“No!!!!”
Karina shoves the bottles of perfume on her dresser to the floor. They all smash into pieces and she stares at her disheveled state as anger coursed through her veins. “Karina! What the hell are you doing?!” Dario scolds feeling angry himself. Karina scoffs. “Didn't you see that bastard at the party! Didn't you see how well-dressed he was looking?! That damn smug look on his face! He came to daunt us I'm so mad!” Dario lets out a deep sigh as he sits on the bed silently fuming. “I can't believe he made his way into the elite society and what? Did he change his name? How could it be that he acquired all that wealth?” Karina glares at Dario. “Why didn't you figure out he was released already?! He was meant to be there for five fucking years Dario! How the hell is he out?!” Dario rises to his feet and grips Karina's shoulders. “Calm down Karina! Pull yourself together! Don't turn into a mess because of that bastard” Karina pushes him away. “Then you need to do something and fix this immediately. I won't be able to be at peace knowing that man is walking free. Did you see the way he looked at us?” Karina gasps with fear in her eyes. “What if he comes to get us for what we did? With all the money he has now it won't be so easy to toss him away like before” Karina was making sense but Dario was too shocked to even speak. He was in awe that Hardin was released. It didn't make sense. How was that even possible and how did he acquire so much money with few days? He sat on the bed with his two hands on his head. It all didn't make any sense. For a man who recently came out of jail to have such wealth and power to join the elite club. Had he been rich all along and faked his identity? “Dario!” Dario lets out a long sigh. “I can't think Damnit!” Karina was starting to get on his nerves with all the fuss she was making. It was only adding to his anxiety. Dario rises to his feet and places two hands in his pocket. “You don't go around panicking. I will handle this myself and make sure it is sorted out. In the meantime don't bother me about this. Okay?!” Dario walks out of the room leaving a worried Karina with her thoughts. “Hardin. How dare you return?” … Hardin sipped on his cup of coffee as he reminisced on the looks on Dario and Karina's faces. He had waited so long to see that look. It was worth it. Hardin smirks. He is interrupted by a brief knock on his office door. “Come in” Layla, his secretary, walks in and bows at him. “What is it?” It was too early in the morning for any sort of problems and Hardin didn't want to deal with it. “Sir, you have a guest” Hardin quirks an eyebrow at Layla in confusion. He wasn't expecting any guests. “Who is it?” “You should know by now” A woman dressed in a silk shirt and red dress pushes past Layla. She had a designer bag in one arm and huge dark sunshades that hid her face. Her entire aura screamed rich. “Layla you may excuse us” Layla leaves, shutting the door behind her. Hardin frowns. “Who are you?” The woman scoffs and takes off her sunglasses. She looked young. Maybe in her mid-thirties. “Jane Smith” She sits down and crosses her legs staring at Hardin with a disdainful look. “What? No coffee for me?” Hardin scoffs. “I'll ask for the last time before you'll be kicked out of here. Who the hell are you?” Jane snickers. “Oh you're quite scary but I'm disappointed you must have heard of me. I'm your father's mistress” Hardin's expression hardens. He had heard from Attorney Paul that day that Jane was trying to get her hands on his father's inheritance. “I have a son who should have been the one in that little position you're comfortable in right now” Hardin leans back on his seat. “And what makes you think an illegitimate child should deserve this position” Jane slams her hands on the table. “Don't you dare address my son like that! I don't know who the hell you are. You came out from nowhere and took everything I had worked so hard for! I stood by your father throughout his last moments. My son and I deserve every part penny so how dare you show up from nowhere and take it all?!” Hardin leans forward with a stoic look. “Don't tell me, Miss Smith…You didn't kill my father did you?” Jane rises up almost knocking down the seat. “How dare you?!” “Listen Carefully!” Hardin rises as well staring at her with a cold expression. “Don’t you dare show up in front of me ever again if you don't want to get on my bad side? Trust me, you wouldn't want to make me an enemy Jane. I suggest you live a quiet life with your son with the money you already acquired over the years and get lost” Jane scoffs. “Do you think your threats will work on me? Do you think I will give it all up so easily? No. Absolutely not Hardin. I have no idea how you fell from the sky and claimed what you didn't deserve but I will make sure what is mine returns back to where it belongs and no one can stop me” Hardin was amused by Jane. He couldn't imagine how she had no shame in wanting more than she deserved. Hardin gently sits down. “I wish you good luck with that” Jane puts on her big sunglasses and storms out. “However…” She halts in her steps but doesn't turn back. “If you dare to mess with me. Be prepared for the consequences” Jane scoffs loudly and turns around. “Oh I just got chills” Her tone was filled with mockery before she turned on her heels and walked away. Hardin calls in Layla. “Yes sir?’ “Find out everything you know about Jane Smith” Hardin leans back on his seat with a smirk. “What an interesting woman”“What?! Who the hell is back?!”Luke Hamilton, Karina's older brother had almost spat out his drink once his sister broke the news of Hardin's return to him. Karina sighs, sipping her glass of cold wine to help her stay sane. Lule places a hand over his forehead. “Oh Damn! This is bad. He wasn't supposed to be out until like five years. How the hell is he out?”Karina looked so drained that she spoke in a calm tone. She had to struggle to accept the fact it was not all a dream and Hardin had actually come back. “He was granted bail”Luke frowns. “By who?”Karina sighs. “By his father”Luke lets out a short-lived laugh. “Father? Karina, are you forgetting that bastard is a dirty orphan?”Karina cursed under her breath as her wine finished. “I need more”Luke takes away the bottle from her. “What? You're going to day drink and drown yourself in alcohol till your death because of that idiot?”Karina glares at her brother. “You really haven't realized how much of a nightmare this
“Thank you for your help with the investors Travis”Hardin shakes hands with his childhood friend Travis whom he had grown up with at the orphanage. He was now a police officer. “It's nothing at all. I am super glad I could be of help”Travis suddenly gets a call and he gets up after it ends.“It looks like I have an emergency to take care of being a cop and all. However, you should let me know if you need help in any way. I'm here for you”Hardin smiled. He was finally getting enough Allies. A few minutes after Travis exits the office, Layla rushes in with a look of panic on her face. “Sir! There's an emergency”Hardin sighs. “Calm down and tell me what it is”Layla catches her breath.“Attorney Park was involved in an accident”Hardin gets up. “What?!”…Hardin stared at Attorney Park who lay on the hospital bed covered in bandages. Luckily he had surgery and he was alive. The doctors were focusing on his condition. Hardin receives a call. “Hello, Detective Kim?”Hardin sits
“That fucking ex-convict. How dare he take what is mine?!”Karina rolls her eyes. “So what do you plan to do? Take him down? You must have a decent plan right?”Karina spoke while filing her nails. “Just wait and see. I'll get back what is mine and most of all I will teach that bastard a lesson and send him back to where he came from”Luke chuckles. “He comes out from jail and starts acting all high and mighty? It's only a matter of time until he ends up there once again”Karina scoffs. “Are you that daft? Do you think it'll be easy to take him down so easily like before? He had so much money and power now. Don't you still get it?!”Karina sighs, feeling frustrated with her brother. “Don't go doing anything silly that you can't handle. Hardin must be smart enough to have gotten into the elite club and make it to the top so quickly. You should be cautious about him”“Don’t worry about me. I have a meeting now with the investors so I'll be taking my leave”“Goodluck brother”Luke c
“What the hell?”Luke reads the words on the letter. ‘'TURN YOURSELF IN YOU DRUG ADDICT”Angered, he crumples the paper in his hand. What? Did Hardin start threatening him? “How dare he do this to me? I already promised I will do it”Luke scratches his hair in frustration. As if beating him up was not enough. Was Hardin also threatening him as well? Luke needed to do something before he will go down but how was he going to get any information on his sister? How could he actually betray her? A knock is heard on the door startling Luke. He takes in a deep breath and lays down still feeling intense pain all over his body. “Come in”Dario walks in with a smile on his face dressed in a suit and standing confidently as he towered over Luke. “Can you be honest with me Luke? You know I consider you like my little brother"Luke scoffs. "Don't. You already have an abandoned brother"Dario smirks and leans closer to Luke. "Did Hardin really beat you to a pulp?”Luke glares at Dario. “
Luke was doomed. He was caught red handed. How was he going to get himself out of this? Even his own sister didn't know about his drug trafficking history or that he was an addict and he wasn't going to confess now. Luke let's out a nervous laugh. “Karina. You're awake?”Karina had a cold expression on her face as she walked down to Luke and grabbed the file out of his hand. “Answer me Luke. What the fuck are you doing here? Why are you going through my stuff?!”Luke lets out a sigh and stands confident.“Why are you so on edge? Are you hiding something?”Karina scoffed. “I asked you a question brother. Why did you sneak into my room and come for this?”“I was drunk. I had too many drinks with Dario and lost my way to your room thinking it's the wine cellar and I stumbled upon this room. So I was curious”Karina takes a step closer to her brother glaring daggers at him. “You stumbled? No one knows about this room not even my husband! So I find it very hard to believe you ‘’stumb
“He is being threatened?”Hardin had met with Detective Kim to help provide him some answers. It wasn't any of Hardin's business if Luke was being threatened. It's not like he had a record of good doings. He was a cruel man who did shady things and it wouldn't be a surprise if he had any enemies but why did he accuse Hardin instead? “Do you know what the letter said?”Hardin had already thought about it but from what Luke has said the threat must have been related to his drug trafficking. That should be the only reason why Luke would come for him. But who else could have known of it? “I have no idea. Look into Luke's whereabouts and the people he is meeting. Report to me if you find anything suspicious. I don't know if he is putting on an act but I don't want to be dragged into this”“Yes sir. I'll make sure I do my best”…“Tell me what the hell you were doing in there!”Luke rolls his eyes at his sister. He was somehow hoping she would have forgotten about what she saw but she w
Hardin had gotten an unexpected call on a Saturday morning. One he hadn't looked forward to getting. “Isn't it a bright day Hardin?”Hardin clenches his fist underneath the table as he looked Dario in the eyes. He couldn't shake off the pain he felt when he looked at him. When he has been in prison the image of Dario betraying him in court constantly played in his head and he wondered why the person he considered to be his brother would do such to him. He gave him hope and then smashed it into pieces. Hardin despised him gravely. “Why did you call me out here?”Dario had invited Hardin to a golf course. “You remember we used to love playing golf when we were younger"Dario hits the ball and it rolls into the hole while Hardin stood there unfazed. Hardin couldn't remember anything even if he wanted to. He had chosen to erase all memories he shared with Dario from his heart. If it was never there then it meant the memories never existed in the first place. Hardin saw Dario as no
Dario bursts out into a laugh. “You're joking right?”Hardin wasn't smiling one bit. “You took away my place in your family, took away my wife, took away my company and took away my freedom”Hardin glares at Dario. The more he looked at him to more pain he felt. He was standing in front of the man who tried to ruin his life. “I can't take back the others I've already lost but I can take my company back. I worked hard to build it”Dario matches Hardin's glare. “I made that tiny business you started into what it is! I expanded it and made it one of the top. Me! I did that so it belongs to me! You will never have it Hardin!"Hardin chuckles briefly. Of course Dario wouldn't give it up so easily. “Did you just like stealing things that you couldn't start your own company and had to take mine? Is that all you're good at Dario? Stealing?"Dario deepened his glare. “Watch your words Hardin!”Hardin stares into Dario's eyes and places a hand on his shoulder. He sends him a small smile