Return to Chaos.

Alexander's POV

It had been ten years since I was last in London. The sight of Brooks House made me nauseous, returning to what I was supposed to call a family, with a father who had married my late mom’s secretary, Anna, and a stepbrother, Leonard.

I walked away from Fiona after my secretary, Frederick, signaled I should leave immediately.

"What's wrong?" I asked, unbuttoning the wrist of my shirt as I walked into the room.

He bowed, closing the door behind him. "Reporters took pictures of you while dancing. I tried to pay one of them to delete the images..."

"And the others?" I inquired, pulling off the shirt.

"There were just two, and the second was adamant. I'm afraid, sooner or later, the pictures will be up on the internet."

Reporters always found a way to mess up my life. The headlines would read: CEO Womanizer Caught Again with a Different Lady, Just as in Hong Kong, Even Though He's Betrothed to the Most Beautiful CEO of Our Time.

"Make sure that doesn’t happen. I have a board meeting tomorrow; I don’t need anything disrupting that," I ordered.

Frederick bowed and left while I walked to the door and closed it. I dipped my hands into my pocket, pulling out my phone as I dialed a number.

"Good day, Mr. Alexander Brooks," the voice came on as I sat on the sofa, my bare chest reflecting in the mirror across the room.

The man on the line was a reputable lawyer with whom I had built a connection while in Hong Kong.

"How have you been, Mr. Zack?"

"Good," he said briefly.

"Tomorrow, I need your help during the board meeting. Some board members need to be cast out. From the records I have gone through, they've been involved in a few crimes: embezzlement, stashing funds in paper companies, hiring ghost workers, and so on."

"Sure, please send in the files. I have to go through them."

"Thank you," I said as I hung up.

On my arrival the day before yesterday, I had gone through all the employees' records, only to find out that some people's names were still on the payroll even though they had died years ago. Someone was definitely receiving all the money.

And for the board members, 5% of the company’s revenue suddenly went missing as the digits didn’t add up. I would get to the bottom of this.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. I unlocked and opened it, seeing Sabrina standing there, boiling with fury.

Sabrina was the daughter of the chairman of You and I, a food company, and also my father's best friend's child. We were betrothed at age ten, which made no sense. But it was always evident that the rich should go through the cycle of marrying the rich.

I never really liked her; she had an aura of pretense. Whenever I looked at her, she seemed just like the other ladies I had encountered. No one was genuine. What did I expect? I was the son of Jordan Brooks, London’s top business tycoon.

"What do you want?" I leaned on the wall, preventing her from coming in, which she eventually did.

"What was that out there? Why did you allow that woman to dance with you?" she said, seething with anger.

"Seems you're forgetting I owe no explanation to you."

"You do," she snapped. "I'm your fiancée."

I laughed out loud. "Fiancée? Did I ever propose?"

She let out a low laugh, a tear falling from her eye. "I think you're the one who doesn’t know that I don’t need you. You should need me."

"Finally showing your true colors?" I scoffed, slipping on a shirt.

"I don't—" She was about to speak when a male worker came to the edge of the door.

"Sorry to interrupt, ma’am and sir, there's a family meeting right now."

I signaled him to leave, then turned to Sabrina. "We’ll see who’ll be needing whom, Miss Parks," I said as I walked away.

As I descended the stairs, my eyes navigated the living room, which was already emptied, except for my so-called family and the lady who sat close to Dad.

"Come here, Alexander," Dad called, gesturing with his left hand while the other had a blood pressure cuff on. So Fiona was Dad’s private physician now? Interesting. "You too, Sabrina," he called out to Sabrina, who was behind me this whole time.

Anna smiled as she looked at me. "You’ve grown so well, Alexander."

"Didn't you want me to grow?" I smiled back, but the smiles we wore were nothing but masks. Leonard sat close to his mother, gazing at Fiona, who was deeply engrossed in her work.

I sat down a little far away from Sabrina, who adjusted closer.

"It’s nice to have family here," Dad coughed a little, as Jennifer handed him a glass of water.

I scoffed. So this was what family was meant to be?

"Now that Alexander has taken over and I am ill, it’s most appropriate to do the right thing."

"Yes, we've come to a conclusion," Anna added. "You both should get married before Christmas, which is two months away."

My eyes suddenly turned red as I let out a faint laugh. "Married?"

"Yes," Dad replied in a husky voice as Fiona took the cuff off. "It’s about time."

Sabrina wore a wide smile, so wide it annoyed the hell out of me.

"I'm sorry, Dad, but I won’t marry Sabrina," I finally said the words I had always wanted to say ten years ago.

"Why wouldn’t you marry her? She’s the chosen one for you," Anna, that snake, fueled my fury.

"Why should I? There are lots of CEOs who would benefit the company since that’s what you both want. I have no intention of getting married." I stood to leave, but Dad stopped me from going any further.

"You won’t walk out when I'm talking to you," he raised his voice a little, which made him cough again.

"You should calm down, sir," Fiona said lightly, smiling at me.

"You will marry Sabrina, that’s final."

I stroked Sabrina’s hair as I bent towards her. "You can marry Leonard if you’re that desperate to marry into this family. As for me, we’ll never become a thing," I said as I stormed out of the house, having Frederick pick up my phone and coat from the room.

We drove to a hotel two streets away as I had ordered. Frederick opened the door as I stepped out.

"Have you taken the files to Mr. Zack?"

"No, I’ll do that right now, sir," he bowed.

"Take the car. I’ll be spending the night here," I said as I grabbed my phone and walked into the hotel.

The front desk had a chubby lady sitting behind it, who stood to bow immediately when she saw me.

"This is your room key card," she handed it over.

I walked into the room exhausted and crashed into bed.

The alarm blared in my ear the next morning as I murmured while struggling to stay asleep. Today was the board meeting, and I had a lot planned out.

I quickly rushed into the washroom and stepped out as quickly as I rushed in. Pulling on a Turkish suit and masking in perfume, I slipped on my shoes and walked out.

As I walked down the corridor, my eyes caught the side of a woman. She looked so much like Dad’s physician. What was her name again?

The car was ready as Frederick revved it on.

"Did Mr. Zack finally agree to come?" I inquired as he zoomed off.

A message came into his phone, interrupting him from speaking.

"Sorry, sir," he apologized as he stared at the message, wearing a cold face. "You have to listen to this, sir," he said as he turned the car radio on.

"Today, marking Alexander Brooks' first day as the CEO of Brooks Company, five board members have resigned and sold their shares, stating they can’t work under the new CEO, as he’s going to bring the company to ruin."

I burned with fury, ripping my tie apart. "They were a step closer. How dare they?"

"Sir, we need to turn back. Reporters are flocking to the company."

I was confused for a moment, then remembered Dad’s close associate, the Chief Strategist. "Call Ethan Gray. We are going back to the hotel."