The Billionaire’s Desires

Raymond POV

It has been three years and six months since the plane crash. At first, I thought we were never going to make it out of that island alive because Nathan was such a lazy foul that just wouldn’t follow my instructions. He tried getting away from me and he almost got us killed, more than once. Damn, it was so difficult to work with him and I nearly considered the idea of leaving him to fend for himself while I get myself off that fucking island, but I banished those ideas as quickly as they came, I couldn’t fail in this task because my families good name was at stake, our honor needs to be restored and Nathan was our best bet at recovering everything we lost when the elderly Nathan kicked us out of the family. I’m glad I did not abandon this mission, I’m glad I did not disappoint my family and my brother, Miguel. It gives me great joy to look at the man that Nathan Trent has become and I must admit that I am super proud of him. Not only does he know how to defend himself, but he now understands how the world works and now he knows better than to ignore his responsibilities. He now thinks carefully before he acts and he makes his decision without sentiments or bias. He has all the gangs and cartels under his belt, all except for the Schwartz brothers, and they too would come around because if they don’t, the other gangs would turn against them and it wouldn’t be nice at all.

That is the only reason why Nathan has not declared them rogue, he still believes that they may still come around and accept them, he doesn’t want to make a proclamation that would cause war on the streets because many innocent lives would be lost if that happens. He is just playing smart, giving Robert Schwartz enough time to think carefully and come back to his senses. Nathan is about to finish his training with the elders of the Trent household, but I’ve not been able to get a quiet time with the old man, he has been avoiding Nathan since he got disgraced and exposed. He just keeps to himself and goes about his business, acting like we don’t exist. Nathan is cool with his attitude, as long as it doesn’t affect the handover ritual and his training, then he is cool with it. I would have been cool with it as well but I don’t trust the old Trent, I never have and I never will. I followed Nathan’s instructions and I let him be and I kept my nose out of his business, but he did not extend the same hand of courtesy, he didn’t stay out of our business. I caught the old man one day making a secret call with a burner phone that he always keeps hidden away below the floorboards of his office. He thought he was alone and so he spoke freely, speaking to his other grandson, Travis Trent. I squatted by the blinds and I listened to his conversation with Travis and it got me so fucking pissed as I realized that the old man was still trying to help Travis, he was giving him tips on how to defeat Nathan. He advised Travis to make Nathan’s death an open contract so any thug or hoodlum on the street would be interested in the job. So apart from the Schwartz brothers, Nathan would still have a bunch of thugs on his tail and it’s all thanks to his grandfather.

I couldn’t let that fly, I couldn’t let him succeed. I have no idea why he decided to against the family rules this time, but I can’t let him go, I just can’t. I wonder why he did not let them arrest the tricky old man, he would have done this family a huge favor by getting rid of the old man, that way I’ll sleep better because I know that we have one less enemy to worry about. He has been getting away with all his evil acts, but not this time because I’m ready to tell him the bitter truth that everyone has been so scared to tell him. First I went to Nathan and I told him that the old man is the one passing information to the Schwartz brothers, I told him about the call the old man was just making a few minutes ago, but he didn’t react in any way, he didn’t even flinch. It was then that I realized that Nathan had known about his grandfather’s stupid mistakes, but he didn’t want to do anything about it. Who would blame the guy, the old man is his grandfather and up until he got threatened by Travis, he was always in support of Nathan. I believe that he would still be in support of Nathan if not for Travis, but that doesn’t mean he is a saint, it simply means that he is just stupid or plain ass dumb and if Nathan would let his sentiment to undermine his thinking, well, I won’t. I found my way into his office, ignoring his outburst and complaints about me intruding into his private affairs. I walked up to his table and placed my fist on his table, leaning towards him so I was now face to face with him.

“Stop contacting Travis, Mr. Trent. You should be glad that your grandson Nathan is trying to correct all your earlier mistakes, you should be glad that he is letting you have your freedom, despite all your attempts on his life. Nathan may be holding back because you are his grandfather, but trust me, I won’t hold back because I have no sentiments toward you, I hate you Mr. Trent and I’m itching to get you locked up for a very long time. I dare you to make one more call to Travis, Mr. Trent. I dare you to go against Nathan one more time. All it would take is just a subtle leak from my side, I would hand over every piece of evidence that the cops need to put you away for a very long time, by the time I’m done with you, you’ll be begging for mercy from the same Nathan who you betrayed. Don’t forget, it was I who saved him on that island, he trusts me and he would believe me if I tell him that I don’t know how the evidence gets into the hands of the cops, he would never doubt my words and you wouldn’t be here to make him doubt me because you would have been given a perfect room in prison and I’m going to make sure that you get a perfect roommate as well. That would teach you how to treat people right, that would teach you not to turn your friends into enemies.” I told him fiercely, watching as the color got drained from his face completely.

“You look vaguely familiar, young man. Who are you and why do you have so much vendetta against me?” He asks me calmly, keeping his eyes fixed on me.

“Does the name Hartford means anything to you?” I asked him sternly, then I smirked in satisfaction when his eyes went as wide as saucers. It’s a good thing that he still remembers our family, I do admire his diligence in keeping tabs on his enemies, although I hope he has learned his lessons already because I would really hate to hurt him. Nathan would never forgive me if I hurt his grandfather and my grandfather would go crazy if he finds out that I did anything to hurt his best friend. But I’ll still keep up with my threats and just pray that he doesn’t call my bluff.

“I am a Hartford and I am here to restore our family’s honor. Stay out of our way old man, I am not as weak and stupid as my grandfather, I won’t let you ruin everything we have worked so hard to achieve. The secret calls end right now, trust me, you don’t want to know what I’m capable of, don’t test me old man or you’ll be sorry.” I warned him fiercely before heading out of his office without so much as a second glance. Deep within me, I know I had reached his heart. I can imagine how all this guilt would be eating him up from within, it must be so damn hard to carry all this burden all on your own. If I were him, I would think deeply about it all and I would throw myself at Nathan’s feet and thank him for trying to atone for my errors and saving me from shame and disgrace. I think I got through to him because I never saw him snitching on Nathan anymore and attacks subsided a little and Nathan was free to carry out his training in peace. Although we did find out that Travis was making another play in this matter, he was no longer fighting dirty, rather, he was trying to sell off everything and run away. But I wasn’t bothered by this information because I know that the old man wasn’t responsible for it this time, it was a bunch of silly elders that simply can’t get their priorities right. But I am very confident that Nathan would find a way to sort it out pretty soon, he is learning so fast from me and mostly from the elders and I am quite confident in his ability to make good decisions at any time, I trust in him completely.

I am currently making arrangements for Nathan’s return. At first, he wanted to buy back his house and kick that pregnant lady and her snobby maid out, but he just couldn’t bring himself to hurt her. He can be fierce and ruthless when dealing with his crazy family and when he is doing business, but he still has his loving gentle attitude, he never lost his kind touch and that is one of the reasons why I’ll stand by him and serve him forever. He acquired a huge price of land by the seaside in another estate, a much bigger estate with way better security than the previous one. He has been rebuilding his house for the past eight months that we have been in the Caribbean, his family still doesn’t know about his return and he wants to remain that way until he decides to break the news to them. First, he higher an architect to draw the plans for his new house, then he hired a good contractor to carry out the project. He is so particular when choosing the materials and color for his house, I admire his taste in miniature and designs, it is just superb.

I got a call from Miguel a day before we left the Caribbean. As usual, he called to find out how much longer he needs to lie to Hillary, apparently, lying to her is becoming more difficult every day, he just wants it all to stop. Getting these calls from him always made me feel so guilty for lying to Nathan. Don’t blame me for lying to him, I had to do it to keep him focused, I had to lie to him to make him forget about his wife and focus on winning this war against his stupid cousin. A few hours after we disguised our looks and visited his former house, I went back there to gather some evidence of my own. I knew that girl was lying when I spoke with her earlier, but I didn’t want to force out the truth from her in front of Nathan, I didn’t want him to know that she is still alive, that was why I insisted that we should leave there immediately. I told him there was nothing left here to discover and I promised him that I would look into the issue and report back to him, but that is a lie, I just want to keep him in the dark. The girl had told us that Hillary had died in a car crash, but I know that she is lying because when I brought Nathan to our family secret warehouse, I notice how disheveled it was and I realized that Miguel had hidden her here for some time but he had to run away because they were being tracked. It’s a good thing that they had to run away, I can’t begin to imagine what would have happened if they were still in that warehouse when I first arrived there with Nathan. The two lovebirds would have been reunited and that would have ruined all my plans and hard work. Bit they weren’t there and my plans are working perfectly fine, so I’m still in total control of this whole situation. When I got back to the house, I used a jamming device to scramble the cameras, then I sneaked into the building I could hear the kids playing and giggling at the back of the house, so I focused on the two ladies instead. I gave the lady of the house a mild sedative to put her out for a few minutes without hurting her child, then I had the silly girl tied up in the kitchen, placing my gun on the table where she can see it.

I didn’t need to add too much pressure by threatening her, after pointing out a few of her mistakes to her, she knew better than to lie to me, she knew she was in trouble already so all she could do was to plead for mercy as she told me the whole truth. It turns out that Ariel had been the one trying to kill Hillary, she forced Hillary out of this house and out of the country. With Hillary gone, Ariel sold off Nathan’s house and kept the money all to herself, then she paid her to stay here and work for the new owner of the house while keeping watch to make sure that Hillary never comes back here. She receives payment from Ariel monthly, she is mandated to report back to Ariel if anyone comes asking for Hillary.

“Have you called her yet, did you tell her that we came looking for Hillary?” I asked her after a few minutes but she nodded her head vehemently, telling me that she hasn’t.

“I tried calling her but she wasn’t taking my calls, her payment for this month is late, so I’m guessing that is why she didn’t take my calls, she thinks I am calling for my money. I swear, I haven’t said anything to her, and I never will. Please just let me go, I promise, I’ll never be a snitch again, please.” She pleaded amid tears, looking so pathetic. I have no issues with her, she was only doing this for the money, so I left her with a warning, if she ever speaks to Ariel again, I’m coming for her and her family as well. To make my threat more livid, I mentioned a few names and addresses relating to her family, I made her know that I know everything about her and I also know where to find her family, that was enough to make her comply with my instructions.

I tried finding Miguel on my own, but he left no traces, literally none. I went back home to our family, and I was told that he had to flee Canada because their lives were at risk. He left no message for me, he simply told them to watch their backs because they could be visited by Robert Schwartz. I don’t know why he is warning them about Robert and I got a bit scared because I have not told him anything about our fallout with the Schwartz brothers, I wonder if he has encountered them also and it scares me because he can’t fight them off on his own, he can’t escape from them. I had to find my way back to his secret apartment, he usually comes here whenever he wants to be left alone and I am the only one that knows about that apartment so I’m hoping that he might have left a message for me there. And I was right, he left a message for me in the fireplace. It is an envelope that looks like it has been burnt to ashes but it wasn’t ruined completely, it still had a cell phone number on it and when I dialed the number, he picked up almost immediately and I breathed a sigh of relief when he told me that they were all safe.

He told me they were in Paris and Hillary had kids for Nathan, she had a set of twins for him and she prays and hopes that he comes back to them someday. He had two ladies that were helping him take care of her and they were running a business together. It infuriates me to hear him speaking so happily, he must think that this is all some kind of joke, he makes it sound like a billionaire on a vacation trip in Paris, it was so fucking annoying. When I asked him about the warning he gave to the elders at home, he opened up and told me that one of the girls with him was formally Robert’s sex slave. She had run away from Robert, but Robert keeps finding her because of the tracking chip he put in her. My stupid brother helped the bitch take out the chip and now he is fucking dating the girl. I just couldn’t believe the guy, he has never gone on a mission without ruining it for everyone, he always lets his emotions get the better of him. How can he be screwing Robert’s girl, isn’t that a death wish?Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

I yelled and yelled at him, but as usual, he wasn’t the slightest bit moved by my words, all he wants is for Hillary to reunite with Nathan so he can move on with his life. He was so furious when I told him that I wanted to keep the truth away from Nathan until he regains back everything that was stolen from him. He threatened to open up to Hillary and tell her the truth, then I countered his threat with mine, I told him I was going to send word to Robert Schwartz and tell him where to find his little runaway sex slave. I knew he would fall for my threats, he knows I don’t let my emotions interfere with my job, unlike him who always thinks with his heart and not his head. He didn’t have a choice, he had to hide the truth as well and wait for the right time. I know I’m mean, I know I’m not supposed to lie to Nathan, but I’m doing it to protect them, I want them to return to him when it is safe, if they come back now, he would be too distracted to focus on the mission, he could make a silly mistake that would get them all killed, so it is way better this way. He still loves her, I can see it in his eyes whenever he is thinking about her. Yeah, he thinks about Hillary, every fucking day, and sometimes it hurts me to keep them apart, but I just have to. It is my job to keep them safe and that is exactly what I’m going to do, even if he hates me afterward, I’m still going to do my job.