Nathan hugged his awards with prestige. Henry and Charles surrounded him as they drank and made a toast to his achievements that night.By 11 p.m., prom night had come to an end. All the graduating students were fulfilled.“There’s an after-party in the city. Are we going there?” Charles asked.Avery sighed. “I'm very tired.”“I'm also tired.” Nathan sharply added.Henry and Charles exchanged mischievous glances.Henry gave Charles a soft pat on the back. “How about we leave now? Don't you want to go to the after-party?”“Of course,” Charles replied and stood up.They wished Nathan a farewell and then left.Nathan turned to Avery. “Let me take you home.”“We will drive past your house before we get to mine. How about we just head to your apartment and crash there?” Avery told Nathan.“Sure!”They stepped out of the hall.Nathan helped Avery to get settled in the back seat of the car. He then moved to Larry and whispered to him to take them to his rented apartment. He went to the back
Avery slowly pulled Nathan’s hand around her and then sat up. After resting her back against the wall, she continued staring at him; speechless.“I'm damn serious Avery.” Nathan maintained and took her hand into his. “Will you be my girlfriend?”Avery had no idea how to put the thoughts fluttering in her head into words. “Are you asking for a commitment? Nathan…I thought we were not ready for this and..” she kept stuttering.He squeezed her hand tightly and moved closer to her. “Listen, I know we've agreed that commitment was off limits but right now, I want this to work. I want to start a relationship with you, Avery.”Avery held up Nathan’s loving stare. “It's not as if I can't be committed to you Nathan. You know I love you and how I want this to work. It's just that I'm so shocked right now and… she sighed and shook her head.“Do you want to be with me?” Nathan demanded.She took his hand into his and placed their hands on the left part of her bare chest. “More than anything.”“Th
When Avery stepped out of the bathroom, the corners of her mouth twitched with excitement when she saw a breakfast tray on the edge of the bed.She smiled and quickly reached for her dress. Without taking her eyes off the food tray, she began getting dressed.It was 9 am.A few moments later, Nathan appeared in the bedroom with a bottle of red wine. Avery smiled and walked up to him.“So we are taking wine for breakfast too?”He chuckled and passed it to her. “I just realized that I had this in my refrigerator for weeks. There’s no better time to open it than now. Let's celebrate.”Avery took the drink and hummed. “It won't be a bad idea to make a toast to our official status.”“That's correct!” Nathan replied and moved to the edge of the bed. He sat and began to uncover the bowls. Introducing the breakfast, he presented an omelet, tea, fresh bread, and dessert.Avery sat beside him with a bright smile. “I'm so happy, Nathan.”He moved closer to her and began to stroke her back tende
“You seem cheerful.” Mrs. Jacobs remarked immediately after Avery sat.Avery was tempted to blab about the email she received a few minutes ago but she had concluded that she would only tell her parents once she reached a standpoint with Alex.“So what are your plans? School is over.” Mr. Jacobs said after taking a sip from his glass.“I’ll give you guys an update by tomorrow on my decision,” Avery replied and propelled her plate toward her.“I don’t want you lying around the house Avery so the sooner you make a decision, the better for us all.” Her mother said.Avery sighed. “I’m not a couch potato mom.”“You can report to the company tomorrow to kick up an internship.” Mrs. Jacobs added.“Let the child be. We will find out her decision by tomorrow.” Mr. Jacobs intervened.***Avery’s morning alarm goes off by 6 a.m. butToday, she was awake before 6 a.m.She was so excited that she had to wake up very early. Her meeting with Alex was slated for 9 amAvery realized that if she got dr
“Are you ready?” Nathan demanded.“Yes,” Avery replied.“Okay. I'll be there in a few minutes,” he said and hung up.Nathan was at the mansion. It was a few minutes to 7 p.m.; a few minutes to his date with Avery.On her part, Avery couldn't wait for Nathan to show up so that she could share the good news with him.About ten minutes later, Avery was alerted when a car gave a horn outside the house. She had been waiting by the water fountain opposite the gate. She could hear the car revving outside.Her phone began to ring. She quickly responded as she traced her way to the gate. “I'm on my way out.”When Avery got outside, she saw a Lamborghini parked in front of the house. She was about to take a step toward the vehicle when Nathan stepped out.“Permit me to walk you to the car my lady.”Avery giggled and handed over her purse to him. He held her with his free hand and led her to the car. After they were both settled in the back seat, Larry drove away.“You look beautiful as ever!” N
“So you're saying you can't help my dad?” asked Kelvin.“Any sensible man will see that your father has no chance here Kelvin. It's not about guns and goons. It's about evidence and the law. If Fredrick wasn't in custody, we would have figured out a way to get him out but now, I'm afraid we just have to go with the flow.” Corrigan responded.Kelvin took his head into his hands. “Fuck!”“I told your father to go easy but Fredrick wouldn't listen to me but that's not the bone of contention. I'll grant you access to my lawyers to see if we can figure out a way to bid his punishment and make it less grave but to be frank, I can't help you directly.”Kelvin threw his back against the couch. “This is all Roderick and the Alcantara’s fault.”Corrigan sighed. “I don't know about Roderick but speaking of the Alcantaras, I don't think anyone hates them as much as I do.”“That's two of us.” Kelvin professed with a clenched fist.“I made a statement earlier. I said that just because we can't save
“It was nice having you here,” Nathan told Roderick before shaking hands with him.It was a few minutes past 9 p.m.“It’s my pleasure,” Roderick replied. He was standing by the door.Mike turned to Roderick. “We will keep in touch. Have a good night’s rest and let me know if anything goes south.”“Of course!” Roderick smiled and walked out.Nathan turned to Mike. “I just got an update from my guy, Wayne.”“Charles’s cousin?” Mike demanded with a quirked brow.“Yes. He told me that Kelvin and Derrick have been meeting with Corrigan lately.”Mike moved to the couch and sat. Nathan settled beside him.“I guess the boys are looking for alliances. They can’t cry over spilled milk.” Mike responded.“But we can’t overlook that,” Nathan said.“Of course. My main target is Corrigan Morales so anything that leads him to me will not go unnoticed.” Mike replied. “Did Wayne find out anything else?”“For now, he doesn’t know much just for the fact that the boys are meeting Corrigan and Wayne knows
“Are you sure that you don’t want to add any name to this list?” Mike asked. He took a sip from his glass of juice.Nathan took another look at the list. He ran his hand through his hair. “Well, the mayor's name is there, I can see the names of some ministers, the president of the Billonaire’s club, some of my father’s Allie’s, and my friends so yeah the list is complete.”“Fine then. I’ll have the cards sent out by tomorrow.” Mike said and took over the journal from Nathan.Mike stood up. “I need to leave right now. The cards must be printed today so that by morning, we can start delivering them.”“That’s true. Do you want me to help out with anything?” Nathan asked.Mike waved his hand down. “Don’t worry. Everything is being taken care of and if I need your input, I’ll reach out to you.”Okay then. I just hope you’ll be there when my parents arrive tomorrow.” Nathan said.“Of course. I won’t miss their arrival for anything.” Mike said.He left.****“Come in!” Corrigan responded fro
Steve pulled the car to a halt in front of the airport building. Nathan turned to Avery with a smile. “You still want to do this?” He asked with his hand stretched out toward her. She took his hand into hers. “More than anything in the world. I’ve been running around for years and I never told you this but the main reason why I came back to Rockville was to make peace with your soul and then build my brand from scratch now that you’re here, I just want to spend as much time with you as possible, away from the whole chaos and drama. Just the two of us.” Nathan planted a kiss on her forehead. “Thank you so much, Avery.”She smiled. “I’m excited. It’s going to be my first time in Russia and I just can’t wait to explore the city with the love of my life.”Steve cleared his throat loudly. “Looks like I also need to find the love of my life and take her to Russia.”They laughed.Suddenly, Nathan’s phone began to ring. He heaved a deep sigh and turned to Avery. “It’s Charles.”“It’s over.”
Morgan turned to his bodyguards who had been inside the lounge with him all this while. “Call for reinforcements. We’ve been tricked.”Derrick darted Morgan’s attention toward the chip on the table. “It’s a camouflage. It’s all programming shit.” He said and began to take off his jacket. Morgan was already sweating profusely. “I must find the real Alex. I need to kill that bastard today.”“Are you even serious?” Derrick cried out. “We are in a mess. That chip proved that this whole session was recorded.” He took his head into his hands. “I should have listened to Kelvin. This was a bad idea and now, we’re doomed. I’m not even sure if we’re the only ones in this building right now.”“I reserved the whole damn building and apart from the staff, there’s no damn customer here.” Morgan retorted and threw his gun on the floor. “My backup team will be here any moment from now and we’ll get the hell out of here. As for that recording chip, I don’t care about what’s in it or who had access t
“Now that your girlfriend is safe and out of the picture, let’s talk business,” Morgan said to Nathan’s camouflage who was sitting before him and Derrick. Both men had no idea that the man sitting in front of them was a product of science programmed to function like Alexander Alcantara with a chip buried in his head. The camouflage was programmed to follow Cole’s instructions and ever since he walked into the longue, his words and actions were being directed by Coke from outside. “Why did you kill my parents?” The camouflage asked Morgan. Morgan broke into a laugh. “Seriously? Do you think I have time for this? Do you want me to respond to your stupid questions? You’re doing this to buy time right?”“Isn’t it obvious that you have me under your mercy? If you are going to take me out then at least I deserve the chance to know why you killed everyone in my family.” Nathan replied. “For my brother’s sake.” Morgan quickly replied. “You killed Corrigan, the only person in the world wh
Nathan stretched his hand toward Avery and held her hand tightly. “You’ll be fine.” He mumbled to her lovingly. She nodded repeatedly.Derrick clenched his jaw and looked away while his bowels continued to heat up with rage. “You’re lying,” Morgan replied. “I gave you ten minutes to come here and according to my guards, you came alone so how did you get to rally troops and station them here?”Nathan chuckled. “I didn’t bring any troops from home. If you and your partner were smart enough, you’d know that this is the Grandiose Hotel and the Grandiose Hotel belongs to the Alcantaras.”Derrick and Morgan exchanged glances. “Shit!” Derrick cussed and rubbed his hair repeatedly. “It didn’t cross my mind.”Morgan frowned. “All I had to was give the manager a phone call before coming in. I told him that if four minutes pass by and Avery does not come walking through the door, he should tell the restaurant security squad to start firing.” Nathan said. Suddenly, Derrick snatched Morgan’s g
The waitresses returned carrying food trays. They graciously placed it on the table. Morgan reached for the plate of steak and began to devour it like a hungry lion. Avery kept staring at her plate of pasta and meatballs. “Are you okay?” Derrick demanded. “Yeah.” She replied and looked up. “Don’t eat that.” Nathan’s voice came through the chip. She heaved a deep sigh because that was exactly what was on her mind. What if the food was poisoned? She kept thinking. Nathan continued speaking to her. “Leave your bag there and get up. Act normal and tell them you need to use the restroom then you head out.”“I think I need to pee,” Avery announced. Morgan stopped eating and dropped his plate immediately. “But you just got here?”“Yeah.” Derrick agreed with a nod. Avery faked a smile and quickly stood up. “I think I had a lot of water earlier and now, I need to pee. I’ll be back soon.” She said. She was about to turn around when Morgan spoke. “Excuse me?” Avery turned around lookin
“You look as gorgeous as ever,” Nathan commented while Avery was tracing her way down the staircase. It was time to meet Derrick. He had already dropped the location and had called a while ago to say that he was on his way. Avery was wearing a short black floral dress with black sandals to match. Nathan had insisted that she apply makeup so that Derrick doesn’t sense her insecurity. “Are you sure about this?” Avery asked when she reached Nathan. Nathan took her face into his hands. “You’ll be fine. I promise you with my life.”She smiled. “If you say so.”“Remember, act normal and do as he says. Okay?”“Got it,” Avery replied and walked away. By the time she arrived at the restaurant, Derrick was already inside because he had texted her about three minutes ago that he had arrived. On her part, Avery had convinced him that their meeting was a secret because Nathan was not going to approve. She had taken a cab to get there. When Avery walked into the building, she was stunned by i
“Welcome, bro. What can I offer you?” Nathan demanded the moment Kelvin walked into his living room. Kelvin marched in and didn’t even look at the couch Nathan was presenting to him. “I don’t think I can sit.”“You look restless. What’s the matter?”Kelvin sighed and faced Nathan. “It’s Derrick. He had been in my place for the past three days and he’s been looking like shit.”“Did you ask you to come here and convince Avery to go back to me?” Nathan asked. He then raised an index finger. “Listen, tell Derrick that if I see him close to my woman, I’ll kill him so he should leave her alone.”“That’s not why I’m here.” Kelvin sharply replied. “Last night, he went on a rampage and drank several bottles of my wine and when I walked into him in my living room, he was half conscious and he said some things.”Nathan abruptly stood up. “What did he say?”“You and I both know that it’ll be difficult for a man like Derrick to change.” Said Kelvin. “It’s not like I’m condemning him.” He quickly
“He’s coming out shortly,” Daniel reported and sat with the rest of the team. That morning, Morgan’s allies stormed his mansion to talk about the tragic events that were unfolding. It was no news that his biggest warehouse was burnt to ashes. That evening, another one was looted and by midnight, Morgan got information that his security guards were attacked on their way back from the club and 6 perished while two were in a coma. Morgan made his way down the staircase, carrying the weight of his problems. However, he was sober and didn’t display any angry reaction. Perhaps, he was too beaten by the incidents that he had lost his will to react. His Allies looked upon him as he made his way toward them. The group consisted of his friends and partners who had helped him execute shady deals in the past. After he sat, Daniel stood up and cleared his throat loudly. “There is no denying that we all know who is behind the constant attacks. Without mincing words, I’d like to inform you all t
It was Saturday morning and during the weekends, Morgan plays tennis with Daniel, his assistant. Daniel is no fan of table tennis and barely knows how to hold the bat but every Saturday and Sunday morning, he shows up dressed in shorts with his gears just to impress Morgan. Also, Morgan knew that his assistant was bad in the sport so it gave him an edge to defeat him completely all the time. This morning, Daniel was already seated by the court in Morgan’s house and was waiting for his boss to show up. Morgan had just stepped out of his room and was on his way toward the living room before heading out to your court when his phone began to ring. He frowned and didn’t pick up the call. Even though he was a workaholic, he had made it clear to his workers that none of them would disturb him with work matters except if it was an emergency. The call persisted and the warning bells in Morgan’s head began to ring. What if this particular call was a case of emergency?The call was coming fr