Chapter 85

Tristan was able to uncover a few more details about Zane automobiles. Ambrosio and Morgan jointly invested in this company that manufactured car engines. He did not find any problems with any of the projects they had except that the manager suspiciously died of a heart attack.

​​

PA Jack was chasing James Morgan and his assistant all week. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't get an appointment to see this guy.

Tristan knew it was just an excuse. James seems to like the chase. He just wanted to wear Tristan down and lose his patience.

Tristan was a patient man, he did not become successful in his business by jumping the gun. He will wait.

After a few days, Tristan gets a call from an unknown number.

"Guess who?" said a rough male voice from the other side of the line.

"James Morgan finally decided to come out his shell," Tristan said coldly.

Only a select few had Tristan's number. Having it meant James was very resourceful, and he had connections. This irked Tristan. He needs to find out who these people are.

"I hear you were very eager to meet me. So here I am," James responded arrogantly.

"Well, as they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer," Tristan said nonchalantly.

"Well, then the wait is over. Meet me tomorrow in X city but come alone, Mr. Ambrosio. I don't want anyone to disturb our time together," James chuckled.

"Send me the details, and I'll meet you there tomorrow," Tristan cut the call.

Tristan decided he will take the risk and meet with James alone. He needed answers for so many questions.

Tristan was on the phone for a while with someone he knew could help him. He ended the call when they got to a conclusion.

The next day Tristan drove to the meeting area. The address led to an abandoned villa. There were overgrown plants everywhere. They were blocking the gate and the walking path, vines were climbing on one side of the house, covering it up. It looked like the plants had swallowed that part of the house, leaving only half of it still standing. The front door was open, but it was fully dark.

"I'm here Mr. Morgan," said Tristan loudly into the dark as he entered the house.

He heard footsteps, and it seems like it was coming right in front of him. He was on alert.

"You're a little earlier than expected. A little too eager, aren't we?"James laughed. The house came alive with lights everywhere. Tristan was standing in the foyer, it seems, and there was a grand staircase right in front of him.

A man in his 50's dressed in a suit stood in front of Tristan. He was tall, well built, and had fine facial features. He looked a little frail when he made his way down the stairs, but he wore a dark and dangerous aura. He looked like someone you wouldn't want to trifle with. It made you keep your guard up.

"Same face, same arrogance," James said, breaking the silence.

Tristan and James were standing face to face trying to stare each other down. They were sizing each other up and waiting for the other to give up.

"Tell me. Why did you call me here?" Tristan asked, nonchalantly.

"Why are you so eager? I've been waiting to meet you for a long time. It took time for me to be where I am. Let me bask in my glory and stare at you to my heart's content," James smiled, maliciously.

"Why are you targeting the Ambrosio group?" Tristan asked.

"Because I want to burn that company into the ground," James barked.

"Well, sadly your wish will never come true," Tristan mocked.

"Your father thought the same. He never thought I would win. Poor guy died protecting his company," James smirked.

Tristan could not keep his cool. He got mad.

His father was his one sensitive spot. No one can make fun of his father, ever.

"Your words are going to cost you. And you will regret everything you've done to him,�� Tristan bellowed.

"You don't even know him, yet it looks like you loved your father too much, just like she did," James sneered.

"Who are you talking about? My mother? I think you got the wrong information," Tristan was confused.

"The night is long, let us sit so I can tell you a story," James insisted.

"Your father, Henry, and I were college mates. We both belonged to rich families but were never run in the same circles. He was handsome and intelligent, but he was a cold person. He would never let anyone close to him. His goal was to excel at everything. People worshipped him, and he was a role model for everyone in college.

I, on the other hand, was laid back and had an average performance. Even though we were roommates, we were never friends. It was difficult to make friends with Henry. He always pushed people away.

One time he fainted due to a very high fever. He never told anyone because he did not want to miss any of his classes. He thought it would just go away naturally.

When he fainted, I brought him to the hospital, and they instructed him to stay for the next two days. He did not want to do it. The only thing he was worried about was that he was going to miss the lectures.

To make him stay, I volunteered to sit in his classes and take down his notes. I never took down notes, I had friends who do that for me, but since he didn't have any friends, I did it for him.

Because of that incident, he felt he owed me something, and we became friends.

As time passed by Henry's studiousness rubbed off on me. I started studying and getting good grades. My parents were impressed. They did not know it was because of a girl named Stella.

She was one of the freshmen students that attracted my attention.

She got into our college through the scholarship program.

She was naturally shy, I think partly because she came from the countryside. Being under the program she hardly spent time outside the classrooms and the library. She had to work hard to make sure her grades never fell below the grade point average required for scholarship students. So she was always studying.

I fell in love with her when I first saw her. She came to our dorm to return Henry's books. She said she met Henry because he helped her with something at the library and ever since they've been meeting there to study.

It's what prompted me to start studying. I studied so I could see her every day. This was the only place I saw her open up. She would laugh at my jokes and give me her award-winning smiles.

After a few months, I gathered enough courage and confessed to her. She said she was flattered and thanked me for being honest, but she was in love with Henry.

I was heartbroken. A lot of girls used to profess their love for Henry but he never paid them any attention. I thought this time he probably changed his mind, and he wanted Stella too. I was mad when I confronted him, but he told me he did not have any romantic feelings towards her.

Given that Henry didn't like her, I decided to pursue Stella more vigorously. But whatever I did, no matter how grand the gesture, in Stella's eyes I could never compare with Henry.

For the first time in my life, I was jealous. What did he have that I didn't?

In our final year, Henry went home during the holidays. When he came back, he announced that his parents had chosen a wife for him to marry. Stella was devastated when she heard the news, but this made me happy.

Even after Henry got married, Stella never gave up on him. She probably thought it was a fixed marriage. Henry could not possibly love his wife.

Finally, when you were born, she decided to move on. She saw how you made your parents happy, and she did not want to break up a happy family.

I decided to take this chance and propose to her. She agreed and we got married. Even though she married me, I felt like her heart wasn't fully mine. I felt like Henry was always at the back of her mind.

Eventually, I decided not to dwell on it too much because she was finally mine.

Henry and I had decided to make a joint investment in Zane automobiles. Because of this Henry would frequently come to our house.

Because I was jealous, we would always fight about Henry a lot. I would accuse her of still being attracted to him. I told her I could see how her eyes always shined when she saw him. She would always deny it, and at the end of the day, no matter how angry I was I would tell her I forgave her. I loved her so much, and I was not going to give her up.

Then finally, we had happy news of our own. Stella was pregnant. It was the happiest day of my life. This was the child that was going to bind our relationship forever.

Stella can never leave me now. Finally, my business and marriage were doing well. Everything was falling into place.

The manager of Zane automobiles got feedback that there were issues with the engines that we sold. He found out the engines were the main cause of several major accidents.

Henry was abroad at that time, so I decided to deal with it alone.

I told him I would take care of it. I told him to discard all the engines that were problematic and to do another test. Manufacture more of the ones that weren't faulty.

The manager asked me what to do with the ones that we already released. Should we issue a recall?

I told him there was no proof that our engines were causing the accidents. If we recall all the engines it would make the company look bad. So I told him to hide everything under the rug and not to tell anybody else about it.

A few days later the manager called again saying there were more accidents with the engine. I told him to keep quiet, or I will tell everyone that this was his fault. He had no choice, so he agreed.

Unfortunately, unbeknownst to me, Stella heard everything. She called Henry behind my back to tell him what happened. She even gave him the evidence.

Henry came to my house that night and confronted me. We had a huge fight. I told him we were going to lose a lot of money and probably our company if we told the truth. He said he was ready to lose money as long as he could save people's lives.

He showed me the files Stella had stolen from my safe. These were the reports that proved the victims died because of faulty engines.

Henry said he would go out and tell everyone the truth. I wasn't like Henry, I did not have a lot of other businesses to fall back on. This was the only business I have. I was getting ruined because of his honesty.

I was so angry at Stella for betraying me. I asked her why she gave the files to Henry? She said what I was doing was wrong. She said she could not live with me knowing I was not an honest person.

I said the real reason she gave him the files was because she was still in love with him. Stella kept quiet as if silently acknowledging it. But then she eventually denied it.

We started to curse and scream at each other. She threatened to leave me. She won't come back until I become an honest man.

In the middle of our fight, she told me my child will be ashamed to have a father like me. I said maybe she was hoping that Henry was the father of her child.

In her next life, she said she wanted a good man like Henry to be the father of her child.

I lost it when I heard her say those words. We were at the top of the stairs, and I do not know how it happened, but I pushed her. Stella fell, and blood started coming out of her head.

I came back to my senses and took her to the hospital. I couldn't lose her, but it was too late, when we got there she was already dead.

My Stella was dead, and so was our baby. I killed them with my own hands.

Henry never reached his house that night, nor was he able to recall all those engines because I had someone follow him. I told them to eliminate him. They crashed his car and made it look like an accident.

On the same night, Henry, Stella, and my unborn child were all gone.

I had to tie all the loose ends, so I also had someone poison the manager and make it look like a heart attack.

Before anyone could get suspicious, I left the country and decided one day I will make sure to destroy everything Henry held dear. When I learned you took over the Ambrosio group, you became my target," James explained everything.