“Did you kill my wife and my mother-in-law?”
Silence.
“Answer me, you sick bastard!”
“Yes.”
Gasp.
“What?”
“Yes, what? What are you saying yes to?”
“The question. My answer to it is yes.”
“God! So it was you all along!”
“A smart man with half a brain would’ve figured it out a long time ago, but you were too busy looking at life through rainbow-tinted eyes to see beyond your nose.”
“What the fuck!”
“Who told you?”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“My lucky guess goes to Mamba.”
“Why did you do it?”
“To encourage you to join The Association.”
“But I already agreed to join!”
“As a base member. The double homicide made you thirsty for the top-tier spot and that was what I wanted.”
“Why the hell are you telling me all these things?”
“Because you asked. If you insist on marrying my daughter and becoming my son-in-law, you’ll need to grow some real ba
“Why did you do that?”“Do what?”“Marry Diamond. I told you to call off your engagement with her and you went and married her instead. What is wrong with you?”“I don’t have to take instructions from you and I don’t owe you an explanation about how I choose to live my life.”“You have made the biggest mistake of your life by marrying that girl. You practically walked right into Zeus’ trap.”“Excuse me?”“You heard me right, Jake. You’ve fucked up.”“Are you going to explain what you’re rambling about or not? I’ve got a ton of work to do today, so please, get to the point or leave my office.”Mamba growled in frustration. “You egotistical idiot. Zeus is about to take away everything that belongs to you and make his daughter the richest widow in the country.”“Are you saying
“What now?”“It’s back to business as usual.”“Are you nuts? They now know that I’m on to them. I’m sure they know that I got that info from you.”“Don’t panic. They won’t make any sudden moves because they don’t know exactly how much you know about them. Just play it cool and act normal.”“What’s normal? This father-daughter tag team might be warming up to take me out tonight. I have a daughter to protect too, remember?”“I know. Trust me, Zeus won’t make any move for now. I know how he operates. He’s going to keep checking you out to see how much you know before he makes a move.”“I don’t like any of this. All I ever wanted was a chance to leave my horrid past behind and live a good life with my child. I never wanted to be involved in this mafia-type battle between you and your boss.”&ldquo
“Good evening, Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for honouring my invitation on such short notice,” said Mamba. She was dressed formally in a navy pantsuit and her hair was held in a sleek bun. “I know there’s only a handful of us here tonight but I believe that when the others begin to see the light, they too will join us,” she continued. Jake looked around the room discreetly. There were only fourteen of them including Mamba. The group comprised eleven men and three women. The meeting was being held in a textile warehouse owned by one of the attendees. “As you already know, the Boogeyman has shown that he is only loyal to his pockets. Where does that leave the rest of us and our businesses?” There were murmurs of agreement among the group. Jake remained quiet but listened intently and observed everyone’s body language. “Some of you have continued to pay heavily for the Boogeyman’s protection and seemingly inexhaustible connections. Was
“Liar!” Mamba shouted at Zeus. “That thing is fabricated.”“It looks like the real thing,” Jake remarked as he continued to study the document.“It is the real thing,” Zeus insisted. “I am your biological father, Athena.”“Stop it!” She screamed.“I was in love with Maria Mendici when we were younger,” said Zeus. “Then she was Maria Milan. She was from a humble background and I had nothing. Her parents wanted the best for her so they matchmade her with Roman Mendici who fell in love with her at first sight.”Mamba lowered the gun. She was intrigued by the story and Jake was relieved that nobody would be dying there yet.“It was a cruel twist of fate because Roman and I had become friends and he was mentoring me on how to start my first business,” Zeus continued. “I didn’t have the heart to tell him that I was in love with M
“I’ve invited Daddy to have dinner with us tomorrow night.”Jake nearly choked on his wine. “What?”“It’s going to be his last supper,” said Diamond, giggling at her joke.“That’s not even funny.”“It’s what you want, isn’t it? My father is a threat to you and you want him gone. Why are you acting shocked now?”“Ok, fine. You’ve made your point. Leave him alone. I just wanted to be sure that you were on my side and that I wasn’t getting played again.”In all honesty, the thought of killing someone didn’t sit well with him even though he wouldn’t be the one to pull the trigger. But knowing that he ordered a hit on Zeus and that his daughter was the hitman, seemed incredibly cruel of him.“I can’t imagine someone encouraging Victoria to kill me in future,” he said. “I don’t want that kind of karma.”“If Victoria feels that you’re a threat to her life or the one she deeply loves, she’ll do it.”He didn’t know what to say to that. Either Diamond was a super-talented actress or she was tru
“We will make everything official after the funeral,” said Jake during a meeting with Diamond and Zeus’ attorney.“That sounds reasonable,” said Mattias, the lawyer. “However, we still need to decide what to do with Athena Milan’s share of Hector’s empire.”“My step-sister is dead,” Diamond informed him flatly. “Too bad Daddy never got a chance to rewrite his will before he died of that awful stroke. He was going to give her share to Jake.”“Oh, I see,” said Mattias, intrigued. “But that’s a bit confusing, considering that you two signed a prenup before getting married.”“Daddy wanted it nullified too,” she replied quickly.“Is that so?”“Let’s continue this conversation after the funeral,” Jake said firmly. He wasn’t ready to go into that prenup matter just yet.“That’s fine,” said Mattias. “Please accept my condolences once again.”After the lawyer left, Diamond faced Jake and asked, “When am I getting my share of your bounty? This should be a 50-50 partnership, you know. I could’ve
Angus was placed under close surveillance after his expulsion from The Association. Jake knew his opponent was a sore loser who might already be planning his revenge. After several weeks of drama and suspense, he finally resumed his duties as President and CEO of Turner Holdings. He attended meeting after meeting and travelled the world like a nomad on steroids. “Is this how the rest of our life together is going to be?” Diamond asked him evening after he returned from yet another business trip to South Africa. “What?” He asked. “This constant travelling. Victoria and I barely see you anymore. You’re working like a pauper who doesn’t know where his next meal will come from.” “I love what I do, I’m sure you know that.” “In other words, you love your work more than your family.” “I didn’t say that.” “Then spend time with us. Take a week off from work and let your staff do the rest. I also run my father’s businesses but you don’t see me flying around the globe like a space shuttl
“That’s impossible!” Diamond hissed. “Phoenix Holdings is the parent company of all of Daddy’s businesses. He operated it independently but it was still the main source of everything else.” “So, what are you saying?” Jake asked. “I am the only one with authority over Phoenix Holdings. Whoever is carrying out these auctions under that name is simply an impersonator.” “But there’s the issue of those original documents given to the buyers with your signature on them.” “As I said, they were forged. I would never sell my precious investment to a bunch of airheads who don’t even know what they’re doing. Someone is messing with us big time!” “Who else has access to the company seal?” “Me, Daddy and Athena. Since the others are dead, I’m the only one with access to it.” “None of this makes sense.” “Well, don’t worry. I’m going to put this damned puzzle to rest, once and for all.” “How?” “I’m going to Daddy’s vault in Cancun. That’s where all the original documents of everything he ow