron and aluminum."

Gideon struggled to understand the whole thing, this was because the Richmond tech group only relied on the supply that Gideon provided and Marvin was the only key to the supplies.

This was a secret that non of the staffs including Mr Richmond himself didn't know about. He didn't even suspect anything at these angle.

What could happen now to the Richmond group.