6. Painful memories

When Lexi was fantasizing about Adrian, the man in question was sitting in his office, going through the documents he had received just then. It was a complete report of Ted Sander. It had details regarding his work, his business, family, friends, and all other possible information. He looked at his assistant, who was standing beside him and gave him a nod of appreciation.

Adrian took his phone and sent a message to Ted: Let the game begin.

It had taken him a long time to hunt down Ted. The man still had a debt to pay. He was the reason for his destruction and his loss of family. He had been searching for him for two years and was successful only now. After finding out that he was in Vlei, he had entered the city with only one aim in mind. Revenge.

"Boss, now what do we do?" His assistant, Steve Warren, asked him. Steve had been his assistant since the day he had started his business. Steve was diligent, trustworthy and most importantly, loyal. He was also his only friend in the world.

"Now, we will wait for the fish to take the bait," Adrian replied, leaning back on his chair.

"Ade, are you sure that this will work?" Steve asked, worried. Though the trap they had set for Ted did not have any loopholes, it was still dangerous.

"Hundred percent." His confident answer made Steve take a deep breath. He knew how his friend was and how his mind worked. He would do nothing if the success percent was not a hundred. So, he removed all the doubts he had and sat in front of him.

"What are you going to do now?"

"Wait."

"How long?"

"Until the mouse comes out of its hole."

"Then?"

"Then..." Adrian gave Steve a devilish smile, one that had Steve shivering in fright.

"You are scary." He commented, reaching toward the glass of water in front of him and taking a sip.

"Tell me something I don't know."

"How did you find out about Ted?"

"I got it from an acquaintance." He replied with a bored face.

"Who? Do I know him?"

"Maybe."

"Can't you answer me correctly?" Steve questioned, giving his friend a glare, which he ignored.

"No." Adrian deadpanned.

"Why are you like this?"

"Like what?"

"Irritating, annoying, infuriating."

"You do know that these are the synonyms for the same word, don't you?"

"Ugh. You are unbelievable." Steve stood up and left the room without another word.

Silence filled the room. Adrian picked up the paperweight and spun it on the desk. It spun a few times before it stopped. He picked it up again. This time instead of spinning it, he smashed it on the ground and it shattered into small pieces.  Not giving another glance at it, he stood up and turned to face the floor-to-ceiling window behind him.

Though his face was stoic and expressionless, there was melancholy in his eyes. There were a lot of emotions brewing in them, anger, grief, hatred, loneliness. He stared in front of him not looking at anything in particular. The cars and the people below him, the buildings in front of him everything appeared to be a blur. All he could see was the way his sister's dead body lay in his hands as he cried for her.

Adrian picked up his phone and tapped on the screen. It held a picture of a small girl of age four. It looked like an old picture. Adrian smiled as he kept staring at his phone. It was his niece, Ahana.

"Where are you, Hana?" He spoke softly, caressing the screen lovingly. He loved his niece dearly, but now he was unsure where she was. After his sister's death, she had gone missing with no trails. He had used up all his resources to find the girl, with no result. It was like she had just vanished from the surface of the earth.

He could still remember the cute little girl following him everywhere, asking for lollipops or chocolates. He knew she knew she was his weakness, yet he succumbed to all her wishes. His sister had reprimanded him many times for spoiling her, but he did not give an ear to it. He had to somehow make up for the absence of a father for Ahana. Being a single mother was not easy for his sister. However, he was with her in every step of her life until the end.

Adrian sighed. The memory was etched in his mind and he was sure nothing could erase it. He closed his eyes for a few seconds to clear his thoughts. After some time, he opened them. This time his eyes were emotionless, cold and aloof, just like before.

The weather became gloomy at once, covering the sky with dark clouds. Though it was only around twelve in the noon, it looked like seven in the evening. Adrian gave a sarcastic smile when he saw the change. The weather too was fluctuating according to his mood.

He sat back on his chair. He had a lot of work to do now. Opening a company in a new city was not only difficult but also troublesome. There was a lot of paperwork to complete, new employees were to be appointed, resources were to be acquired and most importantly, he had to find a place to stay.

Currently, he was temporarily staying at a presidential suite at one of the best hotels in the city, The Majesty. He wanted something less noisy, more isolated and calm. He preferred to stay alone rather than be surrounded by fake people. His assistant had sent him a list of penthouses from which he was yet to make a choice.

Since the day he had come to the city, he had been busy. It was only today that he had some time for himself. However, the weather was not cooperating and he had to postpone his plan for another day. That was fine with him. Going house hunting could wait, he had other important work to take care of.

Meanwhile, outside Adrian's cabin, his assistant was busy typing a series of codes on his laptop. He looked serious, his fingers moving at an unbelievable speed. Whenever his glasses slid down his nose, he would stop typing and push them back before resuming his work. This continued for a long time until he halted suddenly.

"Shit." He gritted his teeth. "Who the hell has created this software? I am unable to hack it at all."

Steve had a hobby of hacking into difficult websites. He had taken an interest in it when he had witnessed a hacking competition on the television in his childhood. Since then he had built upon this talent, successfully decrypting any software except for one.

A week ago, he had come across a newly released anti-virus software that he wanted to try hacking. However, every time he tried to break the security, it would backfire and in turn, his device would get corrupted. He had made sure to use second-hand devices in his work every time. So, he did not lose any data in the process nor had to worry about wrecking a new one.

"Who the hell is this person?" He groaned as he looked at the screen. It had blacked out like his previous attempts, displaying a just short message at the center: Better luck next time, LAN.