Chapter 13: Playing The Game Of Chess.
1143 Words
Layla didn't find the joke funny because she leveled him a hard glare. “Have you lost it? Why would I answer such a useless question?”
“What do you want me to do, that's the f*****g question,” He replied, then he waved his hand to brush off his words. “Forget it, I only do business with your mother,”
“Well, I'm acting in my mother's stead,” She let out a dry laugh. “Life's offering me an opportunity to get rid of the Lancasters a third time. Revenge would be grand and Milan would turn in the grave as I take over Nilean Group,”
“What the hell…” Felix gasped, wide-eyed. “The fire accident was caused by…” He could not complete his sentence as the rest of the words got stuck in his throat.
As if on cue, Layla stood up and walked towards her favorite painting. She swiped her hands over it as if cleaning off an imaginary dust.
“What is your plan?” The man asked.
“Perfect question Nicholas. Perfect question,” She smiled. “Did you see the look on Milan's face as he died? Boy, It was such a pretty messed up sight to see,”
“You want us to do the same to the little rascal?”
“Sounds fun, right? Playing with your enemy and leaving them on suspense, that's the aim,” She smiled wryly.
The man poured himself another glass of whiskey and a cold grin spread across his face. “Do you have his schedule? I want the perfect timing. That way, both father and son would have a feast to attend in hell,”
“What do you think?” Layla chuckled. “Of course, I have his…” The rest of the words froze in her throat when her hand caught something abnormal.
“What the–” She cursed as she picked up the black, shiny piece of recorder from the edge of the painting and stared at it in horror. “What the f**k?!”
“Busted…” Felix exhaled, but Adrian didn't say a word, instead, his eyes remained fixed on the screen.
“What punk did this?!” Layla hissed and as the man shook his head in denial, she cursed, crushing the recording to pieces with the back of her heels.
Her breathing was fast and furious. “Who would place a bug in my house?”
The man shrugged. “Adrian maybe?”
“Are you kidding me?! Why would he do that?”
“He has the power to do anything, remember?” The man exhaled, standing up. “Watch your back, Layla. Things might get rough from now if Adrian knows our little secret,”
“Find out who placed the bug,” She commanded. “I swear if it's Adrian, I'll kill him with my bare hands,”
“Fire all your employees. One of them must have helped him placed the device,” The man said before kissing her on the forehead. “Don't panic too much, baby. Adrian's days are numbered,”
“Well, be fast about it!” Layla shouted after him but received no response.
Meanwhile, Adrian remained glued to his seat as he stared at the now blank screen. His mind was as blank as the screen in front of him. He didn't know whether to feel angry, shocked or pure terror.
Strangely, he wanted to laugh and he did. His laughter was slow, low and rumbling like peals of thunder. Layla was the enemy operating like a chameleon. She was a damn vixen and he had underestimated her.
The ache in his chest intensified. What did his parents ever do? Why did she have to wipe out an entire family? Damn, It didn't matter what they did, nobody deserved such a fate.
“Young master, are you okay…?” Felix asked.
Adrian didn't reply. He couldn't reply even if he wanted to.
His expression changed into a relaxed manner, so calm that Felix could sense it– the calm before the storm.
Layla and her family started this f****d up game, but he would be the one to end it.
He would play by Layla's game, knowing that he'd would be the one to take the crown home in the end. He would restore the honor and the dignity for his family's unjust fate.
He had to.
“Young master…” Felix called out, fidgeting. He was worried about how calm Adrian appeared despite the intensity of the situation.
“I'll be in my study. I have a few queries to reply to. Please inform my secretary that I won't be attending to any other duties for the day,”
“What…?” Felix gasped. “Are you not going to talk about Layla? Why reply to queries in your study?”
Adrian clasped a hand on his shoulder. “Talking about the situation won't bring my parents and granddad to life, would it?”
As the door closed, Felix frowned in confusion. “What's going on with him? That's such an odd way to behave,”
*******
“What's going on…?” Adrian's brows narrowed in confusion at the crowd that had gathered in his company the next morning. The security men were trying to push them away and restore order.
At the sight of his car, the reporters thronged forward with their microphones and cameras, almost breaking through the window of the car.
“Sir, do I reverse the car? I'll bring you back when the noise has quietened down,” The driver said in a nervous tone, but Adrian shook his head in denial. “No, I have to know what this is all about,”
As Adrian climbed down from the car, the reporters ceased the opportunity and ran forward, bombarding him with questions that irritated him.
Maintaining his cool, he raised his hands for silence. “Everyone, this is a business center and I would not appreciate any form of disturbance. Kindly leave or I'll call the police,”
“Mr Adrian, is it true that you have a younger sister who was kidnapped. We heard she is on the run? Can you tell us about this?!”
Adrian's frown grew deeper. What was this bullshit?
A female reporter shoved her microphone in his face as she hurried to ask her question. “Are you perhaps involved in the kidnap of your sister? What are you doing concerning the issue? Is she alive? Can we know her name?!”
Adrian swallowed past the urge to swear as another reporter shouted. “What can you say about your grandfather’s sudden demise? Is it also related to your sister's case?!”
“Can you say something?!” They shouted in unison.
- Writer
