— Sean, where are you? I'm worried and need to know if something happened. — Marian spoke to her son's voicemail. — Did you manage to talk to Jacqueline and Billy? Look, just answer me. This isn't fair to me.
Lexi noticed the helicopter's engine had been started, its blades beginning to spin. She saw her aunt curse and stuff the phone into her bag, fidgeting anxiously and running her hands through her dark hair.
She didn't have the courage to tell her that neither of her children would show up.
She remained quiet and watched the woman approach her, and with a sigh, Marian said:
"I'm sorry, Alexandra."
-x-
Sean had received Lale's message, signaling that he was needed. By now, Alexandra and her mother were already on their way to Ireland – without Sean, Billy, and Jacqueline.
He stood still on the cramped balcony of the invaded apartment. From where he stood, he could see everything. Every skyscraper he had worked hard to erect alongside his father and the Dumani. Of course, legitimate business was no longer as important as criminal practices. So turning all the laundered money into stone was purely something his father saw as a "favour".
However, that heap of stone still had value to some people. Sean didn't know them; he merely designed the projects and closely monitored everything.
But it was only when the clock struck 08:00 p.m that Sean decided to start acting. He would take his damn time.
He dialed the familiar number of Alex's office hotline. It took some time for the guy to answer, but eventually, Sean heard his voice on the other end of the line.
"Yes?"
"Hey," Sean greeted.
"Sean? Is that you?"
He continued without bothering to answer Alex's questions.
"Working late?" he asked disdainfully.
"Yes," Alex replied, still with hesitation in his voice. "Recovering the money. I've managed to find two lots."
Sean laughed, standing and still looking in the direction of the towering buildings.
"If anyone could, it would be you, Alex. Well done," Sean continued. "Keep keeping the investors happy with you to avoid them wanting your head too soon."
Alex didn't respond. Sean was annoyed that he was taking so damn long.
"Sean..." the guy started. "We can end this. Both of us."
Once again, he would ignore Alex.
"I finally understood why my father did what he did."
"Oh?"
"He died before they found out about the theft, right?"
"That came up afterward, yes."
"They killed him because he had already given everything he could. Like a damn old horse. And that's the job you took or grabbed with everything you had."
Alex still showed no reaction. Of course, he had never been a temperamental man; he had always measured his actions and words.
"Sean, you can't take them down," Alex warned.
"I know, Alex," Sean replied. "You can't fight the invisible. No one can. Go to the window my father used to look out of..."
He heard movement from Alex through the line.
"What do you see?" he asked him.
"Our city," Alex said. "The one we claimed as ours."
"I see it too," Sean said as he looked at the shining lights. "But I'm on the opposite side to you. It's a different view."
YOU ARE READING
E M P I R E
Romance"You could be a king. You could have an empire" Lexi and Sean had known each other since childhood and had lived a story for years that involved love, family, business, kisses and guns. When life's turns put both couple together, they try to figur...
