Billionaire's Pleasure-Chapter 21: Bad News
Sebastian’s POV
Angry to the brink of delirium, Stella is really mad at me. I can’t say that I blame her for anything. I was the one who yanked her from my bed instead of tying her up and completing the task at my fingertips. And she isn’t going to let me forget it anytime soon. Because hell has no way of retaliating on its own.
During lunch, Louis was able to eat the food of the tiny blonde cook who worked at the restaurant that night. Tho, I’ve completely fouled up the situation, I’m infatuated with the prospect of being the owner of Stella. Louis and I leave Stella’s condo unit and go back to the office which gets stuck in rush hour traffic.
I am riding to one of his best cars right now as he said because he owns far too many expensive limited-edition automobiles to justify the expense. He isn’t allowed to fucking drive high-end automobiles except during the summer months.
As we approach closer to the office, Louis’s phone suddenly rings so he picked up the call and put it on a loudspeaker. "Can you tell me how things are going with the negotiations?" Louis said.
"Are you with Sebastian right now?" I heard s familiar voice. If I am not mistaken it’s Andrew. I can tell right away that he’s in a freaking panic by the sound of his voice.
"Yes, I am here," I tell him. "What the fuck is going on?" Louis asked.
"We’re terminating our arrangement with Mr. Bill," Andrew said.
"What? Who made that decision?" Louis said seriously. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
Over the phone, he screams, his voice colored with wrath, "I just fucking did!" Andrew exclaims.
"WHAT! Wait, we need to talk about this first. We should know about this! What the hell are all of you doing!"
"Louis, bro," I say as an interruption. "Bro, take a deep breath and try to remain cool.
"All right, I’m fucking calm," Louis said. He barks, but I’m not taken in by it. It’s impossible for my brother to say anything without panting profusely, almost as if he’s been involved in a fistfight.
"Can you tell me what happened? Do you have any availability to meet with us in the office? I’d like to know the details. We’re on our way already. Please meet with me in person to discuss this matter further."
We heard Andrew begins to whisper something incomprehensible, I have to wonder whether he has been drinking something recently. During the day, on the other hand, he abstains from drinking alcohol.
"Andrew? Tell us where you are, and we’ll come to get you instead. We’re going to come and get you," I said.
"They killed her, Sebastian," he shouts angrily. Now I know that he’s been drinking.
"What are you talking about? Who are you referring to?"
He grumbles, plainly exhausted. "Just come to your dad’s house," he says. After that, the line goes ends.
So, what precisely is going on in this situation? Who was he talking about? Because I’m so terrified, my skull is pounding with pain. It will take us an eternity to go across town thanks to Louis’s nimble driving. I have a sneaking suspicion that this is a more personal call than a business call, despite the fact that he mentioned the killing.
"Keep driving to the dad’s house," I advise Louis. "Something isn’t quite right," I said.
"I know...something isn’t really quite right." Louis agreed.
"Right. So, you should drive faster. We need to hurry."
With shock on his face, Louis looks around. "Calm down. I’m trying my best here. Bro, we are just a couple of blocks away and will be at the house of dad already."
"No Bro! This is a life-or-death crisis," I said.
"Fine." While shaking his head, Louis drive his car faster than usual until we came already to dad’s place and he activates his hazard lights and pulls his vehicle up to the first available parking space along the curb. In neutral, he leaps out of his car with the stick shift engaged.
We get out of the car and we quickly walked. While we are walking, Louis suddenly, says, "Everything will be fine." It is now necessary to seek some clarification. As soon as we get to Dad’s house, we find Andrew there waiting for us to say hello. He’s leaned up against his car’s driver-side front tire, appearing disheveled, with half of his shirt hem protruding from his slacks and no spring jacket or blazer to keep the chill off his shoulders. I hurry out of Andrew’s car and sprint up to him, helping him to his feet as quickly as I can.
I heard Andrew’s phone ringing so I grab it immediately and pick up the call.
"Hello?" I said.
"Sebastian?" the voice declares seriously. I know the person on the other end of the phone line is not Edward or Nicholas. The voice that I heard is the epitome of poise and self-control at all times, no matter what and I believe that I know already who the owner of the voice is. It is from dad.
"What exactly went wrong? Dad, can you tell me what’s going on now?"
"I am sorry," he says.
"Why are you saying sorry? What do you mean? I’m still perplexed as to what exactly is going on. Can you tell me who got assassinated?" My curiosity is piqued as I am acutely aware that the sentence makes absolutely no sense.
"I have to go now. For now, you could ask Andrew in the meantime," he said and ended the call.
I look at Andrew and we take a seat inside his car and engage in a brief conversation. When I got into the car, I turned up the heaters to their highest setting and switched on the seat warmers while I waited. Whatever it was that threw him for a loop had to have been a major setback.
"Can you tell me what Dad’s saying? We like to know more about what’s going on here. But maybe you want to get yourself a cup of coffee or anything you want first."
Edward states, "No need. I will be fine."
"Okay then, would you mind having a conversation with us now? Edward, you’re making us feel quite uncomfortable. Can you tell us now what happened?" I said.
When he has taken a deep breath, he says, "All right. Hudson’s chemotherapy medicine was responsible for your Mom’s death."
"I’m not sure whether I understood what you said."
"Do you want me to repeat it?" Edward says. "A bribe was given to someone on the inside by the private investigator we hired. They were able to learn about the company’s clinical trials. Your mom’s heart failure was brought on by the side effects of her chemotherapy drug, which she had taken. They assassinated her, according to the investigation. Your mom was one of the test participants when the medication was still in the early stages of development. In addition, the fucking corporation was aware of the harmful consequences for a long time before that, but they chose to conceal the results of their clinical research in order to get the medicine approved by the Drug Administration."
Every new piece of information makes my brain feel numb and deafening. I’m completely unable to think. I’m barely able to communicate, but I’m making an effort.
I was not able to find out whether it is real or not or if our father is aware of what is going on.
"Are you certain that isn’t a clerical error?" Louis murmurs something incoherently.
"Does this seem to be some kind of strange coincidence? Louis, your mother was on her deathbed. People who are diagnosed with stage four cancer do not live long after being diagnosed. Moreover, after she entered remission, you were able to spend a couple of extra years with her until she passed away."
Louis is still quiet and just nods his head and he looks over me.
"Get a hold of a copy of the report and give it a thorough read," Edward says.
To be honest, I’m not sure I’ve got the mental, emotional, or intestinal fortitude to read the report Edward has assigned me to. That is unless I have a genuine intention to kill someone. It’s all I know for certain: if and when we have to break the news, neither of us can afford to be completely out of control.
It is with a firmness that I tell him, "We will take you back to your apartment now. In the late afternoon or early evening, I will ask my driver to return your car to your place. Once I come home and read the report, and if we agree with you, we’ll go before Dad and put an end to this disgusting Mr. Bill thing."
He smiles and nods. That is ample satisfaction for me. I drove Edward to his Midtown condo while Louis drove his car by himself and we decided to just see each other in my condo.
After a few minutes, I get back to my condo, bringing the report from his car. I saw Louis quietly sitting in my office chair, waiting for me. Getting the courage to open the report takes about an hour, and when we finally do, we kick ourselves reading what’s inside of it.
Andrew was 100 percent correct in everything he mentioned to us. I’m now outraged to the point of wanting to kill someone.
Next, I heard cats meowing incessantly at my front door. If that’s Stella, she’s got awful timing, as she always seems to do.
