20. TARGETED
1554 Words
{VANCE}
•••THE NEXT MORNING•••
I peered down at Lumira's face as she slept peacefully in my arms. She had managed to fall asleep two hours ago after being restless throughout the night.
The painkillers only reduced her fever a bit, so I took it upon myself to nurse her. I had wiped her body with a warm napkin and even swapped her clothes for something thicker in my wardrobe.
The guilt of what my brothers had done to her, cut deep through me— she deserved none of that.
I didn't want to imagine what would have happened if I had not stepped at the time I did. Would Kyro continue his torment until she had lost her life?
That thought alone made my nerves unsettled.
What the f**k is wrong with Kyro and Jett?
They knew she was our mate. It wasn't something that had been hidden, except from Lumira. They understood the consequences of not having her in our lives, and yet they did this to her?
Lumira stirred but didn't wake.
She chewed the insides of her mouth and mumbled something, and a smile tugged the corners of my lips.
Even as she slept without makeup on, she was so stunning. Her face was a piece of artwork meticulously sculpted by the Moon Goddess.
I took my time in observing her stunning features; Her delicate ears complemented a pointed nose and her languid eyelashes of velvet-black were tightly closed.
With pleasure, I trailed my fingers on her long black hair crashing over her shoulders then withdrew my hand, continuing to admire her beauty.
Even her luscious lips looked so tempting and inviting. And to complement all those alluring features, she has smooth porcelain skin.
How could one woman be this attractive?
How could Kyro and Jett harm such a vulnerable, young woman?
Father trained them better than this, so seeing them treat Lumira disdainfully because of her status, was disheartening.
I had made up my mind to end Lumira's suffering. What she went through last night would be the last.
My phone vibrated, snatching my attention back to reality.
I quickly reached for it and slid the screen to the receiver's end.
It was my secretary, Georgia.
"Good morning, Sir."
I shifted away from Lumira so I wouldn't disturb her. "Morning, Georgia."
"The end of the year board meeting is scheduled for 8 this morning."
"Noted, thank you." I acknowledged before ending the call.
The end of the year board meeting happened to take place every 29th of December. Members of the board would stack up their ideas in the development of the company, advanced technology would be implemented, and new strategies would be developed.
My eyes drifted to the status bar clock on my phone, 7:15. I had less than one hour to get to the company, so I rolled out of bed, dropped my phone on the bedside table, and headed straight into the bathroom.
Within minutes, I was done bathing and I shuffled through the several options of suits in my wardrobe, before eventually settling for a tailored, black one.
Fully dressed and prepared to leave, I looked at Lumira one last time. She was still sound asleep so I just left the room quietly.
"Good morning, Vance." Kyro greeted, munching on a piece of sandwich. He was dressed, in a blue suit ready for the board meeting. "How do you feel?"
"Better," I muttered, still angry at what he did last night.
I moved over to the dining table and picked up a sandwich too, then bit down on it.
"Hey, brothers!" Jett called, his voice bouncing off the interiors as he descended the stairs. "What a bright and wonderful morning."
"Indeed, it is," Kyro mumbled back as he chugged on his coffee.
I didn't say anything. Instead, I picked another sandwich and headed for the door.
"Come on, Vance. Are you still mad at us?" Jett called after my retreating figure.
I raised him the middle finger and walked out of the front door.
Thankfully, my car had been thoroughly cleaned by my newly hired chauffeur, Martin. He stood beside the car and bowed. "Good morning, Gamma Vance."
"Morning, Martin," I replied, nodding before sliding into the passenger seat, while Martin occupied the wheel.
He slipped the seatbelt over his torso. "I have sent the CCTV footage to Stevon as requested, Sir."
"Good."
Last night, I had ordered him to send yesterday's clips for review. I needed to know what really transpired between Lumira and Ama. That way, I'd know how to solve the issue at hand.
••••
We pulled into the driveway of the company, and I picked up my briefcase that had been in my car all along, opened it, and handed my black card to Martin.
"Go back home and take Lumira shopping. Assist her in getting everything she wants, and bring her right back."
He took the card from me and nodded. "Yes, Boss."
As I stepped out of the car with the briefcase in my hand, the workers of the company began to bow from different directions.
"Good morning, Boss."
"Good morning, Gamma."
"Good morning, Boss."
I waved my hand in response and steered straight for the elevator. The door was almost closing but soon opened up again as I stepped closer.
Alan, our financial advisor flashed me a welcoming grin. "Good morning, Gamma Vance."
I walked into the elevator and stood beside him. "Morning, Alan. Do we have the annual expense report ready?"
"Sure, Gamma." He nodded and tapped on his own briefcase. "Everything is right here."
"Hmm," I murmured in acknowledgement, my gaze beholding the elevator door as it snapped shut.
"By the way, I heard about your sister's kidnapping from my daughter. I'm so sorry you had to experience that,"
"Thank you."
Alan was Ama's father, so it was no surprise that he knew about Mirabel's kidnapping when we had made sure the news didn't spread.
The elevator dinged, signalling the arrival at our floor.
I walked out before Alan, and we both entered the board meeting room.
Everyone was present. Everyone except my brothers.
As soon as the executives saw me, they bowed in acknowledgement of my presence.
I responded with a slight nod and took my seat.
Just as the meeting was about to commence, Kyro and Jett joined in.
"Sorry, we are late, everyone."
No one dared to complain, their eyes just trailed after them as they took their respective seats.
Soon, it began.
Bringing out his file report from the briefcase, Alan rose to his feet and stood in front of the meeting room. The projector sprang on and his analysis was portrayed on the whiteboard. "According to this year's statistics, the profit spiked by a large margin. The model of bikes released this year seemed to be more durable than the last..."
My phone vibrated inside my pocket, snatching my attention.
I immediately reached for it and stared at the screen.
It was a message.
From Stevon.
I tapped on the message bar and saw the video clip. Another message popped up from him.
'I have narrowed it down to the particular time and moment you need, Gamma Vance.'
Curious, I tapped on the video. There was no sound but I could clearly make out the people in the background.
Lumira appeared from the corridor, advancing toward the stairs, and Ama grabbed her by her arm.
She seemed infuriated.
Very.
My eyes narrowed in closely as I noticed how she challenged Lumira, who on the other hand, didn't appear violent at all.
Then Lumira yanked her arm out of Ama's grip, in the process, Ama lost her balance and fell forward.
My shoulder tensed.
But then I noticed Lumira was quick enough to intercept her fall by throwing her hands around Ama's waist.
My blood began to boil.
From the five-minute clip, it was pretty obvious that Lumira didn't push Ama down the stairs.
So why would Ama lie about that?
What was her motive?
I threw a glance at Kyro, and our eyes met briefly.
His brows furrowed as he looked at me, but I tore my gaze away from him and returned to my phone's screen.
The fact that Kyro had punished Lumira unjustly infuriated me even more.
I could not wait for the meeting to be over, so we could thrash out the incident. They owed Lumira an apology.
Trying to contain my anger, I exhaled sharply, pulling everyone's attention.
Alan paused, his eyes settled on me as he asked. "Is there anything wrong with my report, Sir?"
"No," I shook my head and ushered with my hand. "Please continue."
I was about to return my phone to my pocket so I could concentrate on the meeting, then another message popped up. This time from an unknown number.
My breath hitched.
I tapped on the message and instantly, my heart raced.
A picture of a familiar patient room number was glaring back at me.
—204
It was the ward that housed my sick father.
Another message followed again. 'Are you excited to see what my next move is?"
Suddenly, Kyro and Jett exclaimed at the same time.
"What the f**k!"
"f*****g hell!"
They seemed to have gotten the same message.
- Writer
