The Mysterious Chairman Keith

Chapter 22

THE PRICE TO PAY

Lucas’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, only not sure if he was right or wrong. 

Tommy Lyden didn’t reply immediately, he only smiled, tapping his fingers gently on the table before him. 

Suddenly, he stood up after looking for a while. 

The chair he was sitting on slide back as he rose to his feet, he adjusted his shirt buttons as though he was preparing for an important meeting.

Then, he walked around the desk, his shoe making sound as he circled where Lucas was seated.

Lucas looked at him confused at what he was doing and why he was circling him like a prey caught in a net. His eyes followed him as he moved.

Tommy folded his arms around his chest and cleared his throat. 

“In this world,” Tommy said mildly, “blood isn’t always spilled with knives or guns. Sometimes it’s spilled with names, with legacies and marriages.”

Lucas’s gaze hardened. “Get to the point. Stopping beating around the bush!!”

Tommy stopped behind him, his hand sliding down the armchair.

“I’ll only help you on one condition.”

Lucas didn’t flinch. “Name it.”

Tommy smiled, “you're so much in a hurry.” he said.

Lucas stood to his feet immediately, staring at him closely. 

“Name it!” He repeated with all seriousness.

Tommy leaned forward slightly, as he dropped his voice low.

“Your son, Jamie Darwin, must marry my daughter, Ivana Lyden.”

The room went still for a moment. None of them spoke, both looking at each other like a show. 

Tommy cleared his voice again and moved back to his seat and sat, his gaze still on Lucas. 

Lucas closed his eyes briefly, not in shock, but calculation. He inhaled and then stood from his seat and turned to face Tommy.

“I’ll need a moment,” Lucas said, his fingers crossed on his lips.

Tommy straightened and smiled at him. “Of course. Take all the time you need.”

Lucas walked toward the door without another word. His hand closed around the handle, but before he could open it, Tommy spoke again, more softly this time.

“This condition won’t last forever,” Tommy said. “Opportunities like this… expire.”

Lucas didn’t turn around, he just opened the door and closed it before he said something else.

___

Outside, Jamie was pacing the whole place. 

Even the secretary had told him to calm down and sit at a place, but he refused.

What's keeping him for so long?! He thought, looking at the door his father entered.

He’d been pacing for a while now and wouldn't stop. 

He looked at his watch and then back at the door. 

The little time he managed to sit down, he saw the door move a little and then the door opened. 

He quickly ran to meet Lucas, who wore a long face coming out. 

“Well?” Jamie rushed forward. “How did it go?”

Lucas didn’t answer immediately. He just walked past him and told him to follow him by waving his hand at him.

Jamie understood and followed him closely. They walked to the corridor, making sure they walked past where those those guards were standing first before stopping.

Only when they reached the elevator did Lucas speak.

“Nexagen will help us,” he said.

Jamie let out a breath he hadn’t realized he was holding. “I knew it. I told you, Tommy Lyden isn’t stupid. He knows my value.”

Lucas pressed the elevator button. 

“But, why are we leaving?! Why didn't I meet him?!” Jamie asked, a bit confused. 

Lucas looked at him. “There's a condition.”

Jamie frowned. “What kind of condition?”

The elevator doors opened. They stepped inside.

Lucas waited until the doors slid shut before turning to him.

“You’re to marry Ivana Lyden.”

The words landed like a slap on his face. 

“What?” Jamie laughed incredulously. “That’s not funny.”

Lucas didn’t smile.

Jamie’s laughter died instantly. “You’re serious.”

“Yes.”

Jamie stared at him in anger and disbelief. “You sold me?”

Lucas looked at him again. “I negotiated.”

“I’m not a bargaining chip!” Jamie snapped. “I’m your son!”

“And that,” Lucas said calmly, “is exactly why this matters.”

Jamie ran a hand through his hair, pacing the small space now. “You can’t force me into this. I won’t do it. I don’t even know her!”

“You know enough,” Lucas replied. “She’s Lyden’s heir and she's our only ticket. She's necessary for our course!”

Jamie scoffed bitterly. “Necessary for who? You?”

“For us,” Lucas corrected.

The elevator chimed and the doors opened into the lobby.

Jamie stormed out ahead of him, his voice rising. “So that’s it? I lose my freedom, my future, just so you can win a corporate war?”

Lucas followed unhurriedly. “You already lost your freedom the moment your scandal broke.”

Jamie spun around. “That was one mistake!”

“And the world punished you for it,” Lucas said coldly. “Do you think this world forgives fallen men easily?”

They reached the glass doors and the security stepped aside.

Jamie’s voice dropped immediately, shaking with fury. “I won’t marry her. I won’t be paraded like a property.”

Lucas stopped walking and Jamie stopped too.

Lucas turned to face him fully now, his expression unreadable.

“By tomorrow,” Lucas said calmly, “you’ll choose, marriage or exile. I won't have my son ruin my family name!!”