It’s been twenty-four hours since the event.
June was rushed out of the party after she dropped unconscious and the party was dismissed. Security filled the place and everyone was evacuated from the estate immediately.
Rafael tried to maintain his stance and follow them to the medical centre, but Liam gave strict orders to throw him out of the estate. Rafael was bundled like a thief and thrown out when he refused to comply.
It was a terrific sight.
Carson led a team of doctors who tried to revive June to no avail. Twenty-four hours later, she remained in a vegetative state. June was breathing through a vent while they attempted to ascertain the problem.
“What is going on?” Liam asked Carson when he stepped out of the Fernando medical facility. “How is she?”
Carson looked distraught. “She is not responding to anything.” His tone was bitter. “We have tried everything but we can’t find the solution until we know the problem.”
“Try again.” Liam held his shirt. “You continue until she is awake, breathing and well. Do you understand?”
Carson had zero tolerance for Liam’s attitude. He pulled his hands off his shirt and straightened up. “No one will threaten me, Mr Fernando.” He looked straight into his eyes.
“If you want better results, I suggest you make yourself useful and find out what poison your godforsaken brother used on that drink.” he hissed. “That is the only solution I can offer and if you cannot do that, you should prepare for the worst.”
“That machine is the only thing holding her from drifting into the world beyond.” He pointed towards the area where June was kept under intensive care. “Excuse me.”
Carson walked out of the building. No one stopped him as he entered the car and zoomed out of the estate. It was a tumultuous twenty-four hours and he couldn’t spend any second without getting to the end of his wits.
Meanwhile, Rafael was losing his mind at the hotel. It was evening and he had yet to hear a word from Carson or find out the state of his wife. His anger increased with every second he spent away from June.
Liam Fernando had asked everyone out of the estate including himself. He was unable to sleep from worrying about June’s welfare. And angry at how helpless he seemed to be in North City.
It was a Monday and the general manager of Ambrose Corporation in North City was scheduled to meet with him. When he heard knocks at his hotel room door, he briskly crossed the room and opened the door.
A beaten-down Carson stared at him for some seconds and made to leave when Rafael held him back. “How is she? Is she awake? Did you save her?” He asked, searching his eyes for answers he refused to believe.
Carson was in a terrible mood. Seeing his friend look so dejected worsened his mood. He walked into the room and sought his handy medical tools.
When he found them, he proceeded to check Rafael’s vitals, only to be stopped by Rafael’s bloodshot eyes. “I asked a question.” He reiterated. “What is the state of my wife?”
“Lifeless.” Carson spat angrily, “And you will be too if you don’t pay more attention to your health. I came here for a vacation, not an international work shift!”
Carson was upset. He stepped into his room and banged the door short, leaving Rafael out in the penthouse. Later on, Ambrose Corps general manager of North City came around, bearing gifts.
“I’m sorry I should have prepared something better!” He apologised with a bow. “Your call was sudden. I came as soon as I got off work.” The elderly man stated.
“Your house, car and security have been arranged. If we leave immediately, you will be settled before nightfall.” The manager smiled. “We can also cover the yearly company reports in the comfort of your home office.”
Rafael waived him off. “I will be staying here for the time. How many men can you make available to me?”
“As much as you want!” The manager responded with vigour, “I would immediately arrange them,”
“Good. I will reach out with further directives on that.” Rafael said, “As for the report, we would go through that in the yearly convention at South City. I’ll go through it then.”
The manager who thought his boss had returned to the City to turn things around felt embarrassed, but happy nonetheless. “Yes sir!”
They rounded up the conversation and the manager left the penthouse. Meanwhile, chaos ensued at the Fernando estate. June was yet to wake up and Liam paid a visit to his brother locked up in a cell.
Arnold was beaten up to a pulp and blood mixed with sweat dripped through his body as he was tied to a wooden chair in a dark windowless cell. Liam had given one order – ‘Make him wish for death, but keep him alive.”
That evening, Liam visited his brother in the cells with a poor countenance.
“Boss!” The head of security greeted Liam when he entered his brother’s cell.
“It seems I failed to make myself clear,” Liam said after one look at his brother who was strong enough to give him a devilish look. “I told you to make him wish for death,” He picked up a knife by the side of the table.
Liam approached his brother with a cynical smile. The next moment, he stabbed Arnold’s right palm so hard the knife dug through his hands, and into the wood.
A loud growl of pain erupted from Arnold as his hand poured out blood. “That’s more like it,” Liam said, maintaining a dark smile. The next few minutes were spent with Liam marking out empty spots in his brother’s body and mapping them with different weapons.
Soon enough, Arnold was littered with stab wounds, making him feel like his body was on fire. “Just kill me.” He spat. “You know you want to.” He goaded and Liam smiled.
“Congratulations, Brother. We finally agree on something.” Liam tsked, his eyes searching for more spots to stab in his brother’s body before he got the joy of killing him.
“Why hesitate?” Arnold asked, unable to open his eyes. “You keep missing my heart. Can your poor heart not handle killing a brother?”
“Brother?” He scoffed, “We both know you lost that privilege long ago. It was all fun and jokes until you decided to be silly and try to kill me.”
“I gave you power, wealth and everything the world had to offer, but you turn around to stab me in the back? You deserve death.”
“Then kill me!” He spat out blood. “Do it quickly and save us the melodrama. One of us had to die. In this world, no one can live the life I have led in your shadows. What makes you think you are better suited to lead the fraction?”
“I do all the hard work and you sit in your office throwing orders like I’m some houseboy! I have done more for the Fernando family than you will ever do. It’s a pity I hesitated to kill you many times I had the chance.”
Arnold’s teeth were bloodied. “Don’t be like me. Don’t hesitate and kill me because if I get out of here, I will not hesitate to kill you.”
Liam’s fist tightened around the knife in his hands. “Oh trust me, I won’t. We can easily wrap this up if you tell me what you used in that drink.”
Arnold stared at his brother, breathing harshly. “That’s it.” He said with a cynical look in his eyes. “The reason you are keeping me alive. She isn’t dead yet, is she?”
He laughed and spat out blood in the process. “That’s the reason you all keep beating about the bush.” He sneered, “Who would have thought I’d see the day you hesitated to kill your enemy? Pathetic.”
Liam smiled. It was the calm before the storm. “What was the poison?”
“Fernando group is finished at your hands. We are better off without a leader if you are such a chicken. How stupid are you to have feelings for a South City woman?”
Before he could utter the next words, Liam placed a gun barrel on his forehead. “I will only ask once. What was the poison?!”
Arnold stilled but maintained his smile. “You cannot kill me. If you do, she dies. From my guess, it’s been over twenty-four hours since the incident. She would remain in a vegetative state for three days and if she’s not given the antidote, we can say goodbye to your first love.”
“I will only provide the information in exchange for my freedom and a couple of other terms. Tick tock.”