Chapter 3 3

A deathly silence reigned in the meeting room, as if no one were there, but in reality, eleven people were seated around the long table: five on each side and one at the far end. There was about two feet of distance between the man sitting at the head of the table and the other council members, as if he were suffering from a contagious disease.

He was engrossed in his phone, leaving them waiting;

He was twirling a pen in his right hand, and although he exuded an intimidating aura, the female council members couldn't help but admire this godlike apparition. He wore a quiff, but his hair hadn't been styled in a while; a few strands fell in front of his forehead, just above his eyebrows, giving him an unkempt but fresh look. His eyebrows were perfectly shaped, and although he was looking down, his long eyelashes were visible. He wore a tight-fitting sky-blue shirt, rolled up at the sleeves, revealing his athletic abs and muscular torso. The top two buttons were undone, revealing a tattoo on his chest that extended lower. Although he was only twenty-five years old, he exuded an unmistakable aura.

Suddenly, he put down his phone and looked up at the people in the meeting room.

- Begin, he said, leaning back in his seat.

A young woman in her thirties, who had been staring at him, stood up, staggering. She blinked several times as she rearranged the files in front of her.

- Hilton Skies' share price has increased by 10%; we recorded a profit of about 25% last month.

She said this as she handed him a file.

- Following.

- The cargo ship arrived by sea yesterday, and the factories have started production.

Said another man, standing up.

- Following.

Nicklaus snapped, still twirling his pen. A silence fell; he looked up at the council members and saw that they were panicking.

-Next! he repeated, this time looking at them with a piercing eye.

A woman in her forties stood up; her hands were shaking; the other members bowed their heads, aware of what was to follow her announcement.

- The Warren Corporation acquired an additional 5% of the Howells' stock, making them among the twenty largest shareholders.

The pen immediately stopped in his hand, and his eyes fell on the woman who had just spoken.

Her head was down, and she was clutching the backrest for support. Her face was pale with fear, beads of sweat forming on her forehead.

- What did you just say?

Nicklaus sat up straight in his seat, frowning.

An icy silence reigned in the room, everyone holding their breath.

"Who sold these shares?!" he asked, his voice echoing around the room. No one answered.

- Don't make me repeat myself, or it will be the last time you set foot in this company.

His chest heaved violently, his eyes were black with rage.

Knowing he wasn't joking, they stood up immediately.

-They... they bought out the shares of the smaller shareholders, offering them at almost double the price, which was almost irresistible.

Said the accounting director, his head still bowed. Nicklaus's rage was almost making his veins burst; he grabbed a pencil holder next to him and threw it across the table.

- Get out! Everyone! Get out!

He shouted furiously, getting up from his chair; they immediately fled the room, leaving him red with anger.

His assistant was pressed against the wall behind him; he wished he could escape too, but that was impossible: he needed his permission to leave.

Nicklaus was breathing heavily, his head bowed, his fists on the table.

He was so furious, he needed an outlet. Turning around, he saw his assistant practically shaking as he clutched the wall.

- Come here! Come here!

Frederick leaped over to where Nicklaus was standing.

- Did you know?!

He glared at him, throwing a file at his face; Frederick narrowly avoided the cut as the file flew inches from his head. He turned, picked up the file, but didn't respond.

-I don't want to know how you're going to do it, I don't care how you do it, buy back those shares! And don't show yourself in front of me again until it's done, do you understand me correctly?

Frederick nodded and walked out of the room; once outside, he let out a deep sigh of relief.

Nicklaus fell back into his chair, his hands gripping the armrests; his blue veins stood out beneath his skin. Flashes of what had happened seventeen years earlier came back to him.

It was a sunny afternoon; he was playing hide-and-seek with his sister. It was his turn to hide, and he knew that the place she would never think to look for him was their parents' bedroom. He slipped there discreetly; his parents were napping, his father had his arm around his mother. He still remembered the flower petals on his mother's dress, the red roses on the comforter. No memory of that day had been altered; everything was etched in his mind. On tiptoe, he slipped into the wardrobe and hid there, a childlike smile on his face as he imagined the places his little sister would look for him in their huge mansion.

He could still hear her count in the distance; it was approaching ten, and he was excited at the thought of winning this time. But suddenly, it stopped at eight.

Thinking she'd interrupted the countdown to surprise him before he'd found a hiding place, he smiled to himself. She'd never think of their parents' closet. He was still smiling when suddenly, the bedroom doors burst open and he heard footsteps enter. Four armed men, dressed in black and with masked faces, entered the room, followed by the click of stilettos. His brow furrowed, wondering what they were doing there, then he saw her.

Catherine Wills. He never forgot the smirk on her lips when she entered the room. She approached the bed where her parents were sleeping and woke them. Her father stirred, then opened his eyes and saw her.

He sat up in shock, his mother did the same.

- Surprise! she said, arms in the air, a cruel smile on her lips.

- What are you doing here?! Who are these people? Who let them in?

His father asked, visibly confused.

"Aren't you happy to see me?" she retorted, her smile leaving her lips, but remaining anchored in her eyes filled with hatred and disgust.

- What do you want?

He had barely asked the question when a resounding slap fell on his left cheek, making his mother scream and tears flow from her eyes.

"I've always dreamed of doing this," Catherine said, waving her gloved arm in the air.

"What do you want?" her mother cried, stroking her husband's face where he had been struck.

- Can't you see? Are you blind? I've come to kill you both!

She walked over to the couch opposite the bed and sat down.

-But first, I have to tell you something I want you to take to your grave.

"Catherine, don't be stupid, you're making a big mistake," her father said, this time in a calmer tone.

Catherine burst into a devilish laugh.

-That's not your problem; you're already a dead man.

"I always wanted to be that woman," she said, pointing at her mother. "I always wanted to be your wife, Jeffrey. I loved you with every inch of my being. I got pregnant with you, thinking you'd change your mind and marry me. But no! What did you do?"

You kicked my son and me out, and married that whore! She's prettier than me, huh? What does she have that I don't, huh? Why did you choose her?!

She grabbed a porcelain vase from a table next to her and threw it violently to the floor. It shattered into a thousand pieces.

-Catherine, you know that's not true. I gave you Warren Corporation as compensation, and I never intended to have a child with you. You drugged me.

"Shut up!" she yelled, getting up from the couch. She staggered a few steps into the room, trying to steady herself.

"Well, I don't need you anymore. I have your baby; and that means everything you own is mine!" she giggled hysterically, a small tear rolling down her cheek.

-And you know how I'm going to do it? I'm going to kill you both now. You're probably thinking, oh! I have two kids, they'll take over my businesses, haha! Sorry, I've already killed them both! See, I'm only a hair's breadth away from my goal!

She burst out laughing again, looking at her mother:

- You always wanted to be with her, no problem, I'll let you have her, but it will be in your grave!