As the thunderous echoes of Mr. James's departure faded into silence, the CEO cleared his throat and addressed the board, his voice a model of calm and composure. "Now that the matter of Mr. James is behind us, we can finally move forward," he said, his eyes scanning the faces of the other board members. "I am pleased to announce that we will be maintaining our partnership with the Nathaniel family."Jeremy, seated at the table, nodded slowly, a smile stretching across his face, although a hint of unease flickered in his eyes. he was a bit worried with how James had stared at him before leaving. Jeremy's smile broadened, the nervousness in his eyes hidden by a mask of confidence. "We appreciate your trust in us," he said, his voice sincere and humble. "You won't regret your decision. You have my word on that."The other board members nodded in agreement, their expressions a mix of approval and relief. The decision had been made, and now it was time to move forward. But even as the bo
Avery smiled at her husband, ignoring the ringing phone. She was in a blissful moment with him, and nothing could ruin it. She turned to Jeremy and asked, "When can we start our project?" She was excited and eager to begin. Jeremy's smile was warm and genuine as he replied, "We can start as soon as we get home." When the phone rang again, Jeremy turned to Avery and suggested, "You should answer it. The caller seems persistent." Avery nodded and agreed, "Yes, it could be something important. I'll pick up, but I don't want anything interfering with our vacation." She walked over to the phone and picked it up, but the line had already gone dead. "Hmm, that's strange," Avery said, furrowing her brow. She put the phone back down and turned to Jeremy with a shrug. "Looks like whoever it was hung up. I'm sure it wasn't anything important. Now, let's get back to our plans. We don't want to waste any more of our precious vacation time." Just as Avery was about to leave, the phone rang yet
A sense of dread hung heavy in the air, like a cloud of poison gas threatening to suffocate them both."What was that all about?" Avery asked, her voice shaky. "Who are these people? And what contract?"Jeremy turned to face her, his expression grim. "I don't know," he admitted, the words feeling like lead in his throat. "But we're going to find out."The phone rang again, its shrill ring cutting through the tension like a scream. Jeremy's hand hovered over the phone, hesitant to answer, but knowing he had to.With a deep breath, Jeremy pressed the phone to his ear."Hello?" he said, his voice guarded."We're watching you," the robotic voice hissed, the sound of it like nails on a chalkboard. "And we know that your wife is carrying the heir to the Nathaniel fortune. If you don't want any harm to come to her or your children, you'll do exactly as we say."The line went dead again, leaving Jeremy and Avery standing in stunned silence. Their world had just been upended, the safety they h
Jeremy's jaw clenched in determination, the information he had just received had only served to fuel his curiosity.He knew he had heard about the company before but he couldn't place his fingers on how he got to know about it. His mind was racing hard, causing his brows to draw together as he tried to wrap his head around the seemingly puzzle.Just like a flash; after about ten minutes of brainstorming, he was hit. It began to fall in place how he heard about it. His eyes sparkled at the glimpse of understanding, which snapped him off his thoughts, "Kaiden!" He blurted out.His furrow deepened. Somewhere deep within him, he knew it was linked to the Kaiden family, but he wasn't certain about it.At that instant, he turned back inside, his strides long and purposeful, straight to the desk where he had left his laptop.His hands moved like a robot on the keyboard as he sought for informations concerning his findings. He sought for informations about Mr. James, since he wasn't certain a
Mr. James inner eyes flew open immediately, he wasn't expecting that question from Jeremy, but he still managed to betray no emotion. With a careful precision, he lifted his cup of coffee to his lips and as he took a sip, his mind was running wild with what to say to Jeremy.Jeremy's eyes had never left his face, studying every of his silent cues, and after about five seconds of thick silence, Mr. James removed the mug from his lips and a broad smile masked his face."Your wife? So you're married already," He stated warmly, locking eyes with Jeremy whose smile was far from his face.Mr. James feigned calmness seemed to get under Jeremy's skin and he couldn't stand James' hypocrisy anymore. He wasn't going to give Mr. James any way out. No, he wasn't going to play along with him."Don't try to play dumb with me, James," Jeremy's voice rang with a simmering anger, his jaw clenched with a fierce determination.Mr. James at his words furrowed his brows, "what are you talking about, Jeremy
Mr. James zoned out for a few moments as Jeremy made his way towards the door, the air in the room thick with tension. Realizing the effect this was having, Mr. James quickly laughed, attempting to diffuse the situation. "Oh please, Jeremy! What nonsense are you thinking?" he chuckled, hoping to ease the situation. "There's no way someone is paying me to sabotage you. That's just ridiculous!"With a derisive snort, Mr. James said, "You're delusional if you think someone is paying me to sabotage you, Jeremy. You've barely spent a week in my country, and you're already paranoid about your safety?" He punctuated his retort with a sharp laugh. "Let's get one thing straight: the only reason you're enjoying any glory here is because of your father. Without him, you're nothing more than a nobody.""It's obvious you've been riding on your father's coattails your entire life, Jeremy," Mr. James sneered, his tone dripping with contempt. "You think you're important, but the truth is, you're a sm
James shifted uncomfortably in his chair, his throat constricting with fear as the voice on the other end of the line spoke. "Will taking Jeremy down completely be possible, or are you still too afraid to face him?" the voice asked, a sinister edge to its tone.Clearing his throat nervously, James replied, "No sir, that will be easy to do," he boasted, his voice gaining a hint of bravado. "He's just a visitor in my country, and I'll make sure he returns home as a corpse."The voice let out a low, humorless chuckle, the sound sending a shiver down James' spine. "See that you do," it replied, the malice in its tone unmistakable. "And remember, failure is not an option. I will not tolerate incompetence, especially when it comes to dealing with a threat like Jeremy."James swallowed hard, his hands clenching into fists as he tried to maintain his composure. "I understand, sir," he replied, his voice trembling slightly. "I won't let you down."There was a brief pause, and then the voice sp
The Kaiden patriarch was furious. His face was twisted in anger, and he slammed his hands on the table. "Jeremy Nathaniel is a bastard, just like his father," he roared.His voice was loud and powerful, echoing through the room. The patriarch shook his head, a sneer twisting his features. "I was wrong about Jeremy Nathaniel. He's not the fool I thought he was. I have to admit, he's got more brains than his father, the useless fool who fell into our trap and ended up marrying my daughter."He laughed, but there was no joy in it, only bitterness and spite.The patriarch stood up from his chair, his eyes blazing with hatred as he strode to the window. "I contacted the foreign partners to his father's company, knowing that Jeremy wouldn't know how to run it without his father's help. I convinced them to back out of their deal, but Jeremy somehow convinced them to stay. I must admit, he must be good!"His laughter was cold and cruel, like the chill of a winter wind.Jeremy Nathaniel had t