"It was a great experience working with you, Christopher..." Joseph says, extending his hand as he stands up from his seat.

"Of course, the pleasure was mine." I stand along with him and shake his hand.

"You are too good to be called a gangster. You do realize it, right?" He jokes and I laugh. "You are really wonderful at doing business. I wish I would have met you before. We could have been a terrific team working together."

"I believe that." I chuckle again and say.

"Okay... Joking apart, you have certainly done a good job, Christopher." He says, pulling up a serious face now. "I am really impressed I must say."

"Glad to hear that..."

"Hope we would get a chance to work again..." He says and I could see the sincerity in his eyes.

"Sure...I'll look forward to it when the time comes." I nod and begin to make my way to the door.

"Christopher, wait," Joseph calls behind me before I can go. I stop on my way and turn to look at him.

"You seem to be a nice guy." He says, looking thoughtful, and I stare at him in confusion. "Ever need any help...remember my name."

I nod at him with a smile, knowing what he meant by that, and walk out of his cabin.

Today was the last meeting that I had with Joseph. I was here to let him know that we are done with most of the work that he wanted us to do. There is no doubt that Joseph is a brilliant businessman. His motives had been always clear from the start. He knows what exactly he wants, and that's why things got easier for us while working with him and we could achieve the set target within time. We were successful in retrieving all the relevant information that Joseph needed from Peter. And luckily in all these days, Peter couldn't get even the slightest hint of what we were doing behind his back.

What Joseph wanted us to do was nothing like Peter's execution plan that he told us when we were earlier working with him against Joseph. He basically intended to do money laundering which I think is pretty low from a good entrepreneur's view.

But unlike Peter, Joseph turned out to be a nice guy. He didn't use any cheap tricks or asked us to deceive or defame his company. He just wanted us to get some specific information about his company's dirty side. Joseph wanted to give Peter a taste of his own medicine by having an account of all his illegal chains. He wanted to keep Peter's weakness in his hands so that when Peter thinks of pulling a game on him again, he could easily dodge it or better have an upper hand.

Joseph assured us to get our credits done by the end of this month. I am glad that it's over now. I wouldn't have to see Peter's face again. Since the time I discovered that he tried to kiss Nicole, I have been avoiding crossing paths with him deliberately. Because I know if by any chance I would see his fucking face, then I wouldn't be able to refrain myself from beating the shit out of him. My blood boils every time when I picture him trying to do that with Nicole. That's the reason why Max had been attending meetings with him on my behave and I am thankful that Peter didn't inquire about my absence. I guess he is smart enough to know that we couldn't be the same as we were before, after the shit he pulled up.

Another week has passed since I returned home. After the day I got discharged, Nicole moved in with me again. And since that day everything has been so fucking amazing for us. Most of the week, I spent my time trying to keep Nicole close to me. It was kinda way to make up for the mistake I committed. Moreover, it turned out to be in my favor because I would never want to be away from her any longer. We had a lot of fun the whole week and also I got a new schedule for us during it. It included starting our day with sex and then ending it on the same note. Yeah, I know that sounds fucking awesome.

I must say I am really thankful to Sophia for causing a scene that day. Because of her, I could get to see the wild side of Nicole in the bed, and I so fucking love it. Sex has been more enjoyable since the time she has started taking charge and it just seems difficult for my mind to let go of the image of her being on top of me every time I think about her. Fuck! I don't know why, but I suddenly feel the urge to go home and let Nicole ride me again, like she did the other day. But I know it wouldn't be possible. Right now she would be in her clinic, and I can't disturb her.

As I walk out of Joseph's office, my phone vibrates. I fetch it from my pocket and see Max's name.

"Chris, do you have a minute? I have something important to tell you." Max says as soon as I pick his call.

"Say it," I answer him as I walk down the hallway.

"Whatever happened with you last Tuesday..." He hesitates for a moment and I stop on my track. "It wasn't an accident. The white jeep that you thought hit your car accidentally." He sighs and then says the next thing. "Richard sent it."

"What?" I ask in disbelief.

"Yes, Christopher," Max confirms. "I think he came to know about how you treated Sophia." I clench my jaw in anger. I would never regret how I treated Sophia that day, because she fucking deserved it for what she tried to do.

"Are you sure it was Richard?"

"Yes, he sent it. I have the details. Do you want me to send it to you?" He asks.

"No, it's fine," I tell him, trying to sound normal. "Did you get any information about the note?" I ask him after a minute.

I couldn't stop thinking about the note Nicole got since she told me about it. She received it at Mr. smith's party which was really a long time ago and I wonder why nothing has happened yet. Not like I want something bad to happen to her. I could never imagine that, nor would I let anything harm Nicole or even get near her. But the thought that whoever has sent it is taking this long to plan something big just makes me sick to the stomach. I am not going to let them succeed.

"I am still looking for it. But there are high chances that Richard could be behind it too." Max responds immediately. "I'll let you know if I find anything else."

"Thanks," I tell before hanging up. I hope he gets to them soon. But as he said, I can't rule out the possibility of Richard being behind it.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath as I process the words that Max just told me. It was not an accident. Richard sent the white jeep.

I can't believe this. Did he really try to kill me? This is crazy. How can he fucking think of doing it?

I can feel the rage flowing through my veins when I open my eyes. I am done with this shit now. Who the hell Richard think he is? He can't fucking play with my life. I am done deferring the situation for so long, now I need answers. Richard just crossed every line with this. I can't tolerate it anymore. I thought I could avoid meeting him because I knew the moment I'll demand him the answers it would create havoc. But I guess I have to face the havoc. It's time to confront him.

Without wasting a second, I get in my car and head straight to the warehouse where I know Richard would be right now.

I reach there in less than an hour. As I get out of the car, I hurry to get to Richard's office. I need to see him before my mind blows off. As I walk into the warehouse, my eyes catch up on Josh at a corner discussing something with other men. His focus shifts towards me for a moment, and he smiles. I return him a smile and it somehow feels strange, like I am seeing him after a long time. Suddenly my mind goes back to the night when I met Nicole. I realize now that I never really had a chance to thank him. He is the reason Nicole and I are together. Our men work in different cities and their appointments are mostly uncertain, so we hardly get to see each other. For the past few months, Josh has been taking care of our supplies in New York and that's the reason I haven't got in touch with him.

I cross the hallway and reach Richard's office. I have never really lowered myself to appreciate eavesdropping, but a faint reference of my name catches my attention and I am forced to halt.

I lean closer to the door and listen.

"Do you hear me? Christopher fucked up." I hear a man's voice. It seems familiar. "I can't believe this...You still haven't realized your mistake, Richard?" He questions angrily.

The man continues, and I close my eyes to pay attention to know who it is. As I listen to him, I recognize his voice. He is Paul, Richard's brother. "We couldn't close a single deal properly in the last three years and now this thing with Peter..." Paul sighs in frustration and says. "Christopher has been fucking up everything."

I clench my jaw, realizing the accusation he just made against me. "This is fucking serious. If this is how things are going to continue, then it would be just a matter of time until our reputation in the business would be burned to ashes."

"Calm down Paul." I hear Richard say now. "He is just a bit lost at this moment. I am sure it wouldn't be long till I get him back on the track..."

"Do you not understand it? He doesn't belong here, Richard. It's time that you accept your mistake. Accept that your plan turned out to be bizarre..." I frown when I repeat what he said. I don't belong here? What is he talking about? What mistake did Richard make? What was the plan that went wrong? What does all this mean?

"Colby was here to take care of everything. Why did you need to come up with such a terrible fucking plan?" Paul continues and something in his tone just makes me think that he is talking about what happened at Cantabria? Is it about my accident? Was it Richard's plan to kill me which went wrong? A weird knot builds in my chest as I wonder if Richard wanted to kill me three years ago?

"I am telling you, Richard. If you wouldn't do anything about this...I am sure he is going to ruin us all soon." Paul says in a frustrated tone.

Before he can go on any further, my anger and curiosity get better out of me and I march in. I can't deal with this suspense anymore.

As I storm into the room, both Paul and Richard turn to look at me. Paul looks shocked, but Richard has anger all over his face.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Christopher?" He directs his murderous gaze at me and asks.

"I heard everything..." I say, looking at Paul. He looks a bit nervous now as he shifts on his feet, and I turn back to Richard. "What the fuck is going on, Richard? What was Paul talking about? What are you hiding from me?"

A wisp of horror crosses Richard's face, but he hides it instantly. He then shifts his vision towards Paul and silently signals him to leave. Paul still looks to be in a state of shock after hearing me. But he obeys Richard's order immediately and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

Richard puts a forced smile on his face and asks me, trying to sound casual. "What? Why do I have to hide anything from you, Christopher?"

"You are lying.." I seethe.

"You know that I've always treated you as my own son, a son that I never had. Why would I need to lie to you?" He walks and stands in front of me.

I look into his eyes, and for a moment I feel them deceiving me to believe him. But then I shake my head and get back to reality. He is lying, Christopher. Don't fall into his trap. "Stop it! Fucking stop it! Enough of your lies, Richard. I am just tired.." I run my hand through my hair in frustration and straight get to the point. "Tell me what happened in Cantabria?" I know I am not going to leave without my answers today.

"You already know what happened there. I told you everything." He says, and I narrow my eyes at him. "You went there for a deal with Fernando and while returning from it you had an accident." He doesn't meet my gaze and walks towards the window to light a cigarette. I can sense his nervousness as he struggles with lighting it.

"I want the fucking truth. How did I get into an accident?"

When he says nothing, I move forward and stand next to him. He looks into my eyes and this time I see fear in them. Fear of getting caught. "You know what? I'll tell you what happened." I let out a humorless chuckle and admit.

"It was never an accident. It was your plan to kill me. You wanted to fucking kill me, Richard." I yell on his face, with hot anger seeping through my entire body.

"Do you want to know how I found this?" I look at him and see his face tensing with every second as I speak. "You left a small loophole in the web of lies that you weaved. You made a slight mistake by blurting that I had an accident after having the deal with Fernando whereas it was before it. My car fell off the cliff before I could reach the destination." He coughs, getting choked by the smoke of his cigarette, and I smirk, knowing that he has no way to escape. He has to answer me now. "You fucking got trapped in your own lies."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" He asks, trying to take a deep breath.

"I met Fernando in Paris. He told me that I didn't show up on the day of our deal." I cross my arms and state.

"That's not possible.." Richard protests in disbelief.

"Yes, it is." I clench my jaw and say. "I guess the universe itself wants me to learn the truth. That's why it sent Fernando to me."

I take a step and stand in front of him. "Come on...Spit it, Richard. Tell me why you wanted to kill me? Was it because I did something to Sophia? That's why you tried to do the same thing three years ago what you did last Tuesday?" He snaps his eyes at me and I see his muscles stiffen.

I sigh in disappointment and glance out of the window. "I've always seen you as my father, but you never treated me like your son. Your own blood was your priority. Your daughter always came first to you." I whisper, feeling a lump rise in my throat. My chest tightens thinking about how stupid I was to believe his words since I saw his face after waking up from the coma. I trusted him and what he did to me? He freaking lied.

"Fucking say it...Why did you try to kill me?" I regain the harshness of my tone and ask him.

Richard remains quiet and for a minute I doubt if he had even listened to me. He keeps his gaze lower and then says in a low tone. "I didn't try to kill you.."

"Then what is it? Tell me the fucking truth that you have been hiding, Richard?"

"You want to know the truth?" He asks, dropping the half-burned cigarette to the ground. I frown when he crushes it under his foot ruthlessly. "I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything." He says, and then he lifts his gaze to meet mine.

"But I am afraid..." He stares at me and I see his dark eyes gleaming in a sinister way. I take a step back from being intimidated by his look right now. It's something that I have never seen before. A cruel smile appears on his face as he completes the sentence. "Would you be able to handle it?"