Against All Odds

CHAPTER 6

Note: Before reading, I just wanted to let you know that words inside quotation marks ("sample") mean they are being said verbally. While italicized words inside quotation marks ("sample") are being said in their minds or thoughts. This will apply to the entirety of the book. Happy reading!

Trigger Warning! Violence

Maximillian Perceval Blaise

It was 6am when Maximillian woke up from his sleep. He was still pretty tired from all that had happened last night. He lifted and rolled up his curtains, just enough to shine some light on his room to avoid disturbing Astrid. He cleaned himself up and got ready to go to work. He arranged his schedule just for today, so that he could have less work, and have the chance to look after Astrid. He either cancelled meetings and plans or made someone else do the work.

Before he finished preparing, he went downstairs to tell the maids to make breakfast for Astrid. For sure, this was not the first time she had stayed the night, so the maids always knew what to do for her. They were also scared of messing things up because the best thing that they could get is get fired, and the worst is being executed.

He went back upstairs to check on Astrid and finish preparing so that he could get to work early. As he was about to go, Astrid woke up and called out to him.

"Max? Before you leave, I just wanna ask something... In the letter you sent to me, you didn't say when we're going to Amsterdam. Is it a surprise? Or did you just forget to write it down?" She laughed.

Max was taken aback because he was unsure of what Astrid was talking about. She faced her to see if she was joking, but he found her serious. Astrid saw Max's reaction and tried to lift up the mood again.

"Max? It is okay if you forgot about it, you know? I mean, we're both busy anyway, so it is absolutely fine." She added.

"No, Astrid, listen. I never said anything about Amsterdam. And what letter are you talking about?" He asked. He was starting to doubt himself that maybe he had just forgotten about it.

"The letter you made Antoni deliver to me. The handwritten letter was encased in a red envelope." She explained.

"Astrid, I never made any letters. I also never asked Antoni to send you anything in the last couple of days." He looked at her worried.

There was a quick moment of silence as they tried to make sense of what was happening. Maximillian's plan to go to work as early as he could was getting delayed because of this. Both were trapped in confusion, and were lost in their own thoughts.

"Astrid, uhm... Do you still have the letter?" Max asked. He can run fingerprints and may even find the source of the letter. But one thing is for sure, Antoni was a part of it.

"I do actually. It is by my bedside table. I can go home right now and bring it back to you if you want. I can definitely do that." Nervousness was evident on her face. She stood up and approached Max, kind of like indicating that she was sorry to be the cause of the delay to his work. Without saying a single word, Max understood what Astrid was trying to do.

"Why did they do this though? I wonder who did this." She asked. She was fuming because of the thought that she was almost framed.

"Hey Diana, listen. I will take care of this. Just bring me the letter, okay?" He looked at her, and she nodded.

"Also, I made the maids make breakfast for you. eat before you go home." He added. Max took Astid's hand and gave it a little kiss as a way to tell her that he really had to go.

Both went downstairs together, and separated. Max went to drive to their headquarters while Astrid had her breakfast.

Astrid Una Diana Fournier

After she finished eating, she hurriedly drove home to get the letter from her room. She also covered it in another plastic to ensure that it would not get damaged in any way. All she had in her mind was revenge and desperation for answers. She couldn't figure out what exactly those culprits needed from her.

After securing the letter, she went to Blaise headquarters to deliver the letter to Max personally. She wanted this matter to be as confidential as possible. When she finally saw Maximillian, she hurriedly approached him and pulled him to his office. She gave the letter to him and waited for any reaction coming from Max.

As he checked the letter, he found a tiny mark inside the envelope. He didn't waste any time and had the letter delivered to the forensics room to check for handprints and or any type of DNA.

Astrid had matters to attend to so she didn't wait for Max to return so she could say goodbye. She drove off once again, but this time to her father's headquarters to recruit some skilled men. She needed spies to stalk Lana and her company. She also recruited the best cyber analysts and cyber hackers to breach the Del Camiñana federation's system and surveillance.

She wasn't planning on making this easy for her new rivals. What once seemed like a friendly competition, turned into something serious. After some dirty business, Max and Astrid meet up in a café nearby. It wasn't a normal café though. It was exclusively for dirty work use.

They both arrived at the café almost at the same time. "HeyAstrid!" Max exclaimed. They went in to avoid getting seen in broad daylight. After they ordered their drinks, they went to their seats and started exchanging information.

"Hey Max, I already had my father's men take care of the Del Camiñana federation. I sent several spies and cyber hackers to f**k with her." She laughed.

Her laugher stopped when she saw something unusual. The room they were in had a surveillance camera which she had never seen before. There were supposed to be none after all. This place was exclusive for the mafia works.

"Hey Max, look up there. Is that a damn camera I see or am I mistaken?" Max stood up to check her concerns and was taken aback when he realized there was also a microphone attached. He pulled out his gun from his ankle holster and shot the camera multiple times.

"Thank God we have not said much s**t yet." Astrid felt relieved. However, she didn't let this pass without leaving anyone in this place to face the consequences. Max was about to leave the room and talk to the café owners when Astrid stopped him.

"Hey, I got this." She assured him. Her day wasn't going her way and bad things kept happening. Evidently she was pissed. When their server came into their room to serve their drinks, she took the tray of drinks from the server's hand and quickly smashed it on the server's face to leave a message for the café owners.

They planned to leave but Astrid wanted to check every room in the café, in case they all had cameras, and they did. Astrid made a phone call to one of the city's executive men. Not too long after, the café was reported to be shut down.

Max and Astrid decided to settle in her place to talk about the confidential information they had. When they finally settled down, Max received a phone call from one of his men.

"Hey, my men found some fingerprints." He smiled at Astrid. "But none were Antoni's? What are you talking about? Run and test it again." He angrily replied to the other side of the phone. He ended the call and couldn't believe what he had just heard.

"Max? I think we should wrap things up for today. Everytime we start talking about this issue, some other s**t pops up. I'm exhausted too, anyway." She said as she tried to calm the atmosphere. Max looked at her and knew he could never resist her, so he agreed.

"Okay, Astrid. Rest up while I try to figure things out. This is exhausting me as well, but I'm never going to let them hurt you again." He ended the conversation.

A moment of silence came between them and Astrid seemed to have the kiss they shared in her mind. She tried to brush it off but failed. She wanted to ask Max how he felt about it, but could not find the right answers. She knew it was her who initiated the kiss anyway. She just stared at him instead without muttering a single word. The way he was looking out the window, his physique, and the simplest things about him made her feel some type of way.

But most of all, she wondered what was running in his mind.