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The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 134 • The Bodies
Vito was coming back to her apartment with a handful of shopping bags, Edward had sent her some money earlier and she had gone out to squander it with Ashley. The both of them were returning back to her condo apartment. They waved at the receptionist and entered the elevator. “I really hate the fact that Darrell is becoming more bankrupt each day, I think it's high time that I find another boyfriend and move on.” Vito sighed. “I've been telling you this for the longest time Ashley, leave that man. Look, I can introduce you to some nice men in the country club and you can get along with them and all.”Ashley smiled. “That would be wonderful.” When the elevator door parted open on their floor, they were moving when they spotted two figures entering Matthew's house. “Is that not Matthew's house?” Ashley asked with a level of uncertainty in her voice. “It is and I'm pretty sure I just saw those men enter,” she added. “And they left the door open.”The girls shared a look with each o
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 1• Panties in the Car!
Under the bright afternoon sun of New York City, Matthew Donovan scooped a bowel full of water and splashed it on top of the dull sedan he was scrubbing down at the car wash.His phone suddenly buzzed loudly, vibrating inside the pocket of his jeans. Calmly, Matthew wiped his damp hands before fishing out the phone. Glancing at the screen, a smile lit up his weary face. It was his girlfriend, Ashley, and she was just what he needed to brighten up his day.He accepted the call. “Hey Ashley, what's up?”“Matty, I need $300, like right away!” Ashley had a sweet voice, but as usual, she was very direct. “I just found this gorgeous necklace, and I want to buy it before someone snatches it away.”The earlier smile on Matthew’s face quickly disappeared. He knew how much Ashley loved her jewelry, but he also didn't have that kind of money with him. “Uh… Ashley?”He could sense her frown through the call. “What is it!?”“I only have $200 on me right now. Can't it wait until—”“No, Matt! It can
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 2• Betrayal
Matthew was numb, his eyes were locked on Ashley but he just stood there, not knowing what to say or what to do.Her expression shifted from anger to shock, and soon she began to avoid his gaze.As he connected the dots—the underwear in his hand, her earlier furious accusations, and the look on her face now—everything fell into place for Matthew.Now, she felt like a stranger. But a stranger's betrayal wouldn't cut this deep.“Ashley,” he finally managed to say, his voice was low and trembling with emotions that were barely restrained. “You cheated on me?”Ashley’s mouth opened and closed as she struggled to find the right words. Not that Matthew would believe a word out of her mouth.“Matthew, I—” she stammered, taking a hesitant step back. “It’s not what you think, I—”“Then what is it?!” Matthew found himself almost yelling. “How can you do this to me?! I’ve given you everything I could! All these years, all the sacrifices I made... was it not enough? Was I not enough?”“Well, isn'
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 3• Beaten in Prison
Matthew sat on the cold, hard bench in the police station, his head still throbbing, his ribs aching and his entire body weary from the earlier ordeal.Out of nowhere, three men in black suits had arrived and picked him up from the car wash, forcefully taking him to the police station. So there he was, handcuffed with his face low as he regretted his life.He regretted ever meeting Ashley! He regretted falling in love with her!Policemen walked about in the station, there were low voices and the clattering of keys. It was a busy day, and no one cared to listen to his pleas of innocence.“Look at you,” Darrell Ferguson, who was standing just a few feet away, sneered. He was flanked by two officers who seemed more like his personal guards than upholders of the law.“Pathetic, useless thing. You thought you could stand up to me? You, a mere car washer against the man who runs this city? You're as stupid as you're poor! You’re nothing, Matthew. Nothing but a worthless piece of trash.”Eve
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 4• Most Important Client
“Get him cleaned up!” the chief commanded the officer. “And bring him to my office. Now.”The officer, along with another that had just arrived, scrambled to obey. They lifted Matthew and half-dragged him to the station's medical room where they hastily patched up his wounds, cleaned the blood and urine with a wet rag, then wore him old, lost and found clothes.Although he was too dazed to comprehend what was happening, Matthew had caught snippets of their nervous conversation. Who was this Harold Wellington and why had he come for him? Matthew had no friends in high places, no connections to power. It made no sense.Within minutes, he was ushered into the chief's office where a man in an expensive tailored suit stood by the window, holding a briefcase. He had dark hair, and his eyes were sharp behind his pair of glasses as he assessed Matthew.‘Who is this?’ Matthew wondered. ‘What is going on?’“You harmed him,” the man said to the police chief once he was done with his assessment.
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 5• The Houston Family
Matthew sat on the black, plush leather seat inside an expensive Jeep that was being driven by a stern chauffeur. In his mind, he was trying to put together the events that had just happened because none of it made sense to him.Maybe one of the men had hit his head so hard and he was imagining all of this. Beside him was Harold Wellington, the powerful lawyer who for some reason had come to his rescue. Although he felt too overwhelmed to ask them, Matthew needed his questions to be answered.“Why are you helping me?” Matthew finally asked Wellington. “I don’t even know who you are.”Wellington glanced at him briefly, an assuring look on his face. “I understand how confused and overwhelmed you might be after all of this. But I assure you it will be fine, Matthew. My name is Harold Wellington. I'm your family's lawyer—your true family, the Houston family.”Matthew blinked. “Houston family? I've heard that a lot today. I don't know who they are so I don't understand what you're talking
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 6• We Will See Whose Face Will Be Laughed At
“So because you are the manager of some family business then you think you can mock me?” Matthew asked with a voice that even though was calm, carried his frustration of everything he had been through today.“Ah, so the hick can talk, hm?” Spencer Delacroix mocked, a shark-like grin on his face. “You should learn to watch your mouth. My family is very powerful. We even have deep ties with the Houston family, which is even why I'm here; to discuss business and cooperation. But instead, I have to endure the presence of a beggar like you, sullying this reception hall with your rags.”“You are the one who should learn to watch his mouth,” Wellington said with a stern voice. “The Delacroix family is a small enterprise, your family is barely worth half of the Houston family’s wealth. The matriarch of the family hasn’t even granted you an audience, and yet you dare to humiliate the young master of the Houston family?”Spencer's eyes widened with amusement and he glanced at Matthew, who was s
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 7• The Matriarch's Wrath
The presence of the matriarch commanded the utmost respect. She hadn't even said a word, and yet an aura oozed out of her as she walked into the reception hall. She was dressed in an elegant but understated suit, and she walked royally as though she was twenty years younger. Her hair was silver and had been impeccably styled and packed behind her head. The bodyguards that had opened the door for her walked dauntlessly by her sides and scanned the room with their military eyes. Spencer Delacroix gulped. But realizing that this was the woman he needed to impress, he did not waste any time, he rushed forward eagerly, walking past Wellington and Matthew, desperate to make a good impression despite the earlier fiasco. “Mrs Houston!” he said with a big smile. “It’s an honor to see you! I am Spenc—” But the old lady didn’t so much as glance in his direction. It was almost like he wasn't even there, like his presence was meaningless compared to the grandness of the matriarch. Her shar
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- The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire
134 • The Bodies
Vito was coming back to her apartment with a handful of shopping bags, Edward had sent her some money earlier and she had gone out to squander it with Ashley. The both of them were returning back to her condo apartment. They waved at the receptionist and entered the elevator. “I really hate the fact that Darrell is becoming more bankrupt each day, I think it's high time that I find another boyfriend and move on.” Vito sighed. “I've been telling you this for the longest time Ashley, leave that man. Look, I can introduce you to some nice men in the country club and you can get along with them and all.”Ashley smiled. “That would be wonderful.” When the elevator door parted open on their floor, they were moving when they spotted two figures entering Matthew's house. “Is that not Matthew's house?” Ashley asked with a level of uncertainty in her voice. “It is and I'm pretty sure I just saw those men enter,” she added. “And they left the door open.”The girls shared a look with each o
- The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire
133 • The Anonymous Tip
The mention of an anonymous tip piqued Matthew's interest. “What did the anonymous person say?” He asked.Amelia frowned a little as she tried to recollect. “Nothing much really, just a really vague address stating that our son was in that place. So it took a while, I started to do a lot of investigation on different families that lived there. It was a long shot but we eventually found out that your medical records did not match up with that of your families, in terms of blood type. So Enzo said that you're a close fit and we should do the DNA test.”Matthew blinked in astonishment. “So you're telling me that you have been watching me from a distance the whole time?”“Something like that,” she replied. “But nothing was sure so there was no need to disrupt your life.”“How did you get the sample for the DNA test?” “It was from a drink you took at a bar, Enzo had followed you and was watching closely. When you were done with the drink, he took the cup, you were out with a friend.”He
- The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire
132 • Vanessa Will Regret Everything
Matthew faced his mother as soon as Serena exited the room. “There was no need to be harsh to her,” he said. Amelia looked stunned and she faced him. “Her family is the reason why you're here in the hospital and you're defending her?”“We don't have any evidence that they were actually behind the explosion, at least not yet.” “The winchesters are our sworn enemies, they have no business being around. Come on Matthew open your eyes. Do you think that they sent their daughter over to our company for no reason? They sent her as a spy, they planted her so that they could get inside information.”He took a deep breath. “Well if that's true, then why would they have the company where their daughter works bombed?” “Was she in the office when the building exploded?” Amelia watched Matthew's expression shift slightly. “Exactly,” she continued. “This was a deliberate plan I can assure you and the moment the truth about the investigations comes out, Vanessa is going to regret everything.”The
- The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire
131 • Red Vipers
Matthew and Charles were alone in the hospital room because Xander had left to go and get some food for them. “How is Henry? is he in the house?” I ask, leaning forward.Charles cleared his throat and straightened his back. “So far they're still safe and I assume things are going to remain that way.”“Good, the moment I recover I need to go ahead and find out the truth. I have a feeling that everything that has been going wrong is linked to the truth about these red vipers.”The butler was a bit taken back “What do you mean young master?”“I just have a feeling that everything is related, the attempted kidnapping and all, it's not just random. I think there's someone behind all of this, maybe it's not just the Winchester's.”The room fell silent as Charles was deeply considering the possibility that the red vipers could have had a hand in what was going on. Suddenly the door clicked open and Xander returned holding packs of takeouts in his hand. But he wasn't alone, behind him was L
- The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire
130 • A Little History
The history behind the Winchesters and the Houstons was a rather complicated one. Back then, Edward Winchester and Henry Houston used to be really close friends. And so was Vanessa and Amelia before they got married to their husbands. Amelia came from the Briggs family while Vanessa came from the Carter family.Edward and Amelia were the first ones to fall in love with each other, they spent so much time together and had even gone to the same college. The four were a tight knitted friend group, almost inseparable. However Edward had to move abroad because of work, but he couldn't take Amelia with him.In order to fulfill their dreams of starting a family and pulling themselves out of an ordinary life, Edward took the opportunity to go abroad and work in the sea as a marine engineer while Amelia was to stay back and wait for him.Unfortunately during his absence, Henry and Amelia had begun to grow close. At the time Vanessa was in love with Henry so this turned her bitter.Vanessa ha
- The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire
129 • Millions on the Vessel
Amelia was in the back seat lost in thought as the car drove towards the conference center. She was thinking about the kind of speech she would deliver.Speculations were already flying left right and center, there were a lot of affected families and some people might even started to spoil the Houston name.When the car arrived at the venue, the driver got down to open the door for her. A small crowd had begun to gather and the moment they saw Amelia Houston getting down from her car they all rushed towards her, Mics and cameras pointed in her direction.The bombarded her with questions but she ignored and simply just walked in. Amelia was only going to give her press conference once and once alone. They welcomed her, parting the way as she mounted the stage. She scanned the room with her eyes, her gaze confident.“Today is a dark Day, not just for the company but even for my family. Because of this senseless act of violence lives have been lost. To the families of the victim, know t
- The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire
128 • To Make Vanessa Pay
By now it was all over the news and images of the burning and collapsed Houston office building were all over the internet and media outlets. Lola was facing back and forth in front of the TV. “Okay you need to stop moving around you're making me dizzy,” Karen complained.“This kind of thing doesn't just randomly happen, an explosion that brought down the whole building? They said they are still yet to confirm how many people have died. Karen I used to work there,” she whispered softly. “The police have started an investigation and I'm sure we will soon know what exactly happened.”Lola shook her head. “You don't need an investigator to tell you the truth in this situation. I mean we saw in those videos how each floor seems to be going off. I think whoever planted the bombs put it on several floors.”She whipped out her phone from her purse and failed Xander's number. “Hello, Xander, any news so far?” “Nothing yet. Matthew is still unconscious but the doctor says he's getting bette
- The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire
127 • Fighting for his Life
Lola's eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her palms in shock. “He was caught in the explosion? How is he? Is he okay?” “I don't know but I think I have to go to the hospital.”Xander quickly grabbed his car keys and was about to back away when Lola spoke. “I should come with you.”He grew worried, remembering the last time that they had gone to the hospital together. “I think you should just stay here for now, grandma probably still thinks that you are Matthew's girlfriend and I don't want things to become awkward.”She nodded, understanding where he was coming from. “Just keep me updated when you get to the hospital okay?” “Of course.” He planted a soft kiss on her forehead before leaving. He rushed into his car and got in driving straight to the hospital. As he moved down the road he turned on the radio. The presenter was already talking about the bombing of the Houston company building. Several speculations were flying about, there were some arguments that there was an
- The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire
126 • Caught In the Explosion.
Amelia covered her mouth with her palms as her eyes grew wide. An enormous amount of dust rose, enveloping the area.For a moment it was impossible to see anything, and people began to back away slowly. As the dust was beginning to settle, it became clear that the building had crumbled. Yet there was no sign of Matthew. She grew nauseous, her legs buckling and threatening to give away under her weight. Charles was quickly behind her and he supported her as she fell backwards, resting against his body. Tears quickly filled her eyes. “Matthew!” She screamed at the top of her voice. She had never let out a hoarse scream like this before and even Charles did not know how to react. If this woman were to suffer another loss of a loved one, he was not sure to what extent it would damage her. One of the reasons she had dedicated her whole life to finding Matthew was because there was no evidence that he was dead. She made sure that until her last breath, she would not stop looking for h
