“Alex!” Megan yells out. “It was Alex.” Megan starts to cry. She has no idea if Max will really keep her safe, but she knows for a fact that if Alex knows that she has told Eric who her benefactor is, she will be dead in the next week. “Rick’s brother?” Eric is suddenly calm and surprised. He is grateful that his father is not the one who arranged for Ally to be poisoned but he is utterly shocked that Alex is the one responsible for all the drama they had to endure during the last two years. “Yes. That is him.” Megan says between sobs. “But I do not think that he wanted to poison Ally. I honestly think he wanted to poison Rick.” Eric can understand this. Rick and Alex never had a lot of time for each other. Alex was ten years younger than Rick and he felt that Rick took up too much time from their parents. Rick was always getting into trouble and his parents always had to find a way to get him out of a mess. At one stage they just stopped trying and Rick became Bennet’s responsibili
After Gareth’s team searched and cleaned out the house of all things electronic, Eric walks into the office to see what else could give him clues as to why Alex would have a vendetta against Ally. The office is a complete mess. There are papers strewn everywhere and some of the sheets of paper is torn in half or more pieces.Eric pics up a piece of paper that seems to show a partial address. He holds the piece of paper in his hand and reads the hand written note on it. An anxious feeling rises in his chest. The address on the paper seems to be the same address as the warehouse where Bennet sent Eric to on a business trip. Eric particularly remembers how he struggled to find the warehouse, because it is half hidden in a dessert. Eric had to take a helicopter to the premises and even when he got there, it was difficult to gain access to the warehouse. The security was above standard and also a key signature of how Bennet did business.Eric cannot think of one single venture that Bennet
Eric pulls up to Rick’s house. He sees Rick standing outside, waiting for him. Eric cannot help but wonder who it is that keeps informing others that he is on his way to them. Eric gets out of the car slowly. He closes the door softly and walks around the car to where Rick is standing.Rick is looking at Eric every single moment, from when he entered the main gate, to where he comes to stand in front of Rick, at the base of the outside steps leading to his front door. Rick is standing with his hands in his pockets. He has a look of defeat and regret on his face. Eric feels hatred for this man rising in his chest. He is not quite sure how Rick is connected to everything that feels like it’s ruining his life right now, but he knows that he is connected and that is enough to make Eric hate him more than he did before.“I see that you have been expecting me. Would you like to just get into it? I cannot say that I am in the mood to really have a long chat with you.” Eric tells Rick with a
Rick stands up and pours himself another drink. If he is not going to survive this day, he may as well numb his feelings. He takes a sealed bottle out of the bottom cabinet. It is a good year and the bottle is insanely expensive. Rick kept it aside for one day when Eric and him could be good friends again. Today, he knows it will never happen. He walks to Eric and hands him the bottle. “It’s sealed. You can trust it.” Rick says as he takes the glass out of Eric’s hand and tosses the alcohol inside it into a pot plant. Rick smiles and shakes his head slightly. He used to really love making plants grow and taking care of his garden. It was somehow therapy to know that he could help something live after he was involved in taking someone’s life. Knowing what he knows now, it doesn’t matter if his plants die with him today. He hands Eric a clean glass and goes to take his seat again. “Bennet made sure that I survive the interrogation and that I had a squeaky-clean record after the dust s
“I was asked to get rid of a problem. When I showed up, I was told that the problem was a person. I couldn’t do it. I begged Bennet for other instructions. He told me it was this person or myself.” Rick has the decency to look ashamed. Eric shakes his head. He cannot bare looking at Rick anymore. He was as bad as Bennet was. Doing all of Bennet’s dirty work. “Where is Alex?” Eric asks bluntly. “That, I cannot tell you. Not because I feel like protecting him. I just simply do not know where he is.” Rick tells Eric, he is developing the same indifference as Eric has. “See, the thing is, when I called Alex to help me, he didn’t tell me what he wanted in return. It turned out that Alex have always been envious of our friendship and after the accident, he grew envious of how your father treated me like a son.” Rick sighs. “If only he knew, Bennet didn’t treat me like a son, he treated me like a servant. He spoke to me as he did to the help. He paid me well and he kept me busy. He made s
It is very early in the morning when Eric walks into the hospital where Ally is admitted. He is exhausted and can barely keep his eyes open. Yesterday has been one of the most taxing days he has had in a long time. Eric walks to the waiting room where he met the doctor earlier and takes a seat on the comfortable sofa. He leans back and closes his eyes, thinking of how he left Rick in his home. He didn’t even bother to close the doors. He was so angry with Rick, because even though he did not directly poison Ally, he most certainly had a hand in the whole process. The list is not long, but Eric definitely has a list of people who should not survive to see the end of the year. For the fist time in his entire life, he feels that he can somehow understand his father’s methods. It is painful to hate someone so much that hurting them is not enough. Getting rid of them, feels fair. Eric feels a sharp pain in his chest. He hates that he has become this person. He never wanted to be like Benne
Eric leaves the hospital to go to Bennet. Even though he got some good hours of sleep in, he still feels drained and tired. He does not really know how he needs to confront his father. Bennet rarely keeps a secret. He is upfront about how he could easily get rid of anyone. Most people just do as Bennet asks because his reputation precedes him. Everyone that does business with Bennet, knows that you do not mess with him. You do not make promises you cannot keep and should something happen to keep you from keeping your promise, it is best to disappear on your own before he gets to you. If you disappear on your own, you have a chance to survive. If he helps you, you will probably end up dead.During the drive to Bennet, Eric pulls his phone out and dials Max’s number.“Mr Symons. How can I help you?” Max answers the call. Eric is quiet for a second.“Is Megan still in your care?” Eric asks bluntly.“Yes, Sir.” Max answers promptly.“Does she have any contact with anyone?” Eric does not p
“The explosion in the oven?” Eric asks. He hates that his father is behind everything after all. He honestly hoped that his father would respect his marriage even if he didn’t have any respect for his own.“No, by then I already knew that Rick was useless. The only use Rick has to me now, is getting rid of unwanted evidence.” Bennet is smug. Eric wants to crawl over the table and choke him to death.“You used Alex.” Eric can hear the tiredness in his own voice. He feels defeated. Bennet is fairly untouchable. Eric cannot think of one single thing, other than status and money, that Bennet truly cares about.“Well, Alex is a mastermind in manipulation. He can get anyone to do anything that he wants them to do. Even if they do not really want to do it. He manipulates a situation in such a way that the person he targets falls right into a situation where they have no other choice but to comply.” Bennet chuckles softly. He is obviously very proud of Alex. Prouder than he has ever been of E