The Vengeful Masquerade

The Poisonous Game

As he turned to leave, Rita's eyes couldn't help but follow the contours of his body. His tailored suit hugged his physique in all the right places, showcasing his toned arms and broad chest. The way he moved with a confident swagger only added to his charm, leaving Rita breathless and wanting more.

She watched as he walked out of the room, the door closing behind him with a soft click. Rita let out a sigh, her mind racing with thoughts of James and the promise of their future together. She knew she had to keep her end of the bargain and finalize her divorce from Stephan, but a part of her couldn't help but wonder if she was making a mistake by leaving him for James.

As she sat there, lost in thought, Rita's phone buzzed on the table. She picked it up, her heart skipping a beat as she saw James' name flashing on the screen. She hesitated for a moment before answering, her voice barely above a whisper. "Hello?"

"Hey, just wanted to make sure you're on top of things," James said, his deep voice sending shivers down her spine. "Remember, I'm waiting for your text."

Rita nodded, even though he couldn't see her. "I'll take care of it, James. I promise."

There was a pause at the other end of the line before James spoke again. "Good. I'm looking forward to hearing from you, Rita."

The line went dead, and Rita was left sitting there, her heart racing with anticipation. She knew she had to make Stephan leave the house on time, but he was adamant.

Meanwhile, Stephan had gone out to see his lawyer friend. “ I don't think this is going to work.” Stephan said, looking at Ben.

“ I told you to keep calm. We can make things work.” Ben said, smoking his tobacco. He took out some documents and showed them to Stephan. “You see this, they comprise all Rita's shady deals. We can just blackmail her with this.”

Stephan grabbed the document and went through it. He smiled each time as he read then and looked at Ben. “ How did you get all of this and don't think about lying to me.”

“ Well, let's just say I have my way.” Ben said happily.

Meanwhile, a black SUV car was seen parked outside taking pictures of Stephan and Ben. The man in a black cap immediately called Rita’s line. “ I have the pictures. Should I take him out?” he asked.

After some moments, he nodded and immediately took out a shotgun.

“ I think I have all it takes to take her down with me. Thank you, Ben. You are a lifesaver.” Stephan said, getting to his feet.

Ben also got up and they both embraced themselves. “ Call me.” Ben said, looking at his face.

Ben grabbed his back and decided to take the ally. Stephan noticed a man waking behind him but was convinced he wasn't following Ben when he took another detour.

Stephan grabbed the document tightly and flagged down a taxi heading home. He was surprised to see Rita at home. “ Ain't you supposed to be at work?” Stephan asked, looking at him.

“And you? Ain't you supposed to be at the gate?” Rita asked, eyeing the document he was holding.

“ I asked for some time. I will be going back to my post. Besides, I am just using some minutes from my lunch hours.” Stephan replied.

“ And what is that?” Rita asked, getting up to her feet. She poured Stephan a drink and gave it to him. Stephan was skeptical about drinking it, and he looked at Rita,” Why are you being nice to me all of a sudden?”

Rita smiled, “ Do you think I am going to have you poisoned?”

“Can't you?” Stephan replied.

“ I would rather shoot you in the head and be done with it.” Rita said coldly. “ The document have you signed?”

Stephan raised his glass cup and looked at the contents before he took a sip. “ Why do I need to do this when I have this?” He said proudly before Rita.

“ Hae what? Do you think I didn't know what your plan was all along? I know you have all the shady deals I have done, and you were going to blackmail me with them.”

“ Yes, you deserve this and more,” Stephan said. A call came in and Rita smiled after hearing the voice. “ It is done.”

Rita dropped the call and laughed wickedly. “ What is funny and why are you laughing?” Stephan asked.

He looked at Rita and his vision began to blur. Stephan clenched his stomach in pain as he fell on his knees. “ You poisoned me?” He asked, looking at Rita in tears.

“ Do you think I was going to let you go scoff free with this!” Rita said, angrily collecting the brown envelope from Stephan’s hand. “ My lawyer friend won't let you get away with this. He is going to make sure you pay for everything and have you locked up for a long time.” Stephan said as tears ran down his cheeks.

The thought of dying, leaving the world he knew behind, was scary. He watched Rita smiling down as she looked at him. “ Dying night is the best thing you would be doing for me right now. I need you out of my way, Stephan. Just rest in peace.” Rita said, pouring the alcohol liquid over his face.

“ Do you think that will stop me? I will hunt you down and make sure you pay for this. Ben will release all the files once he knows that I am dead and Yiu is going down.”

“Ben? Do you think Ben is alive? I am sure he is going to be the one to open Hell’s gate for you because you both are going to land in the fiery pits.” Rita laughed, showing Stephan the pictures of Ben being killed.

Stephan grunted at seeing the pictures. He wanted to hold onto Rita, but she pushed him away.

As Stephan breathed his last breath, the word coming out of his mouth was how he was going to make Rita pay even for his death.

“ IT IS DONE.” Rita typed a message, sending it to James Madison.

Stephan looked at the sumptuous dish being placed before him. He looked at his phone and saw an envelope right in front of it. His hand shook gently as she tried to read the message. “It is done.

Stephan saw it was Rita announcing his death to James.

But what was surprising about all of this was that he was in James' body.

Caroline noticed the look on his face and gently placed her hands on his shoulders. “ What are you thinking about so hard that you are lost in thought? Is this about that Rita, girl?” She asked with a smile.

“ I can see that you love her or is there more to this?”

Stephan looked at Caroline and knew he needed to start acting like James Madison, the son of the most wealthy man. Stephan clenched the fork he was holding, and it nearly bent into two.

“ Are you alright?” Caroline asked again.

“ I said I am fine!” Stephan shouted, hitting the table right in front of her. Caroline’s heart jumped into her mouth seeing James lose his coolness. He had never shouted at her or yelled at her before. Stephan noticed the look she gave him, and he knew he had to play it calmly. He was hurt and wounded, but he needed to make use of the second chance he was given. The only person that could help him with that was Caroline, and he couldn't afford to make her his enemy either. The last thing he wanted was to fight with James’s sister.

“ I am sorry I yelled at you. I am just having some hard time.” Stephan lied

The food was dished as they both ate in silence. Stephan’s mind raced as the thought of how he was going to take down Rita and her family was all she could think about. Also, he needed to uncover the truth about Ben’s death and also get the brown file that Rita had taken from him. It was the only thing that could help him, on Rita, to her knees. “ I will be heading out as soon as I am done with my food.” Stephan said without looking up at James’s sister.

Caroline nodded and didn't say a word, the fear of Stephan, who was now James, was scary.

He got up after the meal, grabbed his car keys and raced out of the large compound. Caroline noticed James was behaving weirdly, but she couldn't bring herself to ask him what was going on.

As Stephan drove along the bush street, tears flooded his eyes as he remembered the gruesome death he had faced. The wild laughter of Rita filled the car as he drove. Stephan was moving at a high speed and, suddenly, he heard the wailing sound of the police car behind him. He parked when he noticed that they were coming after him. The police officer got down and walked toward him.

Stephan was feeling all scared when he approached, but he was taken back when the police officer saluted him. “ I don't know you were the one sir. You can go!”

Stephan was surprised to see the power and authority James was wielding. This was definitely going to work, with James’s body, he was definitely going to make Rita lose all her possessions and bow at his feet. Stephan opened his dashboard and brought out a bundle of dollar note. He threw it at the policeman and dove off leaving the man perplexed.

Stephan grabbed James’s phone and messaged Rita with just two words. “ Where do we meet?”