Amon stared at the well dressed man and took a deep breath. He exuded a powerful aura, making people cower in fear around him. He only had to say a word and his men obeyed with immediate effect. He didn’t know when he blurted out,
“Yes.”
“Good. That’s the only thing needed. You just have to say the word, yes. Get in the car.”
And that was how Amon came to work for Easton Landers. Since that day, he had been happy to be free from his step father’s grip. Now, he was the one who inflicted pain not the other way round. He lived in abundance, carrying out required tasks and earning a lot of money. He had never regretted it for one day until that day.
“Ding Ding!”
A notification popped up on his phone, bringing him back to the present.
“We are meeting at 4pm to finalize everything. The time to act is now.”
Amon took a deep breath.
“Don’t get chicken hearted now, you have done this a lot of times. Don’t develop a cold feet because of her smile. Be brave,” he comforted himself.
Ethan climbed the stairs leading to his father’s room. He wanted to knock but his hands were suspended mid air when he overheard a conversation inside the room. Nathan was making a phone call. He couldn’t hear the other person but he heard Nathan clearly.
“What do you mean? These are sealed deals and must not be reopened no matter what happens…I don’t care, this is a laid down rule and I will never let it be altered as long as I live. I started on that note and it’s mandatory to finish on that note too… Eliminate? Why didn’t I ever think of that? I’ll give it a rethink and get back to you. That’s the most open option now and…”
Ethan chose this time to knock on the door.
“I’ll call back,” Nathan said hurriedly and ended the call. He opened the door and came face to face with Ethan. Ethan didn’t bother pretending.
“Are you still thinking of means to escape what you have to do? I heard everything. I hope I’m not the one you want to eliminate. It will never work, keep it at the back of your mind,” he said, patting his father on the shoulders. He walked past the old man and entered the room. Nathan gritted his teeth but said nothing.
“There’s no need reminding you why I’m here.”
Ethan spoke in a voice devoid of emotions. His voice was flat as if he were discussing business with his business partners.
“Get out this instant!” Nathan commanded.
Ethan smiled from the corner of his mouth.
“Can I have the signed papers now? I hope you have signed them.”
Nathan banged the table so hard that even Ethan shivered.
“Get out or I will throw you out, you good for nothing child.”
Ethan stood up calmly, further infuriating his father. He adjusted his clothes and admired himself in front of the mirror.
“Well, all said and done, since you don’t want to do this without further complications, we will follow the path you have laid down. My mum will come and see you. I didn’t want to go this low but you wanted it.”
“Your mum? Maryann? I thought you said she were dead?”
“Hahaha. Jokes on you. Did you really want her dead?”
Nathan stared at Ethan with a murderous intent. He wished the boy weren’t his flesh and blood. But sadly, the DNA report was 99% which meant that Ethan was his. Ethan smiled even more and said,
“She would be here soon. Don’t worry, she isn’t a ghost.” With that, he walked majestically out of the room.
Nathan cursed the day he met Maryann. He was so carried away by her beauty that he had thrown caution to the wind. In no time, he made advances towards her and she accepted. The fact the he was a married man didn’t matter to her. He had money to spoil her and he was good in bed. That was enough for her. Everything went on smoothly, his wife never found out. One day, in the middle of the moment of pleasure, the condom broke. They were too excited and needy to take further precautions. Ethan was the result. When Maryann told him that she was pregnant, he was overjoyed and promised to keep her as his mistress. But she became greedy and wanted more.
“I want to be your wife, not some second option or a mistress!” she declared. When Nathan refused, she left in anger. She returned some weeks later and told him that she lost the baby. She made away with his bank card and he never saw her again.
Now that she was still alive and had joined forces with her son, he wondered what would happen.
“What is she coming to see me for and what surprise and complications was Ethan talking about?”
The answer came almost immediately. He received a text message from an unsaved number.
‘On the seventeenth day of August, 2004. Rockland institute. Davidson Sullivan.’
Colour drained from Nathan’s face. The message was in bits. It wasn’t prescise but he knew what the message was hinting at. It sent shivers down his spine. Whoever sent this message knew him too well. As he thought about who it was most likely to be, more messages kept flooding in, relating to that event.
He grabbed the glass of beer and gulped it down but it didn’t help matters.
Why was everything surfacing on this particular day? He surpressed the urge to call that number and ask how the person got to know so much.
“I shouldn’t give myself away so cheaply,” he muttered. The best thing was to pretend until the person came to him physically. That was settled. He lay down on the bed and shut his eyes. Few minutes later, a servant came to the door.
“Sir, you have a visitor.”
“Who’s that?”
“He said I should let you know that it’s Easton Landers!”