Vector Bush felt like his soul had left his body as he slowly turned to face Moses. The smile on Moses' face made Vector sick with terror. “Is this some kind of joke?” He demanded. Moses hung up the call. “Maybe to you. Is that how you address your chairman?”Vector turned to Genevieve, hoping to see a flicker of humour in her expression. To his horror, Genevieve was as serious as ever and a little wary of Moses. “That explains everything, huh,” Vector swallowed, realization dawning in his eyes. “The chairman was here all along, wasn't he?”Genevieve didn't answer. She looked away instead. Vector wanted the ground to open and swallow him. He remembered how he slapped Moses and overworked him like a slave earlier that day. The other board members were as white as ghosts. Neither one of them thought the chairman was in their midst all this while. Vector cleared his throat then chuckled. “Chairman, what a surprise. I wasn't expecting to find you here.”Moses' smile slipped. He
Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into a month.Rockechilds Empire partnership with the United Kingdom of Niklauria became the most powerful collaboration in history. Within a month and three weeks, Rockechild empire's net worth grew from $140 trillion to an astonishing $580 trillion. As chairman of Rockechilds Empire with the highest shares, Moses' stake peaked far beyond expectations. His personal net worth was over $475 trillion. He was by far the wealthiest man alive. During this period, Moses quietly and slowly eroded Czar's power in the shadows. Through control of the king's vault, Moses had complete oversight of the military's funding—its salaries, supply chains, and provisions. Any general, officer, or soldier would have to answer to Rockechilds Empire for payment. Moses' endgame was still clear: to restore Elizabeth to the throne. On the other hand, Czar was too pleased with the trillions of dollars revenue pouring in to notice something was amiss. He threw
Moses pulled at his cigarette as he trimmed the tall hedges in the royal garden. The hedges gave Moses enough privacy to discuss with Yuri. Yuri, on one knee, narrated all she heard between Count Luther and Czar. Moses listened attentively in silence, his cigarette burning evenly on his lips. All this time, Yuri stayed in the house of Neptune like a ghost. She hides in the shadows, spying on everyone and keeping information flowing to Moses. She was the wall with ears around the palace. Moses dropped his cigarette on the ground and crushed it with his feet. “So they intend to poison Elizabeth and me, huh?” Moses said thoughtfully. “I anticipated this would happen, eventually. We need more time to gather enough supporters. We're this close.”Yuri glanced up at Moses. “Should I kill Count Luther? I would make it clean and faster.”Moses shook his head sharply. “No, Yuri. No bloodshed. We are going to win this without spilling a drop of blood.”Yuri smiled. “Then why don't you tu
The crowd gasped in shock at Elizabeth's declaration. Czar and Luther recoiled back as if they were both struck by lightning. “It can't be,” Luther muttered under his breath. “You set us up?”Elizabeth faced the crowd, holding everyone's attention. “Tonight, I uncovered a plot to kill me and have my husband framed for it.”This caused the crowd to get angry, and they demanded to know who wanted to kill the Sun Princess. Elizabeth pointed at Czar and Luther. “These two orchestrated the whole thing. The king's cup bearer is pretending to be sick, so that I can take up his role.”It all made perfect sense to everyone, as the cup bearer was absent. Elizabeth's story carried enough weight to bury Czar. Czar glanced around frantically. He met a hundred eyes filled with resentment and disappointment.Elizabeth turned to Czar. “You exiled me four years ago because you were paranoid about losing the throne to me, even when I had no interest in it.”Elizabeth paused as her voice grew theatr
Moses spent three extra months in the United Kingdom of Niklauria. In those months, he got Elizabeth pregnant, strengthen the military and expanded the kingdom's economy. While Elizabeth served as the ruler of the United Kingdom of Niklauria, Moses pulled all the strings behind the curtains. He held more power than the queen, but Elizabeth didn't mind. She was pregnant with Moses' child. As long, as she bears an heir to the throne, she would keep her position as Queen. Besides, Moses wasn't interested in the throne. He just wanted control over the military and the king's gold vault. In those three months, Moses' personal net worth soured to over $500 Trillion. There was no stopping him. * * * * One morning, Moses received a disturbing email from his father. The twelve cities were at war with their aggressive northern neighbour, Barbary. The twelve cities and Barbary have been fighting for territory for years. But now, Barbary had enlarged its military and was making bold
Moses met Harrington with a cold stare. “Shut up, Harrington.”Admiral Harrington reared his head back in shock as Moses' words hit him in the face. The other generals including Westminster were left speechless. Where did Moses' boldness come from?Blood rushed to Harrington’s face. Without warning, he scrambled up to Moses and slapped him across the face. “How dare you?” he roared. “I am the Admiral of the twelve cities' forces. You have a lot of nerve to talk to me that way.”The other generals joined in, raising their voices in anger. “Commander!” general Cartwright barked. “Take these two goats outside and make sure they are taught a bitter lesson. Have your men beat them black and blue!”As the commander prepared to move forward, Moses turned sharply to President Westminster. “Your excellency, if anyone here so much as touches me or my father,” Moses said coldly, “then you will have not just Barbary as your enemy, but another force coming for you. I'm not bluffing.”Westmins
At the northern frontier, Moses stood in front of the twelve cities’ ragged forces—barely 300 men—alongside generals. Despite the tension in the air, all eyes were fixed on Moses, waiting to see what this penniless son of the Doberman clan can do.The day before, Moses had sent Yuri to the enemy’s camp with a simple message for the Barbary War Leader, Viktor, the terrible. Yuri returned the next morning and relayed Viktor's response to Moses. “He said you should go to hell," Yuri said. “As a matter of fact, he is marching down to vanquish the remaining forces of the twelve cities and claim the country as his new empire.”Now, Moses waited for Viktor the terrible to show up.Behind Moses, the generals exchanged worried glances. They were doubtful and afraid of the inevitable. Soon enough, dust began to rise in the distance. The Barbary army has arrived. Noisy rumble of advancing war machines and the heavy trudge of thousands of feet filled the air. The Barbary army emerged—a da
With the defeat of the Barbary army, the twelve cities were safe. Moses returned to Westminster, who gave him a hero's welcome. The generals and military officers were all assembled to celebrate and thank Moses for his contribution to the war. The hall echoed with applause as Moses and a handful of the Doberman clan entered.President Westminster stood at the head of the gathered generals, military officials, a bright smile spreading across his face.The army generals looked at Moses with renewed respect. Every atom of doubts they had about Moses had vanished like melted ice. Moses' single handed display of power humbled them. As Moses stood before the president, the room gradually fell silent. There were no cameras or media crew in the hall. This was a secret meeting which only consisted of the army and the president. Westminster spoke into the microphone. “Moses, on behalf of the twelve cities, I thank you. In our darkest hour, when hope was all lost, you saved us all. This