All Chapters of The Mysterious Chairman Keith: Chapter 21
- Chapter 30
32 chapters
Chapter 21
NEXAGEN TECHNOLOGIES Lucas and Jamie were already making moves on how to pull Manuel down. “You’re late.” Someone said behind a tinted glass door as Jamie and Lucas approached the big building of the Nexagen technologies. They looked, trying to get where the voice was coming from and then Lucas noticed the tinted glass in front of them and guessed the sound should be from there. Jamie stiffened instinctively. Lucas didn’t. He adjusted the cuff of his tailored suit and replied evenly, “We’re right on time.” They had booked an appointment with the Nightingale's only rival and the CEO of Nexagen technologies, Tommy Lyden. The glass door opened on its own accord when they stepped on the monitor. As it opened, it revealed the interior of the company, it w
Chapter 22
THE PRICE TO PAYLucas’s fingers tightened together. “You’ve been planning this.”“For years,” Tommy said unapologetically. “Nightingale has always been my endgame. You’re just… a useful shortcut.”Lucas leaned back slightly. “Then you don’t need me.”“Oh, but I do,” Tommy said, stopping directly in front of him. “Because ownership is one thing. Control is another. And blood…” He smiled. “Blood accelerates things.”Lucas looked at him again without flinching.Tommy tilted his head, studying him one last time, his voice dropped as though he didn't want someone to hear them.“Tell me how far you’re willing to go, would you sacrifice blood?!!”Lucas looked at him as though he was speaking something foreign. Blood?! What does he mean by that?! Or, does he mean I kill Manuel first?!Lucas drew closer, looking straight at him.“What do you mean by sacrificing blood?”Lucas’s voice was steady, he was not even shaking or fearful, it looked as if he knew what he would say before he said it, o
Chapter 23
FIRST ENCOUNTER “Dad?!!”Jamie called his father, who was already walking away.He didn't even spare him a glance or try to hear him out anymore, he only wanted his word to stand and that was final. “Father!” Jamie called again, louder now, but Lucas kept walking as though he wasn't hearing him. Lucas walked faster so he could meet up with him, but soon people started flooding his path and didn't even regard him. He stood and waited for them to clear from his path before moving again.When he looked, he saw Lucas almost close to the car and he saw how the people he met on his way bowed to him and then he knew, he has really lost everything.The car that brought them was waiting outside, the driver ready to take them back anytime they wanted. Immediately, Lucas approached, the car door was still locked. The driver was supposed to open it before he got there, but the driver's mind was absent and didn't know when they got there. “Why's the door locked still?!” Lucas asked, raising
Chapter 25
WAS CULTIVATION THAT EASY?“You should be careful with statements like that,” Manuel said quietly. “People might misunderstand.”Christopher smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “People misunderstand many things.”They fell into silence for a while, both of them looking at themselves.Manuel glanced back at Dave, then at Christopher. “Thank you. For taking care of him.”Christopher nodded without looking at him. “It’s nothing.”Manuel didn’t miss the way his fingers tightened briefly around the flask.After a while, Manuel stood. He placed the empty cup back on the table. “I should go.”Christopher looked surprised. “Already?”“I have work,” Manuel said. “And enemies who won’t wait for me to grieve properly.”Christopher’s lips curved slightly. “Of course.”Manuel looked at his father one last time before he turned to the door. As he walked away, he felt so different. Different from the way he walked to the hospital.He noticed something, he was tired and exhausted when he came
Chapter 24
WHAT IS THIS TEA? “How's my father doing?!” Manuel asked over the phone. He was on call with Christopher, who happened to be there, taking care of his father. “You might want to see him…” Christopher chuckled over the phone. Manuel nodded and dropped the phone, his gaze on the wall for a moment. Then, he stood up at once and motioned to the door. “Get the car ready. We're heading to the hospital now.” Laura nodded and at once, she sent the driver to make sure the car was ready and spotless. When Manuel got outside, he saw how neat and ready the car was and a smirk spread out across his lips. Never has he thought in his life that a day he'd be giving commands would come. It was something he never drea
Chapter 26
I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING Manuel hesitated, surprised someone would come knocking at his door at that kind of odd hour.“Boss?” a voice called quietly. “Are you still awake?”It was Tomas, one of the night workers from the outer fields.Manuel opened the door. Tomas stood there, holding a folded ledger to his chest, his eyes wide with apology.“I’m sorry,” Tomas said quickly. “I wouldn’t disturb you but, the irrigation lines on the west end… they fixed themselves.”Manuel blinked. “Fixed themselves?”Tomas nodded. “Collapsed for weeks. Tonight, the blockage just… cleared. Water started flowing like nothing ever happened.”Something crept back into Manuel’s chest.“Did anyone touch it?” Manuel asked.“No,” Tomas replied. “That’s why I came. It didn’t make sense.”Manuel thanked him and closed the door gently.He leaned back against it, staring at the ceiling, his thoughts running wild.Wait! Did he do it?! Did his cultivation fix the lapses?!First, it was his energy flow, then the bottle
Chapter 27
SLIGHTLY NOTICEABLE Manuel and Laura exchanged glances and then, he nodded.Christopher smiled to himself and walked over to the flask on the table as usual.He prepared it as usual and then he served it in a cup and then gave it to him.“Here you go…” Christopher said, handing him the tea. Manuel took it from him and he gulped it down.He lifted his face, as though absorbing the air around him. He felt this ease he hasn't felt in a long time. Again, his tea was doing wonders and he couldn't help but wonder how Christopher prepares his tea to be so soothing. “I'll leave you now. I'll be outside if you need me.” Christopher said and stepped outside.Laura watched him closely as he shut the door behind him.“You feel different,” she said later, as they stood beside Dave’s bed.Manuel glanced at her. “Different how?”“Stronger,” she said after a moment. “Your aura… it’s clearer.”Manuel frowned slightly but said nothing.The next day, he returned and even the day after that.Each tim
Chapter 28
SOMETHING NEW Laura turned away under the pretense of checking her phone. As she did, she felt Christopher’s gaze on her and couldn't tell what exactly it meant. She turned and caught him watching her from across the ward. He didn’t look away immediately. Instead, he smiled at her as though expecting her to reciprocate, but she just stared at him. A moment later, Christopher came to sit beside her. “Is everything alright? You look a bit distant.” he said, his fingers entwined while he stared at the wall. “Yes,” Laura replied quickly. “Just tired.” “You should have something to eat or drink, it'll help you relax…” Christopher offered, quickly standing to go get it, but she rejected it. “No please…” she said,
Chapter 29
A LIGHT GESTURE “Ladies are not always fast with things…” Manuel said, already sitting at the dining table, waiting. A maid walked over to him, “you have a date, sir?” Though, she immediately bent her head over after saying it. Manuel wasn't surprised at her reaction, the servants always treated him like a very big figure, even though he was. “Uhm, not really, it's just dinner…” he said finally after thinking it through. He didn't know if he should call dinner with Laura a date yet. To him, that was too far. The maid nodded and smiled at her, while walking away with her head still bent over. Manuel stood and looked over the hallway and there was no sign of Laura yet. He tapped his foot gently. “
Chapter 30
TITANS COLLIDEAcross the city, far from where Manuel was living, information about Manuel's height spread faster than wind itself.Even Manuel didn't know that, he had spies around him that were that close to get real information about things that were personal to him.At Nexagen headquarters, informants delivered their reports without embellishment.Subject: Manuel.Activity: Accelerated progression.Indicators: Abnormal stamina. Enhanced cognition and energy output exceeding projected models.Screens were lighted up with data, training footage, biometric trends, financial movements. The pattern was undeniable.“He’s moving too fast,” one analyst said.Another leaned forward. “This wasn’t organic growth.”The report was compiled, sealed, and forwarded upward.One of the persons Tommy planted in Nightingale received it late that evening.He read it one time and continued reading it over and over.The corner of his mouth twitched, satisfaction spreading all over his face as he tapped