Chapter 102The kitchen buzzed with the symphony of sizzling oil as Chef deftly maneuvered the chicken in the pan. The golden coat of mozzarella and potato flour crisped up enticingly, creating a sensory feast. The air was thick with the aroma of boiling ground ginger and garlic, a fragrant dance that embraced the entire kitchen.On the adjacent burner, Chef masterfully stir-fried an array of vegetables in a non-stick pan. With a flick of his wrist, he performed a culinary ballet, tossing yellow and red peppers, precisely diced liver, tender chicken strips, vibrant green peas, onions, and crisp beans. The ingredients melded into a harmonious medley, each piece contributing to the symphony of flavors.A kaleidoscope of colors greeted Chef's eyes as he surveyed the pan with pride. The vibrant hues of the vegetables created a visual masterpiece, a testament to his culinary prowess. Seasoning lightly, he approached the grill where parmesan chicken sizzled, already adorned with a decadent
Chapter 103“Was it a stroke, doctor? Heart attack?”, Emilio asked.“I doubt. From the results of his last check up, he was in perfect health two weeks ago. What was the doctor's report at the estate clinic when you rushed him there?”“They didn't say much. Said they were running some kind of test. They stabilised him but he was too weak to open his eyes”“And now?”“He hasn't woken up within thirty minutes of him getting back”, Emilio said, a worried expression on his face.”The doctor sighed“We need to take him in.”The doctor managed to stabilize Vincenzo's heartrate which seemed to dangerously accelerate and descend. His hospital ambulance was already inside and Vincenzo was wheeled into it and taken to the doctor's private hospital.“Oh marito mio”, Maria said, wiping a tear off her eyes. “I know that wicked son of yours is the one who did this to you. But you just won't believe it".Andrea joined in the drama, comforting his mother slowly. The staff in the house all tried to co
Chapter 104“I'll have the blood test results compiled and mailed to the house”“Of course. When you can just let me know”, Andrea said, getting to his feet.“Any other update, doctor?”“That will be all”“For how many days is he going to be hospitalised anyway?”Andrea asked.“All things being equal, he should be good enough for home in three days”“If not?”, Emilio asked“A week”So they'd tried to poison Vincenzo? But for what exactly? Something wasn't adding up. Of course he'd been aware of their scheme - the results from the sample of the yogurt the other day was enough to convince him. He'd specifically been on the edge since that day, watching everything Father took. Maria must have noticed and gotten it to his room away from his surveillance. Were they trying to kill him? Nah. He highly doubted that was it. They were trying to create a scenario whereby he'd be the culprit of it all and so far, they thought they'd been really successful. That was all for drama's sake anyway.
Chapter 105The car hit the highway fast and so did Andrea's.“Slow down”, Andrea said as they came up slowly. The rain still poured down abundantly but its intensity had reduced."The guys are in position on the overpass when you reach mile marker 121. Take him slow and steady. As soon as we get a clean shot, this will all be over."Up ahead, brake lights flashed as freeway traffic slowed to a crawl. Emilio's sedan pulled to the shoulder to avoid rear-ending the minivan in front of it. The driver eased off the gas and stopped a few car lengths behind. "Perfect," Marco replied. “I have the car locked in”. He said, zooming in on the screen. “What's the car's description?”"Black sedan, tinted windows. Jersey plates - Frank Zebra Charlie 427.""Got it. I'm relaying that now..." Marco's voice trailed off as he spoke to his men.“Blue edan, tinted windows. Jersey plates - Frank Zebra Charlie 427. Can you see that, Credo?”Credo's neon eyegear searched in the dark. “I've got eyes on the t
Chapter 106“Power off”The smart Tv went off immediately. Andrea took the remote and threw it at his glass window.“Argghh!”“Calmati mio figlio(Calm down my son.). Take a shower. I'll call you when your meal is ready”His mother left and almost immediately his phone rang.“What the hell Andrea?! What was that? I thought you had the G.P.S in his car”“That wasn't the plan! You were supposed to chip the car's but you kept postponing it. I get outside and you talk about a totally different plan!?”“We aborted that plan a long time ago! Shit, you ruined things. You messed this up, Andrea”“Don't you dare pull the blame card on me! Your men weren't ready. Your whole team was wack! Your sniper couldn't even get a single shot. You could have killed him on target! You had him locked in!”“He wasn't even in damn car, Andrea!”“Oh shit!”The cab at the estate gate. That was the same cab he'd seen at the hospital. It was all making sense in Andrea's head. Emilio was never in the car. Emilio ha
Chapter 107“You fucked up the plan Andrea! You messed this up!” Marco shouted, banging the table.“Just shut the hell up, Marco. This is both our fault”“What the f…”, Marco said, charging angrily towards Andrea.“Ei, Calmati! Calmati Marco!( Hey, calm down! Calm down Marco)”Podrego picked up the cigarette that had fallen from his mouth.“Siediti! (sit down)!”, Podrego said, straightening himself on his seat.Marco did as his uncle said, his eyes red with rage. Andrea shrugged looking away, not willing to let his ego slip.“Credo, what happened last night?”“Yes, re della. We were positioned well, waiting for Signore Marco's signal. The signal came and we moved in. Jersey plates - Frank Zebra Charlie 427. That was the plate number. We got into the car - Ardio and I. But it was a set-up, re Della.”“Set-up?”, Podrego said, eyebrows raised, glancing from Andrea to Credo.“Emilio wasn't in the car”“They were in the fucking wrong car!”“You were supposed to chip the damn car, bastard!”
Chapter 108The district head was at the hospital that very next day, waiting patiently for the doctor in his office lobby.“Mr. District, you are here quite early today”“Yes doctor. Buon Giorno”, the district head greeted, rising to his feet and taking the doctor's extended hand for a handshake.“Buon giorno Mr district. I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long.”, the doctor said, taking off his tag to place the access card properly on the door.“Not at all Doctor”Both men entered the office.“Please, take your seat”The doctor took his own seat behind the desk.“Coffee?”, He asked, bringing out a small electric kettle.“No thank you, Doctor. I'm good”“Very well District. I know you are not a coffee man anyway”, the doctor said and the district head was a little amused“You know I've been on shifts all morning so I really need this coffee”“I see the exhaustion in your eyes, Doctor. There's no doubt”“Exhaustion is an understatement”The district head smiled as he leaned on his c
Chapter 109La Rosa D'oro Hotel and Suites.. Asher turned over the pages of the magazine, quite impressed by their structure and facilities. He had to admit; Italian people had a unique way of making themselves exceptional. Even his father's business was one of a kind. His father had created a complex but strongly foundational network which would last him years in business. Yet still he had the best tech brains on board to ensure that his businesses adjusted to technological trends and changes.Garfy was right to suggest they stayed in a hotel for the night. They had to reduce movement to the barest minimum for the next few days. Andrea and his mother were obviously more eager and much more desperate to see him dead.Shit!!.He hated that they'd been so close to getting him. He still hadn't figured out how they'd gotten that bomb in his car. If not for Garfy's quick observance, they'd have all been roasted by now. From now on, he had to be careful. He was in Vernice not America. Not b
Chapter 179: The happy ending “What? “How dare you?!” Maria panicked at first when Asher said what he said, but she quickly covered it up. “ Vincenzo, did you just hear what he said?”“Gaius Come in” Asher said and Maria's knees suddenly went weak. She stumbled behind as she thought she was seeing a ghost. What was Gauis doing here? I thought he was dead.“Gaius here revealed everything to me after Maria and Andrea tried killing him off for finding out their secret ''. “Here sir,” Gauis said, handing a brown envelope to Vincenzo. “Father, in there is the DNA result of Andrea and Mr Wyatt Oril”“What? The late Mr Wyatt?” Vincenzo asked, scanning through the contents of the DNA results. “Yes, that Mr Wyatt, Maria and her son killed him off, as he was a threat to their plans of killing me. And since they couldn’t succeed, Maria here began the slow process of killing you off slowly by lacing your tea every day with a substance. That’s why you have been so weak lately. Here is the s
Chapter 178“Hey let go of me!”. Finn yelled loudly at the prison guards as he was dragged into the toture room. “Do you want to die? Do you know who you are laying your hands on? let me go. Let me the fuck go”Finn was dragged and strapped on the same metallic chair that was used to torture Asher. Mr Vincenzo gave those specific instructions.“Hey!Hey! Are you guys deaf?!Call my dad. You people are dead meat once I leave this place” his spat out at the guards, only to get a hard punch to the stomach as a response. Smack! Smack!“You want to speak to your father right?” The prison warden said as he entered the room “Fine, we will call him for you.”A call was placed across to Mr. Wilson, and with one single ring, his voice echoed at the other end of the line. “Hello Mr. Wilson, someone is dying to speak with you.” The warden passed the phone to Finn, who didn’t hesitate to grab it”“Dad!, dad!What the hell is going on? I have been here for weeks now. What am I still here?”“Shut u
Chapter 177Finn staggered back and Sofia scurried away from behind him. She picked up the gun which had fallen near her boss. Asher, on the floor by then, was fast losing a lot of blood.He brought his hand to his face. It was blood. He stood unsteady, his vision blurry and double and his mind was hazy. He staggered forward a little and Sofia quickly picked up the gun and aimed it at him.“Stay away!”Finn tilted from side to side, trying to widen his eyes. That made it worse as he couldn't even see Sofia or decipher the position of the gun anymore“You…”, he said, swinging his hand aimlessly. In fear, Sofia pulled the trigger and shot his leg.“Arghh”, Finn groaned, holding his leg. His back hit the wall and he fell to the floor, his mind's vision slowly going into a blackout.Sofia turned her focus to her boss, squatting down to his level.“Boss”, she said, shaking his leg. He was still conscious.“Sofie”, he whispered, the most quiet whisper Sofie had ever heard.“Boss! Stay with
Chapter 176The heavy screwdriver fell off her hands and landed on Sofia's right leg.“Ow!”, She cried in pain. She held herself from cursing out, hopping away a little, from the control board.She had tried to pull off the metal cover of the control board for the door. But there were no screws on it. Then, she tried to break the cover. And that landed her in the situation she was presently in. Sofia banged on the door.“Help!!”But she knew her efforts were effortless. There was none other in the building than her and Asher - and the intruder she recognised so much but couldn't place a finger on where she'd seen him.Sofia wanted to feel exhausted but the anxiety that controlled her was great. She'd spent at least fifteen minutes trying to get out of the room and that was more than enough time for her boss to have been reached and attacked by the intruder - probably even dead.“No”, she gasped. She had to think fast. She had to get out now.“Think Sofia. Think”, she said to herself,
Chapter 175Sofia relaxed a little when she heard footsteps on the staircase. She knew she was usually tense when they were in the same space but her anxiety seemed to heighten by the minute. It was unusual and she couldn't put a finger to it. She had tried to concentrate on work but she had only progressed in eating all the biscuits and cookies on the plate. She had poured the remaining contents of the bottled water into her mouth. Tossing the empty bottle into the bin underneath her desk, she had placed her fingers on her forehead and did a quick massage. Still, she felt stressed and just looking at the screen made her feel even more stressed.She took off her glasses and lay back on the chair. The footsteps felt closer now. She opened her eyes. No footstep heard. Maybe she really needed that sleep.She closed her system. Then she heard the footsteps again. Curious, she got up from where she was sitting and moved towards the door.For some reason, she was stealth about it. She look
Chapter 174The security cameras picked Finn's car as it sped past Asher's residential building. Finn's car was captured by the vigilant security cameras as it zipped past Asher's residential building, leaving a trail of speed in its wake. The driver and bodyguard in the car that had brought Elena noticed the car and watched it zoom off, bearing witness to the fleeting scene.The bodyguard put a phone call through to Mr. Salvatore.“Boss”“Speak to me Spider”“Intruder alert”“Intruder alert?”“Yes Boss. Some car just sped past us. There is no other residential building in this place and I can still see the car parked, though it's far away from the gate.”“Well, who's in it?”“We don't know yet Boss.”“Find out Spider and don't let them ruin this plan. È tutto chiaro? (Is that clear)”“Sì Capo (Yes Boss)”The call ended. Paolo moved towards where Raphael was. “They say there's an intruder, Raphael”“Oh really”, Raphael replied, his eyes fixed on the screen.“Put the security camera'
Chapter 173Sofia let out some air, obviously exhausted. Her boss, Asher, paced the room as he gave instructions over the phone. “I want ceramic used in those spaces, Travis, not wood. Did you…”Asher paused, listening to what the voice over the phone had to say.“Travis, Travis….”Another pause.“Listen.. listen to me. I don't want to know if it is or if it is not possible to get the ceramic tiles today. Whatever it is you need to do to get them today - this night - do it. Do it now. When I come by tomorrow, and just note I'll be coming in very early, I want the exact type and quality that I asked for. Can you get that done, Travis?”Asher paused for longer this time. “Okay. Let me rephrase that. Get it done Travis. Thank you”He ended the call. “What's up? Are you done?”“Yes sir”, Sofia said, letting out a sigh of relief at the end of her sentence. Asher did too.“Finally”, Asher said to Sofie, a slight smile on his face.Meanwhile, after minutes of wasted efforts going in the w
Chapter 172It was dark out. Asher glanced at his watch as he went up the stairs. It was past seven already. He walked into the office room where Sofie was still working.“Are you done?”“Almost sir. Let me just tidy up this document”“Alright”He left the room and came back with two small glass bowls of fruit salad.“Here”, he said, handing it over to Sofia.“Oh.. thank you Boss”“You deserve it”, he said, taking his over to the mediun sized sofa. Pink flushed on her cheeks and she had to bend her face so he wouldn't noticed. Asher smiled, noticing before she could even hide it. In all his life, he didn't know a person more shy than Sofia.He settled on the sofa, balancing the fruit salad bowl in his hand.“I've been willing to ask something, Sofia”Sofia raised her head immediately, unnecessarily in alarm.“How has your mum been?”“My mum? She's fine. She's.. perfectly okay”“Is she still at the hospital?”“Oh no sir. She got discharged about ..two months ago? Yes. It should be two
Chapter 171“It’s done Boss”, the delivery guy said, adjusting the air pod in his ear as he rode. The bike bent as he maintained being on the bend, the wind flapping in his ear. When he got onto the straight road, he had to reduce his speed for the traffic ahead.“Good”, the voice responded. “Well done Ryder”“Yes sir”The call terminated and Paolo set his phone down on the table. In front of him were three monitors and a slim guy sat in front of them, moving from one screen to another.“What’s the update, Raphael?”, Andrew asked“I'm in. I have successfully gained access into the facility now”, he replied, zooming in on one of the screens. On it was a live recording of Asher's gate, which was still open even when Asher had closed it. So he thought.Raphael switched to another monitor. On the monitor display, the different controls that were sectioned to the different parts of the house were shown. Raphael zoomed into each room, and the door controls, studying the signals. From there,