Mrs Steele left the building without as much as a glance back while her orders were being carried out. In a matter of minutes, the atmosphere was polluted with the smell of gasoline and fuel which had no doubt been released to perform the dangerous act.Getting into the car, they all quickly headed out of the place. Mrs Steele couldn't help but ponder her next course of action. When she ordered for the place to be razed down by fire, she felt it was the best option to kill every possible way of escape or any material that may still be residual in the house.She also thought an added bonus would be the eradication of Emma's body or life if she was still breathing. She wasn't planning on leaving any stone unturned and with the large sparse woodland in the area, it was only befitting that she took additional measures in cleaning up the mess.Having been brought to a dead end, Mrs Steele wrecked her brains for the best way to announce her death to the Braxton's family. She needed a solid
" Mr Braxton, the board of directors are here, waiting for you arrival. When would you be coming in? " " Mr. Braxton, a call will suffice, a lot of threatening conversations are going on here. What do I do?" " Mr. Braxton, the board has ordered your arrival in Thirty minutes or your immediate dismissal." Messages poured into Asher's phone while he remained in front of the surgical facility of his home, waiting for Mr Carson's final words as regards to the surgery. Somehow, the surgery has been going on for the past twelve hours and he didn't know what to think.There was a supposed meeting scheduled to hold with him and the family heads regarding the situation but he was smart enough to know it was an attempt to get him out of the way.After much research, Asher was in the wonder of what possessed them into thinking they had actual rights over him. He was the only heir of the family and knew he wouldn't stand for such insolence as the case maybe.His assistant informed him of the e
" Feeling better, baby?" Colton said, leaving a chaste kiss on Talia's forehead.The duo were cuddled up in bed after a long round of lovemaking. Talia felt significantly better than she did previously. After waiting for his arrival which took a lot more time than expected, when he finally arrived, there wasn't any time to speak as they immediately got into it.An act that came as a pleasant surprise to Colton. Of course, it was just his luck that he didn't have to play for it in order to get it. In their previous sexual encounters, he had learned the hard way of just how addictive she got when she was in a mood. Especially when angry.Talia was phenomenal in bed. She took it even farther when she was in such a state and everything was an added bonus to him. The only downside was the fact that when the euphoria wore off, a long conversation followed." What were you doing? Why did you take that long?" Talia asked, tucked underneath the cover, bare bodied and cuddled." I'm so sorry ba
Asher was in a terrible mood. Upon hearing of his mother's collapse, his mood got even worse. According to his findings, she got wind of news regarding the supposed death of Emma Steele. Coupled with the shock of him losing the position as the CEO till further notice, it would be abnormal if she took it in good faith. What he didn't expect was the drastic decision she took not quite long ago.Upon entry into the intensive care room situated in the Braxton's family mansion, he heard her countlessly reiterate her stance about the whole situation. At some point, he wondered just how much strength she actually had and if she truly Just collapsed or it was another of her ploys to get him out?When Asher sighted the IV drip and his seething mother, he immediately penned the reaction as another one of her endless tantrums." It's all over! Everything is done!" Despite how painfully her words got to him, he made it a point of concern never to let himself slip. Although she was yet to notice
" Asher Braxton loses control of Braxton International? "" Braxton International in Chaos! "" Braxton International - Who is the real heir?"" Asher Braxton impeachment process!"" Braxton International, leadership in ruins! "The next day, news splashes filled the headlines of both the national and international community. The business world was in an uproar regarding the publicized news of the happenings in the Braxton Empire." You have thirty minutes! Thirty minutes to clean out this ridiculous news! Make sure every mass medium is spotless and take care of as many that dared to make those publications!"Asher threw orders from his home office. He was having an emergency meeting with the PR team of Braxton's international regarding the sudden global news uproar about sensitive internal matters." Yes sir! We are currently working on it but there seems to be an outstanding issue. Some of the news mediums have requested an interview session with you regarding the internal matters a
Jason was in a room with some of the best hackers and tech experts in the industry. The room held lots of wires and computers, coding and decoding all kinds of things which were all foreign to Jason.The previous day, Jason received a new assignment which was to find out the source of the bold message that was sent to Asher's mobile.With his little wit, it was easy to decode the message being communicated but it wasn't easy to pinpoint the exact location and other substantial information that could aid the cause.Ever since the kidnapping of the Steele's lady, they had employed every single means to be able to neutralize the enemy but to no avail. Jason was close to shutting the place up when the latest development came up." I hope you liked the surprise." Jason pondered over the one line sentence which said a lot about the kidnap issue. The one line statement they were yet still unable to decode. As he stood on standby, monitoring the situation, he couldn't help but think about th
" Our dearly beloved might still be alive." Talia didn't know what to make of the news and so did the only thing that seemed right at the moment.She laughed. Talia laughed so hard that one would think she might have lost her senses. On the other hand, her mother watched her without a word, waiting for her to get serious before they resumed their conversation." You're not serious. Come-on! If you don't feel like talking, it's fine. You honestly don't need to go through these lengths to keep me in check." She said with a forced chuckle, attempting to waive it off." I never met Emma. Neither did I lay hold on all the documents or information they had gathered about me." Mrs. Steele said and brought out a file from her drawer. " I was only able to get these." She threw it over to her daughter's end.Talia, now recognizing the seriousness of the conversation, kept her mouth sealed and opened the file before her. She read through the many personal and shady deals which involved her moth
Colton was seated in his office when his phone chirped. He didn't feel like speaking to anyone. Heck, he didn't feel like speaking to her and that was it. As though the heavens were against him, his phone continued ringing. She just couldn't take a hint. He couldn't bring himself to act normal around her. Not after how terribly they treated Emma. Not after Emma's death.In a bid to distract himself, he silenced his phone and submerged himself in the pile of files seated on his table, each and everyone pending his attention.It was going to be a long day. He was just getting started but he felt exhausted. Looking at the job, he didn't know where to start. It was at that moment he realized just how much he's been lagging behind in his duties.The fact that his lagging translated to losing more money also didn't go down well with him. It was time to let bygones be bygones and focus on the business that actually paid.Meanwhile, Talia was in the lobby. She entered Colton's company buildi
For the first time ever, Emma was outside her room. Led through a dark staircase, she tried and failed to get a feel or look on anything but the floors. They got to the dining room and a long king sized table stood in front of her. " Finally! Come sit." Kaden said from the head of the table, " We can't have you missing breakfast."Emma jittered towards him. The doctor attended to the bruises that formed through her body earlier this morning but she still felt pain at every turn. Her biggest concern remained on the health of the child that grew within her- a topic that posed a taboo when she brought it up to the doctor." Oh don't be afraid, I'm in a good mood this morning! Sit, we have a whole day ahead of us." Kaden spoke like he didn't abuse her the day before, one would think his memories from the day before were washed and a demon possessed him to do the evils he did.Emma sat down with her head bowed, the maids immediately got to serving breakfast. In no time, their plates were
Inside a dimly lit room, a sea of heads and computers depicting the various streets and spots of the city covered the entire room with little space for easy access. Jason noticed Asher come in and headed with information garnered since their last meeting. " Any news?" Asher spoke first, eyes fixated on the organized chaos before him.Jason stood beside him, " A lot. We have to talk, privately." He led the way to a little room by the corner.Asher entered and took a seat behind the motherboard. " What do you have for me?" " We narrowed our focus on Kaden," He started, but immediately felt Asher's disapproval, but continued anyways." After his reveal, we decided it was best to uncover things about this man, and we weren't wrong."" Get to the point."" Kaden somehow managed to have contact with Rebecca, Cole, Emma and her Step-Mother." Asher's eyes widened, " not just that, but he met these people at the same period of time. Coincidence?"By now, Jason had his full attention, " Do we
Jason followed the trail of the car that took Emma into the outskirts of the city. He slowed to a stop where he found the vehicle used to perpetuate the act seated on the highway- clean of everything that pointed at the situation at hand. It took a moment before he realized that he led a wild goose chase- one that seemed intentional on the part of the people who left a brand new vehicle opened and waiting for his arrival. “ Shit!” He kicked the tire, hard enough the car skipped a beat from its impact. Jason headed back to his car feeling played. Before starting up the car, he texted Asher, reported the situation and angrily informed of his immediate return. On the other hand, Asher sat in his home office, a place he hadn’t left for the longest time, corroded with thoughts that kept his eyes opened and in search of answers. Unknown to Jason, while he made his way back, his movements were monitored. The moment he went back to the city, Kaden received feedback of his unfruitful searc
Emma gripped the steering wheel like her life depended on it. And it actually did. If there was one thing capable of killing her, it was the thought of her designs burning to ashes, months of hard work vanishing into thin air. She needed to save her work, and fast! Her phone rang non-stop, every single call received a text behind, all of which she knew came from her husband. Her very worried husband. A screeching sound filled the air and it took a moment before Emma realized that her tires were giving out. “ Oh shit!” She cussed, forcing the car to a halt and stepping out. Her tires were ruptured, all four of them. How she didn’t notice it from before was a mystery. Impatient, Emma looked around in search of something. Anything that would get her out of the situation. The hairs on her body stood and she felt a presence loom over her. A rising dread course through her veins but before she could turn around, the sting of a needle pierced her throat. The more she felt its liquid cont
“ What do you mean?” Asher asked Jason over the phone.“ Her body was discovered in the early hours of the day. Investigations on the cause of death is ongoing.” He informed, “ You need to lay low for the meantime, both of you. At least until we uncover the details behind her death.” Asher felt distraught, “ What is the state of events? Any leads on her killer?” “ I’m afraid not, whoever did it, did a clean job. Dumped her into the river with a body cleaned of trails.” He answered, sighing afterwards. Emma walked into the room, and straightaway, noticed the atmosphere. “ What’s going on?” She mouthed.“ I’ll call you in a minute.” Asher ended the call with a huff, her eyes narrowed in concern.“ Who was that?” “ Jason.” “ And?”“ Rebecca is dead.” He declared without missing a beat.“ Oh my goodness! What happened?” She asked, face aghast. “ Murdered. I don’t have the details yet but I will soon. For the meantime, stay home. I don’t want you moving an inch out of this house, unt
“ Surprise!” Chara and a couple others yelled when the door opened. “ What in the world?” Emma tried to stabilize her breathing.“ I’m sorry we startled you.” Chara said and a chorus of agreement followed, “ This is your party, Emma. Don’t be shy!” She urged her into the living room. Emma took in the lounge party in awe, slow music played in the background and there was a light chatter in the air. “ Excuse me everyone,” the public address system caught the attention of the people, “ Can we raise our glasses to toast our beloved Emma Braxton, the strongest woman I know.” She remarked and the intimate congregation clinked glasses and cheered.Asher, watching the event from his home office, joined the party, raising a glass to the one person he figured didn’t want to see him at the moment. After thorough checks of the footage, he discovered he didn’t sleep with Rebecca. He was out of it and even defenseless to her motives but something made her retrace her steps and take some pictures
“ Hey! It's not what it looks like..” Asher caught her arm, but she struggled.“ Let me go! This is a fake marriage so you don’t have to explain, this isn’t real.” Her words cut deeper than expected and he let go, burned.“ Oh really? This is what it's about, huh?” His tone turned cold, “ You still aren’t allowed to parade yourself in a disgraceful manner, Emma.” He lashed with blazing eyes, “ Don’t think I don’t know of your shenanigans!”Emma recoiled, a sore taste in her mouth, “ I got blackmailed with those pictures from my past. I will clean up my mess.” Asher watched his wife leave the house, unable to speak. He threw her scandal in her face and felt like a dog about it. What sort of husband wouldn’t know their wife was getting threats? His anger fizzled and all that remained were regrets.Jason appeared in his line of sight, wearing a calm demeanor, no doubt he heard their little scuffle and ached to use the infamous line- ‘I told you so.’Meanwhile, Emma spoke into her phone w
Asher returned to a house void of his wife. He marched into his room, dialing her number to no avail. He muttered some curses under his breath and immediately made way out of the house. On his way out, he bumped into Rebecca. “ Asher.. what’s going on?” Her tone doused with concern, “ Are you alright?” “ Goodnight.”He made to leave but her hand held him back, “ I’m sorry. Just..please don’t walk away.” His eyes narrowed on his arm and she immediately let go, “ I promise I mean no harm.”Asher didn’t speak, but his countenance didn’t seem like he wanted to kill her anymore.“ We can have some wine,” She suggested, “ Catch up on old times.” Without waiting for a reply, she immediately headed to the cellar, wining her waist as she went. A few minutes later, she returned holding a bottle of expensive wine and two glass cups. She handed over its filled content with a smile, “ Tell me, what is this I hear about your company expanding into Africa?”“ Just another business move.” He shrug
Mrs. Steele stepped down the stairs with a smug look on her face. It was finally time to meet with her long, lost and awaited step-daughter. Their eyes connected and a triumphal smile ushered its way through her face. “ Trouble in paradise?” She corked an eyebrow and took a seat. Emma held a permanent scowl,“ I see you haven’t changed.” Emma remarked curtly, her tone took her by surprise.“ I see you’ve grown teeth.” Mrs Steele raised her hand and a glass of water was brought to her, “ What do we owe to this...unscheduled visit?”“ Don’t act dumb. Take responsibility for what you did.”“ I think you are mistaken." She circled the tip of her cup, “ This is my house and I will not be disrespected. If you are here to do so, I suggest you leave.”“ Take the pictures down!” Mrs. Steele let out a short laugh, “ Leave us.” It didn’t take a soothsayer for the employees around to scramble away, giving the women some much needed privacy. Mrs. Steele got up on her feet;“ I’ll forgive you be