After leaving Lexi's room Claudia went to see what her husband was up to. He had locked himself in the study for a long time and had not come down to have dinner either. She knocked at the door for a long time. But did not get any response.
"Ted." She called after some time.
"Go away, Claudia. I am busy." He shouted back.
"At least come and have dinner. What is so important that you do not want to have dinner although it's way past nine?"
"I am not hungry. Don't disturb me, I am busy." He replied frustrated. He was already terrified that Adrian had found him and now his wife was irritating him. It was getting on his nerves.
"Okay fine. I am going to go to sleep. You do what you want." She huffed in anger and walked away, leaving Ted to himself.
The room became peaceful the moment his wife left him. He was shit scared now. Adrian was back and once he was caught by him, then nobody could save him. He had experienced the devil's wrath once and had escaped from him somehow years ago. But now he was doubtful if he could escape again.
He took out the diary he had brought along with him when he had fled two years back. He had kept it safely with him, though it was of no use to him at that time. But right now, the diary was the only source that could save his life. Though the pages had turned yellow on the sides, it was still readable.
He opened it and went through it page by page. There were names of each and everyone who were enemies with Adrian. He knew none of them, there were a lot of names. He read through it in frustration. Finally, he found a name he was familiar with. It was Nolan Presley. The two had collaborated for a project and had become close during the time. Though he was not in contact with him for the last few months, they were still friends to some extent.
He looked up to Nolan's contact number on his phone and called him without any delay. He was running short of time anyway. It rang for a few seconds before it was finally answered.
"Hello."
"Hello Nolan, it's me. Ted, Ted Sander." Ted spoke hoping he would remember him.
"Hey, Ted. What's up? How are you? How long has it been since we last spoke?" Nolan questioned although he was not interested in entertaining him any further. He just wanted to know why Ted had called all of a sudden.
"It's been months Nolan. I am not here to talk about it, I have something else to discuss."
"Yes?" Nolan asked in interest. He was having a late-night drink when Ted called him.
"Do you know Adrian?"
"Adrian who?"
"Adrian Cyrus King."
Hearing the name, Nolan's eyes widened. He placed his glass on the table and asked slowly, his voice faltering, "Why are you asking about him?"
"I just want to know if you know him or not."
"Yes, I know him. But why are you asking? Is he looking for me? No. That's not possible." Nolan said stuttering in fear. He was scared now, scared that Adrian would kill him. He knew Adrian would never forgive people who betrayed him and he had done just that. He had plotted against him behind his back by falsifying the company accounts and pocketing a part of the funds for his own benefit. When he noticed that Adrian was having a suspicion against him, he had fled from the country immediately.
He had successfully managed to hide before he established his own company in hopes that when he would be more powerful, Adrian could do nothing to him. However, to his horror, Adrian had become more successful than him by dominating the business world. Having no other choice, he had fled to Vlei to start a new life.
"Adrian is in Vlei."
"What?" Nolan stood up in aghast. He was terrified now. His fear had escalated to something he did not know. Cold sweat began to run down his body.
"Yes. He came back a few days ago and I am scared now."
"Why are you scared? Did you offend him too?"
"Yes. That's a long story for another day. I have called you for some other reason."
"What?" Nolan asked waiting to hear what Ted had in mind.
"Why don't we finish him off?"
"Are you out of your freaking mind?"
"Nolan, it's either us or him who will be alive in the end. So, why don't we attack him when he least expects us to?"
Nolan thought about it for some time. What Ted was saying was true? If they did not kill him, Adrian would definitely come for them. So, it was better they struck first.
"You think about it first. I'll wait for your decision until tomorrow. I still have to see if Adrian has other enemies to start with our plan. More the people with us, better will be the outcome."
"Wait.." Nolan interrupted him before he could cut the call.
"So, what have you thought?" Ted asked hopefully.
"I am in. What is the plan?"
"I am still searching for all the people who have grudges against him. I'll call you again tomorrow."
Ted ended the call and went through the list of names in the diary. The one thing he had done before escaping was to pick up Adrian's diary which contained the names of people who had offended him and his enemies. It was coming to his help now.
He then called all the people who he was familiar with and also the people he did not even know. It did not matter to him that whatever he was doing was wrong, all he wanted was to save his ass.
After calling everyone and making a team of people who were ready to go ahead with his plan, he could finally relax. Not even bothering to go to his room, he dozed off in his chair. He had a long day tomorrow and a plan to execute. It would be more hectic considering the fact that the combined power of all the people who agreed to be part of his plan was nothing in front of Adrian. He was like the Great Wall, unbreakable and powerful.
While Ted could at least get a little amount of sleep, Nolan had lost his sleep. He went to the balcony to clear his head. However, to his horror, the moment he stepped outside, someone bashed his head with a baseball bat.
All he could hear was the man's laughter before darkness engulfed him.