Chapter One Hundred And Twenty-FiveBella visibly shuddered with resentment and fear as she ended the call. She always felt like crap whenever she had a conversation with Rina."You did well." Liam said, scrutinizing Bella with a cool gaze from where he stood by the floor to ceiling windows in Damien's office. Bella bowed slightly, and shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Liam had not been harsh nor had she messed up with what had been asked of her, but she was still very uncomfortable. Probably, because Damien had not said a word after the phone call. Her eyes darted to where he was seated very straightbacked on his chair at the head of the table. He had his eyes closed all through her conversation with Rina, as if he was asleep but the slight furrow of his brows indicatedvthat he was awake and aware of everything that was going on.They were all gathered in Damien's office, Bella, Liam and Damien.After listening to the recordings retrieved from the tapes earlier, Damien had order
Chapter One Hundred And Twenty SixBella stopped abruptly as Lana grabbed her arm. She looked back at Lana, then cast her uncertain gaze on Damien."Why are you with my box?" Lana asked, her voice sharp. Without waiting for an answer, she whirled on Damien, "Why is she with my box?!"Damien had his head on his hand, his eyes closed with frustration. Liam was on his feet in seconds as he walked over to the women."Miss Lana, if you'll just step into the office," he stepped round them to close the door behind, which had been left wide open by Lana. He turned to face the women and met Lana's steely glare. She placed her hand on the box, "Hand it over." She said, glaring at the maid who flinched and immediately let go of the box, scuttling backwards."No."They all turned to face Damien who was staring at them, a grim expression on his face.His expression became soft, however when he spoke to Lana, "Give her the box, Lana.""And why would I do such a thing?" Lana shot back at him, eyei
Chapter One Hundred And Twenty-SevenRina sat in her car, tapping long red, manicured nails impatiently on her steering wheel. Her hair was covered with a scarf and she had a pair of huge goggles on her face, which she peered through.The goggles, however, hid her face more than making her see clearly, and in frustration she wrenched it off her face, and threw it on the chair beside her.She did not care if she was recognized.She was already on the verge of storming across the parking lot of the mall, checking out everybody's faces herself in search for Bella.She had arranged to meet Bella in the parking lot of the biggest mall in the city. It was quite packed now with carts, and also a few people milled about, pushing trolleys and placing groceries in their cars.Bella had gotten hold of the box and Rina could not say how pleased she was. She was also very impressed with Bella for getting the box within such notice.Truly, she was reliable. The mall was the perfect spot to meet Be
Chapter One Hundred And Twenty Eight "Did you ever once think that Rina could harm you?"Damien froze, his arm suspended in mid-air as he tried placing a bowl of soup in front of Lana. After a moment, he placed the bowl down in front of her, while she stared at him, expectantly with expressive green eyes.They were seated at the table in the Romero Villa, having dinner. The entire table was filled with mouthwatering dishes- meats, mashed potatoes, salads, bread rolls, stir fries- they were so much that, they could feed an entire village.Lana always wondered why each meal at the Villa was like a banquet, and wondered if Damien always ate like that.She had no idea of his eating pattern or preference, because they've never shared a meal together in their marriage. Except if Laura invited them over to her place for dinner, and they had to endure the strenuous task of being in each other's presence. It was strenuous for Damien because he always acted like it was a chore to have one mea
Chapter One Hundred And Twenty Nine"You were foolish enough to have your room bugged?!"Zaire screamed at Rina, throwing an ashtray viciously over to her direction. Rina flinched, as the tray missed her face by an inch. She scooted to the edge of her seat, and crossed her arms to keep from shaking. She lifted her chin haughtily and tried not to look as rattled as she felt. Infact, she looked ready to bolt but that might not be the wisest of decisions.At the door to Zaire's office, Aryan stood there looking as big and burly as a guide dog. He stared fixedly at her and his icy glare and unreadable expression, sent shivers down her spine and made her avert her gaze quickly. When Rina had reached out to Zaire earlier, asking to meet up, Aryan was the one who had brought her in.He'd been tailing her ever since she left the Romero mansion, and had materialized suddenly in front of her when Zaire gave the order for them to meet in his office.He had not been very nice and Rina seethed i
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty"Sir, the investors from Mauritania have pulled out from the deal. They are demanding we pay for the breach of contract as well!"Damien slammed his open palm on the top of his desk, and the entire desk rattled violently. He was breathing hard as he raked his hand through his head, trying to process the news Liam had just told him.This was the first real emotion he'd shown since they arrived at the office that morning, and realized they were neck deep in crisis.A series of attack had hit Romero that morning. Hackers had infiltrated their systems and stolen sensitive data, trade secrets, financial records...Some of these data were placed on the dark web, while the others were still inaccessible, with the hackers demanding for a ransom of up to four hundred and fifty billion.Typical ramsomeware, but it had to come at this particular time.Some investors and customers had already gotten wind of what was happening in Romero, and how sensitive information
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty One "Keep in mind, Lana, that it pains me greatly to do this." Samuel Fernandez said in a greatly displeased tone, "Why do I have to give my money to something as worthless as Romero?! And you dare to ask it of me?""I know, Dad. I'm sorry." Lana said apologetically, biting her bottom lip but still her face was alight with joy and relief.He was going to do it, she was sure.He would definitely do it.It was the only thing she could do from her end here.Damien had left his breakfast hurriedly that morning after recieving a call from Liam. His face had darkened immediately, and his hands clenched into fists so tight, his knuckles went white."I'm on my way." He said, soon after and stood up from the table, grabbing his suit jacket from off his chair."I have to go, Lana." That was the only answer he gave her, at her insistent questions.When she'd arrived at the office with Damien that morning, she was met with chaos. The entire office was in a frenzy,
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty TwoDamien did not move from his position behind his desk. Instead, his eyes watched every of Paul's movement, as the tall man relaxed fully on the chair, looking right at home. The words Paul had just spoken resounded in his head once more."You want money. We'll give you money.""What do you mean by you'll give us money?" Liam asked tentatively, unsure if he had heard well."It means exactly what it means, Mr Dantes." Paul replied, drily, ignoring the subtle arch of Liam's eyebrow at the mention of his last name. He fixed the assistant a cool look, "Romero is in a tight spot right now, isn't it?"The other man, who had been quiet all along, finally drew out a sheaf of papers from his suitcase, "The Fernandez Empire is willing to give the Romero Empire five trillion dollars to get out of this crisis." He placed the papers on Damien's desk and drew back, a satisfied look on his face, "You can just sign where indicated and its all yours."Liam looked ba
Chapter One Hundred And Forty Seven"Miss Lana, its okay. I can take it from here."Yvette said in a worried tone but there was no mistaking the gladness that laced it as well as she watched Lana gently remove the delicious, creamy bread from the oven.Lana gave her a grin over her shoulder as she removed the thick mittens from her hands. The sweet aroma of roasted meat, and freshly baked bread filled the kitchen and teased their noses, making her mouth water."The master would be back home soon. You go ahead and freshen up, Miss Lana." Yvette said with a conspiratorial grin at Lana.Lana cheeks flamed as she heard the hidden meaning behind Yvette's words. Its not like it was a special day or something, but Yvette was adding meaning to her cooking for Damien after such a long time.It was no big deal, really.Bored out of her wits from staying at home all day, Lana had gotten tired of watching TV. Then she resorted to growing her phone for emails and also her Instagram. Her feed was
Chapter One Hundred And Forty SixLana sat in her room poring over designs sent to her by Mandy, on her laptops. Each scroll she made, had her heart jumping for joy as she slowly forgot the bitter experience she'd had earlier that day.She had been so frazzled after listening to the recordings, that she'd gone home and cried herself to sleep. That morning, she woke up to about fifteen missed calls from Mandy the day before. "Ma'am, we made it to the preliminary round for the Queen's Glamour And Festival Awards!" Mandy had squealed excitedly into her ear that morning when she called her back. The young women sounded very excited and Lana had immediately been affected by her joyful mood.Although, she knew that they'd get selected and even possibly win the awards, her heart could not help but race in anticipation when Mandy announced the news."Mandy, that's awesome news," she said to her assistant, tears of joy filling her eyes suddenly to her surprise."Yes, ma'am. It is." Mandy af
Chapter One Hundred And Forty Five"Let me out, you hear me! Hey, I'm talking to you!" Rina yelled as she hit the metal bars of the cell doors holding her back. The cops, however, paid her no heed and went about their business like she wasn't even there."Agrhh!" Rina screamed, shaking the metal bars once more and snapping her head back. She winced in pain as she held on to her neck which had a brace over it.The doctors had warned her to be careful with moving it around, and now she'd almost dislodged it from its position again. She knew what she was doing would make no difference, but she could not sit still.It's been almost twenty four hours and yet she was still languishing in this cell. Her stomach growled with hunger and anger, and she glared at the police men.She'd not had anything to eat since she was brought from the hospital, and even then she'd not eaten anything.Both the food from the hospital and the one given to her in the cell looked like they were meant for dogs, n
Chapter One Hundred And Forty FourZaire had been following Damien all his life. He kept tabs on the Romero family as well, always looking for an opening, a leverage he could use against them.He saw when the little bastard had his first car.When he got into an ivy league. When he took over from their father.Zaire was always skulking around them, hiding in the shadows, watching every moment of Damien's life.Damien had been happy. He had loving parents, and a doting grandmother. He had his life set out for him and even got to marry a beautiful, and astounding woman in the long run.Everything that should have been his.With one tilt of his head, he downed the entire contents of the glass in one gulp and walked inside the house with it, leaving Aryan staring after him.He walked into his spacious bedroom, which seemed to be made of glass, with one part overlooking the glorious expanse of the sea.Zaire made his way to his walk in closet, divesting himself of his clothes. He walked o
Chapter One Hundred And Forty ThreeZaire stands in the balcony of his villa, overlooking the sea as he sipped from a glass of tequila.The sea wind was cold and crisp and ruffled his hair and the collar of the crisp white button down which he wore.He tucked his hand in his pocket, a calm expression on his face as he watched the sea down beneath him.It was dusk already and the dark, foamy waves of the sea crashed against the rocks situated at its bank, and spilled over the beach. During the day, he'd walked barefoot on the beach, close to the edge of the sea.The sand on the beach was fine, mixed with pieces of rocks that prickled the sole of his feet as he walked past, 0but Zaire paid no heed to it.He looked down at the beach now from his balcony, and let his blank stare gaze at the roaring waves.He took another sip of his tequila, letting the warmth of the liquid burn through his throat and spread throughout his chest. His calm and blank expression belied any of the raging turmo
Chapter One Hundred And Forty Two."There are some things we need to look into before handing the files over to the police."Damien was silent.He had his head in his hands with his eyes closed. He was not fully listening what Liam was saying, with his mind whirling with various thoughts. He was still numb from the fact that his grandmother had been killed. She had been taken away from him. He did not even get a chance to reconcile with her.For months he'd been at loggerheads with her because of Rina. He'd made her cry and frustrated. He'd repeatedly declared his love for Rina, and how he'd choose her over Romero. Damie closed his eyes as pain lodged in his throat. She must have been very heartbroken, yet she still made sure she helped him recover.Yet, she'd been taken away from him?Rage coursed through his body and he shivered with the intensity. At that moment, he swore he was going to crush Zaire's neck.Just the way he'd done to his grandmother. And he'd take extreme pleasure
Chapter One Hundred And Forty OneAs soon as the party arrived home, Lana went straight to her room and locked herself in.She had been quiet throughout the ride home, and refused to say or acknowledge a word anybody said to her."What's wrong with Miss Lana?" Diego asked, looking round at the others who stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching Lana go up.Yvette shrugged, as puzzled as Diego was.Damien and Liam, however, ignored him as well, and went into his study. Damien was brooding, his heart heavy with sadness and anger.Liam stood before him looking downcasted as well. Knowing Damien's temper, it would not be a good idea to say anything unless Damien spoke first.It had not been a good idea to let Lana listen to the recordings with them. That was the one thing Damien regretted. Although, it was supposed to come to her notice one way or the other, but Damien would have loved to keep it buried for life.He hated to see Lana sad, or heartbroken. After listening to the tapes,
Chapter One Hundred And Forty "Miss Lana, pick up already." Mandy muttered to herself, as she called Lana's number for the umpteenth time. As usual, the call rang out, leaving Mandy in despair and on the verge of pulling her hair out.She was pacing up and down the design team's office, the phone pressed to her ear, while the other employees went on with their work. It seemed like the design team was not affected by the crisis which had hit Romero since earlier that day. There was an air of joy, and the employees were working in a frenzy, with a light heart and smile on their faces.But their joy was incomplete somehow, with Lana's absence in the office.Where on earth did their head of design team go at this very crucial moment?At this memorable moment.A smile of joy and disbelief tugged at Mandy's lips, as she tried Lana's number once more. For the first time in years, MAGIC got accepted in the Queen's Glamor And Festival Awards, and it was all because of Miss Lana.She had mad
Chapter One Hundred And Thirty Nine Without another word, Samuel stormed out of the office, followed by Paul and his companion.Lana heaved a sigh of relief, but she could still not ignore the pang of guilt that twisted her stomach. She'd have to call her Dad later on and explain things clearly to him.She was still a bit stunned that he'd actually left with a warning. "Oh God, hope he's not planning something behind my back." She muttered to herself, biting her lower lip in trepidation. If he was, then she deserved it, but she was not leaving Oackcrest without doing what she came here to do, anyway.And with the way things are, it seemed they'd gone back to the root of all squares. Romero was in danger!Before she could comprehend this thought any longer, Damien pulled her in to himself for a crushing hug.He pressed her to his chest, his heart racing from her nearness and his nose filled with the scent of her. He closed his eyes deeply and reveled in the feel of her still in his