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The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 68 • Gone
The next morning, Matthew was already at the office early in the morning, he wanted to get some work done before heading over to Crawford for his classes later today. He looked to his side, noticing Selena’s absence but he didn’t think much of it. He was still trying to sort out the files in front of him when he suddenly realized that his secretary wasn’t on the seat, which was strange to him. As if summoned by his thoughts, he caught a glimpse of her figure. She was marching straight to the entrance of his office. Without even knocking, she pushed open the door and strolled in. There was a strict expression on her face as she came to a stop in front of his desk. He straightened on his chair and raised his head. “Care to explain why you’re late?” he began, his tone slightly irritated. She rolled her eyes heavily. “One, I’m not late, you just decided to show up at work early, and two, I don’t need to explain myself to you because I quit.” She tossed her resignation papers on the ta
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 69 • Fix Your Fault
The rest of the morning stretched out and he couldn't focus on work as he kept thinking of Lola. All the series of messages he had sent her via text were left on delivery and she wasn't taking any of his calls. Not only did he feel deeply troubled, but he also felt like what happened was his fault. The door to his office clicked open and Elena walked in, her perfectly ironed skirt hugging her body as she neared his table. “Matthew, did you get the memo that just came in?” She asked, her voice pulling him back into reality. He shook his head slightly. “No, what was it about?” “It's about a trip to Seoul for a business meeting, it's a 3-day trip and I can't go because I have to run things here, so I was thinking you should go since you're the chairman.”He thought about it for a brief moment. “When is it?” “It’s 3 days from now, and we need to send representatives so I'll figure out one more person to add to the trip.”“Fine by me.”She was about to leave but she couldn't ignore th
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 70 • At His Service
Vanessa was in her car, wearing a scarf around her head with dark sun shades. Her driver moved past a lonely looking neighborhood with old looking structures and potholes on the ground.The tinted glasses of the car window concealed her identity but from the flashiness it was obvious that a rich person was going through the neighborhood. Almost everyone posed whatever they were doing to look at the car as it moved past their street. Because of how uneven the roads were, it made the ride a very bumpy one.Finally they came to a stop in front of an abandoned looking building and she slowly got down from the car. Her driver was right beside her, in a well tailored suit. She made sure to look both ways before heading into the suspicious looking building, todding her scarf around her neck. This part of the neighborhood seemed less densely populated and as such there weren't too many eyewitnesses. The driver was right behind her like a shadow as her footsteps echoed against the concrete
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 71 • Feelings For Her
Edward and Selena were seated on the dining table, the clinking of their cutleries was the only sound that filled the air as they ate in silence. He took a quick glance at his watch and a small frown formed on his face. “Where is your mother? Isn't she supposed to be back by now?” he asked, even though it was more like a rhetorical question then it was a normal one. Selena remained quiet, she didn't know what to say in response. Speaking of the devil, the grand mahogany doors were pushed open and Vanessa walked in. She looked very distant and distracted as she strolled into the house and she made a turn for the staircase, almost completely ignoring her husband and granddaughter until Edward coughed. “And just where have you been?” He asked in a stern voice. She halted by the landing of the staircase and then flipped her hair slightly as she faced him. “I went out, why? Don't I have the freedom to move about?”He sucked in his lips. “It's not that you don't have the freedom to mov
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 72 • The Footages
The next day in the morning, Matthew was looking at the CCTV footage of the house. Some places in the interior portion of the house had cameras but it was mainly the general places like the hallways. He kept looking at the image of his uncle Raymond along with Martha's former doctor, Sinclair, walking into the study. But this on its own wasn't enough proof that his uncle was up to foul play. He needed a more direct approach, maybe if he confronted Sinclair about it he could get answers. Or maybe if he could find a way to prove that Raymond had given Sinclair some money then it would raise enough suspicion for Amelia to look into the matter. Now the only question that was recurring in his mind was; how? He took a closer look on his laptop at Sinclair leaving the study with his laptop bag, surely the money or check had to be in there. There was a slight knock on his door before it opened and Charles walked in. “Are you still looking at those footages, young master?”“Yes, but I ca
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 73 • Reputation and Life's Work
“M- Mr Houston, what brings you over to my neighborhood?” He asked, trying his best not to stutter. Matthew looked both ways to make sure that nobody was watching them and then spoke. “Dr Sinclair, I didn't come here to exchange pleasantries or waste anybody's time, I came here to talk to you.”Now Sinclair was visibly worried, his face twisted into a small crowd and he took a step back. “But why? Is anything the matter?”Matthew's eyes traveled towards Sinclair's door and then back at Sinclair. “I think it would be much better if we discussed the problem behind closed doors.”“As much as I would love to stay and chat, I have something I need to do and I need to get going now. I'm sorry, maybe we can do this some other time.” He moved around Matthew and was about to walk away. “I know that you administered the wrong drugs to Martha and induced her depression,” Matthew said calmly, making Sinclair gasp sharply, his eyes growing wide. He blinked a few times as he turned around. “I-
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 74 • An Emergency
Raymond just hung up the phone and he shoved his phone back into his pocket. His expression has shifted into a more troubled one. He took one large gulp of his wine and then slid the cup away. As he made his way out of the study, he ran into Xander, they had mistakenly bumped into each other in the hallway. “Dad, what's the rush? Where are you going?” “I have an emergency I need to take care of.” With that, he made his way out of the compound but Xander couldn't help but keep his gaze fixed on his father, something felt wrong about the way his father looked. Just as he was about to turn around, he heard a voice from behind call him. “Xander.” It was a soft feminine voice, unmistakably his mother. He froze on the spot, his body was stiffening but he didn't turn back yet. Eventually he turned to face her. The both of them rarely talked, and most of it was Raymond's fault. Ever since she got diagnosed with her condition and Raymond had made sure that she was locked up, she limited
The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire 75 • Martha's Issues
Selena walked into the office, pushing back her loose strands of hair. She was on the executive floor when she noticed Matthew was absent. So it was a bit odd considering that he never missed any day at work, but she brushed it off, maybe he had better things to do. As she was still trying to settle in front of her desk, Elena suddenly walked into the office. “Have you seen Matthew? I've been trying to call him but he's not been responding, there's something he needs to see concerning the business trip.” Selena shook her head. “No, I just arrived. I haven't seen him today, but what business trip are you talking about?” Elena straightened her back. “Don't worry, it's not of importance to you.”“Oh, you don't get to decide what is important to me and what is not, I want to know what the business trip is about.” Her tone was clipped and she was insistent. Elena's eyes narrowed on the young woman and she forced a weak smile. “Mrs Winchester, I am the CEO of this company, I'm not obli
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- 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
- The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire
125 • More Chaos
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
- The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire
124 • Chaos on the Executive Floor
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
- The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire
123 • The New Secretary
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
- The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire
122 • Vanessa's Taunts
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
- The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire
121 • Flashback
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
- The Inheritor Of The Houston Empire
120 • Kidnap Contract
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
