15 Dinner invitation

Beverly hills

The area around the sofa was crammed with bottles, cans and more bottles of alcohol. Small green flasks of gin, large clear bottles of absolut vodka, broken maroon bottles of whisky, assorted cans of bitter beer, a few saffron colored bottles of white wine and empty-handed bottles of intoxicating red wine. They formed a small structure around the sofa. Jayden stepped inside the living room. The first thing that hit him was that overpowering scent of alcohol, and the scent had already clung into his nosestrils. Had she been drinking? Again?

Jayden had feared that this would happen, but now, anger had replaced his fear. He was angry because his sister had succumbed to the powerful attraction of alcohol. Angry because she had completely become an alcoholic. Angry because she had ignored the fact that she wasn't an ordinary person, but an Anderson for that matter. Drinking wasn't allowed. And here she was, sitting on the floor, drinking herself to death. Jayden strode to where she sat and squatted before her.

"Chloe! For God's sake why are you drinking yourself to death! Why are you doing this to yourself? Have you even tried looking at yourself in the mirror? Do you realize how ridiculous you look? Now, come on! Get up!" said Jayden as he tried to lift her up from the floor.

"Leave me alone! Leave me alone! Allow me to drink in peace! It's the only way I can forget Ethan's harsh words!" she stammered as she strained to speak due to the alcohol effect.

"Ethan! Ethan! Ethan! Ethan did this! Ethan did that!" he roared as he mimicked his sister. "Don't you get tired of mentioning that name? He has done nothing but hurt you! He has practically turned you into an alcoholic and you still have the guts to mention his name before my face! I'll report you to mum and dad, the next time this happens! And you know pretty well how dad can be when he gets angry! You can't handle it, so you better stop this madness!" said Jayden as he continued getting up to leave. He left her alone, sitting on the floor, with her hands on her forehead. He wanted her to think, to reflect, to decide her fate.

"Are you serious about what you said just now? About reporting me to dad?" she asked uncomfortably as jayden was about to close the door. Her rigid posture showed that she wanted to glare at him. He had to answer her. He thought about it carefully. It was a difficult question for him. How could he say? Yes? to her? But at the same time, saying? No? was equal to letting her off scott-free, condoning her actions. Maybe? Wasn't even an option? Without looking at her, he said,

"Even if you are my sister, I try not to say things that I don't mean." He closed the door behind him as he left. Chloe sat on the floor staring aimlessly at the bottles of beer that had been scattered everywhere, contemplating on jayden's threat. She knew him too well. He meant whatever he said. If her dad found out, she would be dead meat. She knew her father very well, and she wouldn't want to make him angry. There was a time she left the mansion and went to visit her friend, without informing anyone. When they came back and found that she was nowhere to be found in the mansion, her father became very angry. For a whole night, they didn't sleep, as they were searching for her. In the morning, they resumed the search, only to see her walk through the door perfectly alright, no bruises at all. And when she was asked where she had been, she said that she had gone to see her friend and that she had forgotten to bring her phone with her. But no amount of excuses could help her out. Her dad was extremely angry that everyone was afraid of saying a word or trying to plead for her. The next minute, she was carried by two bodyguards who whipped her mercilessly. As if that was not enough, she was locked up in the dungeon. Given that the room was very dark, she felt terrified. And to think of the fact that she stayed there for two whole weeks, it was terrific for her. Recalling that day, Chloe trembled.

'I can't experience that again,' she thought as she quickly stood up and began to clear the mess.

G&K company

Meanwhile, Devin walked in the ceo's office, "Sir, your father has sent dinner invitation on the weekend."

"Tell him I'll be there." Ethan said, drily.

On the weekend evening

The Lamborghini stopped in front of a luxurious villa. The carved gate in whimsical style came into view. A three-storey house with a great tree-lined court stood quietly under the sunset, and on the lawn of the court, several gardeners busied themselves in the garden. The Urkel's old butler, Stanley, a white-haired man dressed as a housekeeper, was waiting at the door. He had been with him for more than twenty years. On seeing Ethan, butler Stanley bowed, "Good evening, sir," Ethan nodded in respect. Walking into the living room, he saw Kelvin, Susan and scarlet sitting on the sofa. Kelvin was his younger brother, same father but different mothers whereas scarlet was his blood sister. He adored her so much. Ethan and Kelvin never got along well. On so many occasions, they were involved in fights especially because of their father's inheritance. As the eldest son of Old Mr Urkel, Ethan was given the position of being the ceo of their biggest company in LA. The responsibility was not just given to anyone, it was passed on from generations to generations,and only the eldest son of the family would inherit. If it occurred that the eldest son wasn't capable of running the company, then they would result to voting by the board members. They would vote for one of their own,one who's competent enough to run the company. Automatically, the company would now belong to the person and then later on, his eldest son would inherit. But this didn't mean that the other family would lose everything, he would still have his shares in the company. A woman wasn't allowed to run the company, as they considered it a taboo. So if it occurred that the family had no son for an heir, but had a daughter, automatically voting would be the only option.

Of course, Kelvin wasn't happy at all about these rules most especially his mother, Susan. They had been trying so hard to take Ethan's position and failed countless times. Ethan was smart enough to know their every move, so each time they tried anything funny, Ethan would have already known their plan. After everybody had arrived for the dinner, Ethan, still expressionless, uttered, "Its getting late. Meal time now."