I was raging with fume when I stormed out of the hotel. And when I arrived at the location where Richard wanted me to be, my mind was for sure not in the fucking right place, and I definitely couldn't think straight. I swear I was going to rip the head off Richard's neck if he ever tried to lay a single finger on Nicole. How the fuck he thought he could drag Nicole into this shit? Isn't he a man enough to fight me alone? I am going to fucking kill him.

I had the same mindset of killing him when I marched toward the gates in front of me. But as I saw his goons rushing out of what looked like an abandoned house to grab me, I realized I was here without a fucking plan. Fuck! Four men fucking jumped on me before I could do anything. I should have known better to have a backup before showing up here. Why the fuck I didn't think calmly about this before? Anger always seems to shut the rational part of my mind, and I fucking fail to realize it until I am in an utter mess. I still had my gun to get on with the action, but I knew it wouldn't be long before they would snatch it from me.

But what could I have had possibly done even if I went out for a plan? I have literally no resources here. Maybe I should have thought of informing Mark. But what if it would have put Nicole's life more in danger? Richard texted that he wanted me to be here alone, and I couldn't afford to make any stupid move that would risk her life. No fucking way! I knew I had to take care of this myself. He has a problem with me, so I was going to walk in and get Nicole out of there at the expense of my own life. I didn't fucking care what would happen to me, but I was surely not going to let Nicole suffer for my doings.

As I was dragged inside that house, I didn't know I was going to be encountered with the biggest shock of my life. It hit me hard like a fucking truck when I saw Peter standing in front of me. What the fuck was he doing here? He was the last person that I expected to be here. My mind filled with so many thoughts when I found him instead of the man I expected to face here. What does he want from me? Fuck! Is it about Nicole? Or about the deal with Joseph? I thought I had already dealt with him and that he was going to be just a name in my forgotten records, but as I saw him here, I realized his chapter wasn't over yet.

But surprisingly, there didn't have to be just one shock of finding him being behind everything.

I had no fucking idea that there was the other big one waiting for me in the line.

The horrifying one that I am looking at right now. It's the blow of finding Max standing next to Peter smirking at us.

"Max?" Nicole gasps, whereas I just stare at him in disbelief. The words seem to be just hanging at the edge of my lips, but nothing comes out of my mouth. I am just too stunned to process all this. It seems like I am going through the same emotions when Richard revealed to me about my accident all over again. Except for this time, it feels even worse. Is this a joke? Never in my lifetime I would have imagined Max to do that to me. How could he? He was my best friend. At least I believed so. I feel a sharp pang in my chest, witnessing that sick smile grace his lips.

"Thank god, you came. It was tiring for me to speak about everything on my own. Now that you are here, I feel a bit relaxed." Peter sighs and Max turns to smile at him. He then looks back at me, and I notice his muscles stiffening.

I don't know why but I close my eyes, feeling unbearable to look at his face, and at that exact moment, I could imagine fathoming the pain that Christopher would have felt when he knew I betrayed him. For the first since Richard told me everything, I feel pity for Christopher. I feel the guilt consume me thinking about what I led him to. Would he have felt the same strain that I am feeling right now in my heart, watching my best friend betray me? I knew even if my intentions weren't wrong, but what I did to Christopher's friendship wasn't justified. Richard's words repeat in my head, making me feel worse, and I clench my jaw. I guess Karma never fails to get caught up on you, no matter how much you try to run.

I sigh and finally open my eyes to look at Max. I swallow hard and then manage to whisper. "Max, why?"

He studies my face and then asks. "Do you really want me to narrate the tale of your stupidity?" Max chuckles and shakes his head. "Okay, if you want then I will." Peter settles back in his chair with a smile, relaxing himself as if he is about to witness some kind of show as Max walks over to me.

He looks at me, and then his face takes in a disgusted look. "I wonder how it wasn't obvious to you that everybody hated your over-hyped ass, including me?"

I crease my eyebrows in astonishment. And from the corner of my eyes, I sense Nicole getting worried. I know she is probably terrified with everything happening around and I feel so fucking helpless to not be able to do anything at this moment.

"That fucking conceited and cringe-worthy Devil title. I don't know why Richard was obsessed with you so much?" Max speaks, and I focus my eyes on him. "We all worked our asses off, but the one who always got away with all the credits was...you."

I flinch, looking at the measure of despise that his eyes hold for me. No...He isn't the Max that I have known for the past 3 years.

"Everyone was aware of the fact that you weren't worthy of it. Yet nobody dared to go against Richard's decisions...it would be more legitimate if I said biased decisions. But I was sick and tired of all this. I was tired of his stupid favoritism." He says, directing his cold eyes at me. "So when I learned that Peter's intentions were the same as mine, I went to him with an offer of little help." He looks back at Peter and I watch them sharing a friendly glance. Fuck! I can't believe this had been going behind my back for so long.

"We agreed on a partnership to work against you. It went on with the plan of ruining your deals to get you down in the eyes of Richard. To make you seem more impotent than you already were. You know what I am talking about, right?" He smirks, leaning to face me and I look at him, trying to decipher how long he had been harboring this hate for me.

He shrugs and says. "And we began with the Russian deal. We were successful with our motive when your deal was disrupted and you had to bear the blame for risking your gang members' lives."

He smirks and continues as I watch him. I curl my fists tightly as I feel a wave of adrenaline rush through my body. "But on the same night, something else happened too. Our loyal Josh got injured, and you met Nicole. It wasn't a part of our plan, though." Max's vision averts towards Nicole for a brief moment before getting back on me again.

"That day something unusual happened. I got to know your weakness. I saw it in your eyes the moment Nicole came in. I knew that you were going to be whipped." He pauses and chuckles, looking at me. "I never saw you like that, even around Sophia. So when your utterly devastated ass asked me to find her after she escaped, I knew she was going to play an important part in our plan." I clench my jaw, feeling the rage build inside my body with his every single revelation.

"With the things going on with Sophia and you, we knew Richard wasn't already in a good mood, and bringing Nicole in between all this would just make things worse for you two and it did happen just as we assumed." He smirks and then looks back to nod at Peter. "Peter was just playing a part in riling your all jealous mind out. So, that we could bring you two lovebirds together and make you drift away from Richard's shelter in the process."

"You fucking bastard..." I scream and try to stand up, pulling the chair up with my hands still tied to it. But before I could reach for Max, his men pull me back and shove me down, making the chair legs hit the ground with a loud thud. I jerk and fall back into my place with the impact.

"Christopher..." Nicole calls me in a panic-filled voice.

Peter looks at me and warns, shifting his eyes towards Nicole. "Watch it, man. Your girl is right here."

It's hard for me to wrap my head around everything that's coming out of Max's mouth and I feel like I could literally rip these ropes off and jump on him, but I know I can't do it. Nicole is right here and my one wrong move could blow up everything. I also remind myself that I am not a superhuman to take down all these men on my own.

"Christopher, let me just finish. We haven't even been to the best part yet." Max shakes his head, showing fake disappointment, and I snap my eyes back at him. I can't fucking believe he was behind all this. "You know what your problem is? You don't use your brain in the right way. That's why you get in trouble. You are just too hotheaded to think about anything straight."

The room grows silent for a minute, after which Max starts speaking again. "So where were we? Yeah, we were at knowing how we fooled your sorry ass. I don't know how, but it all just worked." He glances at me with a cunning smile and then begins to pace in front of me. I keep my focus on him as he talks, walking around the room.

"Thanks to your stupidity, I must say. All the things that happened with Nicole since you stepped foot in her life, you ended up turning your suspicions over Richard about it. You blamed him for every single thing, whereas the truth was different. It had always been us. We were the ones coordinating and controlling everything." He laughs, saying that, and I actually begin to realize what he is trying to mean. I really was stupid to not know his real intentions while he was so close to me. I turn my head and see Nicole looking straight at me. She looks shocked and I know she is thinking the same thing.

Max stops walking now as he puts a chair next to Peter and sits on it. Peter turns to his side and looks at him intently. I know that sick bastard is fucking enjoying this. "Benjamin and Thomas....they were following my orders. But the thing was before they could open their mouths, you killed them. I told you your anger got the better of you. You cut your own throat making it easier for me." He shrugs, admitting.

"Richard wasn't a fool to not sense the change in your behavior. So, he appointed me to keep an eye on you. How funny it is to know that I was working for both of you. I was monitoring his activities for you while doing the same for him." Max says proudly, and Peter laughs.

"Wow! You are a genius man." Peter pats his back and Max flashes a smile at him. I feel like I am going to burst with all the anger that's bottling inside me.

He again looks at me and speaks. "You both were just fucking oblivious to the fact that I was planning something behind your back. You know I kept him updated on your whereabouts. He knows that you are here." I watch him in disbelief, grasping the extent he went to do all this to deceive me, while I thought he was being just my most loyal friend. "Honestly saying I liked being on his side. I would have still stuck to it, but there is one point where our thoughts conflict. He wants to bring you back on track, but I want to finish you..." The way his eyes glare at me gives me the indication of how truly he despises my existence. "And I know Richard would never approve of that. So, it was best to take the matters into my hands and kill you before he could get here."

He keeps looking at me with his eyes twinkling in amusement. "I wonder how you didn't even become suspicious about Ben going abruptly missing." He throws his hands up and laughs hysterically. "Every time something happened, you would turn to me like a scared puppy. Either you were too stupid to trust me blindly or you were just damn lazy to do the job on your own." He shakes his head, shifting in his chair.

"Sorry man, I know that accident did something to you." I watch his face grows serious for a minute and then he again bursts into laughter. "It's not your fault that you lost your common sense along with your memories."

My chest tightening looking at how easily he had let everything out without an ounce of remorse in his tone. I don't know if I am shocked or hurt or just numb after listening to all this. I can't believe out of all those people it had to be Max- the person that I trusted the most after Richard. And the irony is, they both were the men who tricked me.

The lump grows bigger in my throat as I try to speak. "How could you, Max? You were my best friend...."

"Best friend?" He huffs. "You never considered anyone as your friend except that fucking Leo. That motherfucker...you both were fucking assholes together." A sudden rage thrives in his voice as I stare at him. "Richard always wanted us to not bring anything about him in conversations with you. But now as you are going to die, it wouldn't be a bother." He clenches his jaw and shakes his head. "I was so happy to know that he died in that fucking accident and you lost your memory. I hated him as much as I hated you. You both fucking deserved it." He spits maliciously as he stands up.

I stare at him in disbelief. Another unexpected one from him. For a moment I feel like telling him on his fucking face that I am not dead and slapping the satisfied look off his face. I want to tell him that I am not the Christopher that he thinks I am, but then I realize what difference would it make? He already admitted that he hated both of us, so it doesn't matter if he knows it now or not. I bet that wouldn't refrain him from killing me. I remind myself that my main priority right now should be getting Nicole out of here, and the rest doesn't fucking matter at all.

"Max.." Nicole starts, but I cut her off immediately, fearing she would try to tell him the truth.

"So you were behind that black SUV that followed and tried to attack us?" I ask hurriedly, bringing his focus back to me.

Max reads my face for a moment, trying to process the question, and then smiles. "Yeah, that was fun. And see what we got from our little observing." He looks upstairs and signals his men. I hear the sound of a door bursting open and then I see two men coming out, pulling Millie and Martha forcefully with them. What the fuck? They have tapes plastered over their mouths as they struggle. I look at them in horror, watching tears run down Millie's face.

"Oh, my god!" Nicole gasps.

"Millie...no...." I scream and stand up, but the man beside me shoves me back into the chair. Fuck!

"What the hell, Max? Fucking leave them now." Nicole cries.

Max doesn't pay attention to us, then he snaps his fingers at his men and I watch them pulling both Millie and Martha back as they vanish in the hallway upstairs.

This is fucking too much. Max has fucking crossed all his limits of madness. And for what? To kill me? I can't fucking take this anymore.

I growl angrily. "So that's it? You did all this to get your revenge on me? Then fucking do it now. Fucking kill me and get this over with." I sigh in frustration and beg. "I won't fight at all, but just let them go. They are innocent."

"Christopher, no..." I hear Nicole say, but I ignore her and keep looking at Max.

"Awww...I didn't know you were such a softie, Chris. From when did you start lending social services?"

I clench my jaw, and before I can speak, I hear a disturbance in the back. Max's eyes shift towards the door, and I turn to look at the entrance.

My eyes grow wide when I watch Mark being dragged in through the main door. What the fuck?

"How the fuck he got here?" Peter growls as he stands up, taking a defensive stance. He looks towards Max, but he seems to be lost in his thoughts. What happened to him?

"Max?" Peter calls, and that's when Max raises his hand and shuts him off. Peter frowns but doesn't try to open his mouth.

Max stares at Mark for a moment and then pulls a smirk on his face. "So daddy is finally here to save her beloved princess?"

"Dad...." Nicole turns to look at her father.

"Leave my daughter, please... " He says and I notice his voice sounds oddly calm. He isn't even fighting against the men grabbing his arms.

"I swear nobody knows about this place. I came here alone, and I am unarmed." He puts his hands up in surrender, and I watch him in astonishment. What the hell is he doing? Don't tell me he didn't get here without a plan. Wait, who am I to ask when I did the fucking exact mistake. Jesus! I think I am gonna lose my mind with whatever fuck is happening.

"You have no idea why she is here, do you?" Max says as he heads towards Mark.

"Look...If it's about your business then we can talk. But let her go." Mark speaks cautiously as he looks at him.

"I wish things were that simple." Max smiles, shaking his head. Peter looks at him in confusion, and I frown. What does that mean?

Mark looks into Max's eyes when he reaches right in front of him. He states in a low tone. "Please, Nicole has nothing to do with all this. Leave her."

Max turns to glance slowly at Nicole, and I watch his eyes darkening. He turns back to Mark but I can sense the threatening edge in his tone as he says. "She has everything to do with this and so do you..."