“Wake him up!” Charles vaguely heard someone say but he couldn’t see anything. He was blindfolded and tied to a chair. Suddenly, the blindfold was removed and he found himself in an old, dirty room. The windows were broken, cobwebs clustered around the walls and it stank of urine. From his observation, it seemed that the thugs had taken him to an abandoned house. He glanced around the room slowly, his eyes slightly blinded by the rays of sun beaming into the room. There were about six of the thugs present and they were all glaring at him. Whoever sent them must have paid them a lot of money, he thought. “Mr. Charles, the newest millionaire in town.” The leader drawled, leaning closer to him. “Are you surprised you’re here? Are you shocked that all your money could not protect you?” He teased and the rest laughed. Charles tried to talk but his mouth was stuffed with clothes. He made a gagging sound and tried to break free but couldn’t. “That’s not going to help you.” The leader said, then slapped Charles hardly on his face. “Even if you manage to untie yourself, what can you do in a room full of men that want to kill you? You should be begging for your life.” The leader signaled to one of the thugs to remove the clothes around Charles mouth. Immediately Charles was ungagged, he exhaled and lifted his gaze to the leader. “Who sent you?” He asked, his eyes narrowed. “You know that whoever sent you won’t save you when you have to face the law.” The leader chuckled. “The law?” The thugs burst into laughter. “You’re tied up on a chair and you’re thinking of the law? We are going to kill you and get away with it. There’s nothing your money or the law can do.” Charles realized that they were hardened criminals. He thought that their main purpose of kidnapping him was to rob him. But he realized that someone wanted him dead. Who could it be? “I can pay twice the amount you’re paid to kidnap me.” He offered. “Just name your price and it will be sent to you immediately.” The leader shook his head. “We don’t need your money. We’ve been paid to do a job and we will do it. Besides, we are still going to steal your bank details before we kill you.” “We can negotiate.” Charles was becoming desperate. “I can transfer all the money in my bank and you’ll let me go.” He noticed that his offer seemed to entice the leader. ‘Where are my bodyguards?’ He asked within himself. ‘They are just very useless.’“And how much do you have?” “200 million dollars.” The leader tried to hide his excitement. “Hmmmm…that’s a good amount.” “Just let me go and it will be all yours.” The leader signaled to one of the boys. “Get his phone.” Just as the thug turned to get Charles phone, a loud gunshot was heard. Then, it was followed by series of gunshot and an explosion. ‘Finally! The police are here.’ Charles murmured to himself. He saw the pure panic in the leader’s face when he heard the gunshots. Of course, they didn’t think the police would find them but their plans failed. “Drop your hands and raise your hands in the air!” The police ordered as they entered the room, with guns facing the thugs. There was no way out and everyone was aware of that fact. “If you move, we will not hesitate to shoot.” The thugs threw their guns on the ground and slowly obeyed the police officers. Their guns were collected and all of them were handcuffed. “Are you ok, Sir?” One of the police officer asked Charles as he untied him. “We came as soon as possible.” Charles nodded and smiled. “I’m really happy you came. Thank you for saving my life. It seems that they were hired to assassinate me. I was trying to strike a deal with them before you arrived but I’m really glad you came.” “We will take you to the hospital for some brief checkup. We need to ensure that nothing was injected in your system at all.” “Sure.” Charles turned to the leader. “I’ll like to know who hired you to kill me. If you confess, you may granted a lower sentence.” The tough looking thugs who were laughing and threatening Charles earlier began to cry and pleas for mercy. The leader, handcuffed and beaten by the police looked up at Charles with tears in his eyes. “We are not criminals. We are just young boys looking for a means of income. The man who hired us told us that he would pay 500 thousand dollars if we killed you. This is our first time doing something like this. You have to believe me.” “Who is this man? Didn’t he tell you his name or something?” The leader shook his head. “He said he preferred to be anonymous.” One of the thugs spoke up eagerly. “I’m not sure but I overheard him making a phone call. His name is Mark but I didn’t get his surname.” Charles eyes widened and his jaw almost dropped to his feet when he heard the name. He only knew one Mark who would want to kill him. ‘Could Mark really try to kill me? Did Angela plan this with him or was it Jefferson?” Charles had a thousand questions in his mind as he pondered over the whole situation. In fact, he didn’t think that Mark was capable of doing such. He knew that he obviously despised him but trying to kill him was beyond his imagination. “Do you know anyone who would try to kill you? We will still try to make our private investigation but some information from you would be helpful.” The officer who untied him asked. For a moment, Charles was silent as he pondered over the whole situation. Ratting Mark to the police might not guarantee his arrest. And besides that, he wanted to take his revenge in a proper way. He wanted to deal with Mark in unimaginable ways. “I don’t know anyone who would want to kill me.” He said to the policeman. “Besides from jealous businessmen, I don’t think I have anyone who would dislike me.” But that was far from the truth. “Ok.” The policeman signaled to his colleagues to take the thugs away. “Let’s get you home safely and begin our investigation. I hope you have an insurance on your car.” “Yes, I do.” Charles responded as they walked out of the room. ****************************** “Mark!!!! Where are you?!!!” Charles yelled on top of his voice, his eyes reddened with anger, as he stormed into the Adam’s mansion. “What is going on here?” Mrs Adam was the first to hear me and come out of her room. “Charles, what are you doing here?” “That’s none of your business. I’m here to see Mark and if he doesn’t come out this instance, I’m going to turn this place upside down.” “How dare you come to my house and bark threats?” Mrs Adam spat. “Have you lost your mind? Do you think that your status in the city has changed what you used to be?” Charles scoffed. “Mark!” He yelled, ignoring Mrs. Adam. “Why are you scared? Why are you hiding?” Angela popped out of her room and immediately froze in shock when she saw Charles. It was like she was staring at a ghost. “Charles, is that you? What are you doing here?” “Tell your brother to face me or he will spend the rest of his life in jail.” “What are you talking about?” Angela asked, completely confused. “He is obviously drunk or stupid. He thinks that he’s now more superior than us. I’ll have my bodyguards kick you out this instant.” Mrs Adam warned. “What did the dead cat drag in?” Charles turned sharply to see Mark emerging. “Charles, I heard that you’re looking for me.” Charles dashed toward within seconds and grabbed him by the neck. “I’m going to kill you this instant!” He growled, fuming with pure rage. “Have you lost your mind?!!” Mrs Adam screamed, clutching her chest. “Let him go!” Angela tried to intervene but Charles held on to Mark tightly. “Why did you try to kill me?” Charles asked, his voice laced with anger. “Tell me why you hired thugs to kill me!!” “What?” Angela turned to face Mark with clear shock drawn on her face. “Mark, you did what?!”