Into The Grandiosity

Part 3

**********

Three years later, working with Claire and Shaheen under Adelram (a-dehl-ram), the leader of the community, one of the top powerful leaders in Ahncel. Due to the fact that I was casted by Claire, Adel and I were close as Claire was his secretary and he trusted her fully in her intuition.

As a decoy, I have pretended to be a medical staff, businessman, bodyguard et cetera. My role was just to bait the victims to believing my fake identity before they meet their fate set up by my business partners.

The best moment was baiting Professor Eldridge. It was my personal request just like what Claire suggested four years ago. Needless to say, it costed a lot of money. But I was satisfied with the results which was more than enough.

My team worked on my appearance so no one knew who I was besides our team. Claire predicted things would go as plan, and it did.

I came to Eldridge's house with Shaheen as a decoy police assigned to interrogate his family for evidences from an incident in the neighborhood.

Later, Angelica and Marquis came to do what we called a 'fun service'. Angelica, was my partner in crime, meanwhile in our personal life, she was my sweetheart. Despite being angelic most of the time, she could turn into Demonica if you get on her bad side, which Professor Eldridge did to me. Meanwhile Marquis was a sadistic and was named after Marquis De Sade, the person who inspired the term sadism.

Both of them played with Eldrigde's family- using daggers. They threw the daggers like darts to his family which was forced to be the dartboard. Things seemed ordinary to me after adjusting myself with the constant moments of seeing people being tortured.

I joined them when they played the eraser game, which was a popular children's game also at the same time was considered lethal. With the tip of a burning cigarette instead of an eraser, we traced the word we chose on the skin of the Eldridge's family. The person with the deepest wound won, which was Marquis and his victim, the poor man's granddaughter.

As soon as we were satisfied, their lifeless body burned into ashes. I thought I would spare Eldridge to let him live with the grim memory, but just like the bird I shot, it was better to end him at that exact moment.

**********

Gradually, I couldn't help but notice that my close colleagues were acting awkward around me after five years of our friendship and professional relationship. They often gave one-word answers, which irked me because of how our communication seemed to worsen without a proper reason.

I had a hunch they were hiding something from me; and by them I meant Angelica, Claire and Shaheen. Marquis, on the other hand, that man was quite useless when it came to getting information. Knowing how irresponsible he was sometimes, no one would trust him with secrets.

"Why are you avoiding me?" I asked Angie. Despite sleeping in the same bed, we felt like ghosts. Our relationship started to turn vague at the same point. "Are you and the others planning something that has to do with me".

"Go to sleep, Fiero".

I was torn whether to push her to reveal the reason, or to drop the topic. Considering it was the fifth time I asked her ever since, it seemed as though she would persist zipping her mouth.

My body itched to wrap around hers and find comfort and love that we once had. However, I couldn't bring myself to do it as my feelings were slowly but surely evaporating.

After the years of bottling things up inside, I knew it would cause a huge toll to me. For this reason, I broke up with her after months of the emotional exhaustion. Her scorn face and reply vexed me for days "I hope you would realize what you're doing one day".

As soon as she packed her belongings and left our apartment, I threw a vase that I cared so dearly to the wall. The vase reminded me of my mother, whom I tried to care but, in the end, everything was a waste for the one-sided love.

Who the hell do you think you are to say that? Why are you blaming me while you're pretending to be the victim when I have done nothing wrong?

She was my first love. Still, if she came back to me, I wouldn't agree to continue our chapter when we chose it to end.

As now you're just another story I can't tell anymore.

**********

A year later I finally had an official name, Cameron. I didn't care if it was based off chameleon; being able to play different types of role required intensive acting classes. It took five years as I was too focused on keeping myself and the people around me together, while also keeping my performance steady.

After putting much work, Adel finally saw my outstanding performance, granting me a high position that only the top five could gain. He had to kick Angelica out of the high position which she didn't deserve it from the start. Her convincing technique of sweet talking both our community and the socialites just made her influencing.

Looking back, we were both manipulative in our own way.

**********

'You are gone and you are not coming back, but I remember everything'. That was what written on a card in a bouquet of red and pink flowers, placed gently on my table. "The fuck is this? A joke?" I looked around my colleagues for an explanation that it was their idea for a prank.

Why would she send me this? I thought. The only person who would do this was probably Angelica, but I knew better not to be emotionally and physically attached with her anymore. No one else would send me that on my table unless they were in the community.

Madrina, my co-worker who shared the same office room with me and Marquis, chortled seeing my expression. She came to my table to offer an explanation "Y'know my parents used to grow flowers, beside marijuana. These are anemones, they kind of symbolize forgotten love. With the message in the card, who else would send you that?"

"Awww, Angie is sad that Adel kicked her and replaced you instead. You should go console her, Cam," a mocking laugh burst from Marquis. He definitely was enjoying my relationship drama with her.

Disgusted, I threw the bouquet into the trash can. I'm not that cheap and easy for you to pick me up like that. "She can just be someone else's whore and I'd literally give no fuck".

"Madrina, I need the same amount of coke for this month. Put it under my name." Madrina was a drug dealer, just like the woman she was named after. I was more than glad to be in the same office as her and Marquis. They wouldn't condemn about certain things that were against their beliefs, unlike Claire and Shaheen whom would come off as saints occasionally.

Considering the fact that we were in a lifestyle heavily against the law, they did sound like a hypocritical couple. But I would keep them safely under my watch, I had a plan in the future which required Shaheen to be on my side. Claire on the other hand definitely saw my plan but decided to stay low. She wasn't as bright as I was besides having sixth sense to foresee the future.

Just like that, I outdid nearly everyone. Gradually, everyone started to fall into my hands.

Only one left, Adel.

**********