Two minutes transitioned into two hours, and Elijah still could not get the pain out of his heart, nor the mystery behind the misery Hank told him about. It came to him clean and cynical, just like a tornado swallowing a skyscraper. “He is the one behind all your misery.”Hank’s voice kept on reverberating in his head, unable to erase the memory. His mind could not fathom the truth behind Hank’s voice. His mind provided reasons north of a dozen on why he should distrust Hank: it could be for what he wants from him, or it could be a trick to manipulate him. And a list of other reasons why he should not trust Hank. Nevertheless, his curiosity clung to him just the way a Lion would hold on to the jugular of its prey. “Tell me what you know. What is the truth you are hiding?” Elijah echoed his mind, yearning to know what was hidden behind the awkward smile that glued to Hank’s face.Hank strode toward the door, giving deaf ears to Elijah’s request. “You! Wait, please!” Elij
“I think---” “Let us make the terms clear enough,” Hank interrupted Elijah’s moment of confession, cooking up some more of his underlying tricks to break Elijah completely, putting him under his wings, “if it is not promising, this will be the last time negotiating with you.”Elijah, with an emaciated face, looking dry and frail, forcefully lifted his eyes and summoned every last strength in him, “What do you want? A hundred and fifty?” His words were met with a muffled chortle, as Hank could barely hold his amusement at how tough a man can still be, even in the face of difficulties, in the most trying moments. How bad could it be? “Well, I must say, you are one hell of a strong bastard,” Hank said, and pulled Elijah by the hair, glaring straight into his eyes, “Play a joke on me once again, and that will be the end for you. Do you think I negotiated for a higher price with that thick-skulled Greene boy, only to settle for a hundred and fifty with you?”Hank could no longer be
The dinner table was being set by the time Daniel got home from his visit to Elijah, after a three hour drive. He held his joy within, with hope that he would final be able to get rid of the man causing him pain. “Good evening, grandmother,” he greeted, settling at the dining table with his eyes fixated on his meal.There was a moment of silence at the dining table, until Mrs. Greene peered her eyes at Daniel inquisitively. “You look very busy and stressed out these days, hope all is fine with you?” Mrs. Greene asked, while Daniel was poking at his meal, unaware of his environment.All eyes were fixed on Daniel, with fear skittering all over his face, and beads of sweat forming all over his forehead, he paid little attention to what his grandmother said, or to the fact that his family members were starting to think he was crazy and needed medical attention. Either of the two, there was no doubt or uncertainty that he has been up to something for the past three days. “Da
For two weeks since Daniel sent the proposal of partnership to the West Industries, he noticed something was off with their system of working that has been kept hidden form the public. His itching nose could not keep itself at bay until he got what he wanted. There was an unusual silence from Daniel, scrambling his head for the next thing to do or say. His knees weakened and he plopped onto his bed, with the phone still held closely to his ear. “What else have you gotten?” he said with his face lit up like he had just been struck with a thousand jolts of electricity. “Nothing yet. Some of the board members seemed like they were hiding something, and I was only able to find out the little information I could lay my hands on.” “Has anyone mentioned about a revolt or a takeover of any sort?” “Negative. But…” “But what? Tell me.”At this moment, Daniel’s breath cranked up to the max. An unusual fear gripped him to the core, his mind traversing through a million thoughts
Daniel realized he had struck a cord in Hank’s bone, and decided to walk in like nothing had just happened. He refused to be distracted about his purpose for coming, and only went straight to meet Elijah. He ordered Gusto to set Elijah back at the table, to have a real discussion with him. Hank and the rest of the crew, like always, had to excuse Daniel to have his moment of privacy with Elijah. “So you are now drinking with my men,” Daniel said with a fake smile stuck to his face.Elijah knew what mind games Daniel was capable of, and refused to play into his traps. He kept mute for a while, and every time he decided to say something, the only thing that crossed his mind was the hole in his feet. “Your men?” Elijah scoffed, holding a firm stare on his face, “nobody is loyal to you, don’t butter yourself up.” Daniel sucked in a reasonable amount of air and tutted, “still mad about the hole? Poor boy, this is something beyond your reach, and as a great wise man once said, d
“I have asked the wrong questions all theses while, thinking it was the right thing to do,” Daniel began his questioning, after noticing Elijah’s reluctance to bend to his wishes, “a wise man said, ‘only a fool will do the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result’, is it right or wrong?”Elijah remained silent, unsure of where Daniel was driving at. Just like before, he chose stealth over hastiness. “Am I a fool or what?” “If you call yourself one, then you definitely are,” Elijah muttered, letting the cat out of the bagDaniel responded with a light chuckle, and took another sip from his beer, “well, I am definitely one, I guess.”Elijah shrugged, making no comment on Daniel’s following words. Daniel rose to his feet, and traversed the four corners of the warehouse, and finally settled at the only window that provided illumination to the warehouse, aside from the light bulb hanging down the ceiling. As the rays of sunshine splashed on Daniel’s fa
“This shadow is something that would set me free from the emptiness I have felt right from the very beginning of my life,” Daniel continued, desperation set in his voice, “don’t think you can play anymore of your tricks on me, because it will not work.” “Then fire on. You are better off shooting me now, like you did the other day, no matter how hard you try, I won’t say a thing.”Daniel steadied his revolver on Elijah, and grinned elfishly, “Who is the heir of the West Empire?” he asked, ignoring Elijah’s bold faced stare.At this moment, the question did not catch Elijah by surprise, knowing fully well from the crumbs that the integrity of his identity has been compromised. He braced himself for what would seem like his final moment. The Truth. “If I told you who it was, your mind would still be mediocre enough to doubt it, let us just leave it at where it is now,” Elijah said, displaying no iota of fear or trepidation. “It is not my mind that would doubt it. It is only
Elijah chuckled louder with a muffled voice, “You got the wrong guy, and your foolishness finally knows no bounds,” he muttered, and yelped in pain as Gusto pinned his head harder to the table.” Daniel stroked his chin, slightly taken aback by Elijah’s sheer confidence amid challenges, or maybe he was not challenging enough for the supposed heir.He lifted his finger, and asked Gusto to return Elijah to his initial position, and then continued dropping nasty body shots on Elijah, tearing him apart rib by rib, until Elijah could take no more of each punch, and then fell to the ground. “I always get what I want, Elijah, and it is either you do what I want or you suffer the worst death imaginable,” Daniel said, lowering to Elijah’s eye level. His haughty eyes glistening with rage inflicted more pain on Elijah’s mental personality than every one of his punches combined. It was only the beginning of Elijah’s nightmares, as their mind continued to traverse through a dozen unimagin