Vito felt insulted and her face turned red, she unfolded her arms and scoffed. “You’re such a low life, why would the Houston family ever employ someone like you? You dream too much Matthew, it’s no wonder Ashley left you, and I’m glad she did because she ended up with a much better man.”The girls standing behind Vito chuckled at her statement but Lola, one of Vito’s friends, wore a slight frown on her face. With a deep breath, she stepped forward. “Vito, let’s go, it’s enough.”Her face twisted in confusion as she stepped back. “Don’t tell me you feel sorry for this loser?” her tone was harsh and judgemental. Vito had never really thought much of Matthew even when he was still with Ashley.For the most parts, she only tolerated him.“Vito, it’s not nice to bully people like this, we came here for a drink, not to pick on someone, please let’s just go already, Matthew has been through so much these past few days,” Lola remarked with a hint of sympathy in her voice. Even from her expre
Vito was the first to burst out laughing before the rest joined. They laughed so hard that it hurt their stomachs, especially Vito and Sophie who almost lost their balance and had to lean on the bar stools.They knew Matthew the car washer, there was no way he could be the owner, even if he sold everything he owned, it still wouldn’t be enough to buy just one tire. Lola felt embarrassed for Matthew, but she also felt sorry. She knew he was a good person and he didn’t deserve what they were doing to him.“He’s not just delusional, it seems he’s crazy too,” Vito said.Matthew, who was now standing calmly, dug his hands into his pockets and pulled out a car key. The moment Sophie caught a glimpse of what was in his hands, her eyes grew wide. “You’ve gotta be kidding me!” she exclaimed, with her mouth slightly open and her eyes popping out of her sockets.Some of the people who were looking covered their mouths with their hands. If he could afford such a car, it meant that he was a big sh
Anderson didn’t know what to say in response, everyone in the city knew how reputable and successful the Houston family company was. “How on earth did you manage to land a job there so quickly?” he pressed on, eager for details.“I’ll tell you all about it later because it’s actually a long story, but right now I need to go home and get some rest,” he replied, deflecting the topic. The wing-like doors of the car opened slowly and Matthew turned to face Lola. “Since I invited you as my plus one to the banquet, I think it’s only fair that I get you a gift, a diamond necklace would be perfect, I think it suits your skin tone.”Lola’s eyes widened as she forced a polite smile, “Oh my-” she felt speechless. She never really thought that Matthew was being serious inside about his intentions to invite her to the banquet, she had thought that he only said that to get back at Vito for all the horrible things she’d said to him. “- I don’t even know what to say, I thought you were just kidding b
Matthew was confused by the statement and a small frown formed on his face. “What do you mean?” he questioned, trying to understand the clerk.“It’s store policy sir, this is the most expensive piece we have in this store and I would have to ask my manager first for permission before I can bring it out, but in the meantime I can show you other neck pieces I’m allowed to bring out.”He shook his head. “There’s no need, that’s the one that caught my attention, just go ahead and ask your manager for permission to bring it out.”The clerk nodded diligently. “Right away sir, I’ll be back with you shortly,” he muttered and then moved behind the counter, opening the door to an inner room. Matthew folded his arms against his chest and stood there, looking at the other collections of items in the store. He noticed that his grandmother wore bracelets a lot, maybe he would come here one of these days to buy a bracelet for her.“Madam, there is a man outside, he wants to buy the ice necklace,” th
She was shocked to the bone, how could it be? She swallowed the bile that rose to her throat, rubbing her sweaty palms against her skirt.“Do you now believe that I can afford the necklace?” he asked gleefully.“I- I’m sorry- I didn’t know that- I- “ she started stuttering, after all that she had said, she didn’t know how to start defending herself.Charles furrowed his brows. “Is there a problem here, master?” he asked.“This lady here insulted me publicly, she said I couldn’t even afford a meal for myself. Then when I handed my card over to her to pay for the necklace, she refused to take it and she threw it on the ground. That’s why I had to ask you to come with cash instead.”The room started spinning and Kate felt like she was about to throw up, despite the air conditioning, she still felt hot.“How dare you disrespect the Houston family? And even throw the black card on the floor?” Charles spoke.Kate gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as her heart kept thrashing against
A small smile formed on his lips, “they have no clue that I'm the one in the clip, and I intend to keep it that way. I don't want too much social attention.”Charles took a quick bow. “I understand that young master.”He shut the door as Charles left and then walked back to his nightstand, grabbing the necklace. He wondered if Lola would like it.That night, she had dropped her contact information on his phone so he decided to send her a message; a good night greeting along with a request to have a meet up in a popular coffee shop in town.His message was delivered instantly, signifying that she was online. He went to have his evening bath, as he was stepping out of the bathroom, his phone buzzed on the nightstand.Lola had replied to his message and she agreed to meet up with him the following afternoon at the coffee shop.He read the message with a smirk, Charles had returned with a knock on the door, interrupting his moment. “Dinner is ready, your grandmother requests your presence
Lola blinked a few times, confused by her roommate's sudden outburst, she hadn’t even fully gotten into the apartment yet. “What are you talking about?” she asked, eyebrows arched. “Haven’t you seen what has been trending online? There’s this video of a man at La bourge, paying for his purchase in cash, and according to insider information, the ice diamond necklace was the only unit that was sold in the store that day, so according to most social media users, he bought the necklace for a woman.” Lola’s head was already spinning from listening to all this information at once. “What makes you so sure that it’s the same necklace? Maybe the one he got is different.” “Do you know this man you went out with that well? What if he was a silent billionaire and you didn’t know?” “That’s ridiculous Rosaline, it’s Matthew and I know him well enough to know that he’s not a billionaire, he used to be a car washer just a couple of days ago.” Her enthusiasm was dampened, but then it was qui
Mallory kept her head lowered; she didn’t know what to say. The senior staff quickly disregarded Matthew. “There are plenty of fine suits to pick from in the store. I’m sure you will find something you love, but Mr. Xander Houston is an old-time customer, and here, we prioritize client relationships.”Even though he was angry, Matthew’s face was unreadable; he tried not to show it. “I selected that suit from upstairs and asked the sales attendant to pack it for me downstairs, and he saw them packaging my order and decided that he wanted it for himself, even though you know that it’s wrong.”The senior staff looked away, scrunching his face. “Please, let’s not prolong this issue. It’s not like you can't afford the suit anyway. I’m sure Mallory didn’t tell you the price. Only people like Mr. Houston can afford such.”Charles, standing by the corner, cleared his throat. “You might want to be very careful with your words.”“I apologize if I said anything to offend Mr. Houton,” he replied,
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
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
The scene outside of the Houston office building was simply just chaos. People were running about in the street screaming for help.From a distance the sound of sirens could be heard which meant that the firefighters were on their way. Most of the staff that had managed to escape from the building gathered outside, waiting for more to troop out. As soon as Elena was spotted coming out of the building, a group of men rushed forward to receive her. She leaned on them, her lungs already filled with smoke.She kept looking back expecting Matthew to come out of the building anytime soon. By now the flames had grown much stronger and could even be seen from outside as the smoke rose to the heavens.Amelia's SUV pulled up just by the corner and she didn't waste time before getting down from the car. Her eyes surfed the crowd until they landed on Elena.“My goodness! My company!” Amelia screamed loudly, drawing attention to her.Elena dragged her feet towards Amelia. “Matthew–” she pointed
There was chaos all over the executive floor as people began to hurriedly get up from their seats. Elena rushed out of her office, leaning by the door frame for support as the floor was still vibrating. “What the hell just happened?!” Before Matthew could even have the time to think, another explosion set off, knocking everybody to the ground. “There is a bomb in the building!” A masculine voice screamed. At this point it was everyone for themselves. People try to scamper to their feet and rush down the stairs. The room seemed like it had tilted and they were already cracked on the wall. Some of the ceiling lights had popped out from their fittings and were dangling loosely. Matthew rushed over to assist Elena, just as they were trying to make their way towards the stairs another explosion rocked the building, throwing them to the floor. The explosions didn't stop, in fact it seemed like they kept coming in waves. A final huge blow sounded, making segments of the wall break. M
Earlier in the day When Matthew woke up in the morning he began his usual routine freshening up in the bathroom and brushing before coming out. Sandra was already in the sitting room, arms wrapped around her doll. He didn't know what to say to the girl as it was obvious that she was too angry with her father. “Where is Henry?” He asked, buttoning up his shirt. She slowly looked up at him. “He's in the room.” “I'm going to work but I'm going to put somebody in charge of watching you guys, I'll be back pretty soon and then we can discuss removing you people to a safe house.”She simply nodded and didn't say anything in response. Matthew made his way to the kitchen area and brought out a box of cereals so he could have something to eat before getting to work. “If you're hungry you're allowed to take something from the fridge, take whatever you want. You can also order food from reception and I will handle the bills when I come back.”“Thank you.” He made sure to eat in a hurry as
Present day Now with all made sense to Matthew, everything that he had experienced growing up was beginning to add up. Sabrina was by the corner listening to her father as he retold the events. She looked angry but mostly disappointed. Her father was deeply involved with trafficking children. “So what about those other kids that you didn't rescue?” Sabrina asked in a soft voice. Henry cast his gaze on the floor because he couldn't bear to look her in the eyes. “I don't know what happened to them, I have no idea what fate befell them.”She shook her head slowly, this was not the father that she knew and loved nor was he the man that she grew up with. The thing was that after Henry gave up his life of crime, he used the remaining 3 million to establish himself and start a family. Unfortunately, Sabrina's mother passed away during childbirth and since then he had been single raising Sabrina on his own. “I can't believe you did that,” she whispered and then ran off to the guest room
Twenty years agoThe black SUV pulled up in front of the warehouse. Henry was seated among some of the other henchmen drinking some liquor.He noticed that the men that came down from the car were holding a baby. “A new one just came in, put him in the back with the rest of the kids,” one of the men who was heavily tattooed instructed Henry. Henry was the one in charge of the traffic kids. He collected the baby, looking down at him. “Where was this one from?” He asked. The guy looked around before responding. “It's the Houston baby. Gerald Houston's son.”Henry was so shocked that his eyes widened. “I don't understand, did you just manage to kidnap the son of the most powerful family in the country?”“Yes and for a good reward, we were contracted for a lot of money, 50 million.”Henry was never used to hearing or handling figures like this despite being a drug dealer. “Who wanted to kidnap this baby? Do they want to demand ransom?”“From all indications I think they want him dead, b
It was already late in the night when they arrived at his condo unit. The receptionist greeted Matthew with a smile as he walked past her into the elevator. Sabrina clutched the small bag which she had packed, she looked nervous which was understandable giving the situation of things.She wasn't even provided a proper explanation, she was just asked to pack some valuable things and leave the house immediately. When they got to the entrance of his apartment and he opened the door, the sound of his puppy barking immediately met their ears. Sabrina and her father entered his condo unit and they couldn't help but be amazed by how luxurious the place looked. Sabrina immediately took a liking to the puppy and she picked it up. “Your room is just by the corner after the main bedroom, it's safe here and you can stay for a while before you think of a permanent solution.”Charles drew him aside to the corner, whispering into his ears. “ Do you think it is a good idea to allow these people t
The street was a bit lonely perhaps due to the fact that it was late in the night. Matthews' car came to a stop and he engaged the hand brakes with a soft click. Charles leaned forward. “This should be the house,” he said, pointing at a white house in the distance. They get down from the car and shut the door behind them.It was a quiet neighborhood and the sound of crickets echoing was the constant background noise. When they got to the front door, Matthew extended his arms and knocked softly. At first there was no response but when he knocked again, a figure from inside began to move about. “Who's there? it's quite late at night.”“We would like to speak with Henry,” Matthew replied. A young woman opened the door, she looked no older than seventeen. “ Do you want to speak with Henry? My dad?” she asked.From behind her a masculine voice sounded. “ Honey, who's by the door?”She looked over her shoulders. “There are two men here and they say they want to speak with you.”Henry came