Ollie took sharp whiffs.I can do this.Anthony was encircled by a cluster of elegantly dressed individuals indulging in lighthearted banter. Ollie watched him from afar, knowing that this was the opportune moment to make her move while he was in high spirits. Anthony was not one to display frequent smiles, but the crowd would need to dissipate before she could approach him.Chloe had left some minutes ago, promising to return, and she was still out of sight.Maybe she could pretend that she had met the young billionaire and that he had declared his disregard.Anthony was already walking away, his entourage following closely behind him. Ollie quickly stood up and began to chase after him. Her footsteps echoed loudly on the stairs as she hurried down, and she soon found herself on the red carpet where the press was interviewing celebrities, businessmen, and women. Anthony hadn't stopped to speak to any of them. Ollie quickened her pace, hoping to catch up with him before he reached his
Kylian braced himself against the force of the heavy blow, struggling to maintain his balance. Meanwhile, Max quickly rushed to Chloe's side."I'm sorry, Chloe," he said, his gaze scanning her to ensure she was unharmed.As Chloe struggled to catch her breath following the incident, she watched Kylian intently and couldn't help but think that he had brought this upon himself.Kylian's nose was bleeding profusely, and he knew he had to retreat and live to fight another day. He backed away, holding his nose, feeling the warmth of the blood on his fingers. He couldn't bear the thought of being defeated in front of Chloe, especially by Max. The thought of it was so humiliating and painful for him to bear. It hurt his pride more than anything.Kylian had faced many defeats in business, losing deals to Max and others, but he knew how to move on and recover. However, losing Chloe was a different matter entirely. She was not just a business contract to him. She was his wife, his love, and the
Alejandro threw the penknife in his hand at Carlos, and he ducked it by a breadth."No, Manches?! You cannot find a woman in this small city!" He stood up, seething. "I should have carved your eyes out."Carlos bowed silently."That pinche small rat. She took my money—my gold! And she escaped without any of you seeing her. I want her here alive tonight. If not, you'll pay with your life."If there was anything Alejandro despised, it was being cheated, especially by a woman—a young, helpless woman.He spat. "Pinche idiota!"The large basement's main door opened, and Diego walked in. A smile spread across Alejandro's face immediately."Guey. You know when to make an appearance. I was about to kill my incompetent hand man."Diego glanced at Carlos before returning his cheerful face to Alejandro. "I thought I should stop by since you're still in town."Alejandro sat down and pointed out a spot for Diego. One of the naked girls in the room served him a drink. Diego watched her. "She's new
"Where's the gold?"Sweat broke out on Sofia's forehead, and she stuttered incoherently. Carlos was losing his patience, and Maria was wondering what gold he was talking about. Sofia hadn't said Anything about some gold that she had stolen."I…I…""Andale!" he shouted in Spanish. "I'm a man of little patience.""I lost it!" Sofia cried out.Carlos chuckled and took out a knife, bringing the edge close to her throat. "Do you want to die?" he threatened her."Under the bed! In the bag under the bed."Carlos straightened. "Good." He faced Maria. "Bring the bag under the bed." He grabbed Sofia's wrist and pulled her up. She squirmed in fright.Carlos could imagine the inhumane things that Alejandro would do to her if he took her to him. And he didn't want to see her suffer. But he was scared for his life. Alejandro had promised to take his eye off her if he didn't bring her alive that night.Carlos took a deep breath, steeling himself. "I'm taking you to Alejandro," he said firmly. "He wa
Alejandro Navarro?Emma couldn't believe her luck. The lady crying at her feet was certainly one of the rumored trafficked girls. Her mind raced with possibilities as she looked down at the tear-streaked face of the desperate woman before her. The pieces of her master plan were falling into place, and this woman seemed to hold the key to unlocking the truth she sought. Taking a deep breath, Emma suppressed her excitement and composed herself. Emma crouched. "What about Alejandro?"Sofia's voice trembled as she spoke, desperation evident in her eyes. "Please, I need your help. He's after me. I need a place to stay," Sofia said. "He's going to kill me."Emma's curiosity grew stronger. "Tell me, Sofia, did he exploit you? Did he take away your freedom and sell you like a commodity?" "Diego…Alejandro…Carlos." She stuttered as she sobbed.Emma wiped her tears. "I'll help you. But you must help me too." She stood up and pointed at the blue Mercedes parked a few blocks away. "That's my c
Ollie released her held breath as she shut the door behind her. Anthony had his face buried in the screen before him and didn't raise his head when she stepped in.From inside, the view of the office was magnificently beautiful, and the view through the window was breathtaking.Ollie cleared her throat loudly when Anthony didn't notice her standing in his office for almost a minute."Mr. Anthony MacPherson," she said when he didn't raise his head.Anthony lifted his head, and when he saw her, a small smile appeared across the face that had been frowning all day."Olivia. "I thought you weren't going to come."Ollie felt more relieved. He remembered her face. And her name."I'm sorry I couldn't make it until today.""No. No. It's fine. What business proposal were you going to discuss with me?" He pointed to one of the vacant chairs facing him.Ollie moved cautiously, eyeing the table for a means of defense in case the man smiling at her was a prince and a beast all in one. She was pre
Chloe was furious. She paced around the office, muttering incoherent words angrily, while Ollie sat quietly. If she had signed the deal, she would have had a reason to calm Chloe's anger. And she was still too shaken to speak.The memory of her encounter with Anthony MacPherson was still fresh in her mind, and she didn't know what to think about it.Chloe returned to the chair, glaring at her."What if something had happened to you, Ollie?" I don't know what I would do.""I'm sorry, Chloe." "I really wanted to get the business deal.""I was signing the last part of the contract with Alejandro this morning when you ran off, Ollie. I'm terribly angry at you. Did he try to hurt you?"Ollie thought about the look in his eyes when she grabbed the pen at him. She muffled up a sob, and Chloe stood up to her, worried."Tell me what happened, Ollie." "Did he hurt you?"Ollie burst into a convulsing sob. "No…no! I hurt him!" She stood up. "I grabbed a pen when he stood up—we were about to—I was
Emma’s blue Porsche stopped in front of Riggs, and she stepped out dressed in all whites; a see-through top, and a fashionably torn trouser while a gray coat was thrown carelessly over her body. Her blonde hair—after seeing Chloe in blonde wigs, she had decided to give it a try—was tied to a bun, and a pair of dark spectacles complemented her pink-colored lips.She walked on six-inch heels towards the building, enjoying the attention she was getting from the public.Riggs was the best house to fish for classy and expensive wedding dresses. And Emma was settling for nothing but the best for her wedding. Especially the gown she was going to wear.Riggs had designed Chloe’s wedding gown, and it had been the talk of the town for many days, with her pictures appearing in many online and hardcopy publications.She wanted to do more. And since Riggs was the best, she was headed for her.She stepped on the carpeted ground before the glass door, which automatically opened. Emma smiled and walk
Chloe pushed the doorbell of the door where she once lived. It felt like ages she’d been at Emma’s doorstep. The number of calls and the text messages she had gotten at the wedding made it feel like it had been really something urgent.She’d had her doubts about making that visit. The last time she remembered, Emma had wanted her downfall so badly that she had gone to the extent of allying with dangerous criminals, even putting herself in danger in the process.After a while of waiting, she pushed the doorbell yet again. She heard some footsteps trotting steadily in her direction. She held her breath in anticipation as she couldn’t tell why she had been called out there.“Chloe,” Emma said, “You’re here.” She hadn’t expected to see her after all.“Yeah, I’m here.” Chloe’s eyes ran a quick subtle scan through her. Her wandering eyes were caught by the little bump in her belly. She was shocked as she hadn’t been told that part of the story. Max…come on. He had sadly left out that import
“I look stupid!” Ollie exclaimed in a mild tone of disappointment as she looked in the mirror one more time. “I look like a total goof.”“No, Ollie, you don’t,” Chloe protested as it had taken her and the costumier a considerable amount of time and energy to get her in that. “You look elegant.”Chloe looked over at the other girls on the bridal train as they silently complained about Ollie being way too vocal about her own complaints. And her dress too.“Elegant? Are you kidding me right now?” Ollie seemed like she’d never be satisfied, even though she was just a few minutes from walking down the aisle.“I’m not. Besides they’ve put in their best to give you the best, so it’s best that you just…” Chloe was out of words as she walked up to Ollie from behind, her tone becoming more and more hushed as he advanced. “Give them your best reaction. The dress is just perfect, Ollie.”The glistening white wedding gown had a very elegant flay. Maybe just too elegant to the point it puffed proud
Emma was getting uncomfortable in her seat. How had Kylian gotten his hands on all that? It was probably Francis, but how had he gotten to Francis?Her attorney was totally unprepared for that sudden twist in the case. It had been a walkover up until then. That woman’s testimony had them all dumbfounded— she, her mother, and her attorney. They were all thrown in disarray.“Emma, when did this happen?” Her mother, Amelia questioned from behind in a whisper. She had no answer that could appease her mother’s curiosity without implicating her as well. Her lips seemed to shut off their own accord.She knew she was about to face cruel music which she hadn’t rehearsed its dance steps. The look on Kylian’s face when he said, “It’s over,” almost made her lose it in front of the judge. She would be giving herself away before the case was over if she hadn’t gotten her act together.“You could have told me about this,” her attorney whispered faintly in a way that meant that she was really in big
"Don’t worry,” Kylian’s attorney told him not to do the one thing that his mind had been doing subconsciously since he’d set foot in the courtroom. “You’ll be fine.”“Sure I will,” he said, trying not to discourage his attorney before the grueling duel began. Either way, he wouldn’t be that much of a mess. Worst case scenario, he’d have to see Emma at their board meetings.“Kylian,” his mother called out from behind in a whisper. “Keep your composure out there, our fifty percent depends on it.”“Thank you, Mom, you’re doing such a great job at easing me of the pressure of the moment. Very commendable.” He said, harshly sarcastic.“Thank you, Kylian. Just don’t fuck this up for us.”He was a bit taken aback to hear his mom say the ‘f-word’ in public. “It’s really sad you called me just to tell me this.”“Now’s not the time to get in your feelings, young man. Go out there and get our family’s legacy. That’s all the pep talk you need.”As much as he hated it, she was right. He inhaled de
Max had his shades on as he walked through the construction site on the hot sunny afternoon.“The long-awaited upward progress has finally begun.” Mr. Singh mused as he was almost following all of Max’s footsteps throughout the site.“Isn’t it lovely?” Max replied with a smile. “Feels like we started just yesterday.” He was glad that it had been all running smoothly despite him being occupied with all the many personal challenges that he somehow managed to see himself come out on top.“It sure does.” Mr. Singh seemed like he had a default positive response for everything he had to say. It had Max wondering if he’d ever get to see Mr. Singh mad, even just once. He itched to see that moment, except that it didn’t have to be on the job that he was doing for him.Max believed that it was all because of the remarkable presentation that he had put forth. He strongly believed that it was still speaking for him up until then. He hadn’t questioned his moves and followed him with blind trust. H
Ollie picked up her phone and dialed frantically, “Did you hear about Alejandro on the news?” The report on the news seemed untrue, and she assumed that Chloe hadn’t seen it yet. “Alejandro has been arrested on numerous charges?”“Yeah, I heard,” Chloe said, unalarmed like they hadn’t lost one of their biggest potential partners after they had set quite a huge part of their budget plans around him and his cash, especially. “He’s been arrested.”“You know what that means?” Ollie still believed that she wasn’t getting the full scope of the impact of that news in particular. “What’s going to become of our plans and all?”It took Chloe quite some time to get a sigh out from her end of the line. “Well, we are going to figure something out, Ollie.”What? She meant to ask but swallowed it in as she sought a much better response but she couldn’t find any other, that forced her to say it out anyway, but more softly and politely that didn’t make it seem like Chloe had said something unreasonabl
“It’s on the news, Chloe,” Max stared at the TV screen in wild wonder, calling out to Chloe who came running, “They finally got him.”“Businessman known as Alejandro Navarro has been finally apprehended by the forces on charges of illegal drug trades, manslaughter, sex trafficking…” the TV presenter went on and on with his many dirty deeds.“Damn, he’s got quite a lot going for him at the moment.” Max remarked as he reclined on the couch, “Good thing they got him. There could’ve been trouble if they didn’t.”“Yeah,” Chloe said looking on in anticipation, “Nothing on Diego yet?”“Wait for it.”“Alongside the underground drug lord, the notorious gangster, Diego Gutierrez was also found in the building. After much resistance and shots fired, the swat team was able to break in and apprehend the two men and a few other survivors from the heated exchange. Two hostages were found in the basement of the building, a male and a female, suspected to be victims of his trafficking crimes…” The pre
It was the D-Day of the raid. Gray couldn’t deny how nervous he was, but he had to what had to be done. His heartbeat surged forcefully with each stop and turn of the vehicle.Most of all, he hoped the resistance they had predicted would what they’d be faced with. He’d heard stories of how vicious the Mexicans could be, and he didn’t want the mission to be a continuation of that tale.“Alright,” he finally got the courage to speak up amid the men in the large trunk of the van, he was about to attempt to make them not feel what he was feeling. He took out the large tablet that had the blueprint of the building.“The operation is simple.” He didn’t believe it was, but he had to say it anyway. “First, we surround all possible exits of the villa, which include the main gate, the back gate, and one other hidden gate on the Eastern side of the fence…”“Second, we ask Alejandro and his men to come out peaceably. If they don’t, which they most probably wouldn’t, we first hit them hard with so
Kylian tapped on the door, hoping that he’d somehow made it to the right door, following Maya’s directions to her place.The block of flats had way more homes than it appeared to have while viewing it from the outside. One could easily get lost in there. It had him wondering how the inhabitants kept from mistaking another door for theirs.He tapped yet again. He heard some faint footsteps approaching the door and expected to see Maya’s dazzling face. He could hear hands working desperately at the lock and that made him brim with anticipation.Finally, he thought, till the door opened for him to see a tall macho man with overgrown beards and tattoos scattered all over his body. The shock from seeing the stranger made him almost unable to speak. He had heavy rock music pounding in his apartment.“Can I help you mate?” his deep voice could make anybody’s knees buckle with frightful intimidation.“Sorry…I came to the wrong door,” Kylian broke out in an uncoordinated stutter, “I was lookin