Dylan woke up to a grey themed room that had some shades of white here and there. The room also carried the same rosy vanilla fragrance which pleased his nostrils. He looked to the side and saw Chelsea sleeping soundly.
Even in this slumbering state, she still looked cute and innocently sweet to gaze upon. They had obviously enjoyed themselves the previous night. Due to their drunken state, he couldn't recall the details vividly but he could tell his little man was totally pleased.
He also remembered asking her about Black Ceaza but all she gave was gibberish answers. He had finally discarded the discussion and put her mouth to good use. Yes, that wasn't gibberish.
He got up and picked his underwear from where they lay haphazardly on the floor. After pulling up his pants, he heard Chelsea moan loudly in awakening. He immediately turned.
"Hello" he greeted with a smile. She was bare from her waist upwards but she didn't mind. He also liked the view of her firm sizable breasts as the morning light invaded the room through the blinds and descended on them, making them glow.
"Good morning Mr. Cross" she greeted as she sat up on the bed, her eyes still holding a certain dimness to them.
"I hope you were satisfied yesterday" he asked with a smirk as he buttoned his shirt.
"I can't remember, I think I had too much alcohol" she chuckled and bit her lower lip.
"That, I think you did on purpose, Ms. Landore" Dylan replied and threw over his suit jacket.
"So when are we doing the proper business talk?" she asked, climbing down from the bed and throwing on a silky robe. She followed him out of the room as he made to the lounge.
"Sorry, I'm off to work, we can do that later in the afternoon. At my office, if it's really business" he stressed the later part.
She squinted her eyes. She could tell he was very pleased. "OK Mr. Cross. See you soon" she said and watched him leave the lounge.
The moment the door closed, she yelped in triumph. Then the door opened and Dylan's head popped in.
"Sorry, I must have dropped my access card in your room" he said and stepped in.
"I'll get it" she said and strode hastily to her room. On the sidetable she saw the golden card with his name inscribed on it. 'DYLAN CROSS' She picked it up and noticed the MVIP inscribed below it.
"You didn't tell me you had a lounge here" she folded her hands, looking at him.
"That would have attracted media attention if we went there" he explained.
She considered it and found reason with it, handing him the access card.
"So it's see you later then" he winked and exited the room.
This time, she locked the door before yelping again. She knew she had him hooked now. He definitely wanted to see her again and that meant more closeness to him. Had he not been pleased, he probably would have postponed their meeting to somewhere in two weeks or referred her to his personal assistant.
She turned to the center table and grabbed the unfinished bottle of bourbon. She gulped down the little remnants of its content and laid the bottle back on the tray. She wondered when Dylan finished his the previous night. All she remembered was serving him one glass.
She rushed to her room and grabbed her phone. She swiped to safari and started doing research on diamonds. She wasn't going to let herself down in such discussions.
¤¤¤¤¤
Dylan waltzed into his office and collapsed into his spinning chair. He caressed his glabella as he rested his arms on his desk. He looked at the pile of documents on his desk and exhaled. Just as he was about phoning his assistant, he heard a knock on his door.
"Come in" he called.
The door swung open and his assistant walked in. She was a blonde lady who had fairly noticeable features. She was dedicated but he disliked her for always trying to pin herself on him. She wore revealing clothes to work and always swayed her hips excessively whenever he was in sight.
"Good morning Sir" she greeted with a grin, flashing a set of dentition he found unappealing. To be blunt, she didn't have the looks to impress him.
"Morning Selina" he acknowledged her.
"The mayor is requesting a meeting at The Skylands Hotel, scheduled for next weekend" she informed him.
"Did he say what it's for?" he asked, obviously not intrigued with the news. The mayor always asked to see him when he needed something from him.
"No sir. But we can always decline" Selina replied, hoping to lighten his displeased mood.
"We can't just always decline when it comes to the mayor" he said.
"OK sir. I'll book the reservation" she said and motioned to leave.
"Attend to these for me please" he called her and gestured to the pile of documents.
"Gladly, Sir" she grinned again and leaned forward as she grabbed the pile of documents from his desk. She was unnecessarily slow, purposely delaying so he would notice her cleavage as she had unbuttoned her shirt at her breast region before entering his office.
Contrary to her expectations, he paid no attention to her.
"It's not that much documents, Selina" he plainly said, his eyes fixed on the laptop before him.
Her expression sank. With shame, she hurriedly packed the files and left the office.
He shook his head in pity and threw it backwards. Chelsea's image immediately surfaced. He went over several details of her. The sight of her breasts under the early morning light. Her cute sleeping face. The shape of her body beneath her silky robe. She was undoubtedly a perfect sculpture.
Ring! His phone rang, intruding his thoughts. He reached for it and lazily grabbed it, sliding the green caller indicator.
"Pope"
He sat up immediately he heard the voice. "What's up Bishop?" he answered.
"You gotta see this boss" Bishop said.
Dylan could see the smoke rising in the air from the distance. He tapped the space on the chair beside him and Hill got it. He accelerated the speed of the Urus instantly. The SUV sped along the highway till it stopped at the entrance of a warehouse by the side of the road. The gates had been blown off their hinges and suited men in all black stood in their place.They paved way for the vehicle as it drove into the premises. The Urus came to a halt in front of the burning building. Dylan alighted immediately and walked slowly to the blazing structure. A middle-aged man clad in a black suit and white shirt walked to him. "Pope" he bowed reverently. "Who did this, Bishop?" Dylan asked in a grave tone. This was one of his warehouses which was used as a reserve for storing luxury outfits and corporate wears for his clothing store. However, underneath, he ran one of Miami's biggest fentanyl production.Whether the person knew this was a fentanyl joint or not, he just burned down million
Flashback Two Years Ago Dylan adjusted his hat and caressed the spikes on the crown of his staff as he looked at the dark-skinned man chained before him, his head hanging. The man was stripped down, save for the underwear covering his privates. He observed the man's build, he was quite muscular. His biceps pumped as he strained against the binding force of the chains. They both were certain of one thing though; there was no getting out unless Dylan decided so.Three other men stood behind the chained man with their hands clasped behind them. The Vicar, Bishop and another of Dylan's top men, Luther, all dressed in black suits and white shirts."Why did you do it?" Dylan finally asked.The man spat out blood before raising his head to look at Dylan, revealing a bloodied face borne out of a series of beating from the 7 Daggers. He looked at Dylan for some seconds and sucked his bleeding lower lip before looking away."I asked a question, Ceaza" Dylan said calmly, further caressing his
Chelsea sat cross-legged on her bed, fiddling with a beaded bangle. She stared ahead but her gaze was fixed on nothing. She had stood agape in the lounge, wondering what went wrong. Unable to decipher the reason for Dylan's silent action, she had gone to her room.She checked her outline if there was anything wrong but she saw nothing wrong. Her shape was still curvy and well pronounced. The same body she had used to lay down men while swiping their assets off. What was the problem? She just couldn't place her finger on it. Then something hit her. Maybe he was married. No, she shook her head. These type of men aren't the faithful ones. If he wanted to stop, he would have stopped in the office and not follow her here. Besides, he didn't have a ring on."Ugh" she exhaled, resigning to her bed. Less than ten minutes later, she heard her doorbell ring. She didn't recall ordering any room service or food. Lazily, she got up from her bed and trudged to the door. She looked through the pee
"Dylan?" Chelsea called in confusion. She felt it was all a trance. Maybe her fear of Big Ceaza was making her have a nightmare about the person she saw last.But he didn't answer. He simply stretched his hand and a case was handed him. He opened it and retrieved a necklace. The necklace had a crafted cross pendant on it. Her necklace. He held the necklace up for her to see as he walked gently towards the bars between them. "Do you recognise this?" He asked calmly, his face void of expressions. "Dylan, what is this?" she asked, clearly oblivious to how serious the situation was. "Will you answer the damn question!" Dylan thundered calmly. Chelsea was shocked. This wasn't the Dylan she knew, definitely not the Dylan from the previous night either. She didn't know whether to nod or answer verbally. She was getting scared.She finally chose to speak. "Yes" she said softly, dejection lacing her tone."Now, we both know I won't buy that bullshit of you buying it in Atlanta" he continu
Dylan rushed in and saw Chelsea lying on the ground inside the cage. Two suited men squatted beside her, trying to revive her but their efforts proved to be futile. "What's going on?" He asked as he barged into the cage."She still hasn't responded, Boss" one of the suited men said, looking up at him.He stood for some seconds, staring at her body before finally speaking."Call the Doc" he said calmly. "Boss?" one of the men sought confirmation."You heard me, Hugo" Dylan bellowed.The man rushed out immediately. "Out" Dylan said to the second man and the latter exited the perimeter hurriedly. As soon as he was alone, he squatted beside Chelsea and ran his fingers along her hair, parting the strands that had covered her face."I really wish it didn't have to be this way" he said calmly as he took in her facial features."Me too" he heard Chelsea mutter and the next second found a pin heading for Dylan's neck. Thanks to his quick reflexes, he caught her hand in midair and restrained
"You can't be serious" Dylan refuted."Trust me, Pope. I verified this severally. I had my men do background checks on any and every one who was involved in selling or buying drugs. I even had to interrogate club owners and strippers but no one knew her" The Vicar explained. "What about Bishop?" Dylan asked."He scouted the east side and verified that she arrived Miami the same day you opened the second free mall. He was able to get the ticket that bore her name, from Atlanta" The Vicar replied. "The necklace?" Dylan asked."Yes, there were lots of receipts of jewelry at her lounge in Golden Petals. I think she must have really bought it. Maybe someone stole it from Ceaza and it made its way to the market" Dylan exhaled. "Meet me at the mansion" he said and dropped the call."Turn around, Hill"¤¤¤¤¤Chelsea cursed herself as she sat in the lonely craze-driving darkness. Why did she have to swindle again? The amount of money she had gotten from her last scam was enough to lay low a
Chelsea sat in front of the mirror, observing herself. Joyce stood behind her, smiling at their reflection. Chelsea turned her head from side to side, acknowledging the diamond earrings that hung on her ear lobes. Her hair had been neatly styled into a ponytail. She was equally made up elegantly. Hugo popped his head in from a door. "The Boss is waiting" he announced. Chelsea stood up and checked her outline. Clad in a black straight-cut gown, her features were mildly pronounced. She heaved in satisfaction and turned to Joyce. "Thanks" she muttered and Joyce nodded with a smile. She turned and exited the room. She walked gently, as elegantly as she could, across the hallway. She could see the stationed suited guards feeding their eyes off her body through her peripheral vision. She simply smirked and walked onwards. She got to the living room and saw Dylan sitting majestically on an armchair. A smirk curved at the corner of his lips and she saw a hint of desire flash across his ey
Chelsea finally let out a chuckle. She took the files and walked back to Dylan's office. She opened the door and saw Selina leaning on Dylan's desk. Immediately she heard the door open, Selina stood up straight. She turned to Chelsea, rolled her eyes and walked out.Chelsea put two and two together and immediately understood that Selina craved Dylan's attention and affection and now saw her as an obstacle on her path of getting it.Tsk. Poor girl. If only she knew my intentions were far more diabolical, Chelsea thought. She simply walked towards Dylan with a plain expression. "Where's my office?" she asked him.Dylan nodded towards a door by the side. "Great. This is another prison" Chelsea exhaled and walked to the door. She entered the enclosure behind the door and was partially impressed. The office was quite spacious and well equipped. There were no visitor chairs however, just her personal chair behind her desk. Her name was printed on a desk tag with her position underneath. S
Dylan got to the mansion alighted the Urus. His entire clothing was roughed up and covered in blood. He looked around and noticed the Bentley Continental missing. He immediately had a bad feeling and dashed inside the mansion. None of the guards asked him any questions. This made him even more worried. He got to Chelsea's room and opened the door without knocking. It was empty. He found the safe open and empty as well. His heart began racing. He dashed to his room but he didn't see her in there either. He felt his knees getting weak. He checked the study and all then rooms on the down floor but he didn't find her inside any. He got upstairs and checked the accessible rooms and halls in the mansion but still nothing. "Chelsea!" he yelled. His voice echoed throughout the entire hallway, back and forth. There was no response. "Chelsea!" "Chelsea!!" "Chelsea!!!" Dylan slowly came down from the steps. He got to the base of the steps and sat down on the last step. His face was deje
Chelsea shuddered on hearing his name. Was this fate playing games with her? Just when she had finally gotten a shot at a happy life. Just when she had decided to start anew. Now her past had come to haunt her future. Why was life cruel? Dylan continued. "He just attacked one of my warehouses. He has challenged me to come face him or he'll destroy my name with the evidence and proof he has on me. I never expected him to stoop so low but I guess Ceaza has always been a scumbag. "I've already made arrangements for Joyce and Derek to be taken to a safehouse. You'll be safer here. I'll be going to face him off at the warehouse now" he added. "Why are you going? It's obvious he just wants to kill you. Why not send someone else? You have capable hands" Chelsea fired. Dylan smiled. "No. This is a personal battle that started years ago. I have to finish it myself" he replied. "I don't want anything happening to you, Dylan. Please don't go?" Chelsea begged. Her eyes became teary. She trul
Chelsea was dumbstruck. She had been expecting it but it still came as a shock to her. There he was, Dylan Cross, the King of Miami, the kingpin of the most notorious mafia cartel, the leading businessman in the city, on one of his knees, asking for her hand in marriage. It all seemed so surreal to her. She was stuck in a blur that she didn't know when time flew by. She returned to reality and saw Dylan still positioned on one knee, his hands holding out the box that contained the shiny diamond ring in it. He was patiently waiting for her answer. She was still contemplating. Was this what she really wanted? Was this really her way out from the life she had been living? To be a wife and mother now? Her life events flashed before her eyes. It was a big decision. One that would change her life forever. She had to make the right choice. As she was still thinking about it, she heard a familiar voice behind her and turned. "Aunty Chelsea!" It was Derek. He wore the same suit as his fath
Decorations were at their most glamorous. The lighting, the music and every aspect of the hall depicted a billionaire's taste. The guests had already started arriving. And true to Dylan's words, they were really the most prominent and powerful people in the society. Business tycoons, politicians, powerful billionaire families, and people of equal calibre were in attendance. In the garage, there were no cars less than the best of the best. Most cars there were even the only pieces ever produced. Customized and special editions. Chelsea stood from the balcony above as she observed the guests. She had her hair done at the last hour and put on her special dress that Dylan had imported without her even knowing. It was a white gown with designs of gold on it. She didn't even know when he planned and organized everything without her having a hint. What even surprised her more was the hall. She never knew the mansion had such an enormous hall within it. There were places she hadn't explored
Chapter 144 - An Introductory Party Two Months Later Dylan and Chelsea were now a public item. The news, social and other media carried it in droves. It was a blast. Different stories rose up. Several hypothesis were raised and conclusions drawn. It was a highlight for the city of Miami and Florida at large. Both the public society and the underground world were taken by surprise. They went to parties together. They shopped and dined together. They went on trips together. They practically did everything a couple did together. Always holding hands as they walked. They shared kisses in public. Even on interviews, Dylan always mentioned her name and called her his partner. There was never a shortage of pictures and clips on the media. The news also transcended the borders of Miami, Florida and America, reaching far across the globe. Dylan's cell and inboxes were flooded with calls and texts from both old acquaintances and new. Some were subtle with their questions while others went st
Inside The Hades Room Dylan held Clara's body as it gradually turned cold. Her eyes still stared at him with pure hate and intense resentment. He gradually dropped to his knees, his eyes fixed on the face of his ex-wife. She was beautiful, there wasn't a doubt about that. She had to be beautiful to be Dylan Cross's wife of course. But she also had a darkness in her that was too contaminating, it eroded her beauty. He couldn't quite understand why she hated him so much. People tend to accept society as it is and live with it. But she had to go out of her way to hate him and want him dead. Not that it was possible anymore. But still, she was once his wife. "But... you could have at least shot her in the leg. You could have rendered her immobile. You didn't have to kill her, Victor" Dylan said gently. It was plainly obvious he didn't didn't her dead. Maybe he still had a soft spot for her. "I'm sorry Pope. But I doubted that would have stopped her. I'd rather prefer you lose your ex-
Clara opened her eyes and met Dylan's cold stare. She could see the steam from the nose if the pistol. Her ears still whirred a little. She turned slowly and saw a hole in the space beside he head on the chair she sat on. A bullet was embedded in it. A real bullet! He had deliberately missed her head. Even so, this was unexpected. Did he really just shoot at her? "Is that supposed to scare me?" she mustered up the courage to say. Dylan smiled. "It wasn't meant to scare you. It was simply meant to warn you. My patience is simply a thread. And like all threads, it runs out. I'd hate for you to be the person who makes the last pull" he said calmly. He was so calm that it sounded too dark and evil. Clara knew it was best not to provoke him further. She was already aware that he didn't love her anymore. All he had for her was just out of regard for her being Derek's biological mother. That aside, she was just like any other lady in his eyes. She knew how bad he was when he snapped. Sh
"What did you say?" Dylan's pupils were dilated. Victor immediately turned around and saw Dylan already up from his sit. He had grabbed Nick by the neck, lifting him and shaking him vehemently. "What did you damn say, Nick?!" Dylan screamed. Nick was still dejected. His face still dropped downwards everytime Dylan shook him. He couldn't look Dylan in the eyes. He couldn't look the boss he had betrayed in the eyes. "It's the truth, Pope. Madam Clara was the one who hired us" he replied quietly. Dylan gritted his teeth. He couldn't believe his ears. The same woman he had once called his wife had sent an assassin to kill him. The same woman who had born his child. It sounded rather inconceivable to him. True, he was dark and bloody. He had done many despicable things to people. But this one outdid him. To think that Clara would go this far. And Nick just said "us". There were more? "Us?" he gently asked, his teeth still gritting against each other. "How many of you did she hire?"
Dylan and Chelsea laughed and discussed as they ate and drank, occasionally having their little disagreements and fights until one conceded to the other, of course always Dylan. He knew Chelsea would never accept defeat. So if he didn't, the argument would continue. He wasn't ready for that. After much pleasant talks and exchange of passionate words, Dylan felt it was time to do the deed. If he didn't do it now, the date would drag on for long and Chelsea would grow even more suspicious. He had to quell her curiosity now while still stalling for time so the assassin would make his move. Just as he reached into his inner coat pocket, they heard a loud sound. Bang! It was a gun shot. If Dylan heard well, it was a sniper. That was it! The assassin had taken the bait. He stood up abruptly, much to the confusion of Chelsea. His hand dropped the ring case and took hold of his phone instead. He brought it out and immediately dialed Victor. "Vic" he spoke into the phone. "Already on it,