Beta
Beta
He took a sip of his freshly brewed Jasmine tea and let out a content sigh thinking about the endless possibilities that lie ahead once he fulfills the assignment successfully, and gets Ace within his grasp.
"Missy!"
Gilbert's head turned to the door when a servant let out a gasp as she opened the door and saw the young miss of the house standing in a half sleepy state, reeking of alcohol. Xeumo slowly looked up and followed the eyes of the servant as it drifted to the man sitting on the couch. Her own eyes widening in shock, fear taking over her senses.
Wasn't her father supposed to come after three days from an urgent trip, how did he come earlier? Most importantly, why none of the servants informed her? Xeumo ran a hand in her messy hair, all the way to smoothen her clothes, her gaze falling on her exposed thighs. She cursed for wearing a mini dress for the last night's party at a friend's place.
THUD
She jumped. Gilbert set the teacup on to the table and stood up to his full height. His eyes flashed with indignance and anger, "Come upstairs," two words. Two words and he left for his study, leaving Xeumo under the pitiful gaze of the servants coming from all directions as they pretend to be busy in daily chores. They all knew what's coming up next but none dare to say a word and turned a blind eye.
Xeumo held her breath, climbing the stairs with heavy steps. Looming ahead was the door to hell where she had been receiving punishment for every minute mistake. Be it breaking the vase when she was a child, plucking a flower from her father's favorite rose garden, or even when she's not at fault but her father feels like punishing her.
Now that she dare to attend a friend's birthday party in her father's absence, only God knows how many whips she will receive.
She sucked in her breath and knocked at the door. "Enter," there comes the daunting voice that had her heart skip a beat.
Outside, the servants gathered, whispering as their gaze glued to the door behind which the missy of the house had entered.
In that moment of silence, they shuddered when the sound of someone hit by a stick followed by soft whimpers echoed. It followed by the enraged sound of their master scolding someone.
The painful soft whimpers made the hair straight up on their arms. It was a pure terror and was now a common thing since the missy of the house lost her fiancee in an accident.
"EVERYONE. What are you looking at, get back to work,"
The servants scattered at the voice of the head servant and concentrated on the work in hand. For don't know how long the heart-wrenching sounds continue before it was a pin drop silence once more.
Inside the study,
Gilbert wiped the long blood-stained stick with a clean white cloth, his nose cringed at the sight of the expensive carpet getting spoiled where Xeumo was lying curled into a fetal position. He was about to call the butler to clean the mess and take Xeumo to her room from where she'd reflect on her failures and mistakes when a familiar sound coming from his computer perked his ear.
Alpha!
"Fu*k, that's an emergency call!"
Before pressing the button to start the conversation, he cast one cautious gaze to Xeumo. She was motionless.
Satisfied, he pressed the button to answer the call.
"Last time I asked you if you are hiding something from me? Why didn't you tell me Zhao Suyin already knows the truth of her child's stolen heart?" Alpha's eerie voice filled the silence of the room.
Gilbert's breath hitched. "A-Alpa...."
"Now that she already knows that you were involved, tell me what is the rule of our organization when someone is exposed?"
Death!
A painful death!
Cold sweat glistened on his bald head, his complexion turned pale, matching the one with his daughter lying unconscious on the carpet. "S-Suyin d-doesn't know the entire truth. She probably got a hint from Gong Li somehow. Had she known the truth, she would 't have waited this long."
A burst of cruel mocking laughter filled the almost silent room. "The stammer in your voice is the obvious proof you have screwed up. You are screwed, Gilbert. Do you have any idea someone from the underworld is investigating the case?"
"Underworld?" Gilbert's eyes flew wide, his brain short-circuited. Suyin had connections with the underworld!? If that's the truth, which it obviously is, Alpha wouldn't delay a second to assassinate him.
BREAK
BASH
THUD
Gilbert jumped, almost falling from his tall swivel chair at the loud sound of the breaking of the wall to ceiling window, and a black silhouette landed on his toes. The glass pieces scattered everywhere.
He poked his head from under the table, his eyes widening at the sight of the masked man infamously called Beta, Alpha's right hand. The most dangerous and brutal assassin walks in the shadow and keeps his face covered.
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"Master, is everything okay?" The butler asked.
"GET LOST! MAKE SURE NO ONE COMES NEAR THE STUDY." Gilbert yelled, anxiously waiting until the sound of the footsteps was no more heard.
He crawled out of his hideout, shivering.
True to Alpha's personality, he doesn't delay in eliminating anything that may lead to him. Stricken with horror, he folded his hands when the man takes out his signature weapon and ran a hand through its length.
"Wait. Wait. Don't kill, I can still handle this.... Let me say something first," Panicked, Gilbert doesn't even have the strength to stand on his legs and pulled the laptop down on the floor. "At that time, another person had approached me who wanted the baby dead. She offered to support me to become the Vice President of the Hospital, which I couldn't decline. So I used a trick to achieve both goals. On one side the baby was dead, while on the other we got the organs," the words came so fast, that for a moment he had a doubt if the words even made sense.
Gilbert cast a nervous glance at the assassin, who kicked Xeumo once to determine if she's dead or unconscious, causing her to slump on her back, still unmoving.
"Interesting. Tell me more," After a momentary silence Gilbert heard the response that gave him hope. Whether he would live or die depends on the words followed.
"T-Tang Sui. The daughter of the Tang family, and Hui Guozhi's wife, she wanted the child dead to close all the doors for Suyin to claim right over Qi Wren's property using the child as bait. She sent one of her men to get the child killed, and I merely assisted her by letting a free pass to the NICU."
He breathed. "In order to show it a natural death, the man just turned off the oxygen knob, waited until the lines turn flat on the monitor, and left. I had already tweaked the monitor and managed to revive the baby. But thanks to him, the baby was brain dead already and ready for organ transplant."
Gilbert's eyes snapped to a specific man from time to time to make sure he remained within his sight and not just vanish only to appear behind him later and puncture him with the sharp weapon he was playing with.
"Hm, so you planning to put all the blame on Tang Sui because of her obvious motives and direct Suyin's attention to her? Interesting. I can consider that" Gilbert didn't dare to heave a sigh of relief as the sound reverberated from the laptop, "But eventually it was you who assisted. How will you get yourself free from that? The way Suyin is chasing like a hungry tigress, she won't let go of anyone."
Something flashed in Gilbert's eyes. He looked at unconscious Xeumo, "I-I have a way. Give me a chance. As far as Suyin is concerned, she doesn't know her baby's death is part of the organ trafficking circle and I'm one of them. We won't be exposed, including me. And the man who bought the heart, his identity is still a secret. No one in the world knows about him."
Gilbert's throat ran dry when he didn't hear a word from Alpha while the assassin had already taken the silence as the default signal to kill. He bit the back of his hand feeling a sting of the pencil-like weapon pressing against his chest.
"Besides, I already managed to get Tang Sui, Hui Chouming, and Qi Wren's shares of Ace. In the board meeting, no one can stop me from becoming the new chairperson. Let me live, the entire Ace will be at your service, and contribute to the organization, AAHHHH"
"STOP," Beta paused and glanced at the black screen on the monitor with only the lines of sound waves moving. "Withdraw," Gilbert let out a squeal and pressed his palm over the bleeding cut as the assassin pulled out the weapon.
"Fine. Since you have been the loyal dog of our organization for the longest time, I'm letting you have another chance. But remember~ one mistake, and we will kill you on the spot."
BEEP
The screen went blank....
Gilbert plopped onto his butt, his hand coaxing his poor old heart. Reminded of the assassin, he looked around, only to hear the howling sound of the wind and fluttering of curtains.
He was gone!
This was the narrow escape!
*******