"Good morning Mr Russo, we've been waiting for you."
I spared him a glance, he wasn't worth my greetings.
"There's nothing good about this morning." I said. "Whatever you have to say if not on schedule will have to wait."
I walked past him after saying this.
I didn't turn to look at his expression.
I didn't need to.
I could already tell that he was fuming, he wasn't used to being dismissed.
"Morning Mr Russo, the board members have been waiting for quite a while." Daniel informed the moment he saw me.
"Of course." I responded simply as we both entered my personal elevator heading straight for the executive floor.
The board members have always been like this.
They came earlier than me so they could
Wait.
Talk.
And discuss things they thought I'd approve of.
The boardroom doors opened the moment I approached.
Perfect timing.
The moment I stepped in, the usual heavy silence filled the room.
All conversations died instantly.
Good.
I took my place at the head of the table.
"Let's begin." I said.
I kept in mind the fact the Mr Voss was absent from the meeting. He'd pay the price for such disrespect the next time I laid my eyes on him.
They started blabbing about as usual.
Then one of the older members stood.
"We've already drafted a proposal regarding expansion to the southern routes-"
I interjected.
"Rejected."
His brows furrowed.
"Sir, you haven't even taken a look the proposal.".
"The deal is very profitable." Another member pitched in.
"You call this gamble profitable?" I questioned, disappointed in their lack of vision.
The old man leaned in. "With all due respect, the profit margins are-"
I interrupted him again.
"Irrelevant if we have to compromise control over the project."
The boardroom went silent.
I leaned on the table to emphasize my point. "You're thinking short-term, I'm not."
Nobody dared to argue anymore.
"Scrap it entirely and never bring me a proposal like this again." I gave out my instruction. "We all know companies in the south route are dubious, working with them is the same as destroying the platform this empire was built on."
With that I stood.
They knew what it meant. The meeting was over.
No one said anything as I walked out with Daniel following close behind me.
Daniel teased.
"Way to go Vincent, never realized you had a sweet tongue."
I just scoffed but didn't reply.
"Tough morning? This is the latest you've ever arrived at the office." Daniel fell into step beside me.
"Something like that. Those baldies are getting way too comfortable trying to ruin me right under my nose." I said.
Daniel said thoughtfully.
"They're bound to meet their waterloo soon if they keep this up."
We entered my office and Daniel closed the door behind me.
"Update?"
He didn't hesitate.
" The internal check is already in process, we should find out who the mole is soon, but we are yet to find anything about the old driver."
I walked towards the glass walls, my reflection staring back at me faintly against the glass.
"Last night while I was home I overheard my dad mention a name when he was on a call." I started.
"What name?"
"Ruelle." I replied.
"You want me to find out who it is?" Daniel asked.
"Yh. The call felt suspicious." I added.
"We'll try to locate anyone who has the name who could be in contact with your father."
I stared at the world outside the glass.
The city stretched far, wide, unpredictable.
Ruelle.
A name without a face.
"And there's Mr Voss." Daniel added.
My face remained passive.
"What about him?" I asked.
"He's been asking too many questions lately." Daniel informed.
"Let him ask." I said.
Daniel questioned.
"You're not concerned?"
"I've been having a bad feeling about him too." I continued. "But he's asking questions which means he doesn't have answers."
Daniel nodded in silent agreement. "Understood."
With my new lead-Ruelle, I finally had a feeling that I wasn't just searching in vain.
There were really answers waiting for me to find them.
My phone buzzed against my desk.
Once.
Twice.
The caller remained persistent.
I frowned before picking it up.
The caller Id was unknown.
I answered anyway.
"Hey Russo, I have a piece of information you'd like to hear." The voice said.
"Who. Are. You?"
"You're not to know." The voice answered.
I noticed that the voice was very deep, deeper than normal.
Voice changer.
The person didn't want their identity to be exposed.
"Say your name or I cut the call.' I threatened.
"Oh cut the call. I guess you'll never find out about what happened to your mother today." The voice said, laughing.
Silence.
I would endure this for my mom.
"I don't like suspense, talk." I gave in.
"I know you well, you don't take suspense well." The voiced laughed once more.
"Speak." I repeated.
"Your mother's ashes have been exhumed from her grave by me Russo."
Silence.
Not the kind that usually filled the Russo boardroom.
It was the kind that settled inside you.
Cold.
Still.
"What?" Daniel asked when he saw the colour in my face drain.
His single word snapped me out my trance.
"Why? Why did you do it?" I tried to keep myself together.
"I felt like playing with the sand and the one on her grave was attractive."
"You will pay for this, I promise."
I cut the call the moment I said this.
Shakily, I lowered my phone.
Daniel watched me closely.
"What's wrong?"
"Some psycho just called to tell me he felt like playing with sand so he exhumed my mother's ashes from her grave."
The words stumbled out of my mouth.
I felt detached from the rest of the world.
Daniel was also too dumbstruck to speak.
He silently closed the gap between us and pulled me into a hug.
I didn't resist.
Not like I had the strength to.
"This will all be over someday, don't let yourself be provoked." Daniel advised.
I managed to collect myself together.
"Send two of our men to go check it out."
I would have gone myself but my mother's grave was in Italy, she had insisted she be buried there before she died.
Going back to Italy right now was definitely not the right choice.
A memory.
Clear like all the others flashed in my head.
"Who does mommy love the most? Me or dad?" I asked.
"Of course my Paige loves me the most." My father grinned.
"I love you both equally, I can't imagine life without either of you." Mom smiled.
"I can't imagine life without you either." My father stared at my mom in adoration.
"I can't too." I chipped in, not wanting to be the forgotten baby at the side. "She's my mommy go meet yours too."
My mom laughed, feeling bewildered at why I and my dad were arguing over her.
Till date her laughter still echoed in my ear.
It still haunted me.
Both I and my father had said we couldn't imagine life without her.
Yet here we were living life without her.
I didn't know about my dad.
But for me, liife was no good without mom.
"Vincent." Daniel called out my name, pulling me out of my trance once more.
When I finally looked at him he continued.
"What if this is a message that you should keep your hands off the investigation."
"Then they chose the wrong way to send it." I said. "And soon, they'll suffer the consequences of their actions."
Daniel sighed.
"Take it easy bro, don't wear yourself out."
"Get the car ready." I refused to address his words.
Daniel asked.
"Where to?"
"A bar."