Chương 20: CHAPTER TWENTY; Getting his revenge
Laurent pressed the button, and the hospital bed straightened up. That was the end of his job, though. He watched with sick interest as the man struggled to balance himself well in his sitting position.
"Cool. Let's continue," he clapped as soon as the old man was sitting straight up and panting.
The man said something under his breath, and Laurent cupped his hand to his own ear, "Did you say something?" he asked with a smile.
"Why don't we get this over with?" The man growled out loud, and he just smiled. The change in position was likely giving him a skewed view of his position. He should enjoy it for the next few minutes, then.
He raised the table attached to the bed and moved it closer to the man, and then he set his laptop on it.
He looked up all of a sudden and said, "Sorry, I forgot to ask. How are your eyes?"
"Fucking fantastic," the man spat back, and he laughed again.
"Impatient, are we?"
He didn't respond to that.
Laurent opened the page containing the organized files and set his phone next to the laptop on the table. He jumped up to the side of the bed, smirking when Blackwell jerked his legs away at the last second.
"I've spent a lot of time here and I'm sick of your presence already, so I'll summarize this part. When you collapsed, your daughter took me on a little tour to your office."
Predictably, the man's jaw clenched.
"She's in love with me; you know that, right?" he laughed but inwardly he was cringing. "She was worried that you were too young and healthy to be having a health crisis, and she got it into her head that if she could solve whatever was ailing you, she could have something good to say to your unconscious self so you'd get better faster."
He laughed at the sight in the man's eyes.
"Oh, don't look so horrified; it's actually adorable and anyway, she didn't find anything," he said breezily.
The man visibly breathed a sigh of relief and he smirked. 'I know, right? Imagine your beloved daughter getting a peek of all those skeletons in your cupboard. Oh, how shocked she'll have been!"
He looked at the man, who was doing a good job of not looking intimidated at all.
"You can tell where this is going, right? Because I went back, and I saw something. Which reminds me, do you really think the best place to hide your secrets is in your office shelf? Because that's either gutsy or stupid."
He paused for effect and smiled, then he motioned to the laptop. "What do you think? I did a great job, right?"
The man opened his mouth, then thought better of it and just sighed.
"So this is my proposal. If you don't want all this going to the press," he said, hovering his finger on the call button on his phone, "You'll place a call to your lawyers and convince them that after your brief stint at death's door, you rethought your decision and have decided to will your legacy to a son you've been keeping secret or something."
He grimaced and smiled at the disgusted look that motivated on the elderly man's face, "I know, don't mention it."
The man stared from the screen to the phone and then back to his face for a brief second before sputtering, "There's no way anyone is going to believe that. And I'd rather die."
He flattened his lips and nodded his head, "I see where my brother got the drama from. Don't put words in my mouth, old man, because you're walking out of here. And I don't really care about people believing it, as long as your lawyers do."
The man shook his head obsessively and sneered, "Even if you release that, it would only cause a stir for a day or two and then my media would bury it. You think this is my first exposure stint? You poor thing."
He furrowed his brows and stared at the man until he was once again shifting uncomfortably, "I know where this is coming from," he sighed, "But surely a man as versed as yourself is well aware that nothing can ever be deleted, right? Because I have more than one little piece of footage that will actually bury you. Forget your stocks or your name, it will come straight for you."
"Wait, you don't mean..."
"Exactly," he grinned. "You think burying things with Morse codes and different languages really makes them foolproof? Don't disappoint me. There's also the matter of the companies that went down suddenly when you came up. Companies that were eerily similar to what yours is now. It might feel like yesterday that you started, Old man, but don't underestimate the power of social media and the public right now."
"Then I'll start again from scratch," the man said soberly. "You can't defeat me. Even if I fall, I'll make sure I get up, even if it's for the sole purpose of ruining your life, you ingrate."
"And if I go public with your beloved daughter's real birth story? Of all the secrets her mother kept before she killed herself?" he shook his head and tutted, "You've really done a lot, Mr. Blackwell. Don't you think it's time you took a break? Let those demons catch up with you, because I'm sure it couldn't have been easy. The unexplained deaths, the underhanded deals, stealing a child for heaven's sake," he shook his head again.
The man's head had dropped to his chin when Laurent was speaking, but then he suddenly looked up and shoved something at him.
"Hey, hey!" Laurent laughed, catching the wrist with the blade in it and squeezing until the man cried out and released the object. Do you really want to add murder to that rap sheet? Because while instigation could get you at most 30 years with the worst lawyers, I'm certain this act," he pointed to a camera he'd set up out of view, "would get you life."
Mr. Blackwell tried to remove his hand, but he squeezed tighter until the man whimpered, "I could break it," he whispered intimately into his ear, "This is the least of a challenge for me."
Blackwell looked up at him with fear in his eyes and he finally released the wrist with a laugh, "Calm down. I couldn't explain a broken wrist, anyway."
He wiped his hand on the man's hospital gown, "Now, are you going to sign the form and call your lawyers like a good boy, or do I have to bring out the big guns?"
The man sighed, and clutched the injured wrist with the other one. There was a sniff, and the man suddenly looked thirty years older, "Can I think about it?"
"Like the way I was prepared to bury my brother because of your blood stained company?" he countered sarcastically, "Of course not, I don't have all day."
The man swallowed again, and a tear rolled down his cheeks, "Let me call my lawyers."
Laurent felt his heart settle. Almost there, he thought to himself. I'm almost there, Andrew.
"Not yet". He got the document he'd gotten printed and handed it over with a smile "You have 10 minutes to go through it. It's not like there's room for negotiation, but you shouldn't walk in blind."
The man collected the sheaf of paper with trembling hands that only got worse the more pages he opened. When he was on the last page, the trembling had shifted to his entire body. Laurent silently handed him a pen, and he put his signature on it. Then he collected the papers, and cruelly did nothing, letting him stew for the next few minutes.
"My phone?" he asked frantically this time.
"Almost. We need to get our stories straight first. You realized I was yours about 2 years ago and deliberately brought me into the company, grooming me in preparation to change your will on your next birthday. However, this sickness came and you realized that you might not have much time again, so you're calling to mention it. Tomorrow, they should come here so you can finally start the process. Good?"
The man just nodded and held out his hand for his phone. He started to hand it over and then pulled it back with a playful smile. "I'm forgetting something again, right?"
Blackwell just stared at him blankly and he sighed and shook his head, "See, this won't work. You have to sell the story. You know what will happen if you don't, right? Answer me"
"Yes," the man snapped and he nodded in approval. "That's much better."
"Now, remind me, what else are you telling the lawyers? Talk to me like you're talking to them."
"In addition to the change in will..." he started in a monotone but Laurent was having none of it. "Look me in the eyes, Old man, and fix your tone. I have all the power here, remember."
The old man finally looked up and there was that beautiful fire of hatred in his gaze. Not exactly what he had in mind, but it could be likened to passion.
"In addition to the change in will and as a result of my latest health challenge, I would like to confess some of the sins I've committed in the course of my career and submit to investigation," he bowed his head deeply, "I sincerely apologize."
"Good job. Now, your phone." he dropped the phone in his hand and immediately, the screen lit up with a text.
"Fuck!" he startled, "Who the hell texts you in the middle of the night?"
The look in the man's eyes showed real terror, even worse than he'd shown when his secrets had been revealed. "It's Rose," he said at last. "She's close to the hospital and wants to know if I'm awake without risking my sleep with a call."
Shit.
Tình trạng nguồn điện hàng tuần
-- Xếp hạng
Quyền lực 
-- Đá
Quyền lực