CHAPTER 16: Fear Means Loyalty
1097 Words
Dario’s POV
“Sir, they caught him. Good.. Good morning Sir”
Leon quickly spoke the moment I stepped out of the car.
“Yes, Yes.. Leon, you said that already. Let’s just get this done I’ve had a long day already”
Leon stared at me in confusion then at his wristwatch, “But Sir it’s just nine in the morning?”
“It’s my long day Leon, not yours so don’t be unfortunate”
The doors of the building towered above us, it’s perfectly tinted glass reflected the restless city. By the time we got to the door, my men were already lined up by the entrance, tense, waiting for my cue.
“Where?” I asked, without slowing my stride.
“The sub-basement. He tried to run through the back exit.”
“Hmm… Bring him upstairs.”
Leon hesitated. “Now? You have a meeting now”
I turned my head slightly. “You heard me.”
He immediately went quiet.
The lobby went quiet as soon as I walked in. Heels stopped clicking, conversations quickly faded into the hum of the air conditioning and their eyes immediately darted away from mine.
Good at least fear was still working in my terrain.
The elevator opened instantly. Leon followed in silence, clutching his tablet like it was his lifeline or some sort of holy grail.
“Which shipment?” I asked without turning my head.
“The new Italian branch Sir,” Leon replied. “With two million missing we also found a trace of some other funds under Marco Delis’s name. He falsified invoices..”
“He’s been with us for six years, yea?.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And it’s just now he decided to start stealing?.”
Leon swallowed. “It appears so Sire, except he’s done so other times but was sleek about it.”
“How interesting” I slowly spoke as the doors slid open.
The boardroom waited with its glass walls, black marble, and six annoying partially ugly faces that pretended to look busy.
“Sir,” one of the men greeted. “Good morning. Congr..”
I didn’t bother to look at him as I walked past, Herald was known for his pepper body and nosy attitude. I took my seat and carefully unbuttoned my cuff, then gestured to my men. “Bring him.”
The guards entered. Marco stumbled between them with his wrists bound and his hair matted to his forehead. There was blood at the corner of his mouth while his breath came out in panicked bursts.
“Mr. Dario.. please.. please, I swear, I swear on my daughter.. I can explain.. I didn’t mean...”
“You didn’t mean to steal from me? Or you didn’t mean to get caught?” I interrupted. I didn’t raise my voice.. I never needed to.
He shook his head frantically. “My wife.. she.. she’s sick. I just needed..”
I leaned back in my chair, and studied him like a broken instrument. “Your wife.. Of course.”
The chair creaked softly behind me as I quietly stood up . Every head at the table lowered.
“You’ve been rerouting funds for weeks now,” I spoke as I stepped closer to him. “You used company accounts, you used my name… My dear fragile trust.”
“I’ll pay it back..”
I tilted my head slightly and stared into his red swollen eyes. “With what exactly ? The salary I gave you to steal from me?”
He went silent.
The silence stretched. Even the slow hum of the AC sounded distant.
I nodded once to the guards.
“No.. no, please..”
The first hit landed with a dull thud.. Then another.
The sounds echoed against the walls, it was strong flesh against soft flesh, breath against fear.
The board members looked everywhere but at me. I stood there, unmoved, watching as the thief collapsed to his knees.
“Stop.”
Marco whimpered, clutching his side.
I crouched down to meet his trembling eyes. “Next time you take what’s mine, you won’t walk out of this building.”
He nodded his head through sobs.
I stood, buttoned my cuff again, and said, “Take him, he needs to heal.. Slowly.”
The guards dragged him out, his shoes scraped against the polished marble floor and the smell of blood lingered faintly.
“Continue,” I said as I stared at Leon.
Leon cleared his throat. “We’ve resecured the accounts. The port manager is awaiting further instruction, and the shipment has been retrieved.”
“Thats good.”
Across the table, Angela.. all painted lips and poison eyes, leaned forward slightly. “You make it hard for anyone to lie to you, Mr. Dario,” she said, smiling faintly while flashing her over whitened teeth and tomato red lips.
“That’s not a new thing.. I prefer it that way.”
Her gaze lingered longer than it should. “Congratulations, by the way. On your marriage although for some reason the news didn’t spread at all, no pictures.. no PR, no nothing”
“Apparently.. yet the news reached the boards ears,” I muttered.
“Your wife must be… something special.”
I looked up and met her stare. “She is.”
Angela’s smile faltered for just a second and satisfaction flickered through me, though I didn’t show it.
Leon tapped his pen nervously. “Sir, before we end.. despite keeping the reporters at bay, somehow it got leaked as a picture is spreading fast.. the media has been requesting a statement.
“A picture?”
“An anonymous source posted a picture of you and Mrs Davin getting into your car in front of the registry although her face didn’t show” Leon blurted out.
“And?”
“They want to know when they’ll get to meet Mrs. Dario.” He added.
The room went quiet again, even the sound of shuffling papers stopped.
I let the silence stretch for a while. Then I leaned forward and spoke.
“Soon, and find out who leaked the picture to the press”
The word dropped like an atomic bomb then a few nervous chuckles, followed by congratulatory remarks.
The meeting resumed properly.. talk of profits, contracts, mergers but I knew none of them was listening anymore.
I saw the way they avoided my eyes, the way their voices trembled at the edges.
Good.
Fear meant loyalty.
And loyalty was the only language I ever trusted.
- Writer
