2025-01-22 00:38:38The next day had arrived and as early as he could, Marcus was already out of his motel room and was making his way to Sarah’s coffee shop. He had grappled with the idea of calling her since he now had her number but he settled on the fact that seeing and speaking to her face to face would be the better option.
Marcus stepped out into the street, the morning air calming his nerves as he approached the Daily Grind. He got to the door and made a move to go in, when his eyes settled on the sign out front. Closed. Damn, he was too early. He looked around, wondering whether he should wait for Sarah to come or just head back to his room and call her later. In the end, he chose neither of those options. He was already outside, he might as well take a morning walk. God knows that he was tired of being cooped up in that moldy room.
He went east, letting his feet take him wherever they liked. It’s not as if he had a place to go. He just needed to pass the time while waiting for Sarah to open shop. In about five minutes, Marcus came across another shop. More like a gas station. They sold papers, sweets and coffee. He checked his pockets and brought out some crumpled dollar bills, frowning at the fact that those were all he had.
Regardless, he walked in, wanting to get a cup of coffee. He could get it from the Daily Grind but he was sure that what they would charge would cost him an arm and a leg, possibly literally since he had nothing. Plus, he wasn’t about to take Sarah’s hospitality for granted again.
The bell rang softly as Marcus stepped into the building, his focus already on the coffee maker by the corner. He walked in, not paying the cashier any mind as he grabbed a cup from the counter and poured himself a cup of coffee. As soon as he did, he walked over to the counter, knowing fully well that he couldn’t afford any other thing in there and proceeded to pay.
“How much?” He asked, setting the cup down.
“A dollar. Would you like to buy a ticket? It might be your lucky day.” The man poked at him, gesturing to the lottery tickets hanging from a line.
“Uh, I don’t think I…” Marcus began but was cut off.
“Oh, come on. Try one. You never know. Luck may be on your side.” The cashier prompted again.
Marcus eyed the tickets for a moment before caving in. What the hell? It couldn’t hurt right?
“How much for a ticket?” He asked reluctantly, making the cashier beam with joy.
“Same as the coffee. A dollar.”
“I’ll take one then.” Marcus replied, placing two one dollar bills on the counter before grabbing his cup of coffee.
The cashier handed him a ticket and scooped the bills up, waving at Marcus as he left. The bell rang again as Marcus exited the building, the hot and bitter taste of the coffee damaging his taste buds as he took a sip. He winced, placing the ticket in his pocket.
“Ugh. I should have known.” He muttered, clearly hating the way it tasted but not enough to throw it away. He took another swig when he heard a comment that almost made him choke.
“Isn’t that him? The Wong boy?”
“It could be.”
“Wait, didn’t he cheat on Victoria Wong?”
“Are you serious?”
“It’s him. What a bastard.”
Marcus frowned but didn’t turn to the crowd voicing their opinions of him. Instead, he turned around and began to walk back to the Daily Grind. He shouldn’t have gone out for a walk. He should have known better.
He started to walk away but then a hand grabbed his arm, holding him back. He turned around to see a woman of middle age staring at him. Her eyes widened and the next thing she did was scream at the top of her lungs.
“It is him. It’s Victoria Wong’s husband. The bastard cheater.”
“What the hell?” Marcus whispered, trying to get out her grip but the woman didn’t budge.
He knew that due to Victoria’s career as a model and sometimes actress, she would have a lot of fans but he didn’t know that they would go stir crazy because of the lies that the Wong family had spread.
“So, it really is him.”
“Huh, I guess the highlife wasn’t good enough for him, he had to throw it all away.”
“If I was him, I would kill myself. Just imagine being with such an illustrious family and then throwing it all away for a fling.”
“He disgusts me. I wonder how Victoria’s doing right now.”
The insults kept coming and so did the people when they realized what was going on. Cameras went up, most of the crowd trying to catch Marcus at his time of disgrace. So, with one strong tug, Marcus broke free of the woman’s grip, wanting to get away. But his actions caused her to fall to the ground and his hot coffee to spill all over her.
The woman hissed in pain but not for long before shouting bloody murder.
“You see what he did to me? He pushed me down and poured hot coffee on me. You’re a monster.”
Marcus didn’t waste any time. He turned around and ran away, the shouts of hate from the crowd, egging him on. Soon enough, he reached the Daily Grind and was about to pass it when he saw the doors open and Sarah walk out with a new sign.
She saw him just in time and frowned, not liking his disheveled look.
“Marcus? What happened?”
“A freaking mob.” Marcus breathed out hastily before Sarah ushered him into the building, locking the shop behind her.
She sat Marcus down in one of the chairs before sitting down herself.
“Are you okay?” She asked, watching him intently.
“I’m fine.” He replied before getting up from the chair.
“I’ll leave now.” Marcus offered, realizing that Sarah could as well be one of the people outside. The people that hated him for an unjust reason.
“You don’t have to leave. I already know who you are from the interview that went viral and unlike the mob that most likely tried to lynch you outside, I believe that you didn’t cheat on Victoria Wong.”
Marcus turned to her, his gaze wary.
“I’ve had enough run in with that family to not believe a word that they say about other people. Trust me.”
“Is that why you’re trying to help me?” Marcus blatantly asked the question, his eyes narrowing to try and see if she would lie to him.
“It’s part of it. I just don’t like people being thrown under the bus by the elite when they feel that they’ve had their fun.”
Marcus watched as Sarah huffed, her demeanor changing and he couldn’t help but wonder if she had once been in his shoes. Sarah caught on and changed the direction of the conversation.
“Anyways, that isn’t a story that I’d like to go into right now.” She said, standing up to meet his level.
“I assume that you were coming here because of what my note said.”
“I was.” Marcus replied shortly.
Sarah gave him a nod.
“All right. Have a seat. I’ll go get some coffee and then we can talk.” She told him before walking away and disappearing into the back of the shop, leaving Marcus with his thoughts. Marcus did as he was told and sat down, still wondering how Sarah could be so kind to someone she had just met. It was a mystery but one he wouldn’t take at face value.
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After Rachel left the mansion, tensions rose as no one really knew what would happen when she met up with Davon at the discussed meeting point. Marcus went back inside and then to the room that was already set up for the surveillance. Lori was already there tweaking with some of the equipment as Marcus and the rest of his family walked in. They all stood around casually watching the large screen in the room that showed the back of the car seat and played the audio of Rachel's crumpling shirt and the soft purr of the car as it moved.Elias took a deep breath as he watched the live video while Marcus thought to himself. Rachel was still in the car, currently on her way to the destination where her old lover would be waiting for her. He wasn't sure she could handle it even with all the times she assured him she could but Marcus decided to close off his doubts and trust her. If she could trust him enough to do this then he could return the favor.
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After a moment of hesitation and thinking, Rachel had made up her mind. She looked at all the men in the room, showing her firm stance on the answer she was about to give.“I'll do it. I'll go see Davon."Elias groaned in disapproval as Marcus sighed triumphantly at Rachel's decision. He gave her a small yet dignified nod thanking her for trusting in his plan when Elias walked up to her and held her by her shoulders as if trying to bring her back from an unyielding spell.“Rachel, you know if you do this you won't be safe anymore. We would help but are you willing to risk your life and your heart just for this? We can find another way. A better way. Think about this."Rachel stood up matching her godfather.“Like you said uncle Elias, it's my life and my heart. If I choose to bring down the person that hurt me, that's my decision. I want to do this and I have all of you so I'm sure I'll be fine in the end."Elias looked into her eyes, hoping to find a shred of doubt or fear but when h
Chapter Seventy-Nine: A NECESSARY DECISION
Marcus arrived at his mansion a bit happy that Chris Gibson, the chief prosecutor in New York, was willing to help him out in his mission to bring his enemies down. That was just one part of his plan that had been sorted out. He had his men go pick Lori's grandmother and brother up also which had lessened his workload. Now, he only had one other area to pursue and that was the actual catching of the Black's doing anything illegal in the eyes of the law. He wasn't sure yet how they were going to get that piece of information when they didn't have a mole inside their company or anyone at all who was close enough to them to be involved in what they were doing and inform Marcus of their deeds.He leisurely walked through the hallways of his home on his way to his room, still thinking of what he could do to get to that family when a walking and breathing answer popped up in front of him. Her raven stood out from the white gown that she had on and the frown that found its way to her face wa
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Marcus dropped Lori off at the mansion first with the promise that he was going to have his men bring back everything that she needed from her home once she wrote him a list for that. He was also going to have her brother and grandmother brought to stay with him for some time at the mansion. That is, before he could find a more secure and safe place to hide them from Davon in case the man had any new ideas but realistically, the mansion was the best place for them to stay at the moment. Marcus wasn't close to either of them but Davon might think otherwise and do something horrible just to mess with him.After giving Lori his word, he set out to go meet the only person in the judicial system who he was sure could help. He didn't know this person personally and had never spoken to them. Hell, he didn't have any appointment with the man but due to everything he had heard about the man from his integrity, to his good nature and then his no nonsense attitude when it came to illegal things,
Chapter Seventy-Seven: A TRADE
Regardless of his suspicions, once it was about getting to noon, Marcus hurriedly drove all the way to the meeting spot. The Café de Flore. He was not going to give Davon or Alexandra the satisfaction of holding late coming and Lori's suffering over his head. He already had what Davon wanted. The evidence. He wanted Rachel too but there was no way that Marcus was getting her involved in this nonsense. It didn't take long before Marcus pulled up to the restaurant that was located on the other side of the city. He got out of the car and checked his watch for the time. 11:57am. He sighed and confidently walked into the building.Just like always, he was greeted by the receptionist and the people who saw him awed that they had the chance to set their eyes on him but that was not what Marcus was interested in. What he was interested in was the familiar face he saw sitting at the corner of the restaurant and smirking at him while raising up a glass of champagne.The receptionist spoke to h
Chapter Seventy-Six: MISSING
Marcus was walking through the hallways of his mansion early in the morning, on his way to his home office when he heard a muffled groan and then a loud thud, like something hitting the carpeted ground. On hearing the sounds, he ran quickly to the room, not bothering to inspect what was happening but shoved the door open and ran into the room. He did not expect to see what he was witnessing at the time.Lori stood over a clearly broken and destroyed machine, huffing and puffing like she had just ran a marathon. She turned to Marcus, a barbaric and dangerous look on her face. Marcus gave her a confused look, wondering why she was standing over a piece of equipment with bloodlust."What are you doing?" Marcus asked with a brow raised at her.Lori stood up straight and le
Chapter Seventy-Five: BYPASSING FIREWALLS
Marcus sat in his spacious office in his home, gazing out at the amazing tapestry of artwork the gardener had done on the mansion grounds below. As the CEO of one of the largest corporations, he knew that there were some companies who used unlawful or illegal means to climb the ladder to success. One of those companies must belong to the Blacks. They had forced his hand and now it was time to take action. As he silently watched the butterflies perch on various exotic flowers, his secretary, Lori, entered the room, her eyes shining with determination unlike the last time she was called into his space. She had heard. In fact she had lived part of it. The assault that occurred at the company which shook the employees and everyone in the vicinity. She didn't know who set off the attack but she knew it was related to her boss. The Wong's couldn't do it. She had already helped Marcus to take care of them, so who else could it be? "You called for me.""Yes, I did." He said without moving h
Chapter Seventy-Four: ALEXANDRA BLACK
Marcus took the seat that was offered to him by the unknown woman. He sat on the chair, a bit relaxed but aware of his surroundings nonetheless. He didn't bother looking around and asked the woman a question."Who are you?"The woman shrugged and stood up. She walked over to her mini bar, picked up a bottle of scotch and tilted it towards Marcus."Care for some scotch? I promise it's to die for."Marcus shook his head, choosing to ignore her little quip that sounded like she already knew what had happened to him. He glared at her back as she shrugged and poured a glass for herself before going back to her seat."I'll ask again. Who are you?" He questioned her, going back to the matter at hand. She smiled at him."No one of importance until I know why you're here."She and Marcus shared looks. In that moment Marcus could pick out some key features that she had that resembled someone he knew. Looking at them, he was sure that he had seen this woman somewhere. She seemed vaguely familia
Chapter Seventy-Three: A NEW FACE
Marcus went back to his home after the massacre that Davon had brought to his place of work, after the sirens filled the air as police officers arrived on the scene, after the last man standing of the opposition was taken into custody, after some of his employees had to be wheeled away in bags and after Marcus had been interrogated by the officers on scene about the gunfight that happened in broad daylight.As he stepped foot into the building, the voice of a very worried Rachel echoed in the lobby."Marcus!"She ran towards him not at all minding her step on the tiled slippery floors. She cupped his face as she reached him. Marcus hissed as he felt a sting on his left cheek where Rachel touched. The cut must have been from the rain of glass that fell on top of him during the attack."What happened to you?" She asked as Marcus removed her hand from his face to avoid being smothered too much."It's nothing. Don't worry about it." He said to her, his voice low and ragged. In all honesty
