Game of Love Ch. 16

'Sergio, I am worried. As Eric's lawyer, I will try and protect his assets, but I don't think I have the power to do that alone. I need your help, Sergio.' He pleaded. 'For now, you need to take control of Eric's position and his shares as well. That's the only way.'

"What can I do?" He sighed. "I am not part of the company, and besides..."

'Eric made mom, and I as sole heirs to his wealth if anything happened to him.' Derrick said abruptly. 'But after your marriage, you were included in it. He never told you this but I knew about it and so did mom. For this reason, you have every right to manage his assets. I don't think I have the skills to manage his wealth, but you can. You're one of the toughest businessmen in the country. You're the only hope of making sure that Eric's assets are not touched. I don't trust Giada, please!'

"Okay." He nodded. "I will talk to David, and see what's going on. If he confirms that this is true, I will take up on your offer. I won't let them tarnish his image."

'Thank you!' Derrick chuckled on the other end. 'And I'll see you later to talk. Bye!'

Sergio cut the call, and continued rushing downstairs. He was about to start dialling David's number when he saw Jayden entering the house with a grin on his face. He had one hand in his pocket, walking like a king. And when he saw Sergio, the grin on his face brightened.

Sergio walked harshly to him.

"What are you up to?" He asked with a crease on his brow. "What the hell are you really after?"

Jayden raised his shoulder in a half shrug. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"I know where you're coming from. You came from meeting David, didn't you? I also know that you're trying to enter D&E and Liberty powers company. What are you really up to?"

"Wow, you've been doing your homework." He raised his chin. "Is it that your life is so boring that you can't just focus on yourself, and you have to keep a tab on me? Why do you like poking your nose in affairs that do not concern you."

"Oh, this concerns me." Sergio said harshly. "This is my husband's company that you want to mess with, and if you think that I am gonna let you tarnish his name then you've got another thing coming."

Jayden laughed, shaking his head. "Sometimes I feel like you really like causing trouble. Why do you love following me like a shadow?"

"You're one to talk." He rolled his eyes. "You're the one that barged into this house like a criminal. You're also the one that barged into my company like a criminal, and now you're barging into my husband's company, and I won't let you destroy what he's built with his blood, and sweat."

Jayden brushed his palms together, losing the smile on his face. "You know, when I came here I thought we were gonna be like long lost brothers. I honestly got a little excited coming here, and even all those insults you rained down on me, I forgave them because you're my little brother. But right now..." He chirped, prodding on Sergio's chest. "... you're starting to piss me off, and I don't like it.

You don't want to get on my wrong side, otherwise, you might just find out I am a monster. I think I have tolerated you enough. Don't think that just because I have been quiet on everything that you've been doing means I will remain so. My patience can run out you know."

Sergio grinned. "Oh, I don't think you've been quiet, big bro." He said disrespectfully. "I got your message clearly two days ago. And just because I haven't said or done anything yet means I won't."

Jayden wrapped his arms around himself. "Whoa, I am shaking my boots. I am so scared, he's gonna have me arrested." Then he held out his arms, shaking his head. "If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead by now so don't taste my patience. And stay out of my lane." HE warned.

He walked past Sergio, pushing him out of the way rudely.

"You know, karma is a bad bitch." He chuckled, making Jayden stop and turn. "Whatever we do shall return to us tenfold, so I wouldn't be as confident as you are right now. Who knows?" He shrugged, giving a smirk. "An enemy might be lurking in the shadows slowly planning your downfall."

"Lucky for me, I don't have enemies strong enough to bring me down." He drew in a long breath through his breath, it sounded like he was moaning during sex. "I have never been defeated before."

He gave a long satisfying laugh and then turned to head upstairs. He had only taken about two steps when his phone began ringing. Excitedly, he took it out of his pocket and winked at Sergio before answering.

"Hello!"

One, two, three seconds and Jayden stood still like he was frozen in place. Sergio watched as colour drained from his face and he became white as a ghost. His eyes widened and Sergio could have sworn he saw him tremble. And just like that, the man went out the door like the hounds of hell were after him. Sergio shrugged, wondering what had happened. But he didn't care so he went his way.

***

"A toast to riches, influence, power, and godship!" Giada hollered, raising her wine glass in the air.

"And to love!" Trevor clinked his glass with his mother's. "No more begging or sorrow. It is time men started begging at our feet."

Giada was paralyzed with happiness and she could barely conceal her delight. Her final plan was now in place. She was the new partner of the two biggest companies in the continent. She had been upgraded to a goddess of fashion. Now people were gonna kiss her feet and admire her. It was all that she wanted.

They were in Giada's room celebrating their accomplishment and there was only one person missing to complete the package, Jayden.

"My dear son, our mission is accomplished. Now we've got the power to do anything we want with no one standing in our way. Anyone that tries shall taste death."

"I am already ahead of you." Joy had engulfed him like a fire in a cornfield. "It is time I stopped begging Sergio and made him understand that he has no choice but to be with me. And it is time I taught this Latino asshole a lesson that he won't forget even in his next life. I have got a perfect plan to finally get rid of my problems."

Both mother and son laughed sinisterly, enjoying the wine. The mood in the room was bright. The door opened and Jayden slowly walked in, looking like he had just escaped from death. His face was pale... his eyes were red, and he looked a mess.

"There he is, our main man." Giada hollered, rushing to him.

She was so happy that she didn't even notice how Jayden was looking like. All she saw was a happy, and satisfied man.

"You know, Jayden, I was starting to wonder where you were." She coiled her arm with his, leading him to the table. "I am so happy today that I just want to celebrate the whole night. This is the best day of my life. I have got what I have always wanted and it's all because of you."

She made him sit down and started pouring wine in a glass.

"When I met you, I had no idea that you would bring me so much luck." She giggled like a teenager on her prom date. "But now I know that signing that contract with you is the best decision of my life. You're my lucky charm. I got my first victory almost two weeks ago and now..." She handed him the glass. "... now I just got my happy ending. You're the best. Here!"

She handed the glass to him, but he just stared at her without saying a word.

"Come on, celebrate with me, Jayden. This is gonna..."

"It burnt to ashes!" Jayden muttered, dropping his eyes to the floor.

Giada frowned, glancing at her son. "What are you talking about? What burnt to ashes?"

Jayden sighed, feeling like someone had stabbed him in the chest. "The... warehouses, Giada. Our warehouses got burnt to ashes this evening."

Giada let go of the glass she was holding and it dropped to the floor, breaking into shards. She stared at Jayden like he's just grown another head.

"What warehouse?" She spurt.

Jayden snivelled, rubbing the sweat off his brow.

"Our warehouses!"

Pure terror surged through her veins, icy daggers straight to the heart. Fear curled inside her and clung to her ribs, settling uncomfortably in her chest. Already her heart rate was accelerating and her mind replayed what Jayden had just said to her. Tears welled in her eyes and she didn't even bother to hide.

"You must be joking. How did that happen?"

Jayden opened his mouth and closed it again. He couldn't utter a word.

"Jayden?" Trevor felt sick with the terror that engulfed him. "What are you talking about? This has got to be a joke. If it is then it is very expensive."

"Jayden?" Giada shook him. "You're making me shitty scared. What's going on?"

He looked at her as a tear rolled down his cheek. "I received a call this afternoon that my warehouse was in flames. I rushed there as fast as I could, and... I couldn't do anything to stop the fire. Everything was burnt to ashes. All the goods, the boats and..." He couldn't finish his sentence before he started hyperventilating. "... I... I couldn't do anything to save it. I thought nothing worse could happen but I received word that my two other warehouses were also in flames. Nothing survived. Everything was burnt to ashes."

Giada's watery eyes enlarged and the hairs on the nape of her neck bristled. A gaggle of goose pimples laminated her frigid, naked skin. Slow and deliberate, she sat on the cold floor, trembling like someone had poured freezing water on her.

"That's impossible!" Trevor muttered. "There's... no way all our warehouses would be in flames at the same time. What happened?"

"Someone attacked my men at the warehouses. There was gunfire, and most of my men are dead. Bombs were planted there, and..." He cried like a baby, gripping his hair. "...fuck, I don't know what to do. I am done for. They've killed me."

"Who could have done this? Your enemies, or maybe..."

"No, if they're my enemies then it must be someone new. None of them would dare do this." He said, furiously rubbing his tears. "Besides, I don't have many enemies in this country. What I have are allies. I... I don't know what to do."

There was a silence for a number of minutes inside the room that it felt like there was no one. Each of them were in deep thought. They were sweaty, and looked pale. The atmosphere that had once been happy made a 360 degree turn. Sorrow had hit all of them.

"Do you think maybe... maybe Sergio did this?" Giada asked softly. "Maybe... maybe..."

"No!" Jayden shook his head. "I... I don't think he knows the businesses I run. This has to be somebody that has probably been observing me for a long time, someone that knows my moves. Maybe... perhaps it is someone who followed me from here. Someone that knows the heart of my company."

"But... but who would do this?" Giada was so confused. "Maybe we can..."

"There is nothing we can do, Giada. By burning all the warehouses, whoever did this has crippled me." He yelled. "Where am I gonna get the money to build it all, to replace all the goods and assets. Where am I going to get the money to pay all the loans I took? I am screwed?" He pulled his hair hard, rising from the couch.

"Maybe I can..."

"You cannot do anything." He snapped. "In case you don't understand what's going on, if I have gone down so have you. Our companies are linked together now. No more Sandoval fashion house, and no more Sandoval group of hotels. It's all going down. No more D&E or Liberty powers."

"No!" Giada rose, screaming like a mad woman. "You lie, Jayden. I cannot lose everything just like that. I cannot lose Liberty powers or D&E before I even have my hands on it. We made a contract."

"And you think he's still gonna want to partner with us after finding out?" Jayden shouted. "In a few hours, the news will be everywhere like wild fire if it's not out there yet. And then we'll lose our business partners, our investors, and creditors will come from everywhere."

"No!" Giada cried, breathing like she was in labour. "It cannot end like that. You need to do something. We cannot lose like this Jayden."

Jayden snivelled. "Our only hope is Alvarado jewellers. We need to get ahold of that company somehow. We need full ownership fast, otherwise, this will be an opportunity for Sergio to take us down if we're not careful. He's probably been waiting for an opportunity like this."

Trevor stood there, staring at Jayden nonstop. "But how are we supposed to do that? You know Sergio won't agree to that. He is not stupid, you know."

Giada got up quickly. "We need to think of something quick, otherwise, it will all be in vain. We need to find a way of making Sergio sign off his properties without having second thoughts. And we need to do it fast before we find ourselves falling. We've come a long way to just let it go like that."

They all stood quiet, each of them thinking of way to steal the entire Alvarado wealth now that the situation was complicated. They couldn't risk being defeated after coming a long way. But, what were they gonna do?

***

3 days later...

***

Adrianna had her hands on the driving wheel and her leg on the accelerator. Her head was moving to the rhythm of the song that was playing in the car, enjoying every moment of it. She got excited, moving her body while being careful to concentrate on driving as Charlie Puth's 'attention' played.

She glanced to her side and found Javier staring at her with a smile on his face.

"Come on, Javier!" She laughed. "Can't you feel the rhythm? Let's dance to the song. Our fun hasn't ended just yet."

They were coming from shopping and they had fun doing it. They had bought a lot of clothes. It was the first time since the disappearance of Eric that she had gone out. She hadn't wanted to go but Javier needed new clothes. Now she didn't regret it.

"Javier, you must know the song, right?" She asked. "Sing along with me."

Javier chuckled. "I know the song. I just don't know how to sing."

"Come on, you can't be worse than me." She slightly hit him. "I don't know how to sing, but I always try my best. Come on, let's sing."

Javier smiled and then joined in as Adrianna sang the song. Both of them sounded angelic when they sang. Clearly, Javier was a great singer even with his Latino accent that it made Adrianna a little jealous. He sang the song with his heart. The whole car was filled with their voices.

Everything was going so well, and Adrianna was about to make a turn when out of the blue two black cars moved in front of her and stopped. Adrianna quickly hit her breaks, instantly stopping the car. It was such an intense moment for her. She glanced at Javier and before they knew it, about four masked men got out of the cars in front, rushing to her car.

"What?"

In just a flash, the doors to their car opened and both Javier and Adrianna were dragged out, blindfolded and their hands bound. They tried to scream but nothing was working. They were thrown in separate cars and they drove off like maniacs.

***

"Let me go!" Javier yelled, trying to pull his arms free, but the men that were holding were just too powerful. "Leave me alone. What do you want? I don't have anything to offer you, I am not a rich man."

He was thrown hard to the floor, and he hit his arm. Javier was inside an abandoned building that barely had light. He had no idea where he was, but the quietness immediately told him they were not anywhere near the city. The place was dusty, with lots of dirt and piles of wood.

He quickly raised his head to say something when he got the shock of his life. There was a man there that stood a distance from him. He was wearing a blood-red shirt that was half way done, showing his chest. He had a black designer's trousers with black boots on his feet. His hair was tied in a high fashion ponytail, and he had a pistol in his hand that he was playing with. He dropped his gaze on Javier, and smiled like he had just had the best orgasm of his life.

"You?" Javier gasped, his eyes widening. "You did this? Why?"

Trevor chuckled, blowing on his gun. "I hope you bid farewell to Kim, Adrianna and Sergio, because you won't be able to leave this place alive." He pointed his gun at Javier.

Javier's heart began racing, and his head began spinning. Every muscle on his body craved relaxation as blood coursed miles of veins and a pulse sounded in his ears. He was scared. He slowly got up, trying to think of something but his mind couldn't come up with anything.

"Where's Adrianna?" He asked. Even in his Latino accent, he couldn't hide his fear. "Where have you taken her? And why are you doing this?"

"Is that fear I sense in your voice, dear Javier?" He chirped, showing fake concern. "And where's the boy that had so much confidence the other day, huh? Where's the boy that slapped me so hard? I warned you, didn't I? I told you to leave, but you wanted to be the hero. And now, you've met the monster you always wanted to see. Here I am."

"I... I... is that the reason why you brought me here?" Javier stuttered. "I only did that because... because I got so mad. I am so sorry. Please, let me go."

"That's not happening." Trevor furiously cocked his gun, his finger trembling on the trigger. He was filled with rage. "Funny thing is that you came out of nowhere, and then you tried to be a hero. You should have left when I gave you the chance to. But you started challenging me for the love for Sergio. Do you think anyone fighting for Sergio against me stands a chance?"

"What?" He shook his head. "I have never thought of Sergio in that way, I swear. I only accepted staying there because I have nowhere to go. Is that why you wanna kill me?" He placed his hands together. "I could never dream of doing anything with him. I swear to you. If you let me go, I'll go far away and..."

"Silence!" He snapped, getting closer. "You think you're so smart? Do you even know what Sergio, and I have been through? Do you know how long I have been waiting for a moment to be with him? And then you brought your silly Latino ass to him. Well..." He smirked. "...your silly little ass has brought you here, and there's no escape."

"Please..." He muttered.

"Unfortunately for you, I don't have any more goodness left in me. I don't even have feelings anymore." He chuckled. "They disappeared the day that bitch Eric decided to steal him away from me."

"I don't plan that..."

"You're so scared, pleading for your life." He teased. "But, I can assure you that you're not leaving from here. Anybody that tries to steal my man shall meet the same fate as Eric. And as for that slap, and the tears, I am here to pay you back."

"Okay, I'll admit I made a mistake. But... don't do this." He cried softly. Trevor could tell the boy was shitty scared. "What about Adrianna? She wasn't involved. Let her go."

"Adrianna is gonna be spared depending on the way Sergio treats me." He moaned, drawing his lower lip between his teeth. "It's a pity you have to die. You have a pretty face. But, enough with the talking. Let's get on with the execution."

Trevor pulled the trigger and the bullet spat out of his hand. It hit Javier in the chest, propelling him backward. A deafening scream was heard, but it only excited Trevor even more. He fired the gun again, this time continuously until the boy fell to the dirty floor with a thud, holding his chest while shaking like a leaf.

For a few seconds, he looked up at Trevor who was staring at him with nothing but wickedness on his face. He loved seeing Javier's white shirt bloody. He loved seeing the blood flowing over his finger, and him struggling to breathe. He knew he had gotten rid of another enemy, and nothing was gonna make him lose.

Trevor chuckled, drawing closer to the boy that struggled to breathe.

"By the way, Javier, say hi to Eric and the devil for me." He laughed. "It's a pity both of you died by my hands. It's not personal, but learn to stay in your lane in your next life."