“…this man deserves to be thrown behind bars.”The hall erupted in a frenzy of whispers and clicking cameras. Alex was speechless as Derek continued to speak.“This msn kidnapped me, stole my business idea and presented it to the pandel as his. He needs to be punished.”Alex could not believe the lies that currently spilled from Derek’s lips.“Did you just say that I stole your business idea? You stole from me and you know it. Lying will take you nowhere.”Derek paused to catch his breath. At the moment, it seemed like he would drop to the ground very soon. “If you don’t believe me, I have evidence.”Even though Alex knew he was innocent, he couldn’t deny the manner in which his stomach tightened with dread as he watched Derek fumble with his phone. Miss Susan stood beside her boss and took the phone from him, staring daggers at the Hunters’ Technology employees who’d stood by Alex’s side during the presentation.“I told all of you, didn’t I?” She sneered. “ I told you that this man
The entire hall fell silent as everyone watched the video with various degrees of shock evident on their faces. “Do you all believe me now?” Derek sneered. “You heard it from his own men. This man had me kidnapped. He’s a thief and a traitor!”Everyone turned in Alex’s direction, their eyes filled with accusation as they waited for him to come up with some sort of explanation.“Well, don’t you have anything to say, Mr. Alexander?” Susan sneered. “Why are you so quiet?”Alex opened his mouth to speak but snapped it back shut. What was he going to say anyways? It was true that he’d ordered Derek’s kidnapping after all. But how the hell had the bastard been able to escape so quickly?Soon, whispers from members of the press and Derek’s employees filtered into the atmosphere.“…I’m sure he lied to us, didn’t he…?”“…oh, dear. Will Mr. Derek give us our jobs back…?”“…I wish I never supported him. He’s a traitor…”Alex opened his mouth to speak but just then, the door to the conference ro
“I’m sorry, sir, but you have to leave now.” Alex had barely recovered from the shocking news which Peter had thrown on him when an officer arrived and ordered him out of the premises. “It’s already past our visiting hours. You have to go.”Peter glared at him.“But it’s barely three PM. Visiting hours end by five PM. I have two more hours to speak with the young master.”A sliver of rage flashed in the officer’s blue eyes and Alex instantly knew they were fighting a lost battle. “You have to leave now, sir. Otherwise, we’ll force you off the premises ourselves.”Peter balled his fingers into fists but Alex stepped in quickly;“I’m sorry, Peter, but you have to leave. Inform the members of the conglomerate about my arrest. I think they’ll be in a better position to help.”“Are you sure, young master?”Alex nodded.“Yes. Please, go.”Although he could see the hesitation all over his face, Peter turned around and walked away. Just before the officer left, Alex called out.“Who are
“Release him. Now.” It only took those three authoritatively uttered words for the officer on duty to rush forward and unlock the gates of Alex’s cell.Alex was stunned. For a moment, he remained rooted to the spot. Tariq stretched his hand and beckoned on him.“Come on, kid, it’s time to go.”Alex could not remember the last time someone had called him a “kid.” It felt… good. He hurried out of the dark, dank room and stopped right before the giant of a man.“Thank you so much, sir. Is there anyway I can repay you? Any way at all?”Tariq draped a heavy hand around his shoulder and steered him down the hallway.“What you’ve done for me can never be compared to this, my boy. You rescued my granddaughter from being used in an evil science experiment. I should be asking you if you want anything.”Alex shook his head.“It was nothing. I promise. I’m glad I was able to help.”“No, son.” Tariq insisted. “It was something and because of that, we need to talk.”He took Alex’s hand and led hi
Alex took one look at the injured Martins and all the anger in his blood drained away. “What the hell happened to you?” He asked, storming the room that was used as a makeshift hospital in the mansion. “Who did this to you?”Martins was wounded and bleeding profusely. Most of his injuries had already been covered with white bandages. There was a thick bandage wrapped around his head and over his left eye. He was a mess. However, the moment he heard Alex’s voice, he ignored the pain, rose to his feet and bowed. “Hello, young master.”“You haven’t answered my question.” Alex replied heatedly. “Who did this?”“Sir, apparently, Derek Hunter has a GPS tracker attached to his person.” Peter replied in Martins’ stead. “Martins had already taken him to the hideout but unknown to him, Derek had activated the tracker. His father and their bodyguards were able to track him down to our hideout. When they arrived, Martins was obviously outnumbered. They beat him to a pulp. We had to send a ch
THE DAY OF TRIALAlex sat beside Blakely on the bed and held her soft hand in his. He was happy that most of the bruises she’d sustained from the kidnapping were gone. She was almost nicely healed. Almost. “Are you sure you’ll be able to make it to court today?” He asked for the one millionth time. “I could apply for the date of hearing to be shifted so you could rest more.”She smiled at him and his heart tightened with a strange emotion.“Yes, I’m certain. I’m fine. I know you have the power to shift the date but I just want to get this over with today. I don’t want it to go on for another day.”Alex nodded.“Okay. If that is what you want.”The room was strangely quiet for the next few seconds. Alex looked down and noticed that Blakely’s brows were knotted tightly like she was deep in thought.“Hey… what’s wrong? What are you thinking about?”She snapped out of her daze and fixed him with those beautiful bright blue eyes.“I’m worried, Alex. What if we’re defeated at court today?
Alex could swear that his heart nearly stopped beating as he listened to Ora. This was a disaster. If Ora’s testimony was able to convince the court that Blakely had harboured even an inkling of hatred for Cole because he’d refused to give her money, they might as well kiss the case goodbye. Everything will be lost. Beside Alex, Blakely had completely stiffened with shock. She barely moved. She barely even breathed. “Ora, sweetheart…” the lawyer coaxed get once more. “What did you say just now? Your mother called daddy a bad msn because he refused to give get money to go shopping?”Ora nodded and Alex’s heart dropped to the bottom of his shoes. “That day, I remember that mommy was crying and there was blood everywhere…”Shocked at the sudden twist in the story, Alex sat up straighter. “Mommy was bleeding and c-crying.” Ora continued, her big blue eyes were filled with sadness. “She didn’t have any money and she said that daddy refused to give her money to buy m-medicine for her
WARNING: UNEDITED CHAPTERThe silence in the room was rife with shock, tension.All eyes were fixed on the judge as he flipped through the file, looking for the audio and video tape recording. Alex’s stomach knotted with anticipation as he awaited the judge’s next words. Mrs. Andrews, on the other hand, looked like she’d just swallowed a huge bowl of fart. Her face was twisted in shock and her eyes nearly widened to the size of saucers. When a minute flew past and there was still no word from the judge, Alex started to worry. Finally, he lifted his head and dropped the bomb;“There’s no tape recording in here.”Alex froze, not sure he’d heard right. Mrs. Andrews nearly doubled over in relief. Shicked, Alex’s lawyer stepped forward;“Your honour, please check again. All the evidence should be in there. I reviewed that tape recording myself just this morning.”Blakely wrapped her fingers around Alex’s thigh. “What’s going on, Alex? What recording are they talking about?”Alex was to
SIX MONTHS LATER:“Do you, Alexander Stephan, take Camilla to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health until death do you part?”Alex’s heart was filled with happiness as he replied confidently;“Yes, I do.”The priest turned to Camila and asked her the same question. She nodded eagerly as she responded;“Yes. Yes, I do.”“I now declare you man and wife. You may kiss your bride.”Camilla was glowing with happiness as Alex wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her in for a soft, slow kiss while the audience cheered them on.When he finally drew backwards, he placed his forehead against hers and whispered;“I’m so happy that I finally get to marry the love of my life.”She nodded, her eyes brimming with happy tears. “Let’s be together forever.”“Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Stephan!!” The priest announced.The screams and cheers got louder as the priest raised both their hands to the crowd. The past few months
The moment Blakely left the conference centre, Camilla watched in confusion as Alex started making a series of calls.“Yes, she just left. Get the security detail ready. I hope our bodyguards at the mansion are already on stand-by. Get someone to follow her. We’ll give her thirty minutes max before the operation begins…”When he finally ended all his calls and turned to her, Camilla was way beyond confused. “What’s going on, Alex? You sound like you’re preparing for war.”“More like preparing to catch a snake.” He replied as he lifted her hand and placed a kiss on her knuckles.Camilla frowned. “Snake? What snake?”Alex smiled. “Listen carefully. It’s about Blakely…”***Exactly thirty minutes later, Alex received a call from Peter, his chief-of-security.“Sir, they’re about to resume their operations. Should we strike?”“No. Wait for me. I’ll be there in five minutes.”“Akex, let me come with you.” Camilla begged for the umpteenth time. Alex leaned forward and pressed a kiss aga
ONE YEAR LATER…So far, Alex had completely frustrated every single one of Blakely’s plan to get him to sign any documents. He read every single document that was brought to him thoroughly before he signed them. He’d also tripled and quadrupled his security, equipping them with modern weapons to enable them to face any kind of threats.There was simply zero space for Blakely and her boyfriend to carry out their devious plans and today, he was finally ready to expose her for who she really was. Alex had left unfinished business in New York when he travelled to Spain and today was the day he finally wrapped it all up. Today the competition between Hunters Technology and Alexander Group was finally coming to an end. Exactly eight months ago, Romanov, one of the members of the Las Vegas Conglomerate had brought a competition to his doorstep. Several companies in New York City were to compete against the Xanders Group of Companies, now known as the Alexander Group of companies. The
After making sure that the Guerreros’ vacated all the properties that belonged to him, it was finally time for Alex to depart for Spain.Camila still refused to see him and despite his insistence, she claimed that she never wanted to see him again. Despite the fact that he’d achieved his goals, his shoulders hung with disappointment and his eyes were downcast as he boarded the private jet that would take him to New York… away from Camila.Ten minutes later, while he was waiting for take off, his phone rang. A quick glance at the caller ID revealed that it was Tony. His detective. “Hello, Tony.”“Hello, sir. I hear you’ll be returning today.”Alex frowned. Only few people knew that information because he wanted to keep his return as under the radar as possible. Few people being him and Tariq.“How did you know that?”“I’m a private Investigstor, sir. How else would I know?”“Have you been watching me?”“For your own safety, yes.”Alex sat up immediately. His interest was piqued.“Wha
Tariq’s words settled around the room like dust on a dark, gloomy night.No one said anything for the next few seconds. The room was as quiet as a graveyard… until Mendez broke the silence.“What’s your evidence that you’re really Alexander’s son? You could just be a scam trying to get money from us.”Tariq tried to argue but Alex hurriedly cut in;“There’s no need to enagage them in a fruitless argument when we can just show them prove.”He lifted a finger and one of his guards, Peter, came forward with a briefcase. He retrieved a few papers from the briefcase and handed them to Alex who in turn gave the papers to Mendez.“In case you’re wondering, that’s the DNA test result. It was conducted by Alexander himself before he passed as evidence that I’m really his biological grandson. If you check the date, that test was conducted almost twenty four years ago. Do you believe me now?”Mendez ran his eyes through the papers, his heartbeat tripling with shock. “It can’t be. It can’t fuck
Suddenly, the television which hung in the conference room came on, displaying footage from the CCTV cameras outside. Everyone turned in its direction and watched in surprise as several tinted, bullet proof cars drove into the premises.“Mr. Alvaro, those cars do not belong to you, do they?”Hugo shook his head. “They don’t. All the cars we came with are already safely parked in the garage. I don’t know who these people are.”Mendez swung into action immediately. He picked up his phone and called the security personnel downstairs.“Seal the building. Nobody comes in and no one goes out. It appears that we have a new set of visitors and I have no idea who they are.”When he was done with the phone call, Mendez put down his phone and forced a smile.“I’m sure everything is perfectly fine. Maybe they missed their way.” He turned to Camila.“Weren’t you about to sign the documents? What are you waiting for?”Camila picked up the pen but once again, they were interrupted by the sounds of
After waiting for another fifteen and staring at the door longingly, Camila finally accepted the fact that Alex just wasn’t going to show up. He’d abandoned her. Her heart was breaking into pieces deep within her chest but she’d already vowed not to shed another tear for a man.She glanced at her Rolex, her eyes widening in shock when she saw how much time had gone.“Shit! It’s already two minutes to ten o’clock?”All her sorrows forgotten, she hurriedly slipped on the shoes she’d abandoned and made her way towards the conference room.Thankfully, when she finally made it, the Alvaro’s hadn’t arrived yet. Mrs. Maria’s lips curled in a frown when she saw her.“Oh, thank God you’re here. Where were you and what were you doing?”Camila lowered her head.“I’m sorry, aunt.”Mrs. Maria gave her narrow-eyed, suspicious look.“What the heck happened to your make-up? Were you crying?”Alarmed, Camila’s head snapped upwards.“Crying? No, of course not.”“Then why is your makeup looking all sm
Alex was standing at the balcony of his new apartment when his phone suddenly rang. He fished it out if his pocket and glanced at the caller ID. Tariq.He pressed the phone against his ear. “Tariq.”“Alex.” He sounded upset. “What is this I hear about speeding up the plan?”“Oh. I guess Alejo called you.”“Start explaining yourself, boy.”“Everything he told you is true. I asked him to invite the Guerreros to sign the documents tomorrow. What’s the use of waiting till next week when we could just get everything done this week?”Tariq sighed.“Don’t you think you’re going too fast? What if Maria or Mendez gets suspicious and decide to investigate?”“There will be no such investigations, Tariq. Calm down. In fact, Maria had been requesting that Alejo fix this meeting since two weeks ago. Calling them right now will not be suspicious at all.”Tariq calmed down a notch. “Okay, then.I hope so. What’s the plan?”Alex was alone in his house, but he lowered his voice cautiously like someone
Alex was speechless. He stared at Camila, momentarily conflicted.“Isn’t this what you wanted?” He asked calmly. “You asked me to stay out of your personal life. You asked me not to pry… and that’s exactly what I’m doing. What’s the problem?”Camila heaved a sigh, leaned back against her seat and shut her eyes for the next few seconds. When she opened them, she looked spent… exhausted.“I miss you.” She whispered. “I miss you so much, David. I really wish I didn’t have to marry Hugo but I have no choice. What should I do? Help me.”More tears slithered down her smooth cheeks and Alex’s self control nearly snapped. He dropped his cleaning supplies and came closer, pausing just beside her table.“If you need my help, you’re gonna have to tell me what’s going on. Everything.”She blinked at him. “Won’t you hug me first? Won’t you comfort me?”Alex nearly leapt forward and wrapped her in his arms but he physically forced himself to stay put.“The fact that I’ve decided to help you doesn’t