“Thanks, Kelvin. I owe you big time,” I called as he walked to his motorbike.
“No problem. And you know how to reach me if things go south. I have a great lawyer who helped me when things were looking very grim a few years ago,” he said with a wink before pulling his helmet over his head and racing off up the road.
Weapons. Killing. Prison.I shook my head to clear my thoughts as I strode back to the house.I need to stop him before he sells any more weapons or steals more land from innocent people. That bastard is going down.
***
It was time to sort out the mining project issues once and for all. Drawing myself up to full height, I thrust my shoulders back and hatched a plan.
And by the time my father realized what I’d done, it’d be too late for him to do a damn thing to stop me.
With my mind running at full speed, I flopped down on the lounge in the living room, switching on the flat-screen TV. It didn’t help. I reached for the remote to switch it off, but the newsreader mentioned BioBuild.
I turned up the volume and leaned closer to the screen.
“Whoever the venture capitalists were that invested in the startup BioBuild, it may be the best decision they’ll ever make,” said the newsreader. “The company has only recently been formed, but growth has exploded at a record pace. Next quarter’s profits are on track to exceed the billion-dollar mark,cementing their place as the top-performing startup this financial year.”
Bam!Did he just say that?
“That’s all in finance news for now. Over to you, Emily, for the Lotto draw.”
I switched the TV off as the news report replayed over and over in my head.“Growth has exploded at a record pace… profits are on track to exceed the billion-dollar mark…”
Now I can finally break free—
My phone beeped.
DYSON: Not to say I told you so, but check the news! You’re rich (but I’m richer). Haha. Crazy busy here, talk later, bro.
Smiling from ear to ear, I sent a victory hand emoji and a few laughing faces.
I felt a pressure lift, but it was time to set things right with the mining deal. I pulled up the contract for the land acquisition on my laptop and scanned through it. Nobody deserved to be forced off their land and out of their homes. Maybe if my father had paid them a fair price, it could have worked. But in reality, it was a mystery how he convinced them to accept the deal.
Kelvin offered to reach out to him if I needed any more help. Pulling out my phone, I opened my email and hit Compose.
Hey Kelvin,
I’ve got another job for you. Keep it CONFIDENTIAL. Whatever the cost.
SolStar made a land acquisition recently, but it hasn’t settled yet. Have your lawyer set things up so the contract stalls at settlement. That will give me time to sort Karlos out before he finds out. And have the money for the purchase price donated to the landowners.
You can find the details below.
There’s a bonus coming your way, bro.
Talk soon, Karson
I hit Send and smiled, glad that story would have a happy ending.
But what’s next for me?
If Ivy and I were together, I didn’t care what we did. Surfing, sailing. Traveling, or staying in one place. As long as it made her smile, I was up for it.
I already had a boat in mind I wanted to buy.I won’t be stuck in a gilded cage much longer.I’ll find a berth for it up in Brisbane. Then, when the time is right, I can be closer to Ivy, until we can figure out our next move.
I called Ivy to share the news, but she didn’t pick up.
Soon it’ll be time to deal with my father.And I knew exactly where to drive the stake—into the one thing he cared about the most. His final resting place as the great and powerful Karlos Wells would be the upcoming annual black-tie dinner for energy investors.
