It was one thing to be wealthy, and another to be modest about it. Actually, the second one was more difficult to attain. These were Liam's thoughts as his car crawled through the gigantic gates of Mr Packwood's Palace. The first thing which caught Liam's attention was the great number of servants and guards. There were over a hundred maidservants just standing by the grand front door and along the endless balcony.Then there were the bodyguards, regaled in full armor, as though they were ready for war at any time. The eyes were lost behind jet-black shades, and their faces never accommodated a smile. Their index fingers were poised in front of the trigger."Men, you must not allow any trouble with these guards," Liam spoke into the intercom hidden under his suit."Roger that," Chris replied. He was the chief guard, and his tone was amused.Elena sat beside Liam, her hands on her laps as they drove slowly across the hundred meter yard. He let his eyes fall on the towering mansion th
"Is anything the matter?" Mr Packwood, a seemingly keen man, had noticed the stare-down between Liam and the guard.The guard was trying to give off the oval box and head out already, but Mr Packwood didn't extend his hand for it. Instead he leaned back to watch the unfolding tense moment."What are you doing here?" Liam snarled at the guard.The latter did not answer."You two have met before?" the old man asked, but his face wasn't interested enough, because he didn't know what was really at stake.Liam turned to Packwood. "Do you know who this man is?"Packwood shrugged with his brows. "My guard, of course. What's the meaning of that question?"Liam chuckled with the side of his mouth. Elena watched as the guard tried to hide his face. The air was thick with tension. Even Liam's guards from their distance seemed to have recognize
Liam had hardly finished his last word when Charlie gave him a head butt that shattered his nose, and sent him reeling backwards. He didn't know how much distance he had covered until his back touched the cold railings of the yacht.He held onto the steel bars and tried to steady himself. His head swirled as a throbbing pain began to emerge from within it.All of this happened within a few seconds. When Liam raised his eyes to look at Charlie, what he saw was a pistol nozzle pointed at him.Liam's reflexes failed him. And he only shut his eyes and imagined his own death.Then came the shot. Splitting the air in its loudness and suddenness.He waited. But for a long time, he did not feel any pain aside from the ones he felt on his nose and head.As though from a distance, he began to hear the sounds of rushing feet against wood, the terrified shout
"I donated two million to Lola's grandfather for the funeral and stuff," Liam said. He was sitting on Elena's bed, watching her perform a manicure on his toes; she didn't allow the maidservants to do it."That's a lot of money, if you ask me," she said. "He took it without question?""He of course said I didn't have to do all of that, but he did take it.""And the other issues?""He was willing to bury all of it in the rocks. But the police would be the hardest to fend off. Charlie isn't free at all." A reflective pause. "Neither am I." Then he shrugged. "They'll sort their stuff out themselves; that shit got me almost killed."After a while: "It must have been hard on you," Elena said, her tone resonating with compassion. "You would've preferred she didn't die."Liam's shrug and affirmation weren't strong enough. Elena knew why. A man's reputation was
After the call with Ethan, Liam became jittery. He lost his cool, and the energy he'd had for the air tour with Elena began to dwindle. Would this work out again?It wasn't because he wasn't happy to see his step brother, far from that. But he was suspicious of his sudden arrival from Tanzania. What was he up to?Liam shrugged, walked to Elena, and broke the news."Luke," he said thereafter, "call one of the guards at home, not Chris, and tell him to go bring Ethan. He wouldn't want to keep him waiting.""Yes, sir," Luke said. "Or shall I just go myself?""Are you out of your senses?" Liam barked. "You don't think I have enough reason to order you to make a phone call instead?""I'm so sorry, sir." Luke moved away to make the call.Liam glanced at Elena, saw her frown. "What's up, boo?" she asked. "You should be happy about your brother's arrival.""Do I look sad?" He clamped his jaws tightly, causing his shins to pulsate."You look terrible." Elena was making an effort to tease a la
Two men were standing on the balcony when Liam's car drove into the compound. One of them was Liam's father, while the other man looked younger. Elena didn't need to guess twice who it was. She couldn't see his face from the car, but with the energy the man oozed as he waved at the car, she couldn't wait to see him up close.Liam told Luke to drive the car into the main garage. Which was a rather slow process typical of Liam, who always had his car hurriedly parked at the front of the house, and was already jumping out. Elena decided not to stare too much or ask too many questions. She was going to sit back, mind her own business, and observe how friendly Liam was with his step brother, Ethan.When Luke stopped the car, Liam waited. He didn't jump out. Even the guard was surprised as he opened the door for him. Elena opened her side of the door by herself. Liam got out, and instead of heading out, leaned on the car, tonguing his teeth loudly."You're stalling," she whispered to him
Liam wanted to skip lunch, he wanted to give excuses on why he couldn't be there. But he knew it would be a disastrous first impression. Hell would break loose — or at least begin to boil from within — if he missed lunch. Liam was soon to learn that Ethan hadn't returned to America alone. He had come with his mom, Rhoda Hemsworth, a woman of Israeli descent. She was having her rest in her room on the third floor. Ethan hadn't had any rest and wasn't surprised; his stepbrother was a laughing ant in a pan. Brilliantly hyperactive.When Liam came to stand by the door, he watched with mixed feelings as Elena was already smiling at Ethan. That was quick, he thought."Hi, brother," Liam said, smiling and extending a hand. "It's good to see you again."Ethan had a tight smile as he took his hand. "You were fixing some things with the chauffeur?"Liam quickly glanced at Elena whose lower lip twitched in apology."Ah, yes," he said. "He was giving me a rundown of a slight issue with the car."
Ethan was the opposite of his brother, Liam, Elena noticed. It was barely two weeks after his arrival, and there had been three parties in the house, one of them involving the whole relatives. Even Mr Paul, who Elena thought never laughed, was over himself with smiles and silly remarks at Ethan's jokes and energy. Not once did Mr Griffin grab Ethan's shoulders or swing a drunk arm over his neck, and exclaim, "Now this is what we're talking about!"The house was always brimming with the sound of Ethan's voice. He made new friends, entertained old ones who came calling. Loud music was never absent in his room. The maidservants were always on the move. Ethan rolled out dollar bills to the guards and maidservants at random, winning their smiles and reverence. Strange girls entered and left the house.His mother would stand by him during these, grinning warmly. The smile of a proud mother. His father would only smile and pass by to his business.Liam was always absent in these parties.El