As Alexander left the banquet, “Maybe they are not all the same after all” he thought to himself about his meeting with Jacob Harrington.
The sky was pitch dark, and as he walked through the Billiard Maze Avenue.
It was given its name due to its numerous corners intersectionsand dead ends synonymous with that of a maze.Alexander could feel that he was being followed
so he turned around, and his suspicions were correct. He took the next turn to the left and lost his pursuer, but just after a few seconds, he saw another one.Quickening his pace, he took the next corner and the next, but with every turn he took there was always someone tailing him from behind or by the side until he was faced with a dead end.
Alexander stood firm, and looked at the shadows behind him, he counted six of them. Alexander let out a loud sigh and said;
“Before we get started, do any of you gentlemen want to walk away” he said in a cold still voice. His words sent shivers down their spine.
He turned around to face his attackers. There were murmurings in the midst, but not one took a step forward.
Suddenly, a loud outburst of laughter erupted from their midst.
”You certainly are a man of character, Alexander Chase.” The familiar voice said, as a way paved in their midst, all the way to the front, it was none other than Julian Monroe.
“Figures...” Alexander murmured to himself. “What do you want, Julian,” he asked firmly.
“Julian? I had no idea we were on a first-name base already” Julian mocked.
“Okay I tell you what, for giving me a good laugh, I’m willing to let that slide and give you a second chance; sign the divorce papers and I promised to let you walk out of this unharmed” Julian continued, stretching forth the papers to Alexander's.
Alexander pondered “a second chance/sign the divorce papers/promised to let walk out of this unharmed” His words baffled Alexander greatly.
“It seems I failed to make myself clear earlier. Julian, I will not be signing those papers, not now not ever” He answered firmly.
“It’s a shame it has to come to this Alexander. But you have left me no other option. Your wife, Seraphina Lockwood must be mine”
“Over my dead body,” Alexander retorted.
Julian gave a coy smile, and snickered “O, that can be arranged…. Boys get him.” He signaled,
With that, the dozen men charged to Alexander. Alexander smirked and said to himself, ‘Finally some action’.
The first attacker launched at him with an iron rod, swinging it recklessly at his face, but Alexander dodged it with ease, and struck him with his hand by his neck pressure point, knocking him out instantly.
Next assailant charged toward him with a knuckle ring, but before he could throw his first punch, Alexander knocked him out with a single punch right in the middle of the first.
“Come on there’s like half a dozen of you, how hard is it to knock a single guy down” Julian bickered from the sideline, as the remaining men slowly paced in a circle around Alexander.
The fourth charged with a knife, to which Alexander weaved and raked him to the ground.
All of them lay flat on the ground, with just a single fighter left staggering on his feet. He swiftly pulled out a gun from his belt and with a definite aim, he pulled the trigger. But Alexander’s reflexes were fast enough, as he swerved to the left from the bullet’s direction. The bullet missed Alexander and flew right to the closest person far behind him, the only other person still standing and wasn’t in the fight, Julian Monroe.
The bullet struck Julian by his left side of his neck, sending him flat to the ground. At the sight of his boss lying in a pool of blood, the shooter scampered away.
Alexander rushed to Julian, but
by the time he got to him, Julian had passed out. He wasn’t dead, but the aftershock of the getting shot knocked him out.Alexander immediately tore a piece of his clothes, gathered two sticks, and stopped the bleeding. When he was sure Julian was going to make it, Alexander pulled out two cards in his breast pocket, took a decisive glance at both, placed one of them back into his pocket, and dialed the number on the card still in his hand. It was Jacob Harrington’s.
“Alexander, I wasn’t expecting your call so soon, did you forget something,” Jacob Harrington said at the other end of the phone.
“No, I am in a bit of a mess, and I’m hoping it isn’t too soon to cash in on the favor you offered,” Alexander asked.
“No certainly not, whatever you need.”
“Good. I will send my address, please be as quick as you can, he
doesn’t have that much time left”“What?”
…….
In a few hours,
Julian lay on his hospital bed, hooked on life support. The room was heavily guarded by half a dozen men. Suddenly, a man entered the room, his aura so strong it stiffed the room's entire atmosphere like it was held on a siege.
“How did this happen” He roared. His voice was laced with terror.
He was Wilson Monroe, Julian’s father, the Kingpin of Monroe Logistics. He is a powerful man known by few, but feared by many. One of the few that stood at the pinnacle of the Pantheon Valley. Aside from his vast wealth, and affluence, he was also known to be involved in shady business, like transporting illegal goods for people who could, a means through which he amassed his large fortune.
“Sir, your son and a few of his friends were attacked” one of his assistants relied
“And what be the name of a gang foolish of enough to attack my son” He asked,
“Not a gang sir, just one man”
“One man?”
“Yes sir, Alexander Chase”
“What the hell is that” He asked, almost rhetorically.
“Sir I have some bad news, Jacob Harrington just called off the deal,” Another assistant said.
“What!” He yelled. His anger tripled.
“Yes Sir, their reason being your son assaulted one of his esteemed guests after this night's Banquette”
The kingpin smashed his fist into the wall “… And who is this esteemed guest” he asked, his mind already pointing to a particular person.
“His name is Alexander Chase”
The deal with Jacob Harrington was going to raise Monroe Logistics even higher, at least by thirty percent. Now it was gone thanks to a single man, the same responsible for his son's attack.
“How does the name of a man this powerful not ring any bells in my head?”
“That is because he isn’t powerful, Sir. He is but a wretched live-in-son-in-law married to the woman Julian wants to be his”
The Kingpin fumed with fury even more.
“Find HIM!!!” He ordered.
The next day, Alexander woke up a bit later than usual. His wife, Seraphina, had already left for work, and Caroline, his mother-in-law, must not have slept in at the house. If she had, Alexander would have surely been woken up with a rain of curses and beatings for sleeping a second longer than four hours.Starting his daily chores, Alexander, being a live-in house husband, embarked on his routine: cleaning, sweeping, arranging the house, and cooking. Amidst his tasks, he found a note on the table with folded cash beside it. "We are out of milk, go to the store and get some," it read. It had to be from Seraphina.Alexander swiftly cleaned up and dashed to the nearest supermarket. The sky was cloudy, and as he walked, he couldn't shake off the feeling of being followed yet again. This time, he halted abruptly."Exactly how long you do plan on stalking me?" he said.Suddenly, two men merged from the shadows behind him, and in a matter of seconds, he was surrounded by seven of them.“Ou
Looking down at the world from his top corner office, Wilson Monroe, the kingpin observed the societal hierarchy in its natural order: the poor cowering in fear, those of similar status getting along, and the wealthiest vying for the top spot. Everyone seemed to find their place without much effort.“Sir, we have a situation,” his assistant Vanessa's voice came through his earpiece.“What is it?” He inquired.“We just received word that the Floating Mary K9 has capsized and been destroyed,” she reported.“What happened?” The kingpin asked, puzzled.“We're yet to confirm, but it seems like tidal waves,” Vanessa replied.“Tidal waves?” The kingpin's disbelief was evident. The Floating Mary was a top container ship for Monroe Logistics; a simple tidal wave shouldn’t have been able to take it down.“Yes, Sir,” Vanessa confirmed.“Alright, calculate our losses and contact the insurance company,” Kingpin instructed.“Copy that, Sir.”Despite the loss of the Floating Mary, Monroe Logistics st
'The Fall of the Kingpin’ became the headline in every Pantheon Valley billionaire news outlet, media platform, and bulletin. The fall of the great Wilson Monroe and his multi-billion-dollar company was unprecedented and had never been seen before; it was termed the Black Swan of the century.Another unrelated news story flooded the Pantheon Valley media headlines was: Maverick Corporation's hundred-billion-dollar open contract to a construction company. Every construction-based corporation went on their toes, eager to make a move, pulling every string in thier guitar case to secure this contract. The Lockwood Family was one of them.Lady Charlotte Lockwood knew that collaborating with a company as big as Maverick's would open many doors for the entire family, increase Lockwood’s societal ranking, and elevate their family status. She called for an urgent family meeting at the Lockwood Mansion and sent out compulsory invitations to every available member of the Lockwood family, to bra
After a long first day at Maverick Cooperation, Alexander returned home in the evening. He would have stayed longer, but he had to accompany his wife to the Lockwood meeting. Entering the house, Alexander walked into a heated conversation between his wife, Seraphina, and her mother.“Alexander is a useless pauper of a husband who hasn't a single penny to his name and is of no good to you. Why wouldn’t you just divorce him? You are better offers,” her mother argued.“Mother, we've been over this. I have always had better offers, I always will, and I will always choose Alexander every single time,” Seraphina countered.“Alexander, where have you been? You were supposed to be back hours ago,” Seraphina asked.“I’m sorry, I got held up,” Alexander replied.“It’s fine, let’s go. We are already running late,” Seraphina urged.“Don’t you dare walk out on me, Alexander? You are going to divorce my daughter and allow her to marry Ethan Bishop, someone much more qualified to be her husband,” he
Every eye turned towards Seraphina. Her voice was the least expected to be heard.“Sit down, Seraphina. This is not the time for jokes,” Ariana retorted, causing the entire hall to burst into murmurs.Ariana’s words chipped away part of Seraphina’s confidence, but she remained firm.She cleared her throat and said,“I am very much aware of that, Ariana, but as Grandma said, the Lockwood family needs this contract, and unlike the spineless wimp that you are, I am willing to do what it takes to help us get it.”Alexander smirked excitedly at his wife's witty and snarky response.“How dare you talk to my wife that way?” Ezekiel, Ariana's husband, rose to his feet and yelled.Ezekiel, too, was a son-in-law of the Lockwoods, but he was the complete opposite of Alexander. He was valued and respected by the Lockwood family because he came from a relatively wealthy background. Although not nearly as wealthy as the Lockwoods, but wealthy enough to raise his voice in their meetings.“Your wife’s
Soon after, the meeting came to an end.“What the hell was that?” Seraphina screamed at Alexander as they drove home.“What the hell was what?” he replied, feigning cluelessness.“Don’t play dumb with me, Alexander. It’s bad enough I’ll be humiliated for not being able to get the contract. Now, thanks to you, I’ll be kicked out of the Lockwood family. How on earth am I supposed to explain this to my mother?” Seraphina ranted.“It’s going to be fine, trust me,” Alexander said, trying to comfort her.With instant shock, and anger written squarely on her face, she snapped, “Trust you? You want me to trust you, Alexander? Are you out of your mind? Why should I ever trust you? You’re nothing but a wretch forced on me by my father to get married to, and you expect me to trust you?”Her words were a tough pill for Alexander to swallow, but he understood that she was angry, and she had every right to be. Only he could see the full picture he was painting. It ached him that he couldn’t just ex
“Meet Ethan Bishop, Seraphina’s new husband.”Alexander could feel a sting to his every pressure point. He looked around the room until his eyes met Seraphina’s, hoping she would tell him her mother was joking, but instead;“We need to talk,” she said.That’s a phrase that has never been a good sign, anywhere in the world.Alexander followed Seraphina into their bedroom and closed the door shut behind them.Seraphina began by rubbing, locking, and intertwining her fingers in an awkward manner, making it obvious that she was about to drop a bombshell, one too heavy for her tongue to carry.“Is it true?” Alexander asked as he walked straight up to her face.“Firstly, I’m really sorry for kicking you out of the car and leaving you on the highway. I was just so angry at the time.”“I understood, apology accepted. Now answer me, Seraphina, is it true?” he asked.His voice was firm and authoritative. Seraphina had never heard him speak to her this way. She froze.“Seraphina,” he called to h
Alexander and Seraphina returned to the living room and stood side by side in silence.“So, have you two decide the date for your divorce?” Caroline said.“No, mother, we didn’t.”“What do you mean you haven’t? Do you think Mr. Bishop has all the time in the world?” she spat at them.“It’s okay, Caroline. I understand this must be hard for them. They can take their time,” Ethan said.“My apologies, It appears my wife didn’t make herself clear enough for you. What she means is we are not getting a divorce,” Alexander interjected.“But that can’t be possible. How can Seraphina and I get married if you two don’t get a divorce?” Ethan said.Alexander walked up to Ethan, who was seated on the sofa. He squatted to meet his gaze. Ethan Bishop began to feel an immense tension, as if someone had turned the thermostat to max output.“You are never marrying Seraphina, for she is my wife. Is that clear?” Alexander ordered.Ethan Bishop was frozen with words. ‘How could a pauper command this much