While all this was happening, Samantha was having a battle of her own.
— At Ellis Corporation —
Samantha Ellis’s eyes narrowed as she faced her father, Niel Ellis, across the grand mahogany desk in his office. The cold light of the rising sun bathed the room, casting long, foreboding shadows.
Despite her tailored suit and composed deanour, her hands trembled slightly at her sides. Niel’s steely gaze bore into her as he spoke, his voice devoid of warmth.
"Are you sure you want to proceed with this, Samantha?" he asked. "Everything I’ve done has been for your future." Niel was referring to the company and the arranged marriage when he said this but the fact that he said it again, made her grit her teeth imperceptibly. For ? No, you did it for you!
Samantha had recently gotten an ultimatum. The idea was to either hand over her company, or hand over her right to marriage. She had chosen her company. And that was sothing Niel could have never imagined happening. After all, he had ever connection of hers in his phone, and he could cut all of them off without even thinking too much about it. But there she was, putting up a fight against him.
Samantha sneered, her lips curling in disdain. "A nice future for whom, Father? Let’s not pretend this is about . This has always been about you and your insatiable need to control everything. Money, power and everything else. Now you’re using your daughters to get your way, how dare you?!"
The tension in the room was palpable. Niel’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the edge of the desk. "How dare you question my intentions?!! You’ve benefited from everything I’ve built your entire life. You would be nothing if it was not for that Power and Money you talk of and seem to despise. Hypocrite! And yet there you stand, saying things as if I’m in the wrong. It’s for the future!!"
"The future? You an the future of your son, right?!" Samantha said, finally getting extrely angry. That mont was also the mont at which she saw sothing happen.
Before Samantha could retort, the heavy oak door creaked open. A slovenly figure sauntered in, her younger brother, Norris Ellis. His clean but wrinkled clothes and smug expression set Samantha’s teeth on edge. He reeked of entitlent, the scent of expensive cologne failing to mask his lack of substance. He also slled like sothing he often slled like. Cheap sex from cheap won.
"Well, isn’t this a lovely family reunion? Why wasn’t I invited?" Norris said, his voice dripping with mockery. "And what’s all the shouting about?" After saying that, he turned to his father. "Yo, Dad, I need you to reload my card. I blew the limit yesterday. Oops."
Samantha rolled her eyes. "The prodigal son. The future of the Ellis family returns."
"Hey, Sam, dont speak to our father like that," he said pointing to Samantha, but all she did was turn her head.
She glared at him. "Stay out of this, Norris," Samantha said with an air only an older sister would have and Norris imdiately shut up, rembering how harsh she was in their childhood. Samantha was not to be ssed with.
Norris managed to regain his deanour in a mont though as he was not alone. He smirked and leaned against the doorfra. "Oh, but I can’t. Family matters, right? And unfortunately for you, you and I are family. At least for now. In the future, you will change your surna, and I will make sure to take over everything you leave behind."
As if on cue, Jas Carter entered, his polished shoes clicking against the marble floor. His presence added another layer of tension to the already volatile atmosphere. He adjusted his tie with deliberate precision and smiled at the man in front and then at the woman who was now fuming.
"Jas," Niel greeted him with a calculated smile. "To what do we owe the pleasure? Please, please, co in. We were just talking about your marriage. We would love to make it happen."
Norris spoke up at that mont, smirking in a way that only a servant would. "Yes, that’s right brother-in-law. Please co in." Samantha sneered. This brother of hers. Being turned into a servant in his own house. How pathetic.
Jas’s eyes flicked to Samantha, his gaze lingering just a mont too long. "Brother-in-law," he said smoothly, his tone laced with condescension. "Though, I suppose that’s not quite accurate yet, is it?"
Niel frowned, his mind racing. "What are you insinuating?"
Jas sighed theatrically, shaking his head. "Your daughter seems to have… feelings for another man." He turned to Samantha, who stiffened but refused to look away. "Jason Cross, wasn’t it?"
The room fell into a suffocating silence. Niel’s eyes darkened. "A man of the Cross family? Who is he? Where have I heard of this na before."
"I know him, father," said Samantha’s brother Norris, finally getting the attention he deserved. "Jason Cross is a man of the Cross, family. The most infamous of all of them. Ten years ago, Cross Capital experienced an explosion, and that was because of Jason’s father. But after Jason’s father passed away, everything else went to shit."
Norris was enjoying himself at that mont. "The siblings, Jason’s Aunt and Uncle took everything away, and as they did that they kicked him out too. So say it was because Jason was causing trouble, others say it was because they wanted to hide the secret of the inheritance. Whatever it was, Jaosn was ant to be a pauper. A weakling loser with no connections and no future."
Niel was shaking at that mont. "Jason Cross… Is that so!?" Niel turned to Samantha. "You are in an illicit relationship with a man even while being engaged??! Especially without my permission?! How dare you Samantha!!!"
But Jas wasn’t done. "It would have been fine if that was it, but there’s so much more. You have to understand that Samantha was recently in desperate need of money. She must have co asking from you… Anyway, the only way she had managed to do that was with Jason’s help. Jason isn’t only her lover, but also the man behind those investnts that ca in just as you were pulling out of her company."
Niel was now livid. "Jason Cross? The one behind those investnts?"
Jas nodded. "Yes, I’ve been keeping an eye on him. He’s quite resourceful. Too resourceful. I’ve even placed a few… eyes within Samantha’s company. I hope you can forgive for that. That is just sothing I did to take care of my investnt in your daughter. I care about her after all. About us and the family we are building."
Samantha’s jaw clenched. "You bastard!" That was it! She knew now. She was surrounded by narcissists and idiots.
Jas raised a hand, feigning innocence. "All in the interest of protecting the Ellis family. I’ve been in love with you for years, Samantha. Why won’t you accept ? Why go for a boy ten years your younger, with nothing much to offer than his na?"
Samantha’s laugh was sharp and humourless. "Accept you? A man who spies on ? Who has never respected my autonomy? Never!"
Norris snickered from the corner. "She’s got a point, Jas. You’re a bit too… obsessive."
Jas shot him a glare. "Well, what can I say? I love, and I love deep. It takes a certain kind of woman to experience that kind of love."
Samantha smirked, her eyes colder than the tundra. "Yeah right, deeply? Did that even make any real sense after you went chasing after Veronica Hall at her company carrying flowers? She told about it you know. You’re nothing but a philandered."
Before the argunt could escalate, Niel slamd his fist on the desk. "Enough! Samantha, you will explain your connection to Jason Cross, and you will do it now."
Samantha took a deep breath, her voice steady despite the turmoil within. "Jason has been instruntal in securing investnts that your traditional thods could never achieve. He is also making sure to limit the amount of money we waste. He’s a visionary, unlike most people. And so what? My private life is private! So what if he is soone I may be exploring a connection with?"
Niel’s face twisted in anger. "You…" But Samantha was done hearing this bullshit. She rely scoffed and looked away.
The three n in the room were silent for the longest ti before Norris sighed slowly and dramatically, shaking his head. "My older sister is too stubborn, Jas. I hope you understand. Anyway, this Jason is nothing special. He had nobody in his corner."
Jas interjected, his tone smug. "Jason Cross—the black sheep of the Cross family. His parents built an empire only to have it torn apart by greedy relatives. Even their deaths were shrouded in suspicion. The Cross family may have power, but they’re fractured. Jason’s an easy target."
Niel’s lips curled into a cruel smile. "Then perhaps we should let the Cross family deal with him. A few well-placed words, and they’ll take care of him for us. Is that not right, Jas?"
At that mont, Jas’s phone buzzed. He glanced at the screen and burst into laughter. "Speaking of the Cross family, look at this."
He held up his phone, revealing a video of Tim Cross—Jason’s estranged cousin, a son of one of his father’s siblings, humiliating himself in public. The man was dishevelled, his pants soiled, stumbling through the streets while passersby jeered.
He would occasionally harass those passersby, grinding on them in an attempt to dry hump them, but with his sll and the look of craziness he had in his eyes, it was very difficult to think of it as anything impressive that he was doing.
He was getting taken away by so security guards at that mont. The three couldn’t help but chuckle. It was rare for sothing like this to co out, and it was sure to be suppressed for a while.
Jas sent a ssage to his assistant to have him save a copy of the video. This would be great to have for future purposes. After all, he was one day going to stand at those heights. He would trample the Cross family beneath him soon enough.
Samantha looked away, disgusted. Niel sneered. "So, that’s the kind of family Jason cos from? No wonder..."
But Samantha’s mind was elsewhere. Jason’s strength, and his determination, were qualities that set him apart. As much as she hated to admit it, he wasn’t like the other n in her life. Not like her father, her brother, or Jas. He was a unique existence, an existence that had sohow found a way to find a way into her heart.
Without another word, she turned and walked out of the room. It was her office but she would let them have it for now. They had better leave when they’re done.
"Samantha!" Niel shouted after her, but she didn’t stop. He rely gazed at her retreating in annoyance. "Stupid girl!"
"Relax, father-in-law," Jas said with a smirk. "We need to let things play out. Let’s follow the way of the tis. We let her do as she wishes for now, but later on, we will take over the ga through the power of money and connections. And when that happens, she will kneel at your feet, having lost all the support she had from Jason."
Niel turned to Jas, nodding and clapping the man on the shoulders. "A good son-in-law like you… would be perfect for ." Norris smiled too. It would be great if Jas was around. Then he could handle the family businesses, while he, Norris, could go around the world, travelling and partying just as he was ant to.
Little did the two Ellis n know that Jas was thinking sothing entirely different at that mont.
The Ellis family was ripe for the taking. All he had to do was marry this woman and then get rid of this chump called Norris. After that, everything would all be in place, and the Carters would further extend their influence in this world. With his little ga with Veronica not over, he might take over her company as well. And then soon enough he would swallow everything that was ant to be his.
Jas has no real reason to not kill these people. Everything was fair in love and war. And business was the amalgamation of everything in there.
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