AT THE MEETING. The whole hall was dark, and everyone was dressed in black and masked. Brandon was seated in the middle of the five, and their meeting was about to commence. The five were distinguished by their different masks. Brandon was with the monkey mask, followed by the man with the owl, lion, bull, and, at the extreme end, a lone tiger."We have mourned one of us who left the only way any member could leave, and today a new one has taken his place," the owl announced. "Cheers to welcoming him," he said, raising his glass to the air. They all poured their wine down their throats, aside from Brandon, who was still new to the system. "Go ahead, what do we have today?" The masked man uttered and returned to his seat. "An old missing setter had returned to the sea; his seat has been bidden for in his absence; what do we do?" The question was directed to the five. The four of them, aside from Brandon, discussed by whispering some words into each other’s ears. "We wil
AT THE MANSION."That’s true; you’ve met him.""How did it go?" Esmeralda replied. "Great, back to my question; don’t ignore it," Brandon remarked. "Yes, I kept it from you, and that’s what made it successful; I was just repaying a favor," Esmeralda replied calmly. "Can I still trust you, Esmeralda?""Your choice, Brandon; I don’t want you to trust me or not trust me; do what you want," Esmeralda replied bluntly. "Why are you so difficult? How much does your loyalty cost? I will pay for it!" Brandon arced. "If it costs money, I will be the richest woman in the world, Brandon," she responded."Hmmm, ah I can't deal," Brandon sighed. He roughened his hair with his hands and rumbled in his thoughts. Esmeralda was beyond words, and he still needed her. "I really don't know what to do with you," he sighed."Fine, I will let you go ahead with your plans with Vanessa, but on one condition," Brandon uttered. "Whatever it is, be sure I will only accept it if it’s favorable to me,"
AT THE GLASS HOUSE. Grandma Pillar and the whole member of the family were thrown into a state of confusion and anxiety. The news about Don Soriano’s appearance had gone viral, and the rumors about his death were re-awakened.“Why is everyone anxious? If it turns out that he’s still alive, then it's a good thing; we never publicly announced his death, though,” Andallio uttered.“And you, Herveaux, you should snap out of this moody rage you’ve placed yourself in since Gwendolyn died; her husband is back, and I don’t think he would like to see you mourning her on his behalf,” Andalio added.“If I were not used to your absolute foolishness, I would have punched you in the face. Has it been confirmed that he’s the one? If he is the one, then why hasn’t he shown up?” Herveaux asked angrily.“Enough !" "The both of you should just shut up!” Grandma Pillar voiced“I expected that one of you would have dogged out something valid, whether he’s truly my son or not!” she yelled. “Out of you
AT THE MANSION."Where are you off to so early?" Marcellus asked Brandon. He was dusted up and ready to go out. "I am going to see my in-laws; don’t you think it’s the best thing to do?" Brandon replied. "I think so, but when did you come up with all these?""Not me, it’s Esmeralda. She’s intelligent, isn’t she?" Brandon asked. "Yes, but don’t forget that she is also very dangerous," Marcellus replied. "I can deal with that; do you think I don’t know everything? I know all she’s doing, and I know she’s a little desperate too, but she’s a perfect match for me," Brandon replied. He picked up his tie and knotted it perfectly."What about Vanessa? At least show up there and say something; she must be hurting; I have felt that way before," Marcellus advised. "I have felt that way too with Aliana, and even worse, I wish nothing ever happened with Vanessa; I didn’t mean to hurt her.""I will check up on her this morning, I will ask if she’d want the bargain with Fidelin, Madrigal, o
AT THE RESORT."Brandon is proving smarter than I expected; he’s held Vanessa down for so long, and just when I wanted to go attack him, I heard he moved out already," Torillio said angrily to Santiago. "Easy, boss, we can still get him, but it will be hard; even you will have to protect him according to the rules of the family," Santiago replied. "Arrrh!" he grunted. "You’re right, then we will do exactly what we did with President Chavez; I think it’s time to meet an old friend," Torillio replied. "I think it's still too soon; how about we take down his powers first?" Santiago advised. "He has nothing but the protection of the family as a member of the five," he responded."You’ve forgotten Esmeralda; with her on his side, he is untouchable until Brandon himself decides to step down," Santiago objected. "Have you found the girl?""Yes, she wanted to reach out to Brandon but I breached it all, and swapped the picture with something else that would be of interest to him
AT THE CEMETARY.Olvido was up on his feet’s with the aid of the crochets. He threw them away at his mother’s state. "Why did you have to let your guard down because of me?" he lamented."You allowed them to kill you and go Scott free; you did it all because of your irresponsible son," Olvido cried. "I swear it to you, mother, at your grave, I will avenge your death; this will not go just like that; everyone who refused to help you will pay, and the ones who killed you would also have to die!" he yelled. "Son," Don Soriano called him lowly. "You coward, what are you doing here? Are you stalking me?" Olvido cussed. He staggered wearingly to get up on his feet. "Wait, let me help you," Don Soriano offered. He took the crutches from the floor and handed them over to Olvido. "I don’t need your help; where were you when she needed you? Where were you? You were never there!" Olvido yelled. "Yes, that’s why I have returned, Olvido, to change everything and to help you and your
AT THE COMPANY“What’s your plan with Vanessa, ma’am? I think it’s getting too dangerous; you didn’t need to involve her,” Sylvester asked Esmerlada. “She’s the only one I can think of using against Torillio,” Esmeralda replied. “Don’t you think she will soon find out you’re using her?”"Yes, she will, but she will get what she wants,” Esmeralda responded coldly. “You think she’ll get Brandon?” Slyvester questioned him worriedly. “Yes, men don’t love you for who you are; I know none of them truly loves me; they all love the power and respect that comes with having Esmerlada; that’s the bitter truth I learned about life,” she replied.“Even you, Sylvester, are only here because of one thing or another; if it’s no longer there, you might just betray me; I trust only myself,” Esmeralda replied. She applied more gloss to her lips. “I won’t betray you, ma’am; you can trust me, but I think Brandon truly loves you,” he replied. “Enough of them; I have something else to work on. I hid
Brandon went to see Esmeralda in the office. He was surprised to see Madrigal. "Good morning, boss; I wasn’t expecting to see you," Madrigal uttered calmly."Wow, a bouquet? What the occasion?" Madrigal asked. "I had a rough day after leaving the villa with you; I struggled to get out of the new mansion this morning," Brandon replied."I’m sorry, boss, I had to leave before you were done; I was following up on something crucial," Madrigal replied."What’s that? I don’t remember you telling me anything about it," Brandon replied. "We should go in first, boss; we’ll talk about it after," Madrigal urged. Brandon entered Esmeralda's office. He gave her the flowers and asked her out on a date. "I don’t know; I might be busy tonight. I will give you a heads-up if it works out," Esmeralda replied.Brandon smiled and pecked her on the cheeks. "Boss, the meeting is starting soon; I think it’s better we leave now, so we're ready," Madrigal advised."You’re right," Brandon responded. "I will b