2024-04-03 06:30:06
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The rule of three The ultimate goal
All the men around stared open-mouthed, stunned. “Christian never wins.” Patel said in shock. “Well he did today.” Another man said, coming to stand beside them. “I wonder what our man here told him.” He added beaming. “Dean Connor.” Dean said, stretching his hand out for a handshake. “Levant Goldberg.” The man said cheerfully, taking his hand. “Connor eh?" The game loser said walking up to join them. “You don't know what you just cost me.” He said, but he was smiling.“No one told you to place a difficult bet.” Christian Baker, the man of the moment and winner said, finally joining the group that were now gathered around Dean like a celebrity. “How would I have known you would win? You never win.” The game loser, who Dean , still did not know his name, said.“Such nice words to say to a friend, Mathew.” Christian Baker replied in a mock hurt voice.“I love you man, but it's the truth. Now I have to sit and suffer through your niece playing the violin.” There was brief silence,
The rule of three Playing with fire
Florenza indulged the child who followed her around the house, as she monitored the staff to ensure everyone was doing their assigned tasks for the day. As the chief domestic staff, she took her responsibilities very seriously. She ensured the mansion was spick and span and that domestic operations ran smoothly without any hitch. “Is it not weird to wash the walls?” The child asked, pointing to two maids who were brushing down a large white pillar with stiff brushes dipped in soapy water. Florenza laughed at the question and shook her head. “Alanna, those pillars are out and often exposed to dust. To keep them clean, we have to wash them often.” Florenza tried to explain as simply as she could to the seven year old. She smiled down at the little girl. She was happy about the progress the child was making. Alanna spoke more often now than she did when she first arrived at the Rossano mansion.
The rule of three READY!
Leilani was staring thoughtlessly into space as was her habit these days when something caught her attention. The door to her room was creaking open slowly. Leilani flew up from the sofa in alarm. That was strange,The door was usually slammed open with force by her nurse, the monster and even his guards. She saw a young woman peek in, looking around the room tentatively, when she saw Leilani she froze. Both women stared at each other in shocked silence. Then the woman slowly began to edge forward.Leilani stood rooted, unable to move. This was strange. How did this woman get in here, where the hell were the formidable guards who always stood at the door? How and why did they let her in.Most importantly, who was she?She did not look dangerous. In fact, she was uncertain and moving with caution.The woman got
The rule of three A spell
Dean stepped out of the hired luxury car that came complete with a chauffeur in white uniform. He walked around to the other side and helped Lyda out.The long powder blue dress she wore clung to her full hips and flared out at the bottom, covering her ankles and most of her heels.She put her hand in his, and they walked up the marbled entrance staircase into Christian Baker’s grand mansion. At the door, the butler nodded with a professional smile.“Dean connor.” Dean said to him. He saw the butler’s eyes light up just like the security guards’ at the gate had lit up.“Welcome to the Baker mansion.” He said and showed them in.“This place is grand.” Lyda whispered to him as they walked in, several paces behind the butler.“Yes.” Dean responded with a smile. But his attention was focused more on achieving his goal for the day. How best to navigate the topi
The rule of three Tension
Dean walked downstairs into the very huge, wood-themed study at Christian Baker’s mansion. He wondered if he would have the time to get a study and house like this before his time was up.The few areas of the house he had seen so far were magnificent. He took his seat as Christian Baker moved around to stand behind his huge desk. He pulled out a bottle of whiskey from one of the desk drawers.“You know, you cannot afford to be as slow as this with something so important.” Christian Baker said as he filled up some glasses. “I am telling you this for future purposes.”“I'm not sure I understand.” Dean said, accepting a glass of whiskey from him. “If you do not state your case on time. Someone else will, and not in a way that will benefit you.” Christian Baker said. Dean still did not understand but he remained silent and watched the man take a swing from his drink.“Your work with Ally is impressive. Especially from a self made man.”Dean's jaw dropped. Him too? How did they know s
The rule of three He got away
“Lyda. What’s wrong.” Dean said, rushing towards her. She was white and standing as stiff as a stick. “What's the problem?” He asked again, beginning to get very worried. She merely shook her head and tears began to stream down. That was when he noticed her smartphone. She had it stretched out to him.He paused, and then he took it from her and peered at the image. What he saw chilled his blood.“Who is this?” “Jess!” Lyda said in frustrated anger and burst into loud tears. Thankfully the party was in full swing and it was impossible for anyone to hear them over the loud music and chatter.He pulled her close and she buried her face in his chest, sobbing and trashing. Dean did not blame her. The picture he had just seen was disturbing to even him who had been in jail and seen terrible things.Jess's face had been badly beaten in.“We have to go to her. She will refuse to go to the hospital.” Lyda said quickly withdrawing from his arms. “What? She is not at the hospital?”“No. He
The rule of three The membership card
It was a long night for Dean and Lyda. They waited till two in the morning for the surgery to be completed.Lyda waited because this was her best friend, and Dean waited because Lyda was his responsibility and he could not just leave her out there like that.They finally returned to his apartment towards dawn, and as he tucked Lyda into bed, he shook his head in self derision. His plan to save Alanna had so backfired, now, he had a wife on his hands that he did not know what to do with. She was sleeping over more often, it seemed like she had practically moved in. Before he went to bed himself, he had to do one last thing. He opened his laptop and filled out the membership form with Levant Goldberg’s name as sponsor. He finally hit the bed at 4am. When next he opened his eyes, it was bright outside. He picked up his watch from the side table and saw it was 7am. He slowly got out of bed and went to the kitchen to make himself coffee.“Good morning.” He turned to see Lyda standin
The rule of three A blackmail speech
Useless! Dean thought to himself. He knew this would happen. The cops in these parts were so incompetent. “Perhaps you know his last name or place of work? That could help with the search.” Cop 1 said.“I already told you all I know.” Lyda groaned in exasperation. “He works as a truck driver in one of the city’s factories. I don't know his last name.” For some reason, an alarm bell went off in Dean's head but he did not know why. “The longer it takes to find him, the more danger Jess is in. He may try to shut her up forever.” Lyda continued. “We could station a cop outside her ward, while we send his picture to all the factories in town.” Cop 1 said.“Please do.” Lyda said.Dean did not like this, if Rob had gone into hiding the way he suspected, the knowledge of his image circulating will only drive him further away. He may even run away from the city.
Latest Chapter
Leilani escapes
Leilani crouched low. Despite the painkillers, despite the fact that she'd lost the baby for days now, her belly still cramped painfully.She winced as she turned to her side on the bed.Her nurse was busy watching television, ignoring her completely. The woman hated her gut now. No one found out that the nurse had been drugged, the monster thought she was careless and punished her severely. She hated Leilani for this and was extra high handed with her.Leilani silently watched her now. The nurse turned suddenly. “Lost something?” She frowned angrily. “Why are you staring?”Leilani winced as her belly twisted again. “I need painkillers. My belly hurts.” She managed to get out. The nurse scoffed at her and looked away. Leilani closed her eyes as the pain enveloped her body. She should have known the woman would not help. She clutched the bed sheet and clenched as the pain coursed through her body and seized her thigh, back and pelvis in a vicious grip. When the pain dropped again
Trouble is brewing
“A serving for five this evening. Everyone will be home.” Florenza said to the cook.“Yes ma'am.” The cook responded.Florenza wanted to say something, but she hesitated and kept quiet. She walked out of the kitchen and hurried upstairs. The maids looked away when they saw her coming. Florenza pressed her lips together. They blamed her for what happened. She saw it in their eyes. They all acted coldly towards her, and two more people had resigned.She went back upstairs to Alanna, and they continued their lessons. At least, the child was her usual warm and friendly self around her. She wondered how the child would treat her though if she knew and understood what happened.She doubted she would remain this friendly if she did.She had not had one good night's sleep since she heard that scream and gunshot. Her guilt became worse when Rhoda went missing. In her heart, she knew something bad had happened to her, but she did not want to believe it.Perhaps the girl had decided to resi
Another big break
Dean sighed. Not again, Not today!He maintained a calm expression though, and walked around her to open his front door. He had forgotten how persistent Lyda can be. He should have known she would not back off easily. He went in, she followed him and closed the door behind. He hoped she would not try any of that seduction trick today. He went to the room and confirmed the painting was still hanging on the wall. “What do you want Lyda?” He said as he stepped out. She looked calm, not as distressed as she did yesterday. “Why did you not tell me you were leaving for another woman?” She asked.“What?”“I worried something was wrong with me.” She said dropping her purse on a nearby couch. “I really thought something was seriously wrong with me, that is why you could not like me even though you were single and straight.” Dean kept looking at her.“Why did you
Best friend
“Callaso.” Jasper responded. “Do you know him?” “I cannot be sure yet.” Dean said, as he sent a quick text to the cops in charge of Rob's case. When he looked up, Jasper was looking at him with a strange expression. “You look good. You look really good.” He said in wonder. Dean shook his head and smiled sadly. Then he launched into a long explanation, bringing Jasper up to speed with everything that had happened to him so far. The more he told, the more incredulous Jasper looked. Dean tried to hurry through the details as fast as he could. There was a time limit to every prison visit. Jasper had both hands supporting his chin by the time Dean was done. Dean sat back and watched his reaction. He understood it to some extent. He believed the reason he had not freaked out yet was because he had not had a peaceful moment to really think about it. Everything had moved fast since that night he got ou
Getting heated
Dean stepped back as if he had been slapped. He looked at Lyda's face, moist with tears. But he felt no pity. “That is not love. You were selfish. You lied because you were only thinking about yourself.” He shouted angrily. How could she claim to love him when she did not even know the most basic quality of love. How could someone as selfish as she was, claim to love him?He chose her because he needed her help. That was selfish. He could never claim he loved her. She brought in benefits and he compensated her adequately.“Do you understand that our marriage is null?” He asked, remembering what Jean had told him. “Our marriage was never recognized because you were married to another.” He ran his hands through his hair as the full implication of this hit him. He would never have been able to adopt Alanna, even if he had beat Già to apply first.They would have verified, found out his mar
Null marriage
“I know it's none of my business, but it came up in one of these investigations.” The private investigator said. It's confusing how you have a wife and then a fiance.”“It's not what you think.” Dean said, and explained the situation of things. Jean sighed and shook his head. “Alanna is fine. Just not in school yet.”“You're sure? How do you know?” Dean asked. Jean looked at him with a frown. “Of course, It's your job to know.” Dean said, feeling stupid. “I am just surprised they would take good care of her. You know by now how evil that family is.” “They have no reason to hurt her. She is important for Luke's campaign.” Jean replied. Dean paused. “Wait. You mean there is a chance Leilani and Alanna are in the same house?” He asked, as he got an idea.“I can go there under the pretext of going to visit Alanna.”Jean looked angry, and Dean
Dead end
Rob looked from Dean to the cop. Then he looked down at his hands. It seemed he was contemplating whether to reveal this big secret or not.“There was a ring tucked into a seat in the truck. Some drops of blood too.” Rob said. Dean felt his whole body go cold. “Blood?”“Yes. A few drops.”“Did you report this to the cops?” The cop asked. “No.”Dean lost it and punched him again. This bastard! It would have been so much easier to find Leilani if only he had spoken up when this happened. “I did not want to get in trouble. When I asked Charles he said to burn the note and mind my business.”“What note?” Dean and the cop asked in unison. “A note was tucked in the ring.” Rob said hesitantly. This was getting even worse. Was this man simply a dumb idiot who only knew how to hit women, or was plain selfish and could only think of saving his neck.
Hideout
Dean got off his zoom meeting with the celebrity with a smile. He had finally secured her contract with Ally.It had not been difficult. Just like he had predicted, she had been ecstatic at the fact that the CEO contacted her. The offer was also too juicy for any sane person to reject. Now, looking at the signed contract on his desktop, he could breathe a sigh of relief. There were currently no loopholes for competitors like Patel to infiltrate through.Things were finally beginning to take shape. If things continued like this, he would be rounding up all his goals soon. Now if only he would at least get an update about Leilani. He was beginning to worry more. This was taking longer than he had ever expected. As if on cue, his phone rang. It was the private investigator calling.“We’ve narrowed the search down to the driver.” Jean Akio said as soon as the call connected. He sounded
Two more mintues
Leilani watched her nurse clear the dishes away, and tried to convince herself about things that were not true. If she believed these things, she could play the pretending act well.She acted like today was a normal day, and the plates her nurse was taking away didn't contain her final approval for her escape plan to happen today. She felt like a duck on water, calm and serene on the outside and frantically paddling underneath the water in distress. She had no idea how she was going to spend the day pretending to be calm. She was bursting with anxiety. She hugged her still flat belly, hoping to draw comfort from her baby. She was mostly making this escape for this baby. She could not just sit and let them sell her child in some black market like a common slab of meat.“One day I would tell you about this sacrifice I am making just to keep you safe.” She whispered to her sixteen weeks old foetus, caressing her stomach. “Don't get too attached to that thing.” Her nurse said, start
