Lahat ng Kabanata ng His Assistant His Ruin : Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

The warehouse looked different. Not because the building itself had changed. The walls were still the same weathered concrete. The loading bays still carried the faded markings from years ago. Even the steel staircase leading to the offices above remained slightly uneven near the third step. Delvis noticed it anyway. His feet avoided the step without thinking. Habit. The movement happened before memory caught up with it. Very little had changed. Only the people. The guards recognized him immediately. Neither reached for a weapon. One stepped forward instead. "Mr. Delvis." Delvis looked at him briefly. The man had not been there the last time. Too young. He couldn't have known what this place used to be. "Stanley is upstairs." Delvis continued walking. No one tried to stop him. No one asked him to wait. The office door stood open. Stanley was standing beside the window with both hands resting lightly in his pockets. Morning sunlight spilled across the polished wo

The city slowly disappeared behind them. Glass towers gave way to older neighborhoods. Older neighborhoods surrendered to tree-lined roads, and before long even those began to thin until only stretches of quiet countryside remained beyond the car windows. Isaiah sat in the front passenger seat with his usual posture, hands resting calmly on his lap as though he had made this journey hundreds of times before. Perhaps he had. Delvis sat in the back, one elbow resting against the window, watching familiar scenery drift past in comfortable silence. It had been almost three months since he last came here. Not because he did not want to. Because whenever the First Lady requested his presence, it was rarely for something that could be described as casual. The driver slowed as the road curved gently to the left. A pair of towering wrought-iron gates stood ahead, black with intricate gold detailing woven through the center. Time had never been allowed to touch them. Every bar still gl

The conversation ended the same way most conversations with the First Lady ended. Without ceremony. She simply reached for another document resting neatly beside her teacup. The audience was over. Delvis understood the dismissal immediately. He stood. "So soon?" she asked without looking up. "I still have preparations to oversee." "You always do." She adjusted her glasses slightly as her eyes continued moving across the report before her. "Then don't disappoint me."Four simple words. No threat. None was necessary. "I won't." She nodded once. "I know." It wasn't encouragement. It was expectation. There was a difference. Delvis inclined his head respectfully before turning toward the door. His hand had barely reached the brass handle when her voice stopped him one final time. "Delvis." He looked back. For the first time since he'd entered the room, she wasn't looking at paperwork. She was looking directly at him. "When your grandfather handed this family to me.

Doris barely slept. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the figure standing beyond the garden. Motionless. Silent. Watching. She had tried convincing herself that it had been one of the security men. The mansion was surrounded by guards, and with the engagement approaching, there were more people coming and going than usual. It could have been anyone. That was what she kept telling herself. Yet something about the way the figure had stood there bothered her. It hadn't moved. It hadn't walked away. It had simply disappeared. By morning, Doris had given up trying to explain it. She dressed, tied her hair back, and walked downstairs. The mansion was already awake. People were everywhere. A pair of decorators carried large boxes through the foyer while two women stood beside the staircase discussing flower arrangements. Someone was arguing over the guest list, and from somewhere deeper inside the house came the sound of dishes being moved around. The engagement had ta

Doris stared at the message until the words began to blur. >Get me the Orion file. Or I will show the world. Her thumb hovered over the screen. For a brief moment, she considered calling Delvis. She could tell him everything. The messages. The footage. Stanley. The threat. Maybe that was what she was supposed to do. But then another thought stopped her. The engagement. Delvis's reputation. His family. Everything that was already hanging over his shoulders. And if Stanley really had the footage, telling Delvis would not simply solve the problem. It would create another one. Doris locked her phone and placed it face down on the desk. She took a slow breath. Then picked it up again. Her fingers moved across the screen. >I can't access the complete audit. She stared at the message before sending it. The response came faster than she expected. >Don’t you try to play smart Doris. Doris swallowed. >Some sections require executive authorization. I don't have access t