Chapter 38: Thirty Minutes

"Are you threatening me? Wait for me there a**h*le!" Nikolai cursed and turned off the phone.

Was Xavier going to wait for him? No. He won't.

"Go and pack all of their things and throw them outside unless they wanted to pack them themselves," Xavier instructed his people and they moved swiftly.

They did not wait for their boss to tell them twice.

"Wait! How dare you do this to us? You can't kick us out!"

Xavier grabbed a gun from Rupert and fired a warning shot on the floor near them which caused the three to almost pee in fear.

Nicole was horrified while both Franklin and Paula's faces turned pale.

Franklin bit his tongue and clenched his hand into a tight fist. 'Is he trying to watch us beg him?' He thought.

Being born with a golden spoon, Franklin was never placed in this desperate position.

He had never seen himself begging or pleading with someone to get favors. It was always them who had people at their mercy.

They never worked hard to get something as people were doing it for them.

They were already used to receiving a monthly allowance from the trust fund that Isaiah had put up for them other than the salary and the dividends they earned from Stevens Group as major shareholders.

As for the house, they never thought of having their own as they were confident that they'd inherit this should Isaiah die.

It's where they grew up basically and where they build their own families.

Though this mansion was the first property that Isaiah and his first wife bought, it should hold great sentimental value, right? No. What Isaiah had in this house were bittersweet memories.

He didn't even confront Nikolai when he stole the title of this property from his safe.

And now, they're going to lose this in a blink of an eye?

Where would they go in the middle of the night?

How cruel was Xavier for doing this to them? Was he excited to kick them out now that he could not wait for tomorrow?"

"Xavier! Please don't be like this!" Franklin swallowed his pride and begged him but the latter didn't buy it.

"I'm only repaying what I've received from you, Franklin. So, you choose!" Xavier pressured him.

The clock was ticking.

He waited for what Franklin would do next.

Since begging him was useless, Franklin decided to choose the latter.

"Fine. Nicole, go upstairs and pack everything that could fit in our suitcases."

"Wait! I didn't say that we'll leave?!" Paula interfered.

"You can go on and wait for brother, sister-in-law. But my wife and I will go and pack our things rather than let his men throw them all out outside."

Either way, he was sure that they'd be kicked out of her tonight.

"What?! No!" Paula could not accept that she'd face something like this.

"Xavier, can you give us time to pack? We will leave this house tonight." He thought that Xavier would grant them this and he did.

"Thirty minutes," Xavier said but Franklin and his wife were disappointed.

How could they be able to pack everything in thirty minutes?

Well, the question was did they have enough suitcases to pack up all of their things?

Franklin grabbed his wife Nicole and went straight to their room to start packing.

Paula on the other hand stubbornly stayed.

She believed that her husband could drive Xavier away.

She was secretly hoping that he'd arrive fast. Little did she know that Nikolai was stuck in the casino as he was not allowed to leave.

He owed them money and they thought that he was running away.

There were five of them around the table and one was a young man who was a newcomer. And he's the one who didn't allow him to leave.

He owed him ten million dollars and he promised to pay him at the end of the game yet he was trying to leave now and did not even want to finish the game.

"Do you want my men to teach you a lesson that you could not forget?" The newcomer asked him.

Nikolai knew that he was being serious. It's not true that he was winning. He was losing. Other than money, they were allowed to pay with properties given that the property was appraised and the value should be equal to or higher than the amount owed.

Nikolai was at wit's end as he had already lost even the money from the trust fund he and his wife created for their retirement.

However, should he stay, he had to play another round. And he had nothing else to exchange for the chips.

He did not want to admit it but he was bankrupt.

Tonight was his last shot to redeem himself. He was hoping to win a huge amount so he could take every property that he lost, including his shares.

For now, he had to retreat and look for other ways to get money so he could pay this newcomer the money that he owed.

"I'm sorry, pal but there's an emergency at home."

"Well, that's one of my business? My concern is my money. How can I guarantee that you'll pay me and not run away?"

"He's the heir of the Stevens Group. You can go to their company and look for him." A regular told the newcomer.

That's what he was planning to do. He would make this man go to the Stevens Group building and ask them for the money.

From what he had heard from the regular players in the casino, this newcomer was related to a gang overseas who also had friendships with the local gang in Oakridge City.

Therefore, this man was dangerous.

He wanted Xavier to deal with this man.

"That's right! I'm one of the major shareholders and the son of the Chairman. They'll pay you there." Nikolai said.

But he didn't expect the newcomer to know that he was kicked out of the CEO position and lost his shares.

"Really?" He then looked at his two companions who were standing behind him and nodded his head.

They then approached Nikolai and grabbed him by the shoulder.

His two security companions wanted to protect him yet they were overpowered by the two.

They managed to drag Nikolai out of the table forcefully.

He would never expect that he would be beaten close to death by these two.

Meanwhile...

Thirty minutes had passed and since Paula decided to be stubborn, all of their things were seized by Xavier's men and thrown one by one outside.

"Other than the valuables like jewelry and antiques, throw everything out." Xavier reminded his men.

Paula tried to stop them from dumping it outside. However, they did not listen to her.

One of them pushed her on the ground for trying to delay their job.

All she could do was cry while picking up their things on the grass outside.

She looked at Xavier in resentment. However, she did not know that she'd hate Nikolai more after this night to the point that she'd ask for a divorce.

Franklin and his wife came down the stairs with big suitcases with them.

They were covered with sweat.

They never expected that they'd experience the most terrible thirty minutes of their lives, yet!

All they could pack were the essential ones.

Paula was kicked out of the house with their things scattered outside while Franklin and Nicole managed to have some of their things.

"You should have followed us and saved some of your things, sister-in-law. Who knows? He might burn everything that's in here." Franklin told Paula.

"What?! No!"

Paula tried to go back inside but Rupert did not allow her in.

The servants were terrified to witness the scene.

They feared that all of their things would also be thrown out. However, Xavier spoke, "Those who decided to be loyal to me can stay. Otherwise, you may pack your things and leave the property."

This property was big. Therefore, he needed people to maintain it while he was still undecided on what to do with it.

Xavier's men were quick as an hour after, they were done.

"What? Do you want my men to drag you out of the gate?" He asked Paula.

Unlike Franklin and Nicole who left the property thirty minutes ago, Paula stayed in the front yard, in her pajamas.

Left without a choice, she decided to grab her phone and call for help.

"Mom!" Paula cried to her mother as she felt wronged.

Paula was a daughter of a rich family. Their family owned a pharmaceutical company.

"Okay, Mom! I understand." She ended the call after she was given reassurance that someone would come to rescue her from this humiliation.

Natalie on the other hand was busy sucking up to Mrs. Irving.

She was so happy that the latter accepted her immediately and even asked to stay at Josh's side.

She had no idea what was happening to her mother.

"I'm so glad that you're here Natalie. I'll make sure to convince my son to get back with you again." Mrs. Irving said while Trixie rolled her eyes after hearing this.

She could not believe that her mother's standards for her son were so low.

Both Trixie and Olivia didn't trust Natalie after what she did to Josh.

And with Josh's current mental state, she was sure that these two would never be fine together.

"I'll make him realize that you're perfect for him. And not that vile woman." Mrs. Irving said.

"Mom, I'm still here!" Trixie reminded her.

"Then why are you here? Go to that woman and don't come back. I'd rather lose you both than keep you around. You betrayed your brother."

"Betrayed? Have you forgotten who betrayed who? You were so easy to accept Natalie despite the damage she caused to Josh. And now, she's done it again." Trixie lectured her mother.

"Trixie, I know you wanted him and your friend to be together. However, I love your brother so much. And I hope that you'll support me rather than mentally asking yourself why I am doing this."

"Support? Not again." Trixie scoffed and she received a reprimand from her mother.

"Shut up, Trixie!"

"Why should I? Do you know the two kinds of people I hated the most?" Trixie was not intimidated by Mrs. Irving's warning.

"I hate the people who would come between a relationship and then cold-heartedly ruin it. The second one is a group of hypocritical people. Sadly, you tick the boxes well, Natalie."

"How could you accuse me of ruining the relationship he had with that woman?"

"You swear that you didn't? You seduced my brother and made him sleep with you. How pathetic." Trixie said while looking at Mrs. Irving.

"I'm just taking back what's mine. I'm helping him realize that he still loves me and not that b*tch."

"You!" Trixie was infuriated after how Natalie called Zarah names.

"That's enough!" Mrs. Irving interrupted.

They were so caught up in the topic that they didn't hear Josh's groan. The next second, his eyes opened.

***