CHAPTER SIX : The Name Everyone Feared
605 Words
Monday mornings were never quiet at Hartwell University.
Students hurried between lectures.
Coffee cups filled every table.
The campus buzzed with excitement.
But this morning...
Everyone seemed to be talking about only one person.
"Ryan Carter."
"The national football program!"
"Did you see his interview?"
"I heard professional clubs are already interested."
Luna dramatically sighed.
"I'm friends with a celebrity now."
"You wish," Maya laughed.
"We're friends with Sera."
"Ryan comes as a bonus."
Sera shook her head with a smile.
"You two are impossible."
"No."
Luna grinned.
"We're hilarious."
---
Their laughter was interrupted by a group of girls rushing past them.
"Oh my God!"
"He posted another picture!"
"The comments are exploding!"
"Thousands of likes already!"
Luna glanced toward Sera.
"...You okay?"
Sera nodded.
"I'm happy for him."
She genuinely was.
Seeing Ryan succeed made her feel proud.
She had watched him train before sunrise.
She had watched him limp home after injuries.
Nobody deserved this opportunity more than he did.
---
Inside the lecture hall...
Professor Daniels adjusted his glasses.
"Today's assignment will be completed in pairs."
Immediately...
The room erupted.
Students scrambled to sit beside their friends.
Ryan entered just in time.
He smiled when he spotted Sera.
Before he could reach her...
"Ryan!"
The coach stepped inside.
"I need you."
"Right now?"
"The reporters are waiting."
Ryan looked apologetically toward Sera.
"I'll be back."
She smiled.
"It's okay."
He hurried out.
The professor clapped once.
"No waiting."
"I'll assign partners."
Luna slowly whispered,
"...That's unfortunate."
---
After class...
Sera finally received a message.
Ryan: Sorry. Another interview.
She smiled softly.
Sera: Don't worry. Good luck.
She hit send.
Almost immediately...
Three little dots appeared.
Then disappeared.
No reply came.
She slipped the phone into her bag.
"He must be busy."
She whispered more to herself than anyone else.
---
Meanwhile...
Across the city...
A black Rolls-Royce Phantom stopped in front of Blackwood Holdings.
Security guards immediately straightened.
Employees lowered their heads.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody dared.
The rear door opened.
Polished black shoes touched the ground first.
Then...
A tall man stepped out.
His tailored charcoal suit fit perfectly.
A silver watch rested against his wrist.
His black leather gloves fit his hands impeccably, as though even they had been tailored to perfection.
His expression was unreadable.
Cold.
Controlled.
Untouchable.
Every movement carried authority.
"Good morning, Mr. Blackwood."
No response.
The employees weren't surprised.
He rarely answered greetings.
Cassian Blackwood walked through the revolving doors without slowing down.
Everyone instinctively moved aside.
---
Inside the executive elevator...
His assistant spoke carefully.
"Your nine o'clock meeting has been moved to ten."
Silence.
"The Tokyo investors have arrived."
Silence.
"We also received yesterday's financial report."
Cassian finally spoke.
"...Page seventeen."
The assistant blinked.
"Sir?"
"The fourth number."
"It's wrong."
The assistant quickly opened the report.
His face turned pale.
"...It is."
Cassian hadn't even looked at it this morning.
He had memorized every figure last night.
---
Twenty floors above the city...
Cassian entered his office.
Everything stood perfectly aligned.
Pens.
Folders.
Laptop.
Chair.
Exactly where they belonged.
He loosened his cufflinks.
Stopped.
The pen holder...
Was tilted.
Barely.
Perhaps one centimeter.
He quietly adjusted it.
Only then...
Did he sit down.
Outside the glass wall...
His assistant released the breath he'd been holding.
"He's in one of those moods."
Another assistant nodded nervously.
"So..."
"We're all finished today."
---
Far away...
Sera laughed as Luna chased Maya around the university courtyard.
Neither of them knew...
That somewhere in the same city...
The man who would one day become impossible to escape...
Had just unknowingly begun walking toward her.
End of Chapter Six
- Writer
