Winston Empire: Battle Between Heirs

Chapter 8: The Corporate Titan Revealed

"Ple…we…were scared you would cause us trouble again." Xavier groaned in pain. "The company you were working for was enjoying immense success thanks to your effort. We told your boss, Jimmy Hendrik, to fabricate a charge that would put you away in jail for a long time."

"I wonder why Jimmy would do such a thing. Did you offer him money or —"

Xavier didn't allow Joel to finish asking his question. "No. It wasn't money. We told him we would give him whatever he wanted if helped us get rid of you. He told us he wanted to join the Billionaires club."

"Pathetic." Joel hissed, shaking his head, "Jimmy Hendrik, has no clue what's about to hit him. He splashed wine on me and humiliated me after all I did for his company. He'll hate being a CEO."

Joel walked up to each of Xavier's men, and tied thorns on their feet. Their screams came out as a muffled sound as the thorns prick their skin with each movement.

Xavier couldn't help his men. He watched as Joel tormented them.

"Your men will stay this way for twenty-four hours. The more they struggle, the more the thorn cuts deep into their flesh."

"You aren't evil, Joel. Why are you torturing them?"

"They used their filthy hands to touch my wife and made my daughter cry. When the thorns have done their job, I'd love to see how they dance with those feet again."

"When will this suffering end?" Xavier asked. He looked completely shattered.

"Wrong question. Your suffering hasn't even started yet." Joel laughed. "When I'm done here, your damned Billionaire's club is going down. Everyone in that club will wish they never crossed me."

Xavier shuddered after Joel mentioned his club. Joel was determined to destroy everything. He vowed to be ruthless this time. He learned the hard way that the only way to be ahead is to keep playing the game, and not by opting out of it.

Joel's last order to his men was for them to take shifts. All that was on his mind was his family. They needed him, especially his little girl.

Joel walked into the massive sitting room where his wife Anna was kept. She had their daughter in her lap, rocking her back and forth as she slept soundly in her arms.

Joel had to change his clothes, before appearing before them. He knew better not to come to his family looking like a beast. A beast he had chained for five years now.

Whenever he was close to becoming a simple man living a simple life, his enemies always pushed him to the edge. He doesn't care anymore. For his family, Joel can be anything just to save them.

Now, he was going to be Florida's corporate world nightmare. The cleansing is about to begin…

"How are you, babe?" He tucked Anna's hair behind her ears. She looked tired. Her eyes appeared sunken.

"You're back." she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"Give her to me." He took Mimi from her. "You should rest."

"Where are we? Who owns this house?" Anna looked confused. She had been sitting on that same spot since she was brought in here. She didn't ask anyone questions. And she had a lot of it to ask. So she patiently waited for her husband.

"It's our new home. I understand you're shocked at what is suddenly happening." Joel adjusted his daughter, her head gently resting on his shoulder. He wrapped his other hand around Anna's shoulder. "Come with me. Let's go to our room."

"Honey—"

"Shhh…" Joel stopped her from speaking. "Don't say anything."

When they got to the room. He laid Mimi on the large bed. "You should shower first, then have a good sleep."

Anna pulled away from him. "There's no time for that!"

"What's going on? You look tense." Concern written all over his face. He knew something was eating her up. He thought she was still traumatized from what had happened today.

"Mimi is dying. She needs this surgery. Her heart is becoming weaker everyday. I don't understand how you are able to afford such a house in a short time. All these men guarding the house. I was sold off by my own stepbrother.." she paused, her eyes shut as she recalled the horrible experience. Everything was too much for her to take at once.

She continued, "I was almost raped today because people who knew you thought you would be behind bars. They said they wanted to teach you a lesson." Anna had tears trickling down her face. "I lost hope at the nightclub. I almost allowed them to rape me because I needed money to save our daughter. I feel like a whore."

Joel takes a deep breath. "Babe, don't stay that. You aren't a whore. You're my beautiful wife," he whispered. You wanted to save our daughter. A mother wouldn't think twice before saving her child."

He hugged her and caressed her back. "I love you because you have a beautiful soul. I have a confession. I haven't been totally honest with you throughout our marriage."

Anna wiped her tears with her palm, she sniffled. "What are you saying?"

"Six years ago when we met in Mexico, I introduced myself to you as an American businessman. I liked that you looked so beautiful, simple and innocent." Joel smiled, smoothing her hair down. "I didn't want to bore you with my real identity because it wasn't important. What I cared about was that I found a pretty Mexican lady that I fell in love with."

Anna's eyes sparkled. She patiently listens to him as he revealed the secrets he had kept hidden from her since he met her.

"I'm Joel Brown Winston, the only heir to the Winston Empire."

Her brow arched, she slowly takes one step back. "Winston! The Winston family that everyone knows about?"

Joel nodded.

Then she laughed. "You must be joking. The man I married was an excellent businessman. Everything went south and life became tough for us after you were almost killed three years ago. That's the story of the Joel Brown I married."