A Flame Divine ♕

XLIV. C H O K E

s t e l l a n

Stellan paced outside the private dining room, his brother eerily still. Some of his most trusted business associates had arranged a dinner party under the pretense of the business. Sean, Hugo's usurper and murder sat at the head of the table surrounded by eight of his employees, all of which Merrik assured him were loyal to the late CEO.

Merrik peered through the gossamer curtain separating them from the other room and Stellan wanted to laugh at the glare in his brother's eyes. Had the situation not been so dire, he just might have made a joke about how Merrik's looks could kill. But tonight was all seriousness. Tonight, the business would end.

Merrik looked at Stellan and leaned in to whisper, "I can't wait to hear him admit what he did."

Stellan nodded. "And to see him get taken away by the Feds will give me so much joy," he responded with a grin splitting his handsome face. "Can we go inside now? I want to see the look on Sean's face when he sees us."

Merrik grinned. "No rush, bror," he said, glancing at his watch. "At exactly seven p.m., they will signal the Feds. Then we will go in and get our confession."

Stellan nodded and waited it out. His heartbeat quickened just thinking about the Feds. Being this close made him nervous.

At promptly seven o'clock, Stellan heard the clank of silverware on glass. He and Merrik exchanged looks, and Merrik nodded. Stellan sucked in a breath to prepare himself.

He let Merrik walk in ahead of him before following in his footsteps. When they pushed through the curtain, all eyes shot to them, and Sean's were terrified.

"Good evening, gentlemen," Merrik began, and Stellan smirked with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Merrik, Stellan, what are you all doing here?" Chad, the associate Merrik spoke to on the phone, asked, glancing at the man next to him.

"We just wanted to stop by and see if there was anything special going down at this little meeting. After all, we haven't been to one since Hugo died." Merrik's eyes shot to Sean and Stellan's heart sped up.

"You are not welcome here," Sean ground out, his face red and squished.

"Oh, I'm not? And Hugo's murderer is?"

At Merrik's words, a collective silence washed over the room. Stellan could see Sean's face blanch, and then carefully school his features into a mask of neutrality. Stellan wanted to scoff.

"Why is it, Sean, that you get to sit here before Hugo's legacy and pretend that you earned it?" Merrik looked toward Stellan, then passed his gaze over the eight men sitting at the table before settling back on Sean. "We gave you this position. Hugo was killed for it."

Sean's face paled further, and he began to clutch at his throat. After a moment, he spit up blood. Stellan's eyebrow dipped and he stepped up next to Merrik. "What the hell is wrong with him?" he asked the room.

The other men remained silent and merely glanced at each other.

As Sean began to choke, Merrik's eyes widened. "Oh my God."

Stellan narrowed his eyes and he began to realize what was happening. "Mother fucker. They poisoned him."

Suddenly, Sean leaned forward and vomited his dinner all over the white tablecloth. Merrik cringed, and Stellan knew he was repulsed. His own stomach churned at the sight of it.

"We couldn't let you call the Feds, Merrik," Chad called from the other end of the table. Stellan whipped his head to the man who was now standing, hands planted flat on the table.