Chapter 6 - Threatened

SILVESTER couldn't forget the way Dianne presented herself. Her red hair, ocean eyes, and tattoos on her back were something he could never forget. Marks of lashes are evident under the tattoos. Was she ever tortured?  

He closed his eyes as he imagined the tattoos again. They weren't merely accessories to her, she didn't just get them because she liked tattoos. But rather, she got them to cover the wounds of her past. 

"Who really are you, Dianne?" he asked himself as he stared at his ceiling. 

He splashed his face with water before he got ready. He put on his suit before fixing his tie. Is she really a secret agent? Should I tell this to the police? What if she's not? I'm an attorney, I can't let a criminal get their way, he thought to himself. 

But I also don't want her to get in trouble… he thought further. 

He sighed heavily, not knowing what to do. A knock on his door interrupted him and he went to check who it was. He looked through the peephole of his door and saw a man in a suit similar to his waiting for him outside. 

He slightly opened the door and looked at the man from head to toe. "Who are you?" he asked, suspicious of him. 

"Good day, Atty. Creed, I am here to deliver the painting." His eyebrows shot up after the man's explanation. He looked beside him and saw a box in the shape of the painting. "Have a great day." The man bowed before leaving him. 

He grabbed the painting before grabbing scissors and opening the box. The woman in thorns stared directly at him and he smiled remembering how Dianne begged to get this painting from him. 

He looked at his laptop and decided to search for Dianne. It wasn't even hard, she's rich and famous and owns different buildings and corporations. How powerful is this woman? Insane how she became this successful. 

A particular article caught his attention. He squinted his eyes before clicking on it. He bit his lips realizing this was about the murder of Mr. and Mrs. Reeves, her parents. He clenched his jaw as he read through the article. 

It was said that they were murdered but the murderer was yet to be found to this day. Slashes of knives were across their body, the killer probably continued even after they were dead. Speculations of the media thought maybe it was rivals of their company, or even revenge for something they've done, and many more. 

His eyes widened as the following lines were about Dianne's torture. The article shows a picture of Dianne in an interview as she states that she was starved and tortured in a cage with no light before she escaped. She tried saving her parents but it was too late. 

He closed his laptop before leaning back on his couch and messing his hair. "Holy shit," he whispered as he breathed heavily. He looked at the painting next to his laptop and the woman's face changed to Dianne's. 

He blinked a couple of times and it turned to normal. 

IN THE company building, Dianne walked down the halls with a blank face as she looked through the papers she was holding. She pursed her lips as she scanned every document given to her. "10 percent of the product's revenue is offered to us? Decline it," she said before handing the paper to her assistant as she followed her around. 

"Ask them to give us 30 to 40 percent if they want us to continue doing business"-- she stopped and looked at the receptionist holding flowers with her name written on them. 

"Who is it from?" she asked with a dead stare. 

"A man dropped by earlier and dropped it off," she answered politely and Dianne's eyebrows furrowed. 

"Name?" she asked. 

"He simply said… 'Titan God' for what I recall, he said you'll know?" Dianne laughed before shaking her head because of his stupid gift. 

"Kronos," she said before chuckling. 

"Throw it away." 

She left the building as her assistant followed behind. "You're walking too fast," she commented as she was running out of breath. 

"I'm hungry, Angelica," she answered and her assistant held onto her arm. 

"You'll cause me to die," she said and Dianne chuckled. 

"I'll treat you to lunch," she whispered and it was as if that was a magic word for Angelica. She immediately stood up straight and walked faster than Dianne. She chuckled loudly as she followed behind her. 

They've been friends for a long time. From college until now, Angelica was there with her throughout her journey. Now that they're working women, Angelica stuck to her side and became her assistant. She's the only person Dianne trusts the most. 

Once they went into the café, Dianne sat down as her friend ordered their food. The aroma of coffee excites her as she looks around the small café. She loves that simple place, it makes her feel at ease. It might be small but it accommodates a lot of people. 

She looked at the television and the news about the mansion's shootout was being reported live. She watched closely before her friend went back to their table. "Rich people, I swear. Always into some shit," Angelica whispered and she glared at her friend. 

"I- uh- not you, I guess?" She tried to laugh it off but Dianne only scoffed and shook her head. 

She grabbed the hot coffee while watching the news. She put it in front of her mouth when the café door opened and a man walked by. The coffee dripped on her mouth, burning it. "Shit," she cursed before licking her lips. Angel immediately left to ask for cool water. 

"Drinking coffee in the middle of the day when the sun is scorching hot?" The man sat down in front of her with a smirk and she wiped her lips. "I don't get sleep, what do you expect?" He chuckled. 

He crossed his arm and leaned back. "Did you like the flowers?" he teasingly asked and she glared at him. 

"You sent me lilies and carnations, those are for funerals, you moron," she angrily said and he chuckled and threw his head back before looking at her again. 

"Losing your cheater of a boyfriend is practically killing a predator, that's my gift to his… funeral," he smirked as he raised an eyebrow. 

"Now that you're single again–" She cut him off. 

"Hell, no," she said. 

"I haven't said anything–" 

"Ah, Angelica. The water, thank you," Dianne said before grabbing it from her friend who sat down next to her. The water relieved the pain of the burning sensation on her lips. Thankfully she was able to dodge Kronos' words.

"I can ease the pain on your lips," he seductively said as he looked at her pinkish lips. "With my own," he whispered with a smirk, almost making her choke on air. Kronos is damn smooth yet she hates his guts. 

"My fist would love the feeling of your lips," she said as she showed him her fist, ready to punch. 

"Okay, I'll go to the other table." Her friend awkwardly left them alone, not wanting to listen to their conversation. 

Once they were alone, Kronos leaned forward and handed her a flash drive. "I heard about the elites," he said and her eyebrows raised. She squinted her eyes as she waited for his explanation.

"That flash drive contains confidential information, I sent a spy to their base. Consider this as a favor." He stood up and winked at her. He was about to leave when she grabbed his arm. "How do I know you're not part of them?" she asked with squinted eyes and he chuckled. 

"Baby, when did I ever lie to you?" He smiled playfully before she let go of his hand. He left the café and she clenched her jaw. She tried grabbing her coffee and realized it was not there anymore. She looked outside and saw him drinking it while looking at her. "Asshole," she whispered, she should've seen that coming. 

Once they were finished eating, she received a text message from an unknown number stating, consider the bullet through the floor a warning.

She clenched her jaw before sighing. She knew that the sniper meant that shot as a warning, snipers never miss their shots unless it's intentional. She would know that the best. 

She called Harrison who was working at their headquarters to inform him of the message. "Track it and find out who sent the message," she commanded before ending the call. 

"Track what?" Angel asked but she didn't answer. They might be friends for a long time but she doesn't want her to know about the syndicate and what they do. She can be put in danger. "Parcels, I went online shopping," she lied and her friend nodded.

An hour later, Harrison sent her the location of the person who sent the message but couldn't identify who it was. She left work early so she can find the culprit. "It's near his house…" she whispered as she walked through the neighborhood where Silvester lives. 

"Right next to him?" She scratched her head hoping he was not home. 

She knocked on the door that Harrison told her about and after a minute, it opened slightly. She kicked the door open before going inside and closing it behind her. "Who do you work– for…" She blinked a couple of times as she didn't expect an old lady to be the culprit. The lady was holding her arm while laying down on the floor because of the impact. 

"Please don't harm me! I have no money!" she begged as she kneeled down. Dianne couldn't do anything but to stand still. "Uhm…" she tried finding words. 

"Did you send me a message?" she asked while scratching her head and looking around the house and finding it normal. "M-my phone was stolen a week ago," she explained and all the curses Dianne could think of floated in her mind. 

"Apologies," she said before bowing her head. She helped her up, feeling embarrassed. 

"If you need anything, feel free to contact me. I am really sorry about this, are you short on money? Do you need financial help? Or anything?" she asked and the woman didn't know what to say. 

"Is your arm broken? I'll take you to the hospital," she said, still guilty and didn't want a rumor about this to spread. She can already see the headlines, 

Dianne Reeves, a wealthy business tycoon kicked an old woman.

"I'll send you ten thousand dollars," Dianne said before bowing her head and opening the front door. The woman was still in shock and didn't react. 

She started walking fast to get out of there before bumping into someone. She stumbled back but caught herself from falling. "Why are you here, Ms. Don't-ever-see-me-again?" he asked and she gulped. 

"Why are YOU here?" She threw back the question and he chuckled before pointing at his house. "I live in this neighborhood, darling," he said with a smirk and she looked away. Damn, why does he need to be handsome? 

She sighed heavily before laughing it off. She walked away from him but heard his voice from a distance, "Do you remember what happened when you were drunk?" She stopped in her tracks. 

"What happened?" She turned her head to look at him. 

"Don't worry." He walked forward. "Nothing happened between us," he said with a smile. Relief washed over her. 

"How come you seem fine after a recent breakup?" he interrogated and her eyebrows raised.

"I've seen worse things, it's easy for me to get over someone. I can be a player if I wanted but playing hearts is boring compared to playing with guns." She smirked before turning back around. She shook her head while chuckling before waving goodbye. 

"I hope to not see you again," she said. 

"Doubt that," he replied, making her laugh lightly. 

While walking home, she became serious about the fact that she keeps bumping into Silvester. It's dangerous and stupid, Rae already warned her to stay away from him yet there she was, talking to him face to face as if she was playing with fire.

"You're compelling, Silvester. It's indeed strange," she said to herself while kicking stones on the sidewalk before noticing a man in black clothing following behind her as the sky grew dark.