Chapter 9

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“The Blood Family and the True Family.

The Emptiness born from lack of Love and the Desire to be Loved.

The One who reaches out his hand and supports the Warrior.

And the One that hides a Trap amongst the stones of the Path.”

- The Prophet of Truth

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The icy whisky glass he held in one hand and the bright images dancing on the flat screen in front of his eyes were of no use, unable to help him calm down or even forget what had happened that afternoon.

The blood in his veins still boiled with the anger he still hadn’t decided how to vent. He felt humiliated and the fact that the back of his head still hurt only made his humor even bleaker.

Of course there were lots of ways to get revenge on Sarah Wilson but that was far from satisfying. He knew Sarah well enough to know that her biggest weakness was her family which, due to a tragic accident, was now reduced to her younger sister.

The moment he’d heard about the accident that had victimized her parents, and which she’d miraculously survived, he'd known his time had finally come. Feeling frail and depressed, he’d been sure Sarah would obviously turn to the only person that could offer her some support, emotional as well as financial. And yet that had hardly been the case. On the contrary. She’d become even more distant and, in a certain way, more independent. As if the prospect of having to take care of her younger sister had imbued her with a strength she hadn’t possess till then. But still not all had been lost. The custody process had been the door he needed to enter her life, and thanks to his connections, he’d been sure she’d come to him, sooner or later.

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But then that man had shown up, even though he was sure she hadn’t even known him before last week, and everything had changed!

He’d spent all afternoon on the phone, calling police officers, lawyers, doctors, financial advisors, business men. No one had any information regarding that stranger, no bank accounts, no credit cards or properties in his name. Everything seemed to be registered to a Miss Anne Stanford. The name Alexis didn't exist anywhere; That is if that was even his real name. Of course he’d already put three private detectives on his case and knew that these things took its time. But still he couldn’t help feeling irritably impatient. He longed to uncover the truth about him as soon as possible, certain that he'd be connected with something illegal, probably terrorism since he didn’t seem to have an identity. He wouldn’t rest until he made sure he’d spend the rest of his life in prison, and his only regret was that there were no witnesses to the aggression he’d suffered that afternoon.

The image of that half naked man and the intimacy with which he’d held Sarah made him shudder furiously.

The sound of the phone only made him even more annoyed and he briskly pulled it from the belt where he usually carried it.

“Yes!” he practically roared.

“John? It’s me.” A lower voice answered from the other side and John took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

“Hello, father. How have you been?”

“Better than you, I suppose, taking that tone into account. Something wrong?”

“No. Nothing I can’t handle. How’s mother?”

“She’s fine. Actually she’s been rather busy these last few days. Which brings me to the reason why I called you. Get dressed and come home for a change. We’re receiving a very special guest, tonight.”

“Hum, I really don’t think I’ll be joining you.” John took a sip from his whisky. He definitely wasn’t in the mood to put up with business receptions. “I’m really tired. But thanks, anyway.”

“This isn’t an invitation, John. And you’ll do as you're told. Our guest as specifically showed an interest in meeting you. I want you here by eight o’clock!” the man on the other side of the line declared authoritatively and simply hung up.

John almost threw the cellphone against the wall, but doing so wouldn’t make him feel any better, since the one he really wanted to punch was the man that had just hung up on him. No! Punch that tattooed freak’s face, that would surely make him feel much better!

Still he managed to behave like the grownup he was and, standing up, drained the whole glass in one gulp before going for a warm, relaxing shower. After all he had a dinner party to attend.