At the front desk of an unknown lodging house toward the outskirts of the city, Victor placed a few promissory notes on the wooden counter.
The receptionist’s eyes briefly lit up at the sight of the money before quickly sliding a set of keys across to him.
Victor took the keys without a word. Behind him was his vampire wife, Sabina, and she looked impatient.
They both turned and walked briskly up the stairs, barely listening to the receptionist’s well-rehearsed welco speech.
When they finally entered the confines of the lushly prepared room and the door closed behind them, Sabina turned to Victor with a puzzled expression on her face.
"Did he not tell you that Stark has been killed off already?" she asked, her tone half-annoyed. "This is X we’re talking about here."
They had initially agreed not to leave their ho at all.
Victor didn’t answer imdiately. Instead, he walked over to the window and looked out carefully, scanning the street below.
Then he reached up and pulled the curtains shut, ensuring no line of sight remained from the outside.
Only then did he turn back to face Sabina.
"He gave that notice earlier this morning," Victor began. "It’s nightfall now, and I’ve heard no brewing rumors that may lead to news tomorrow."
Sabina scoffed. "This is the Stark family we’re talking about. They might still be keeping it within closed doors."
She walked closer to him, with her expression now softening. "This is just paranoia, my love."
Victor pulled his hand back when she reached for it and shook his head. "And for good reason."
He paused, then added, "I’ve worked closely with that family for more than a decade. Long enough to know that the real problem with the Starks is not Nathan’s orphan."
His expression darkened. "It’s the fucking butler."
There was a brief pause as he let that sink in.
Then he continued, "Ending the Stark line wasn’t just to complete the sale. It was also to distract Eduardo. If Ethan is dead, then sure, that would occupy Eduardo long enough for us to finish the sale while the buyers still see as CEO. But if Ethan is not dead, then I’m sure that butler is out there making his findings about . And Eduardo has great attention to detail when he’s actually looking."
Sabina sighed in disappointnt and turned away. "Cowering over a butler. This is not the Victor I know."
She walked over and sat on a cushioned seat, crossing her legs with an air of irritation.
Victor shook his head, deciding not to explain any further about Eduardo. Instead, he said, "Stark or not, they can’t keep news like that hidden for long. So we will keep moving until that news is confird, or at least a rumor points to it. That is when I’ll be sure that Eduardo hasn’t had the ti to find out anything about ."
Sabina crossed her arms and leaned back. "How long do you intend to keep moving until you get your confirmation? They could decide to hide his death for months if they want."
Victor quick replied. "This moving is only for a few days. If I fail to receive confirmation, we’re leaving Gritnia."
"What?" Sabina glared in surprise, sitting upright.
"Or you can stay here. I don’t care," Victor said coldly. Then he added, "But ? I’m leaving. I know what that man did at Nathan’s behest. I will not stay here and face the sa thing the others faced."
——
Back at the Manor...
Francesca was practically boiling over at this point. "How do we get that bastard?" she demanded.
Eduardo sighed. "I was going to take action myself after finding out all of this, so I dropped by his place before returning ho. There was no one there. And they left nothing of worth."
Ethan looked like he was wrapped deep in his thoughts, rubbing his hands on his jaw thoughtfully.
Eduardo turned to him and said, "Give three days, Master Ethan. There’s no place in all of Gritnia Victor would be able to run to."
"He’d be long gone by then," Ethan said, still rubbing his jaw. Then he added almost to himself, "This reminds of a criminal case I worked on a long ti ago."
Eduardo looking puzzled. "What do you an, Master Ethan?"
"Oh, sorry. Don’t mind that," Ethan said quickly, realizing he’d slipped for a mont. He’d forgotten he was Ethan and not Allen, a top-tier criminal case lawyer.
However, what was happening right now bore a very close similarity to a criminal case he handled in the past.
He quickly stood and followed up, "Look at how he’s orchestrated everything in the last few months. He is anything but dumb, Eduardo. He’s worked with the Starks long enough to know we’ll be able to find out whatever it is we want to know about anything in this country. In this case, his shady dealings."
There was a brief pause before he added, "So yes, I think he’d be long gone by then."
Then he motioned at Eduardo with his fingers as if pointing and said, "However, we will bank on his greed."
Eduardo’s brow furrowed. "How so, Master Ethan?"
Ethan asked, "First off, have you called him to ask of his whereabouts?"
"No, of course not. That would raise his suspicion," Eduardo answered.
"Perfect," Ethan said with a little smile. Then he added, "It’s only been a day since his suspension."
He glanced at Valerie briefly, then continued, "I’m pretty sure those intending buyers are still around the corner. And I think if given the opportunity, Victor would still want to complete that sale."
His smile widened. "And that opportunity is exactly what we’ll give him."
They all looked even more puzzled at Ethan’s words.
"But why would we do that, Master Ethan?" Francesca asked.
"Because, my dear lovely Francesca," Ethan said, almost excitedly, "that is how we lure that bastard in."
Then he turned to Eduardo and asked with a devious grin on his face, "How exactly did you grieve when my father passed?"
——
A few monts later, Victor’s Arcphone rang. He glanced down at the screen and saw the na.
Eduardo.
Both he and Sabina stared at each other. She nodded and said, "Take it."
Victor nodded back, then picked up the call and placed it on loud volu. He said nothing at first, waiting to hear Eduardo.
Suddenly, he heard a sad, cracked voice of an old man asking, "H-Hello, Victor... are you there?"
Victor’s eyes widened. He was uncertain if Eduardo was genuinely in tears or if the cell service was just bad. But he said nothing in reply.
Eduardo continued, his voice shaking. "If you are... I’m calling to reinstate you back as Acting CEO. Unfortunately, Ethan..."
His voice cracked again, worse this ti.
"...was shot dead this morning. So bastard took Nathan’s son from , and I’ll not rest until I find him."
There was a shuddering breath on the other end.
"I understand how the suspension from Ethan looked, but if you’re willing... please return and assu the position while I deal with this."
Victor’s and Sabina’s eyes widened. She nodded enthusiastically at him, mouthing, Say yes.
But Victor hesitated as he gave it a mont’s thought.
"Are you there, Victor?" Eduardo asked again, in a voice barely holding together.
Victor cleared his throat and finally spoke. "I hear you, Eduardo. I hear you. I will return at the start of the new week."
There was a brief pause before he added, "And I’m sorry about the loss, Eduardo. I hope you find the killer."
"I will," Eduardo said quietly. Then he added, "And please, this is not public information yet. I trust you understand."
"Yes, I do," Victor said.
The call then disconnected.
Victor turned toward Sabina, who was now elated.
"I knew you were just paranoid for nothing!" she said, practically bouncing on her feet.
"Hm..." Victor muttered, still looking suspicious.
"Oh, co on. What is it with you, Victor? You heard the man, who was in tears, by the way. Ethan is fucking dead, and they want you to take over. Don’t miss this opportunity."
Victor said nothing as he turned toward Sabina. "Hm..."
Then he nodded slowly in agreent.
___
"You heartless old hag!" Eduardo yelled at the top of his voice as he forced more water into his eyes from a bowl Valerie was holding up for him with a deeply concerned expression on her face.
"Just how much chili pepper did you put in my eyes?!" he yelled again at Francesca, who was laughing so hard she had to wipe tears from her own eyes.
"Oh, stop complaining," she said, still laughing. "Master Ethan said to make it believable, so I put in just the right amount to force tears out of those rusting eyes of yours."
"Urgh!" Eduardo grunted, dunking his face into the bowl again.
Ethan chuckled from the corner, then turned his attention back to his Arcphone and clicked the "send" icon on his ssage app.
He’d just replied to one of Isabella’s texts, explaining why he might not be showing up for a few days the following week.
The last text from him read: "It’s not sothing I can explain over text, but I’m fine, I promise. I just need to deal with sothing."
Ethan shifted his attention away from the device and walked over to the recovering Eduardo.
"So he bought it?" Ethan asked.
Eduardo nodded, still blinking furiously. "I think so. We’ll find out in the following week. But this only ans you can’t leave the manor just yet, Master Ethan. The whole plan will fail if you’re spotted alive."
"Oh, I know. Don’t worry," Ethan said with a nod.
Right then, his Arcphone buzzed. He glanced down at the screen and his eyes widened slightly.
It was a reply from Isabella.
"Okay, if you can’t explain over text, then I’ll be on my way to the Stark estate first thing tomorrow."
Ethan stared at the ssage for a mont before muttering, "Oh, damn."
———
A/N:
I attached an option for a New Cover to this text. Say Yay Or Nay
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