CHAPTER TEN: CONDITIONS

Ryan remained fixed to the spot he had been standing on. He had fought to get away from the enemy, while being unable to see that his greatest enemy was right in front of him.

He sat down on the sofa slowly, bending his head and covering his face. He was completely overwhelmed.

The woman who had been in the room with Tony, appeared, using her hair to cover her face in shame. Tony had probably threatened her to get into bed with him. Ryan felt complete pity for her.

“You may leave. I'm sorry for whatever this creep did to you” Ryan sympathized.

The woman muttered a ‘thank you’ and slipped out of the apartment with tears in her eyes.

Tony stood at a corner of the room, watching everything unfold.

Ryan fixed his gaze at him with complete fury in his eyes.

“Don't think about getting in a physical fight because I'd hurt you badly. I have several years of training. Just a friendly warning” Tony mentioned.

“You're a monster” Ryan commented.

“You're not the first person to say that, Ryan” Tony replied with a half smile.

“I just want you to understand all that is at stake if you ever feel like talking about what happened here today. I have access to every single thing that belongs to your mother and I can change a few things to suit my favor if I so wish pretty boy” Tony said.

“See you another time, Ryan” Tony stepped out, patting Ryan briefly on his left shoulder.

Ryan was furious but he could not do anything at that point. He was completely helpless and defenseless, and now his mother, the only person who genuinely loved him, was now dragged into the aura of bad luck that seemed to follow him everywhere in his life.

Ryan immediately locked the door and waited for Tony's car to disappear from the neighborhood before he rushed into his room to go through the ‘important files’ Tony always ‘ kept for his mother’.

He shuffled through the drawers and huge wardrobes, finding nothing of value.

“Shit! How can I find nothing here?!” Ryan cursed.

Then a notification sound came from Ryan's phone. He picked his phone up and saw a text from Tony across his screen.

‘Found nothing? You think you're so smart. There's nothing of importance in my room. I expected you to be wiser, but then again, we can't all be wise unless I wouldn't have so much control over your decisions as I do right now’ the text read.

Ryan gnashed his teeth in anger, throwing a small ceramic item on the wall opposite him.

‘Don’t do anything stupid, Tony’ Ryan texted back.

‘I should be telling you that, boy. I have all the power now’ Tony texted back in response.

Ryan marched out of Tony's room and into his car. He drove around the city, stopping at a small cafe.

He got in, happy to know that no one recognized him from anywhere.

“Hello sir, what would you be having today?” A red-haired woman behind the counter questioned.

“I think…I'll have a coffee. Dark, yes” Ryan answered, scanning the menu on the counter table

facing him.

“Will you be drinking here, or do you want it to go?” She asked.

“I'll be here” Ryan answered.

“Alright sir! One dark coffee coming right up!” The woman responded with enthusiasm.

“Thanks” Ryan muttered.

Ryan received his coffee from the woman and sat at a table at the far end of the cafe, not wanting anyone to see him.

He just wanted to sit in silence and finish his coffee before deciding on his next action.

He was in danger and so was his mother. He had escaped the mistreatment of his past only to end up as the failure son of two billionaires who had probably exhausted all his luck in his previous life.

“Can I sit here?” A voice asked.

Ryan looked up from his coffee. A woman towered above him in a suit and dark sunshades.

“I'm sure there are a ton of empty tables in this cafe, miss” Ryan replied, not bothering to watch her facial expression like he was used to doing.

“What if I only want to sit here?” She probed.

Ryan remained mute. He did not have the energy to engage in anything like this.

“I usually order a dark coffee everyday and sit here just like you did today. This is sort of my special spot because of the silence. No one usually sits here” she explained.

Ryan got up from the table and made to leave.

“Oh no, I'm not chasing you away. I'm not like that. I just wanted to share the table with you and since you were here first, I had to ask your permission” she mentioned.

“Please sit” she told Ryan.

Ryan hesitated before finally sitting down. He took a sip of his coffee and fixed his gaze at the windows.

“I'm Serena” she said, out of the blue.

“Ryan” Ryan muttered.

“Lovely to meet you, Ryan. You look moody, any interest in sharing?” Serena asked.

Ryan sighed loudly. He was getting tired of her company.

“Sorry, sorry to disturb you, Ryan” she said, focusing on her coffee.

“I can be of help, Ryan Roberts” she said.

“Pardon?” Ryan turned, shocked.

“That's your name, isn't it? How do I know? We'll find out soon” she responded, chuckling at Ryan's visibly confused expression.

“Who are you?!” Ryan charged at her.

“Hey, hey! No need for all that. My name is Serena and I am Tony's ex wife. I know that you're in a bit of a fix with him right now, don't ask me how I know. I know some things you don't know and I can help you, Ryan. Trust me".

"What? Are you seriously messing with me right now?" Ryan asked, furious.

“Of course not, Ryan. I just want to help you. You may not know me but I just want to expose Tony and take what belongs to me, just like you. I just think we'll achieve our goals faster as a team. I just need you to do one little task for me. Are you in?”.