Joseph called Charles who had been released on bail out for a party to celebrate his new position and they laughed about Tom who thought he was smart but ended up losing everything.
Before the inauguration, Charles had learnt that it was Tom who helped Joy break away from him therefore making him and his father lose face in front of Chairman Kim. He was so furious by that and Joseph happened to call him at that time that Tom was on the verge of taking everything away from him.
Charles and Joseph resolved to the option of causing him an accident on the inauguration day while making him feel he has the upper hand during the preparation. Joseph also pressured Eddy to make sure he blackmail Amber to get rid of her from his side so that their plans would be perfect.
Eddy was the one that provided them with the man whom they paid to mess with Tom’s car and everything went according to their plans without any hitch or trace to them.
“Yo! I haven’t felt this elated in a while” Joseph chuckled as they clinked their glasses and Charles ranted on about how Tom and Amber were an annoying duo who felt they could do it all.
“Don’t you think you are being too obvious about it? Your brother is in the hospital with all his memories gone” Charles mocked and Joseph replied that he doesn’t have a brother anymore because his father removed him from the family’s register already.
“Wow! Your father moved faster too, he made it a clean sweep” Charles chuckled as they lit up their cigarettes to celebrate the departure of Tom from the Holland’s family.
With Stephanie’s help, Anita was able to secure a lodge till the time Tom was due for discharge. On the day of his discharge, Lawrence flew into the country and came to look for her straightaway. He explained that he had gotten Tom’s message beforehand and that the arrangement he made with him was to move him to Boston if anything happens to him.
Stephanie helped them process everything they would need for their movement. Anita finally burst out about how Amber had gone missing ever since that day but Lawrence told her that she must have had her reasons for disappearing so they should trust her.
They finally relocated to Boston and left Chicago to where Lawrence had prepared according to Tom’s command. Everything was set and even the money needed so they were comfortable while he constantly received his treatment with the hope of retrieving his memories someday.
****
Emily was stuck with Eddy who did nothing but drugs every day. Every she made mention of how reckless he was living, he would beat her up till she was almost in coma and the cycle continued with Emily not being able to leave him because he was holding her secret that she would rather die than see it leak to the world.
****
Joseph made the move to scrap Shellhouse Mall just like he had always wanted and declared a meeting about its sell off. He had obtained the documents of Tom being the biggest shareholder and the fact that his name had been removed from the family’s register, he had the rights to his position and shares.
He gathered all the investors, in house designers and every other dignitaries in the company together to declare his intention but as he was holding the meeting, Joy matched into the hall in her white palazzo suit and she was accompanied by her secretary who was holding unto a file.
“Who are you and why are you interrupting the meeting?” he roared at her but she only smirked as she removed her sunglass.
“How dare you ask who I am when you already know? Also I have the right to interrupt the meeting since I am the biggest shareholder of the company you are holding a crucial meeting on” she declared with pride and everyone’s jaw dropped in surprise.
He rushed towards her to ask what she meant by her being the biggest shareholder when it was clearly but she reached for the file with her secretary and stamped it on his chest. He opened the file to see the transfer of stocks agreement to Joy by Tom with his seal visible. The deal also happened few days before the incidence so it was valid since it occurred before he was removed from the family’s registry.
“This cannot be!” Joseph growled in bitter pain but Joy only shrugged before answering with a “Well this can be and it is already be” and marched to the front.
She stood there to address everyone that she is the biggest shareholder and therefore the owner of Shellhouse Mall. She also added that she has no intention of selling it so either everyone decides to work with her just like they had worked with Tom or get themselves ready to be replaced because she is going to continue the legacy of Tom.
Everyone had no choice but to cooperate with her and she turned to face defeated Joseph. “You seems to be disrupting an important business so would you mind to take your leave before I call the police on you?” she commented and he threatened to ruin the company before being dragged out by the company’s securities.
****
FEW DAYS BEFORE TOM’S ACCIDENT
Tom had finished all his plans and was cooling off on the company’s rooftop at night before going home when he suddenly received a file. The file contained a recorder but has no name which made him confused about what to do with it.
He went back to his office to listen to it and the voice in the recorder was that of Joseph and Charles planning to get him killed off before the inauguration day. After listening to all their plans of killing him, scrapping the Shellhouse mall and also oustisng Amber through Eddy, he knew he had to act before them.
It was the bar girl whom Charles once assaulted sexually that sent the recording she took when she heard that Charles was released after being arrested at his wedding but Tom didn’t know about the sender because it was anonymous but he was thankful to whoever sent it to him.
With a critical thinking about how he should make his plan, he firstly brought Stephanie into the picture and begged her to help his mother hold out till Lawrence will be able to come around if anything happens to him.
Stephanie pressed him hard to talk about what he meant by that but he refused to talk, he only asked her to trust him and after so many failed attempts to make him talk, she finally backed down and promised to do as he had instructed.
He also communicated with Lawrence whom he begged to help get a house at Boston. He got the house, a working bank account in his name and filled it with everything necessary for survival while Tom funded the account using various untraceable sources.
After planning everything that way, he finally reached to Joy who was busy enjoying her golf session with her lover at the golf course.
“I thought we were done with each other, do you still have to interrupt me this way?” she whined, making him chuckle.
“Well I think I am the one in need of your help this time” he said to her and discussed that he would like her to purchase his shares to the company for the main time.
“Do you trust me? I might take over your company you know” was her response but he only told her that he’s betting his everything on her trust.
She did show up to buy the stocks as planned without anyone knowing because the money she paid was transferred to her safe account to erase the record and every suspicious. She was just the owner on paper, it was still his.
He was able to detect Amber’s movement when he noticed how she was behaving ever since Eddy blackmailed her with the illegally shot video. He only pretended not to know and let her have her way so he would take care of it at his end before telling her that he knew about it.
Although he only did all that as preventive measures, he still looked out for himself and tried to avoid places or things that might poise danger to him. He could swore that he was careful till the inauguration day and was confident that he would get out of it unscathed but he never knew they would mess with his car.
The loss of memories was not in what he had planned but everything he had set down earlier turned out to be useful for him and his mother.
Even though Amber had relocated, she was bent on getting Eddy so she contacted Emily to gather evidences of his drugs addiction and illegal use, threats, blackmail and that he was one of the prisoners who escaped in Cyprus while living under a borrowed name at the extent of losing her life.
The evidences were submitted and she filed a complaint at the police station, the police worked with the Chicago branch and Eddy was finally apprehended. All the videos he had in his possessions were acquired and destroyed to the relief of both Amber and Emily who parted ways when the case was closed and Eddy was sentenced to life imprisonment for blackmailing, filming of illegal drugs, smuggling of people he did in the Cyprus gang, drugs usage and distributions with other charges.
Emily apologized for her behavior while Amber told her not to worry about it but start a new life afresh since she had paid heavily for her choices.
*A YEAR LATER*
Amber was coming from the university where she enrolled for her master’s program when she branched to shop for some items at the supermarket. She had finished her shopping and tendered her goods on the counter when another woman came to tender her goods. She shifted for her to go first and the woman was about thanking her when they both locked eyes and the basket containing her goods dropped from her hands in shock.