Syrus’s POVThe moment Syrus dashed out of the apartment, he hurried into his car and sped off. He took out his phone and read through the text message he had received when Vivian was still ranting.“I have found what you hold dear the most, Syrus Vale, and I am going to destroy your world with it.”Syrus could not stop thinking about it. If this was true, then he truly had a lot to be worried about. That singular message brought back Syrus’s dark past that no one knew about, not even his own mother. Years back, a man from the family’s company had visited them uninvited. At first, Nancy had been skeptical about letting them in; since Syrus’s father abandoned her, she became angry and bitter towards everyone that was closely associated with Mr. Vale. At that time, Syrus had just finished college, and was still thinking of what next he would do with himself.“What do you want here, Anderson?” Nancy had asked rudely.Syrus and Bonnie sat beside her on the sofa while Anderson, a senior
Syrus’s POVSyrus was not just shocked, but weak. All his life, he had been told that he would inherit his father’s company. The Vale company was one of the biggest companies in the country, who wouldn’t look forward to taking over? “I don’t understand, Anderson,” Syrus told Anderson.He might be young, but he knew the consequences of what Anderson had just told him.“This wasn’t what you said back home yesterday,” Syrus reminded him, his heart beating rapidly, in case he had forgotten what he said. “I know exactly what I said, Syrus,” Anderson said. “But you don’t expect me to just spill this out to the women, do you? Your mother and sister would not be able to take it like a man would,” Anderson added. “Nancy would literally die, and that would be on me.”Syrus nodded; Anderson was right. Now, Syrus understood Anderson’s words better when he said coming to see him was important when giving him his complimentary card. “Besides, it is not official yet, so the board would have my he
Syrus’s POVOn his way home, Syrus had felt grateful for the timely intervention of Anderson, and for the first time, he had been upset with his father.“You would have ruined things for me and left me with nothing,” Syrus said with clenched teeth. He knew his father was gallivanting around the world with the love of his life, but because they were all still financially catered for financially, he never knew that things were bad, and Syrus was certain that his mother had no idea about this. If not for Anderson, Syrus and his mother would have been disgraced and shamed nationally, and the company would have been handed to someone else completely.On the other hand, Syrus felt cornered. Anderson literally twisted Syrus’s hand, and Syrus, desperate to fix what he was at the brink of losing, agreed without hesitation. Anyway, as long as he did not demand for shares in the company, Syrus felt he could manage things.He looked at the note Anderson scribbled to him with an address. The addr
Vivian’s POVSyrus left me in a state of worry when he left in the manner that he did, and the worse part, I did not even get a confirmation from him as to whether he would give me the money or not.Heck, we didn’t even get to talk about the money at all, and now that he had rushed off like that, only God knows the next time he would show up here, and I don’t even have that time.“What do I do now?” I asked myself. There is really no time. According to what Manny said, the ultimatum was only a couple of days, and then Ted would be killed. My mind’s eye flashed to my dad’s health condition the last time I saw him, and I shivered at the thought of either losing him too, or getting permanently disowned, whereas Syrus would still maintain the unbreakable bond and relationship he shared with his mother and sister.I dialed Syrus’s number, because I did not know what else to do, and the sense of urgency just kept pushing me.“Vivian, now is not the time,” Syrus said gruffly when the call c
Syrus’s POVSyrus was almost close to his destination when he ended the call with Vivian. Sometimes, she could really be insensitive and downright naive, and it always pissed him off, just like now.He needed to see Ken; the text message Syrus got from him was too disturbing to waste another minute.Syrus arrived at a hotel somewhere in the city, and judging by the exterior of the hotel, it was quite a discreet place, which was good. The last thing he needed now was to run into someone he knew, or a bloody blogger.He could not afford a bad PR right now.Syrus entered the hotel and went straight to the receptionist.“Good day, sir,” the receptionist greeted warmly. “Welcome to our hotel; how may we be of service to you?” She asked nicely.“I am here to meet up with someone,” Syrus said tightly.He was already feeling sick by the mere thought of seeing Ken after all these years. What had started as a friendly beginning for both of them had turned sour, and Syrus could remember what riv
Syrus’s POV“Don’t you dare,” Syrus threatened darkly, the veins on his forehead popping out.Ken threw his head back and laughed mockingly, and this made Syrus more furious. He wanted to grab Ken and strangle him. Ken had always been the prick he had been years ago when he knew him, and now, just like every other time that he had known Ken, Syrus regretted the very day he got to know Ken. “Why all this fuss, huh?” Ken taunted Syrus. “I already touched her. I felt her skin under my fingers,” Ken said, releasing pleasurable moans as he did, and enjoying the rage he saw in Syrus all together. “I put my hands in her body and touched her, maybe in ways that you never did,” Ken continued.“You only did your job as a doctor. Quit this foolery!” Syrus barked.Ken sipped from his small glass of champagne and smiled evilly.“It hurts, doesn’t it?” Ken asked, cocking his eyebrows arrogantly. “You know I was doing way more than my job, Syrus Vale,” Ken said.Syrus closed his eyes as his heart s
Vivian’s POVThree hours later after Syrus dashed off, I still hadn’t come up with an idea on how to get Syrus back to the apartment, and more importantly, get the money from him. I had tried every possible option and ruled them out almost immediately.“What do I do, my goodness?!” I asked myself, exasperated.I wasn’t used to these kinds of situations, and thinking for hours was beginning to wear me out. Without hesitation, I called Belinda. I know we weren’t exactly on speaking terms, but she was the only person I could think to call in situations like these. Belinda always knew what to do.“If you are calling to apologize, then forget about it,” Belinda said, still sounding upset.“Do you really mean that?” I asked, sounding like a little child and hoping that it would work. It had to work anyway, because this was my only hope.“Yes, I do,” Belinda said. “Work is a little tight now, Vivian; I can’t spend longer time on the phone,” Belinda added hastily.I knew that whether or not B
Vivian’s POVSyrus stared at me, and it was obvious, just like the sound of his voice, that Syrus was troubled, but I knew that this wasn’t the time to show concern by asking what the problem was.“You lied to me?” Syrus asked, his anger rising to the surface.I opened my mouth to talk; whether it was to explain why I did what I did, or even apologize, I could not exactly tell, but Syrus did not even give me the chance, as he walked over to me menacingly.“What do you think this is, huh? Do you think everything is a joke to you? Why would you tell such a lie?” Syrus asked angrily.“I just wanted you to come, because…” I started talking, but I stopped when I felt pain in my lower abdomen.I winced and held my stomach, and I became frightened when the pain increased. It felt as though the babies were moving, but in a chaotic way that sent shots of pain through my body.Syrus looked at me with a more disgusted expression than a worried one. “What is it?” He asked in a sneer.“Syrus, my s
Syrus’s POVAs I drove back home, I could not help but ponder on the words of Anderson. I tried to get him to tell me what he meant, but he kept insisting that I should meet my mum.“She is the right person to tell you all you need to know,” Anderson had said tiredly. “It is not in my place, because your father made me swear not to tell you.”Syrus wasn’t even thinking about his father, because he had stopped seeing him as his father years ago. He was more concerned about what his mother knew that she wasn’t telling him. Syrus was certain that he knew everything that happened between his parents. He eavesdropped. He overheard, so what else could possibly have happened that he didn’t know about? Syrus could remember his father coldly telling his mother that he was done with the marriage. Syrus could also remember the sound of his mother’s hurting voice, and her plea for him to leave his mistress and focus on his family, but he had been adamant. Syrus’s father had slammed the door and n
Vivian’s POVI still could not get over the shock of what Marie said to me about Mr. Vale reaching out to Syrus and Bonnie without getting a response at all. All these years, from what I got to know about Syrus and his family, their father never made an attempt to reach out to them after their parents got divorced. In fact, he had practically abandoned them, but now, Marie had just given me the side to the story that I never knew existed. I knew I shouldn’t take all her words for it simply because she was a kind woman. A woman in love could practically cook up lies just to make her out as the better woman. Any wife who was being cheated on would be mad as hell; I was a perfect example. After what Syrus did to me, there was no way I wouldn’t be cross with him. I had even decided to keep the triplets to myself, so I totally understood the grievances of Nancy, even though she was a mean and callous woman to me. Anyway, Marie didn’t get the chance to continue because I had to get regis
Syrus’s POVSyrus stared at Anderson, and even though it was a little dark because it was quite late, he could see how deteriorated his condition was.“Anderson,” Syrus said through a rasped breath. He had no idea that Anderson had gotten this worse. Syrus might have been busy and occupied with other things, especially with all that had been going on with him recently, but he always ensured that Anderson’s medication bills were paid in full, including his salary and other bonuses, which was why he was shocked to see Anderson in this situation.But Anderson was smiling.“You took longer than I thought. I thought I was going to die without seeing your face,” Anderson said.“I shouldn’t have taken this long to come,” Syrus said and meant it. “I didn’t know that the illness had eaten this deep into you,” he added.“No man is ever going to live forever, Syrus. The most important thing is that they are on the right path,” Anderson said through labored breath. “I am not a sad sick man livin
Syrus’s POVSyrus drove through the city at night, trying to maneuver his way around.He could barely recall the address, but he knew that he had to locate it. Years after Anderson introduced Syrus to the Frenchman and Syrus was able to bring the company back to its feet, he kept Anderson employed. His mother never liked it. In fact, she antagonized Syrus for years.“You should fire him, Syrus. He maintained a close relationship with your father even after knowing the pain and heartache he put us all through,” Nancy repeatedly told Syrus.“That would be you asking me to fire all the board members and senior staff, mum,” Syrus had told Nancy, but she had been adamant.“Then fire them and replace them all if need be!” She had said fiercely.“Mum, these are people who have worked hard in the company. They know exactly what they are doing. I cannot fire them out of the blues and just replace them like a pair of shoes. It could bring down the company, and you know this,” Syrus had argued r
Vivian’s POVMarie wiped her teary eyes and continued, and I was more curious than ever to hear all about it.“So instead of Vale to have an impersonating staff member fired, he asked me out for dinner,” Marie said.“In front of everyone that he had already bragged that he was getting you fired?” I couldn’t help but ask.One thing I realized about this conversation which Marie began without warning is that it eased whatever we were both feeling in our hearts. Before now, Marie had been troubled about Mr. Vale’s health, and I had been troubled about the revelation I got about my family from Leon, but now, we both just seemed happy. It was as though the love that she shared; the same one I had resented before now was a soothing balm to me. It reminded me of the love and thrill I had felt with Syrus when we initially met years ago. It had been intense and deep, and it had been the best time of my life, and surprisingly, the memory of it did not fill my heart with anger as it usually woul
Vivian’s POVI stayed with Marie in the hospital after we took Mr. Vale to see his doctor at the hospital. We hadn’t exchanged a word, and there wasn’t even a need to. As we sat close to each other, I heard Marie mumbling words of prayer to God for Vale. I couldn’t hear the words she spoke, but somehow, I was deeply touched. As much as I would love to resent them, there was no doubt that they loved each other like never before.“Marie?” The doctor called.We both stood up straighter and looked at him. Marie had been so soaked in her supplication and I had been immersed in her devotion to him that we both hadn’t noticed the presence of the doctor.“How is he?” Marie asked instantly. I found myself praying and wishing that nothing bad would happen to Mr. Vale. Not that my feelings towards him for abandoning his family had changed, nor my feelings towards Marie for taking a man away from his family had changed, but I still didn’t want him to die.If I didn’t want someone as dangerous as
Syrus’s POV“I have been asking you if you have anything to say to me, but you keep evading the question,” Nancy said as she stood in Syrus’s bedroom. Bonnie was also present.Syrus felt like a piece of shit, because of the news that was flying around on the internet. He should have known that confrontation with a man like Ken alone was a bad idea, but then again, no one knew this part of Syrus’s life. Even Vivian who almost got to know, Syrus managed to keep her in the dark, but now, things were slowly getting out of hand. Ken had been so good and smart with what he was doing that he ensured that his face was faced out of the camera. The only person the world could see was Syrus, and of course, to them, he was trying to kill an innocent citizen simply because he was wealthy and powerful. Syrus had stayed holed up in the house, because right now, he could not bear to face the judgmental faces of everyone that knew him, including the colleagues that he hired himself.“What the heck
Vivian’s POVThe revelation I got from Leon still had me reeling with shock. Hearing that Dad had used up our inheritance and wanted to give me out in a contract marriage to pay off his debt, I had thought that that was the height of betrayal from my family members, but this was worse than I could take.Ted now had blood in his hand!I shuddered at the remembrance of it. Thankfully, when Leon brought me back to the house, Marie and Mr. Vale had been too engrossed with having their lover’s time together to even notice that I was drenched in dread, so I had just delivered what I was sent and I went into my room. I could not even bring myself to eat anything. In fact, the thought of food made my stomach retch.This was no longer a case of drug dealing; it was a murder case. First of all, Ted had gotten involved in drugs, which was even a great crime in the country. Then he had killed Jane in cold blood simply because she had betrayed him. To make things even scarier, he had planted a pi
Syrus’s POVSyrus got home at past midnight, drenched and drained. His mission with Ken had failed woefully. After asking Ken that question, Ken had laughed at him to scorn.“If you didn’t, then who did?” Ken had asked without remorse. “You were the one with the wedge hammer that day; I only walked in and saw that you had just murdered the Frenchman,” Ken had said.Syrus had almost fallen defeated, because on a face level, that had been what had happened, but Syrus was determined to get to the bottom of it. More than anything else, he wanted to get this guilt hanging over his head; this guilt that Ken was now threatening to use against him. Syrus was a businessman, and he knew what deadly scandals could do to his company. Once the news got out and the world knew that he had murdered someone, he would never recover from it, and Syrus had gone too far to let anything stop him now. He had sacrificed too much to let a sin from the past crawl up to destroy everything. “I don’t remember an