5. Let the game begin

The call kept ringing until it disconnected automatically. This happened a few more times before the woman got tired and threw her phone in anger. The screen cracked as it fell on the floor.

"That bitch." She shouted, her eyes blazing in fury.

"Calm down Claudia. I am sure she is busy." The man beside her stated and sipped his coffee calmly. He did not care much about the call being not picked up.

"Ted, that idiot is not picking up our calls. How can you expect me to be calm? Do you have any idea how annoyed I am right now?" Claudia shrieked. Ted closed his eyes irritated by her outburst. He was getting a headache due to her nonstop ranting. The woman who looked sweet and alluring dressed in the finest of clothes even when she was indoors would become a pyshco and behave like a madwoman when she was irked. Her character completely contradicted her attire.

'Someone please remind me why was I even attracted to her?' He asked himself and blamed himself for being blind in the past.

Claudia Sander was Melanie's aunt. Though she was Andrea's sister, she was not as intelligent or far-sighted as her sister. Claudia and Andrea belonged to a middle-class family with their parents working for the government.

Andrea had married her high-school sweetheart Henry, though he was not that established at that time. While Claudia put all her efforts into seducing a small construction owner Ted Sander. At first, she was very happy to have exceeded more than her sister's status and level. However, things changed when Henry's business flourished making them surpass her status. This had led her to lose her mind.

After the death of Melanie's parents, she was taken in by her aunt. The innocent Melanie did not notice the cunningness lurking in her aunt's eyes until a few days back. Since then she had been ignoring her calls much to her aunt's annoyance.

"I know you are vexed, but try to calm down. Nothing is going to happen even if you shout." Ted tried to soothe her although he knew it was useless. His wife had a mind of her own which was as useless as garbage. He did not like her, even a bit especially after what happened a few years back when she had planned against him. But he had no choice but to tolerate her as she had the key to his destruction.

Ted did not know what Claudia was planning. At the same time, he sensed that it was not something good and definitely not without a horrible ending. As to who would meet the horrible ending, only time would tell.

"Problem with the bitch again?" A tall girl with a slightly tanned face strolled inside the house and sat on the sofa. She had curled her short black hair at the sides and her eyes were lined with a thick layer of eyeliner. Her lips were colored with a light pink lipstick. She wore a blood-red mini dress, hugging her body tightly and emphasizing her curves. At first glance, she was bearable to see. On second notice, she looked hideous in the outfit.

"Melanie is not picking up my calls, Lexi." Claudia plopped on the sofa and dialed her number again to meet the same result.

"She sure has the guts to disobey us," Lexi commented.

Lexi was Claudia and Ted's daughter. She was younger than Melanie by two years and hated Melanie to the core as her family background was way better than hers despite being cousins. She never missed her chances of bullying her just for the sake of enjoyment and thrill she achieved from it.

Ignoring the string of curses her mother was spouting, she switched on the television. Nothing held her interest, so she changed her channels until she stumbled upon a piece of sensational news. It was conveying the news of Adrian's return to the country. Adrian Cyrus King or as he was shortly called ACK was the king of the business world. Not many people knew about him as he had kept a low profile. However, the paparazzi had managed to get a side profile of him.

Lexi looked at the photo that was being displayed. Although it was slightly blurred, she could still make out that he was extraordinarily handsome. Her heartbeat raced just by the thought of him. It was not clear as to what his business was ventured in, but she found out that he was rich.

'If I can make the tycoon fall for me, then my life will be settled.' She pondered, building impossible dreams and aspirations in her mind. While her mother was still trying to get in touch with Melanie with no progress. Nobody noticed how Ted's face had paled on seeing the news. He was sweating buckets and was fidgetting in his seat. He felt that he was tied firmly to a hot frying pan at that moment.

'Oh my God. Why did he come back? Does he know about me and is out to get revenge? No that is not possible. I had managed to delete all my records and erase all the trails leading to me. How did he even find out? Now I am dead.' His thoughts were racing at a super speed, more than two hundred miles per hour.

Without giving another glance at his wife and daughter, he went to his study. He was scared to death. There was no one who could help him, he had killed them all before they had the opportunity to strike back at him. Now it was his turn to reap what he sowed.

All the things he had done in the past flashed in his mind continuously. It was on autoplay, his deeds presenting themselves before him making him shiver.

He stared into space until his phone dinged. It was a message from an unknown number. On reading the message, he gasped in shock. He did not know how, but he realized that Adrian had found out the truth and now he was coming for revenge. The message he received was very short yet strong, nothing less than a warning: Let the game begin.