CHAPTER 24: LEAVING

Nilo's childhood wasn't easy. The kids from the orphanage made fun of him for being weakling. They mocked him to only be in the office facing the papers until his hair turned gray. If not for Ace, Benjamin Baltazar's adopted son, those kids won't stop bullying him.

Ace was the strongest and the tallest kid in the orphanage. They were the same age when Benjamin took them somewhere. When Benjamin saw that Ace had a future, he adopted and nurtured him. He sent him to school overseas.

Even though he was studying overseas, Benjamin introduced him to his illegal business. He used Ace to expand his illicit business everywhere. Benjamin asks him to come back and help him run his business, but Ace always declines. Only Nilo knows the real reason why he kept on dropping Benjamin's offer.

Ace trusted him, and he trusted him too. Benjamin's business started to decline a few years back, and he always blames it on his nephew, Anton. But Anton is only a chess piece. His nephew's womanizing, illegal drugs, and alcohol abuse might be the cause of Benjamin's downfall, but someone made his nephew that way to make it possible.

Benjamin wasn't aware that Nilo and Ace were scheming against him. Nilo opened his secure email and received an email from Ace. He sent him a reply and deleted all his traces. They thought Nilo was only good at being Benjamin's assistant. They don't know that he has hacking skills, and it won't be hard for him to restore the surveillance video. But he won't do it. He won't help Benjamin Baltazar find the woman in that way. Ace has a perfect plan for that, and he believes in him.

Five days later

"Sir Benjamin, I got an email from Sir Ace," Nilo said while opening his laptop to show his boss the email.

Benjamin read the email and smiled widely. 'Huh! This punk is not useless at all,' he thought to himself.

The email was about the woman he had been searching for, for almost four months. Now he understands why his men had a hard time finding the whereabouts of this woman. It's because she was hiding behind a powerful man in the city.

He will need to plan to get her out of that place and get his revenge. He will torture her, and who knows what will transpire when she's on his turf.

"Call Anton," he ordered his assistant, who was watching his expression.

"Yes, sir," he replied and dialed Anton's number.

"Who is it?" A woman answered the call, which made Nilo blush. She seemed to be awakened and got irritated when she answered the phone. Nilo had an idea what happened the previous night, but he's still not used to it.

"Woman! Hand it to that bastard!" yelled Benjamin. The speaker was on, so Benjamin heard the woman's voice. He was mad that while he was hiding from Interpol's people, his nephew messed around outside instead of taking care of their other business.

"Hey, bastard! You have a phone call," the woman said on the other line. They could hear what she said because she had the speaker on as well.

"F**k, turn off the phone!" said Anton, who was still half asleep and annoyed that his sleep was disturbed.

"Shut up! You bastard! Answer the phone!" Roared Benjamin. Anton suddenly sit-up and looked at the phone still in the woman's hand. With a raised brow, she tossed the phone to Anton.

Anton turned off the speaker and answered the phone. "U-uncle, what's this all about?" He said in an aggrieved tone. Anton has been resenting his uncle since he was young. Anton doesn't know why his parents chose to abandon him and have him stay with his ruthless uncle.

"Send some of our men to City S discreetly! No one should know except you, understand?" Benjamin said, gnashing his teeth. If only Anton is not his nephew, he already abandoned him, just like his brother and sister-in-law did. But because he needs him, he can't do it yet.

"I understand, uncle. Send me your exact location," he replied. Anton got up and gestured for the woman to leave. The woman pouted and threw a pillow at him before leaving the room wearing nothing but a towel.

Chavez's Mansion

Athena returned to the cabin after having her breakfast at the mansion. She was walking on the sands barefoot. She liked its feeling on her feet, so she ended up walking slower.

She entered the cabin, carrying the packed lunch that Nana Maria gave her, so she won't need to go back to the mansion later to eat lunch. She went to the kitchen first to put the food in the refrigerator and head to her study.

She opened her lower drawer and took the burner phone inside the book. She turned it on and was about to call CamZ when the phone vibrated.

"Hello," she said and was a little puzzled but happy knowing that it was CamZ calling.

"Athena, someone discloses your location. Be careful," CamZ said in a worried voice.

"Who is it?" Athena was shocked to hear that there was a traitor in their organization. It is the first time it has happened, and she is not lucky to be a victim.

"Boss Z doesn't want to let you know, but I believe you deserve to know," she said.

"Thanks, CamZ! Who is it?" Athena asked again with a gloomy look.

"It's A1, but don't make a fuss yet. Boss Z is taking care of it. The critical thing is Benjamin is on the move." CamZ paused.

"We received intel that Benjamin contacted his nephew, so more or less, Anton must be sending his people to him," CamZ continued.

Athena was upset that someone betrayed their organization and disclosed her location. So now, she can't stay here anymore.

"Do you need help?" CamZ offered. She's not in City S anymore, but she can fly there anytime if Athena lets her.

"No, I know what to do," Athena reassured CamZ. She knows that CamZ is worried about her safety, but she can handle it. Anton's men are in another country, so it will take them hours or maybe a day before they can reach her. She will have time to prepare and ensure that Marco and others in the mansion will be safe before she leaves.

"Gotta go, contact me as soon as you can, please?" CamZ said in a distressed tone. If not for Boss Z, who keeps stopping her from retaliating against A1, she already punches his face until no one can recognize him.

"I will!" She promised CamZ. 'Wait for me A1, and I'll kick your butt when I see you,' Athena muttered to herself.

Athena went to their room and pulled her backpack under their bed. She then walked to the closet, and instead of grabbing clean t-shirts of Marco hanging on racks, she took a couple inside the laundry basket. Marco's scent still lingered in his shirts, and that's what she wanted. Thinking that the day of leaving him is finally here, Athena can't control the tears falling from her eyes. She sobbed uncontrollably, hugging Marco's t-shirts.

She wants to stay with him forever, but the circumstances don't allow it to happen. Athena wiped her tears and decided to take a shower.

After taking a quick shower, Athena watched herself in the mirror and saw her swollen eyes. She gently massaged her puffy eyes to stimulate the blood flow. When she was satisfied, she decided to give Marco a call.

MC Group

It was almost lunchtime, and Marco was still busy with paperwork. He just returned from a meeting with his director about opening another hotel and resort in the North. It was one of his director's suggestions, and everyone seemed to agree. Marco is not against branching out, but he has to see the land first before deciding. Plus, it is Saavedra's territory, so he needs to communicate with them as well.

His cellphone ringing disrupted him, and he knew who the caller was. He chose a different ringtone for his wife's call because he didn't want to miss her calls. It happened once, and he felt terrible about it.