Leah Marcher walked through the hallway of Daystar Industries as she headed toward Rylan’s office. In her hands were a couple of papers. The papers were good news. News that Rylan would love to hear. She arrived at the office and was met by his secretary, Mrs. Clifford who was a brunette woman in her early forties. “Mrs. Marcher. Welcome,” she greeted. “Thank you, Mrs. Clifford. Is he in there?” Leah asked. Mrs. Clifford nodded. “Okay. Thank you,” Leah said and knocked on the door. Without waiting for a response, she swung the door open and stepped into the office. Rylan was leaning against his chair lost in thought. He was in his white undershirt with his sleeves folded. On the chair hung his suit jacket. Rylan was thinking of what to do with Federick’s company now he owned it. He could merge it with his and make it one, but that seemed like a bad idea. The weight of the company would be too cumbersome in the market. But if he made both of them go in the opposite direction, th
As Rylan and Leah strolled towards their car, a sudden flash caught them off guard. A camera which concealed the face of a figure standing a few cars away, had just taken their picture. The figure, who was wearing a black overcoat, slowly lowered the camera, revealing his face. He watched Rylan and Leah intently as they climbed into their shiny Lamborghini, his eyes never leaving them until they raced away down the street, leaving him standing alone in the huge parking lot. When they were gone, he looked at the images he captured of them. He had taken quite a few and they all seemed perfect. That was all the evidence he needed. He was sure that his client would be delighted to see this. With a smile on his face, he walked back into the casino. ***In a room with a large table sat five men and a woman. They were all looking at each other in rage. The air that surrounded them seemed tense. However, they didn’t seem angry at each other but angry at something way different. Seth Manne
“To Rylan Daystar!” Leah said, lifting her glass. “To Rylan Daystar!” The whole crowd said after her. There were sounds of glass clinking together before the music in the background was brought back higher. Rylan who was sitting at one of the couches in the dimly lit club smiled as he watched the crowd call his name. He didn’t fancy any of these, but Leah had compelled him to come here. They were celebrating his success in overpowering Federick and also the build-up to the factory’s debut. Rylan had a glass of liquor in his hand as he watched the whole club go wild. He had bought the club a few years back, a rare addition to his collection. He had done it just for fun but had grown fond of it after a while. This was where he came to relax after having tough days, but those days seemed to be slowly fading away. He was now on course for a three-over-three victory. All he had to do was get the casino owners to understand and compensate them before letting them leave. After that, his w
Detective Jain Reynolds stepped out of her Acura in a brown overcoat. She placed her hands in her pockets and walked towards the scene. There was an emergency call that hit her phone while she was in the hot tub, and she had to rush down there. As she walked towards the scene which was now surrounded by police cars, two ambulances, a fire truck, and a yellow tape surrounding the scene, she tried to picture what she was staring at. It took her some time to realize that it was a club. Its walls were filled with holes and there were shells from bullets scattered around the entrance of the club. Jain showed her badge to the officer in charge before walking past the yellow tape. As she walked towards the club’s entrance, she was met by Stanley. He was still dressed in the attire she had left him in at the precinct. He must have been working late at night. His sandy brown hair looked disheveled, and his eyes looked like he had run a marathon. “Jain. Glad you could make it,” he said as he
Rylan Daystar, Jain muttered. She was looking at a big file now which was before her. On the file was information about Rylan which she was forced to read. Tonight was the first time she had heard of Rylan Daystar, and when she ran through his file, she was surprised that she had never come across his name before. She was at the station now, and the hot tub she had craved an hour ago seemed unimportant. There was a lot that was going on in Los Angeles that she knew little about. There was more to Rylan Daystar than met the eye. If she hadn’t gone through his file, she would have never found out. Across her sat Stanley. He was smoking a cigarette with his legs on his desk. He seemed relaxed by all these. Mrs. Lopez was in her office checking the bullet shells if they would match any of the recent crimes that had been committed. She knew the Valdez cartel all too well. They had a specific type of ammunition which they never seemed to change. It was incriminating, but they never seemed
Jain swung the door of her apartment and stepped into it. She took off the brown gun holster which hung on her hip and placed it on the table close by. Tonight had been one hell of a night. It made her review her decision to move to Los Angeles. Rylan was hiding vital information from the police. Information that could help in the capture of The Valdez cartel. Whatever it was, she was going to get to the bottom of it. She slumped on the couch with a sigh of relief. She was exhausted from the night. Stanley wouldn't lend her a hand in her pursuit of Rylan. He probably felt it would be a wasted effort just as she had been told when she had been on The Valdez cartel case. That had been a long time ago. When she was still working in San Diego County. She could still remember her experience there like it was still yesterday. Jain had been a young naive police officer who had been caught up mistakenly in one of the webs of the cartel. She had been investigating a bank robbery that had be
Frederick McCullough was sauntering the room with his hands behind him. He was nervous as he waited for information. Before him were his children, Edward, Eve, and Karen. They all watched him walk in circles. He was letting his anxiety get the best of him. Frederick couldn’t believe that Edward had made a deal with the Valdez cartel. That had been a terrible idea. Federick had tried so hard to stay away from them. The drug trafficking scheme still haunted him to this day, and he thought he had finally buried it. Now, he had lost his company to it and now his family name was being sustained with them once more. Frederick knew that Ernesto would be happy to see Edward. He had worked so hard to try to convince Frederick to come back, but Fredrick had blatantly refused. That didn’t stop him though. Ernesto had promised to expose his secret to the world which had frightened Frederick, but it had turned out to be a mere bluff. As he recalled this, he wondered if that was where Rylan had go
The huge computer screen lit up Rylan’s face as he gazed at them. He was still dressed in his white undershirt which had countless stains on them. After making sure everybody was safe, he left the club and returned home to find out who was behind the shootout. The video from the camera caught sight of many gunmen coming down from two vans just before gunning down his club. Rylan leaned back on his hair and sighed. He had been trying to track down the vans, but couldn’t. The cameras hadn’t caught sight of the plate numbers when they had arrived, and they had been destroyed during the shootout. It was pointless, and it made Rylan frustrated. There was no iota of sleep in his eyes. He was wide awake and active as he tried to trace down the men who had wreaked havoc on his club. If there was one thing Rylan was sure of, it was Frederick McCullough being behind all of these. He wanted his company back, but that wasn’t going to happen. Shooting down his club wasn’t going to change a thing
VENICE, ITALY6 MONTHS LATER. “Stay away from me!” The man yelled as he ran through the dim streets for shelter. Behind him, a man dressed in a black suit with a black mask was running after him. In his hand was an FN 5’7. The man in black pursued him endlessly. When the Italian man stopped for shelter, he pulled out his gun from the pockets of his leather jacket and aimed at the man in black. “Rylan. Watch out,” Williams called in his ear. “Holy shit!” Rylan yelled on his breath as the man pointed the gun in his direction. Two shots were fired and Rylan managed to dodge the bullets before they could hit him. “Are you sure this is our guy?” Rylan asked. “Affirmative. Dominic De Rossi,” Williams replied through the comms. “I just hope you’re right.”“When have I ever been wrong?”Rylan rolled his eyes and fired back at Dominic. The shot whizzed past Dominic’s head and he scrambled to his feet immediately. Rylan saw this and decided to go after him. They were on the main stre
“They let you in?” Jain asked. “Of course they would.”Jain sighed and drank her cappuccino. They were both seated at a table in the cafe. It was at their favorite spot—the table by the window. It had been two days since Rylan had spoken to Frederick. He could still remember the shock on his face when he told him he had forgiven him. It wasn’t something that Frederick had expected. Frederick was aware that he despised him, but there was no need to keep that grudge anymore. The battle had been won. The best thing he could do now was move on and that was ok his agenda. Jain shook her head in disbelief. She was baffled that they would let Rylan into the prison to speak to Frederick McCullough. Well, he was Rylan Daystar. “So what did you tell him?”Rylan lifted his cup of cappuccino and took a sip from it. His eyes went to the parking lot outside the window. The morning sun washed all the cars there with its glorious light including his black Audi. “I told him that I forgave him.”Ja
The door opened and a figure dressed in suit stepped into the facility. The sounds of footsteps echoed through the hallway as the figure made its way toward the door. When it arrived, a guard was waiting by the door who was heavily armed. He opened the door and stepped forward. He had a grim look on his face. “Welcome, Mr. Daystar.”Rylan smiled at him and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Where is he?” He asked. “Waiting for you, sir.”Rylan nodded and stepped forward. He was in a prison facility, one of the most dreaded in the country. Rylan was here to see someone special to him. He would call it a mockery, but there was something he would love to say. This was the last thing on his bucket list before he could tag this mission as a success. They arrived at a room and the guard opened the door for Rylan. Inside the dimly lit room, a figure was sitting at a table dressed in orange. Rylan clenched his jaws and stepped into the room. He turned back to the guard who was still sta
“I thought we were going to head back home?” Jain asked as they headed into their Airbnb. “Well, Los Angeles is a two-hour flight back, and my pilots are off duty for the night,” Rylan said, closing the door behind them. Jain sighed and rubbed her neck nervously. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been in a room alone with a man. That had been with Jacob; five years ago. Rylan took off his suit jacket and hung it on the cloth rag before folding his undershirt. “If this makes you uncomfortable I could get a different room for myself.”Jain turned to him. “You could do that?” She asked. “I mean, there’s no need for that.”Rylan arched an eyebrow at her as he folded his sleeve once more. “Okay. If you say so.”Jain nodded and proceeded to the fireplace. She was gazing at the crackling fire as she held her shoulders. It brought her soothing warmth. There was a center table in the small living room and on it was a bucket of ice with a bottle of champagne sitting in it. “Wou
WASHINGTON D.CRylan dropped his fork and reached for his napkin dapping his lips softly. Jain who was watching him had a glass of red wine in her hand. They were surrounded by people who also stayed in an expensive diner. One only Jain could dream of having. Rylan had changed her perspective on things over the last few days. She had managed to see the world through another pair of lenses; the expensive kind. Jain never knew that Rylan could be such a sweet person. She could vividly remember the first day she had met him. She and Stanley had been trying to solve the shootout that seemed to have happened to his club. When she had first laid eyes on him, she knew he was trouble. From the way he talked and moved, she assumed that he was as narcissistic and arrogant as the rest of all the billionaires in Los Angeles. But now as she sat across from him in an expensive diner, she couldn’t believe that she had been wrong the whole time. She had missed judging him, and that was fine by him
The party was lavish. There were lots of special dignitaries who filled the scene. The paparazzi wouldn’t stop flashing their cameras at them. This was the biggest party in the city. It was an awards party which would explain why there were so many famous people. A black Lamborghini arrived at the scene and halted on the red carpet. The door lifted and a figure stepped out of the car. It was Rylan Daystar who was dressed in a charcoal black suit with floral patterns and a shawl which was tied at his waist. He looked like a Frenchman. He moved to the other side of the car and opened the door. A woman stepped out of the car all dressed in a white gown. It was Jain, and she had a new look. Her platinum blonde hair which was always long was cut short now making her look dangerously beautiful. Rylan smiled as he watched her close the door of the Lamborghini. A valet came forward and Rylan threw the key to him. “Make sure you take good care of her.”“Yes sir,” the valet said, getting in
Rylan opened the door and stepped into the house. He had a grim look on his face. Arlene, who was seated on the couch engrossed with the television, looked up and saw him walk in. She immediately turned off the television and smiled at him. “Rylan. You’re back.”Rylan nodded. “Mom I’d like for you to meet someone,” he said standing aside from the door. Arlene raised an eyebrow at this. “Come in,” Rylan appeared to be speaking to the door until a figure stepped into the room.As Arlene saw the figure, she immediately flashed back. There was no way this was happening. He was real, and he was still alive. He was Paul Richmond. Arlene tried to speak but no words could converge. Paul looked at her and smiled. “Hey, Arlene,” he greeted. Arlene tried to look away but she couldn’t. His voice brought back so many memories. Like when Lauren had first told her that she was pregnant die him. Or when he had tried to combine her right outside the Vice chancellor’s office to come with him. Th
“I’m telling you son, the Los Angeles Angels might win this,” Paul said as he stepped out of Rylan’s Lamborghini. “Well, I hope you’re right, Dad. Because I have put a lot into this,” Rylan said, shutting the door of the car. Paul came to his son and wrapped his hand around his shoulder. “Trust me, son. You’ll see.”Rylan scoffed and they walked towards the entrance of the stadium. They had their seats reserved in the executive box. Rylan was here to watch his football team win the title. He was supposed to be here with Leah, but she told him she had some other pressing business to attend to. And so he decided to go with his father instead. There were now a few things left for Rylan before he could cross off his bucket list. Everything was going according to plan. “I saw you receiving the key to the city,” Paul said. “I couldn’t be more proud of you, Rylan.”Rylan turned to him. “You saw that? How?”Paul chuckled and patted his shoulders. “I was there.”Rylan’s eyes almost bul
“Do you have jitters?” Detective Jain Reynolds asked. Rylan turned to surprise. “Of course not.”“Well, you’ve been talking about your thigh for the last two minutes.”“I’m just anxious.”Jain turned to him. “About what?”Rylan kept silent for a few minutes to think about it. “About this, I guess?”Jain scoffed at his words. “You’ve been in front of a crowd a million times. This is the same thing.”“Well not exactly. I’ve never been in front of a crowd filled with police officers.”Jain laughed at his words. “Rylan Daystar is being intimidated by a crowd of police officers. Who would have thought?”Rylan rolled his eyes and placed his hands before him. They were both standing in a room alone. In a few minutes, they would be taken outside to be handed the key to the city. Rylan wasn’t exactly sure why he was there. When Jain had first told him about this at the cafe? He quickly declined the offer. The city saw him as a hero. But he wasn’t. He had so many flaws that would prevent