Chapter Fifty-twoLana stood and looked around at the startled shareholders, with blazing green eyes. They all had a surprised and puzzled expression on their faces, as they did not know who the young woman was, that she'd strode in so boldly into the boardroom.Without another moments hesitation, Lana turned on her heels and walked down the hall towards where Damien sat.Damien was silent as he watched her approach, mesmerized by the sight before him.Lana was wearing a short black gown which hugged her amazing slim, curvy figure in all the right places. The gown stopped a few inches above her knees, showing just a glimpse of her slim thighs, before this scrumptious sight was caught off by high-heeled boots, which was knee high.Her flaming red hair was let down over her shoulders , a sharp contrast to the black dress she was wearing and she'd only applied minimal makeup, making her as exquisitely beautiful as possible.The shareholders were not just stunned by her beauty only but al
Chapters Fifty-ThreeDamien relaxed fully in his chair and glared fiercely at Mr Alan. He had managed to grow seeds of doubts in the minds of the other shareholders.This was something he could not condone."Mr Alan, you seem to have a problem with the CEO of ALLURE working with us," he said icily, asking the odious man so he could be sure of what to do next.Mr Alan shrugged nonchalantly. There was a triumphant glint in his eyes as he felt he'd succeeded in making the CEO falter."I do not have a problem with the CEO of ALLURE working with MAGIC," he answered smugly, the cast a direct stare at Lana, "I have a problem working with impostors like this so called CEO!"He finished this sentence, making quotation marks in the air when he said the word "CEO". He was clearly mocking Lana.Lana scoffed, as a small smirk curved her lip, "Your shareholders are really sensible," she muttered, her tone dripping with sarcasm. A muscle twitched in Damien's jaw as he heard what she'd said but he ig
Chapter Fifty-Four"Why'd you do that?" Lana asked puzzedly after some time.They were alone in the boardroom, waiting for Liam to be done with some paperwork. The shareholders were already gone and Lana already signed the contract. The fact that she was getting fifty percent shares of MAGIC was only known to Damien and Liam.The other shareholders were oblivious to this. If they'd known that Damien had easily given out fifty of his sixty percent of shares of MAGIC, they'd try to get it from her in every possible way, like a pack of bloodthirsty hounds."Do what?" Damien asked, fixing Lana an innocent stare."Kick out one of your top shareholders!" Lana retorted, exasperated at the situation.Hell, MAGIC needs all the investments that it could get at the moment, and he was kicking a shareholder out impulsively?While it felt good that he'd done that for her, it was still a stupid thing to do, and she told him so.Damien shrugged, nonchalantly, his broad shoulders rippling beneath his
Chapter Fifty-FiveRina was having a full body massage, when she received the call from Claudia."Miss Rina, you have to come in quick! That red haired bitch had appeared again!"This piece of news caused Rina to scowl fiercely at the masseuse, who was working on her body at that moment.The poor woman quickly removed her hand from her body and shied away from her in fright as Rina sat up on the massage table, her cell phone clutched tightly to her ear.A red haired bitch? There was only one that would come to mind, who had the ability to ignite her murderous instincts and that was Lana.She had appeared again? Did Damien already sign the contract with her?She listened to Claudia rant on about the woman the CEO had brought in, and who was now the new head of their design team.Rage boiled through her as she ended the call, "Get me my clothes!" She screamed at the cowering masseuse, who jumped and scurried out of the room to carry out her order."That little bitch, I won't let her get
Chapter Fifty-SixDamien sat in his office, trying to do some work but it was next to impossible as he could not focus on what he was doing.He groaned silently in frustration as he threw the pen he was writing with on the desk."What's wrong with me?" He muttered to himself, "There's so much to be done, Damien. Focus." He could not help losing focus as his mind always inadvertently went to one person: Lana The fact that she was right here in his company at such a close range made him giddy with joy, and he could not sit still.He frowned, as he wondered if it'd be too much to have her desk moved close to his own office, perhaps right outside his own, so he could see her anytime he wanted."No, she'd probably just give me that dead eye stare, and ask me to fuck off," he muttered, angry with himself for thinking such, "Let's just take things slow for now."He was seriously contemplating this, when the door to his office opened and Liam strode right in."We replaced Miss Fernandez des
Chapter Fifty-SevenOnce Damien left the design team's office, Rina hurried to the rooftop once more, unable to stand it anymore longer.She could not stand the look of affection he'd shared with Lana, she could not bear the judging looks of the employees she passed on her way to the rooftop, or the derisive remarks she was sure they were making about her.On the rooftop, she did not bother to look around for any hidden sniper. That was not what she should be concerned with for now.Right now, she was concerned with what had just happened back inside the design team office.Something was wrong.Something was definitely wrong.Something about the way Lana had whispered in her ears. It held an ominous tone that she could not shake off. It almost sounded like Lana knew something.But that was literally impossible.If she knew about the plan to take over Ludovic, then she'd not still be with...Rina took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves. She brought out her phone, and frowned at h
Chapter Fifty-EightThe shrill sound of the phone echoed on the rooftop, and Rina hesitated, biting her bottom lip in anger.She did not want to pick up his call. She was definitely not in the mood for some ass chewing.Her finger hovered above the answer icon, her mood becoming sour at the thought of hearing his insults once more.Why was he calling anyway?He had his sources and already knew what was happening in MAGIC. Yet, he called her at any opportunity to remind her of her incapability.This thought made her grit her teeth in fury, as the phone continued ringing, its ringing tone, a shrill reminder of the derision to come.However, the thought that he was watching her through the hole of a sniper rifle, made her jolt back to her senses and she quickly swiped on the icon."What?" She snarled into the phone, already trembling with fear and annoyance, but she still managed to keep the tremors out of her voice."You were demoted?" The voice asked calmly."Wait what? How did you kn
Chapter Fifty-NineDeciding she'd been on the rooftop too long, Rina heads down the empty stairway.Occasionally, she'd lean over the railing, her eyes scanning the floors below, trying to see if she could see any employee fleeing but there was no one there, and she finally decided she was being paranoid.About seven floors below, Lana quietly slipped through the door that led to the staircase and emerged on the seventh floor. Employees milled about, and she quickly blended with them, making her way to the elevator that would take her back to the design team's office.Her face was impassive, not even glancing sideways at the employees who stole surreptitious looks at her. However, her heart was beating fast at what she'd just done, and what she'd just heard and witnessed.When Rina left the design team's office in a hurry, Lana had waited for two minutes before casually walking out after her.She was just in time to see Rina, taking the side door and making her way to the rooftop, and
Chapter One Hundred And Eighty SevenThe men arrived at the room, breathing hard. Pushing the bed aside from the wall, Damien ran his hands all over the wall the way he had seen Lana do in the footage.He let out an erratic breath as the wall opened up in front of him and Paul. It even seemed more ominous than it had in the footage.Takong out his cellphone, he activated his flashlight, illuminating the whole of the passageway."Mother of pearls." Paul muttered in astonishment as they stared into the long dark space.It was a freaking passageway.Why had Lana walked into the wall? No matter how much Paul thought about it, he thought it was extremely brave of the young miss, especially since she did not know what was on the other side of this passageway.Without further ado, Damien bounded into the wall."Romero!" Paul called out after him but Damien did not stop. He kept running down the passageway, till he turned a corner and went out of sight.This was becoming more crazy, Paul th
Chapter One Hundred And Eighty-SixDamien stood in the middle of the white little room and looked around in quiet disgust.The fact that Lana had been in this place all along had filled him with so much fury that he felt like tearing the walls down with his fists.That thought was fueled by the fact that she was nowhere to be found. They had arrived Monero a little over six hours ago. Monero was only accessible through a port and when the men had arrived there, it was already quiet late.Rina had finally revealed the locations of Zaire's villa in Moreno and even though it irked Damien to grant her anything in return, he had to fulfill her request for Lana's sake."Your little informant had better be correct, Romero." Paul had said earlier on the boat, "The Young Miss had better be in Monero when we get there or you will face Fernandez's wrath."Damien had been silent, even though impatience hummed in his blood.He knew she was in Moreno.She had to be in Monero.He wondered what he w
Chapter One Hundred And Eighty-five "Let's go in, first." Anila said urgently as she walked into the corridor and pressed the button on the wall, watching with bated breath until the shelf slid back into place.She turned to Adrian then, "What about the young Miss?" She asked as she walked past him, "Is she okay?""Screw the young miss." Adrian spat out loudly in anger as they both entered the small room, "What the hell is going on? Who the hell were those men?!"Adrian was clearly frustrated. He did not mean to yell and rarely lost his cool, but he was pissed with what just happened a few moments ago in his own house.Anila sighed, "if you will only let me explain, then I will. Stop yelling at me." She reprimanded him as she walked over to Lana.Lana was huddled on the bed, cowering under the bed covers in fear. She and Adrian had stayed back in the room when Anila had gone out.She had been trembling and whimpering in fear as they heard the men ransacked the room, while Adrian pace
Chapter One Hundred And Eighty-FourThe banging on the door continued and silence fell in the room.It took a while for Lana to realize that the banging was not actually on the door to the room.It sounded farther, but that did nothing to ease the trembling of her body or the loud thumps of her heart beat."I said, open up!" Another yell came and this time it was accompanied by a solid thump, like a vicious kick to the door."What the hell? Who knocks like that?" Adrian said, frowning in annoyance. He was about to walk towards the door when Anila stopped him."No Adrian! Don't go." She called out to him, holding out a hand to stop him.Adrian looked from the door to his mother, "What?" He asked, his confusion becoming more apparent. Lana exchanged a frightened glance with Anila, who was calmer actually.She patted Lana's hand then stood up and walked towards the door."I will go out and meet them" She said calmly to Adrian."Excuse me?" Adrian asked, arching an eyebrow at that state
Chapter One Hundred And Eighty-ThreeThe words were hardly out of his mouth when the door to the room was pushed open and a middle-aged woman appeared.Lana turned to the door sharply, fear written all over her face as the woman walked into the room silently, and her eyes met that of Lana's. The next instant, they widened with joy and relief."You're awake! Oh thank heavens!" She said as she rushed towards Lana and took both of her hands in hers, "I knew you'd come around! Bless the heavens!"She turned to look at the red haired man, who went about his watering as calmly as before."Look Adrian, I told you she'll be fine." She said as she beamed up at Lana, because she was clearly four inches shorter than her."I know mother," The red haired guy, Adrian replied drily, "I treated her."Lana stared at him, "Treated?" She asked, eyeing the guy in surprise.He was a doctor?The middle aged woman nodded, "Adrian had found you in the forest when he went for his morning walk." She explained
Chapter One Hundred And Eighty-TwoShe was in the forest, running with her hands stretched out in front of her as she stumbled over fallen tree logs. Her dress was torn and her knees were scraped. She was limping due to the cuts under the sole of her feet, which the cool damp earth of the forest did nothing to soothe.Yet, Lana ran.She was blinded by a film of tears and terrified gasps came out of her mouth as she stumbled through the dark forest."LANA!"He was close!He would get her and throw her back into that suffocating place. Taking control of her whole life."No, never..." Lana muttered breathlessly as she ran. The moon was hidden behind the huge rain clouds filling the sky now. Now, and then, lightening cracked through the sky, sending a flash of white through the forest.The rumbling of thunder will follow soon after and it made Lana shriek and shudder in terror as she ran.No! No! Stay away, please!Suddenly, a hand shot out from before her and grabbed her throat tightly,
Chapter One Hundred And Eighty-One.Lana turned sharply and looked into the darkness behind her. It seemed as though she'd heard something scream. Or was it her imagination?Imagination or not, it was definitely the cue she needed to open the fucking trapdoor. Luckily, the trapdoor wasn't locked and opened up easily before her to reveal another darkness below.Lana swallowed hard as a sudden rush of cold air hit her face. She shivered uncontrollably and willed her beating heart to calm down.This was just the same as walking into the passageway, she reminded herself, Everything will be fine. There are no snakes waiting down there.The way the wind whistled from below made her wonder how far the drop was.She laid down the trapdoor, and peered down into the hole with her torchlight. The beam flashed on a slab of wood below her, then another and another all connected with a rope.A ladder!She allowed the light of the torch to travel down until she finally saw the ground.It was not ve
Chapter One Hundred And Eighty Zaire was still in his study with Aryan, who was making numerous calls.It really seemed like Romero was on his way to Moreno, due to the tip off that Rina had given them.Zaire regretted ever revealing this place to Rina. He had brought her here as well and a bitter taste filled his mouth, as he realized how her presence must have tainted his precious sanctuary."I really should have killed her a long time ago." He thought to himself as he downed the contents of his second glass of whiskey.Well, there was still time.He could still kill her and also give the same treatment to his beloved half-brother. A slight smile curved his lips as he relished the thought of Damien coming to challenge him on his own turf.He'd be able to come in easily but to go out will not be so easy.He also regretted the fact that he'd brought Lana to Moreno. He could have easily taken her to Italy or Cuba, but he figured they were too far away and he needed to still be able to
Chapter One Hundred And Seventy-NineGripping the metal torchlight to her chest, Lana hurried back into the room and climbed unto the bed once more.She glanced back at the door, her ears picking up every little sound. She expected it to open up at any moment and Zaire would walk in.She'd get caught before she even started anything and faced with more torment than she could imagine."There's no time to waste." She reminded herself as she edged closer to the wall, "Let's get out of here, Lana."Slowly, she reached out her hand to the wall and pushed it. The wall did not budge.Lana swallowed hard as her heart started beating faster once again.What the hell? Why isn't the wall opening up now?She pushed the wall again with all her might and still nothing."Okay Lana." She took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "Remain calm and think. We have to open this wall."She closed her eyes and tried to remember how she'd had managed to open the wall earlier that day.Her memory was fuzzy w