“Tell me now! What did I do to you? Why did you try to kill me?” Charles grit his teeth, tightening his grip around Mark’s neck. “Mark, what did you do?” Angela was trembling as she asked. “What have you done? Are you trying to ruin all our lives?” “Yes, I tried to kill him!” Mark barked, choking. “I tried to kill him because he’s a pain in our ass. I needed to get rid of him because he spoils all our plans. He destroyed everything we planned and I had to take action. No one was willing to do it so I took it upon myself.” The words were like a bee sting to Charles. He shut his eyes, trying hard not to lose control. After some seconds, he released Mark and pushed him away. “I’ve got your confession on tape.” He said, raising his phone in the air. “The thugs you sent had no personal information about you but I had to make sure to get evidence. Now, I’m going to take it to the police and you’ll spend half your life in jail for attempted murder.” Angela fell to her knees before Charles and grabbed his ankle. “Please, please, please. I’m begging you. Please spare him.” “Spare him?” Charles shot her a dark look. “He tried to kill me and you want me to spare him? What do you think would have happened if the police didn’t arrive on time? I would be a dead man. There’s no forgiveness for him.” “Charles, for the sake of what we shared in the past, please forgive my brother.” Angela pleaded, still holding on to him. Charles shook his head in disapproval. “He is not even remorseful. Why should I give him a chance when he doesn’t deserve it?” He kicked Angela’s hands away with such intensity that she flew to the end of the room. As he turned to leave, Mrs. Adam and Mark fell on their knees before him. “Please forgive my son. For all the good deeds we have done for you, you should repay us this way. Remember when you had no one and we took you in to live with us, think about those times and consider it a way to pay us back.” Charles snickered. “What did you do for me? I worked tirelessly everyday only to be treated like a piece of shit. I ate your leftovers, scrubbed your feet, washed your heavy clothes and still cleaned this mansion. Yet, all I received was abuses and complaints. You did nothing for me so don’t ever expect me to pay back.” “Don’t be ungrateful.” Mark replied in a low tone. “My mother has a point. We allowed you marry Angela even when you had no dime. We accepted you into this family even when you had no good reputation in the city. What I did was the devil’s handwork. Give me another chance.” Mark’s audacity was shocking to Charles. He didn’t believe that instead of begging, he was trying to justify his evil deeds. “I can see you’re trying to justify your actions.” He bit back. “I’ll make sure the judge gives you the maximum sentence for what you did. See you in prison.” Immediately Mark heard those words, he began to panic. He didn’t want to go to prison. How could he survive the tough treatment, nasty food and terrible inmates? “Charles, please, I’m really sorry.” He cried. “I’ll do anything for you to forgive me. Please tell me what to do and I’ll do it immediately.” “Your apologies don’t mean anything to me.” He looked at Angela who was still crying on the ground. “You should say goodbye to them because the police are coming to take you away soon.” Mrs Adam spoke up this time. “I know there’s something we can do to change your mind. Tell us, we will do it.” “Yes, man, I will do anything.” Mark added. Charles thought silently for some seconds. There was no way he was going to let Mark get away with what he did. He had to punish him in a way that would shake him forever. He thought hard about the matter and finally decided on what to do. “I’ll delete this tape and forget about what happened on only one condition.” Charles said, smiling faintly. “Yes!” Mark chimed. “Tell me what it is. I swear that I’ll do it immediately.” Charles chuckled. “You don’t have a choice either way. The only way I’ll let you go is if you beat me in a competition.” Mark exhaled heavily. He immediately remembered how Charles challenged his friend, Jeremy, to a cooking competition and how he won like a magician. What if that was his fate? Was Charles only trying to taunt him? “What kind of competition?” He asked, praying hard that it would not be a cooking contest again. “To walk away freely, you’ll have to beat me in a virtual hackathon.” “What is that?” Mrs. Adam queried. “Mark and I will compete to create a new business idea, product, or invention. The minister of business and technology, the minister of finance and the secretary of education will be the judges of this competition.” Mark scoffed. “How would you get the ministers to judge? And do you think they won’t be biased?” “Leave that to me.” Charles responded. “Aside from the ministers, the contest will be broadcasted on tv and viewers can vote on their preferred product or idea.” “And what happens if I win? Would you drop all charges on me?” “Yes. I’ll drop all charges and ask the policeman in charge of my case to stop the investigation.” He paused, then smiled coldly. “You haven’t asked what would happen if you lose.” “I assume you’ll charge me to court, won’t you?” Charles shook his head. “No. I’ll take your company’s company from you. Adam’s Corporation will be mine forever.” “No!” Mrs. Adam protested. “You can’t wager our company in this competition. I will not take that.” “Very well then. Prepare to send your son off to prison.” He turned his back on them to leave. “Wait!” Mark called out, sounding defeated. He had no choice. It was either his freedom or their company. “I accept the challenge and if I lose, you will claim the ownership rights of our company.” “Very good.” Charles smiled widely.