“Dude, you heard that?”
“Heard what?” Aaliyah asked as soon as she entered her class.
“How can you be so oblivious about things happening around you? Someone tipped the education committee about illegal conduct in the Olympiad this time. And guess what they found? Maria, Alex, Gabrielle, and a few more students from other schools indeed tampered with the rules,” Momo said, and Aaliyah quirked her brows.
Who could it be? Maybe someone else suffered like her and collected the evidence, which she couldn’t do.
Wait.
“You just wait and watch. Anyone who will ever wrong you will suffer things they hadn’t even imagined,” Aaliyah remembered Dominic’s words.
It wasn’t just a coincidence that today was Dominic’s last day at school. Did he really ask someone to collect the evidence and do that?
“It’s canceled,”
“Hmm?” Aaliyah asked, dazed.
“The Olympiad, stupid. It’s canceled. The officials say they have no idea how far the students have gone in cheating and if they have the data for everything. To conduct an exam at the national level needs many preparations, and thus, they canceled the Olympiad of this time. All the other students who participated would be credited with merit points,” Momo said, but it was least of Aaliyah’s concern.
“What about Maria and others?”
“Their parents got called, and the officials are still looking for Alex. His parents are abroad, and the guardian is unreachable. Some people are saying Alex is the whistle-blower of their group because something happened between Maria and Alex, and some people are saying he ran away in fear,” Momo added, and Aaliyah nodded.
Meanwhile, in the main boss’s base, Alex was tied to the wall with chains as he dangled like a hanging statue.
“Are you sure this kid was following Aaliyah? How long will he be out? We just sedated him once, and it’s been more than 30 hours. What kind of joke is this? Are we going to waste our time on kids now?” One of the gang members scoffed, and the guy looked at him with a sigh.
He was right. They were just wasting their time with this useless kid, but he was happy. Happy because he wasn’t observing Aaliyah, and she was out of danger’s way.
“If you think you are wasting your time, how about I free all of your time so that you can enjoy it? Hmm?” The boss’s cold voice echoed in the basement, and the members immediately stood in line.
“I am sorry, boss. That’s not what I meant. I just meant to say the boy is too weak, and we don’t even know if he wanted to harm her for real or was just obsessed with her,” the same member spoke again, and the boss looked at the guy.
“He was following her everywhere, and I couldn’t rule out the fact that he even tried to force himself on Aaliyah at the party,” The guy explained.
“When he tried to force himself on Aaliyah, what were you doing?” The Boss’s gaze turned cold.
“Someone saved her before I could intervene. In fact, she carries a dagger with her now. She was about to attack this boy. And judging from the fierceness in her eyes, she hates him. Since it was a masquerade party, I couldn’t see the face of the person who prevented her from hurting this boy and saved Aaliyah,” The guy explained again.
“So, this kid over here tried to do something to my girl that even I don’t dare do? Wasn’t this a bit too straightforward? Boys these days don’t know the meaning of waiting, no? Look at me. I have been waiting for her to look at me for so long. How good I feel when I have all the information about her in my palm. These guys just want to get over it already. Stupid fellows,” Boss sighed before nodding at one of the members.
“Wake him up. I am free to talk right now,” As soon as the words left his mouth, two men went to Alex and started shaking him harshly.
“Ahhh, ahhhh,” Alex groaned in pain when they threw saltwater on him that started burning his wounds.
Opening his eyes slowly, he looked at the group in front of him.
“W-who are you guys? Why have you brought me here? Where am I? Wh-why am I tied to these chains?” Alex tried to free himself, horrified, and the boss chuckled darkly.
“Why are you asking the obvious things? We have a few questions for you, and your answers will decide whether you get to live or not. Why were you stalking Aaliyah? Of course, only honesty can help you in these rounds. We know everything but want to hear it from your mouth,” the boss said.
Alex winced before looking at everyone more closely.
It was clear these were some gang members, and he was brought here because he was stalking Aaliyah. Now the problem was, he didn’t know whether they were in favor or against, and judging from how cruel they looked, one wrong answer would cost him his life.
“Because I want to trap her. It was my friend, who was jealous of her looks and achievements, and she wanted me to do it. Sleeping with Aaliyah was a bonus point, so I agreed. I have been trying to do so for some time but fail every time. That’s why I stalked her to get to know her better,” Alex answered, and the boss nodded.
“So you wanted to sleep with her? How stupid of you to think that you could even touch her without her permission,” The boss looked at his subordinate, who took out a thorny whip and slammed it on Alex’s chest.
“Aahhhh!” Alex screamed in agony as the whip ripped some of his skin, and blood gushed out of him.
“I don’t like the sound of it. Do it again,” The boss gave a lopsided smile, and the members nodded before whipping Alex again and again.
“I… If you love Aaliyah, why do you not have a problem with her boyfriend?” Alex shouted in agony, struggling against the chains.
His words made the boss open his eyes and look at him lazily.
Aaliyah’s boyfriend? Has she gotten into a relationship? And he doesn’t know about it? How was that possible? What is Guy doing? Why was he not informed of this? The boss raised his hand to stop the whipping.
“Aaliyah’s boyfriend?”
Hearing the boss asking about her boyfriend, it was clear this boss didn’t have any idea about it, and he could use it to his advantage.
“Your man could tell you I was following Aaliyah, but not that Aaliyah was getting cozy with her boyfriend? You, Mr. You must’ve seen her, right?” Alex coughed blood, and the guy stepped forward.
“What are you talking about?”
“I am talking about the bike guy near the hill. If you knew I was following Aaliyah since morning that day, you must’ve seen that, right?” Alex asked.
“What boy is he talking about, Guy?” The boss quirked his brows, and the guy looked back at his boss.
“He is Danny. A coworker in the cafe she works at. He used to work there and left recently. He is a good friend and sometimes goes bike racing with her. That’s where this boy saw them. Yes, I noticed everything. However, I must mention, Danny has a girlfriend and doesn’t look at Aaliyah like that. In fact -” the guy paused.
He shouldn’t be revealing the truth about Aaliyah’s involvement with the python gang. If Alex said something, he would have to reveal that, but let’s wait till then. The guy nodded at himself.
“But?” The boss asked.
“That guy is happy with his girlfriend,” The guy said, and the boss hummed.
“Alex, right? You see, I have been finding ways to get to Aaliyah. However, she is always close to one person or another, and we are never able to get close to her. The last time one of our guys caught her, he got brutally beaten up by her friends and ended up in the police. Let’s just say things become really messy, and I don’t like it,” the boss leaned forward.
“What do you say? If I called Aaliyah with your name that you were kidnapped, would she come to save you?” The boss asked, and the guy didn’t like the sound of where all of this was going.
“Honestly, no. She wouldn’t care less even if I die,” Alex said.
“Then what use are you for us? Finish him off,” the boss ordered, and Alex widened his eyes.
“However, if you get that Danny guy, I am sure she will come. She cares for all her friends, and if you really love and know her, I am sure you would know this too. Besides, you said you hate messy things. You wouldn’t want to mess with the son of the Cooper corporation, right?” Alex tried to look arrogant to save his a*s from dying today, and the boss raised his gaze to look at the guy in front of him before chuckling.
It was clear that Alex made a mistake by revealing his identity, and there was nothing he could do to reverse the damage.
“Hahahaha,” The boss shook his head before standing from his place.
“You have to be the son of one man I don’t like these days. Guys, tie him up properly. Let’s send his father a good present. I heard he is preparing a new proposal for the pearl hotel. He has a lot of money to offer at this time, no?” The boss shook his head in amusement before he walked to the exit.
Stopping abruptly, he looked at Alex before smiling widely.
“Thank you for the information, buddy. You just saved yourself,” The boss walked out, and the guy followed his boss.
“Guy, prepare a team to capture this Danny guy. Also, I didn’t want to say this, but it looks like you have started to become rusty with your job. How could you miss something this important? I told you to inform me of everything we can use to capture her, no? We can’t kidnap her regular friends, but we can capture these delinquents,” The boss asked before stopping at his office.
“You are dismissed from this mission. Give me a list of reliable people I can use. Leave for the Asia team instantly. I think you need some rest,” the boss said, and it was clear to the guy that his boss had become suspicious of his intentions, and that’s why he was sending him away from there.
It would be futile to say anything right now because if he did, the boss would reach out to his brother, and that’s the last thing he wanted.
“As you say, sir. Guy, reporting!” The guy said, and he was about to leave when the boss stopped him.
“For the Asia division, you won’t be called the guy anymore. Ryan Crook. This is your new identity,” The boss said, and the guy nodded before leaving.
‘Miss Aaliyah, I helped you as much as I could by protecting vital information about you from the boss. Now it’s your fight. It’s all up to you how you would save your friend Danny and his family,’ Guy thought before packing his bags and leaving.
He could’ve gone and checked up on Aaliyah to give her a hint, but the black car behind him was a clear indication that the boss had someone follow him to see if he was going straight to the airport, and he didn’t want to take the risk that might cause him the life of his brother.
‘I hope you save a family from getting ruined, Miss Aaliyah,’ The guy wished before taking a deep breath.