Ezekiel Jiang hadn't got enough sleep for three days straight. He had been so busy with press conferences and his grandmother's nagging that he had relied on coffee every four hours to keep him sane.
He finished reviewing a proposal for acquisition and closed the file. He massaged his temple with his fingers, already feeling the headache worsening and it wasn't even noon. He decided to take the rest of the day off and catch up on his sleep, or he might lose his temper.
"Brother!" A man's voice called out and Ezekiel groaned. As much as he loved Archer, he was a pain in the ass sometimes and he didn't want to deal with him right now.
Archer walked into his office and sat down on the chair in front of him. "Why aren't you picking up grandmother's calls?"
Ezekiel sighed. "She's trying to arrange a marriage for me."
"It can't be that bad, right?"
Ezekiel gave him a pointed look. "You know that's not our grandmother if she doesn't make a big fuss about anything and everything."
Archer laughed. He was handsome, like everyone else in their family but he was smarter than he looked. Although he acted childishly and had a playboy-like personality, Ezekiel knew far better than that. Archer had charms, the ability to make anyone do his bidding with just one wink and a toothy grin. Worked wonders with the ladies.
"Touché," He replied and leaned back on the chair, "Still, grandmother told me to ask you to go back home as soon as possible. She sounded urgent."
"Fine," He sighed and shut down his computer, placing some documents in his office bag which he would read at home when he felt fresher, "I was about to head home anyway."
"Cool," Archer said and got up, shoving his hands in his pockets, "I'll ask the driver to meet you at the entrance."
Ezekiel nodded.
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When he got home, the entire family was sitting at the dining table, their expressions solemn. Ezekiel wondered what was wrong for grandmother to call a family meeting so urgently that everyone had to be present.
Madam Jiang, as everyone referred to as his grandmother, was a petite lady but was very strict. Her face was old with age, the wrinkles spread across her cheeks and forehead yet marking her years of wisdom. Her hair had turned white but Ezekiel imagined she was a force to be reckoned with in her youth.
"Ezekiel," She said, her voice clear and sharp, "Sit down."
He did. The other members of the family sat around the long, rectangular table quietly, their heads turned in the direction of his grandmother, who sat at the head of the table.
"I won't beat around the bush," Madam Jiang said, "Yesterday, in the dead of the night, the Crown of Fire was stolen."
Everyone gasped the moment she said that including Ezekiel and he clenched his fists. He knew everything about the legacy of their family heirloom courtesy of his grandmother's training and he knew that this situation wasn't good. It could wreak havoc.
"Now, no one but Ezekiel and I know about the whereabouts of the crown so I assume this information was leaked out from somewhere. In any other situation, the culprit would have been punished according to the family laws but given the danger of the crown falling into wrong hands, I simply want the heirloom to be back, safe and sound." Madam Jiang finished, her calculating gaze falling on everyone on the table before finally stopping on Ezekiel.
She waved a hand in dismissal and everyone left immediately, murmuring among themselves. Ezekiel got up from his place and moved closer to his grandmother.
"I hope you know what to do, child." She said, sighing.
"Don't worry grandmother, I'll do my best to bring the crown back."
She nodded. "Start from the secret place, maybe you will get some clues."
Ezekiel nodded and took his leave.
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It had been another three days and Ezekiel was no closer to finding out the crown. He had been researching endlessly, reading and cross-referencing the family books and journals in the study at home, books that dated back to the origin of his family. He didn't find anything useful, naturally. Most of the books were worn out with time and the Chinese language had never been Ezekiel's strong forte. He felt frustrated because the records were confusing and he couldn't ask someone for help because the existence of the heirloom has to remain confidential at any cost. The situation would only worsen if more people knew about its existence.
At the same time, he didn't know why his grandmother was acting calm and was silent about the matter. Surely, the theft of the crown could mean the end of the Jiang family and the world too. It wasn't exactly like his grandmother to not react to a possible scandal that threatened the discontinuation of the bloodline.
"Ezekiel," Archer said suddenly, snapping him out of his thoughts, "we've arrived."
Ezekiel glanced out of the car window. Hotel Esquire stood out in all of its grandness, a cream coloured building that was among New York's finest luxury hotels. It was huge, the gardens immaculately trimmed and maintained, the water fountain in the middle of the way to the entrance reflecting the shimmering sunlight on the glass doors. Ezekiel climbed out of his car and immediately was surrounded by reporters. He managed to find his way through the swarm of the cameras and microphones, his bodyguards trying their best to control the crowd on each of his sides to allow him and Archer to pass through.
He had a business meeting with a Japanese tech company, it was important for him to negotiate the terms as soon as possible to consider the deal concrete. With no wasting of time, he swiftly walked through the doors and towards the elevators, feeling unaffected by the numerous eyes that fixated themselves on every step he took. Not to brag, but he was well aware of his public persona and he felt proud of it. He knew he exuded a powerful aura and that was a given for being the heir to the Jiang family fortunes.
The elevator took him to the seventh floor, where his business partner was waiting in the conference room. He stopped for a brief moment, checking all of his documents in his bag and laptop before turning to Archer.
"I'll need at least two hours, stay here, just in case."
Archer nodded and settled himself on one of the sofas directly opposite the room, his eyes fixed on the door to the conference room as Ezekiel closed it. From what he could see through the translucent doors, he only relaxed his stance when the two parties settled down on the chairs to discuss their deal.
An hour passed and Archer felt exhausted. He got up and stretched, feeling thirsty suddenly. He remembered seeing a water container near the elevators so with one last glance at the conference room, he turned around and disappeared into the hallway.
Archer returned just in time to see a woman snooping around near the conference room. It was strange, no one was supposed to be on the seventh floor till Ezekiel finished his meeting, for safety purposes. The woman hadn't seen him yet but Archer was sure that she was about to go inside the room so he quickly walked up to her and grabbed her forearm.
The woman turned around in shock and Archer blinked. She was extremely beautiful, her facial features chiselled to perfection. Her sea-green eyes complimented her chestnut brown hair, her skin looked like it was bathed in milk and rose petals.
"Who are you?" He asked, snapping out of his beautiful trance.
Instead of replying, she tsked in frustration and tried to free herself from him. He didn't allow her though, no matter how beautiful she was, she could also be a spy. Stories of murder mysteries and spy thrillers caught up to him and he pulled the woman away from the room and up against the nearest wall.
"Who are you?" He repeated again, his eyes fixed on hers.
"It doesn't matter, let me go." She said, attempting to escape again but Archer knew all the moves. The girl seemed to be an amateur, her skills weren't so polished.
"What is going on here?" Ezekiel spoke up from behind him, his meeting seemed to have ended early. The business partner beside him gave the two of them a weird look before nodding at Ezekiel and taking his leave.
Ezekiel exchanged a silent look with Archer and indicated him to join him in the conference room.
Once they were inside the room, Archer spoke up, "I caught this girl trying to listen in to your conversations."
"Listening?" The girl scoffed before looking straight at Ezekiel, "I was about to kidnap you."
The brothers looked at the girl with a surprised look. Her frank behaviour definitely caught them off guard.
"Why?" Ezekiel asked, giving her an intimidating stare but she looked unbothered.
"I don't owe you an explanation," She replied, relaxing into the chair she was made to sit in, "Let me go and you'll walk unharmed."
Archer laughed, "Seriously, lady? Do you know who you're messing with?"
However, Ezekiel wasn't amused. He had always been good at reading people, the countless people he had met during business meetings accounted for that fact. Whoever this woman was, she wasn't simple.
He was about to ask her something else before the door burst open to reveal another woman, dressed in a completely black outfit.
She looked eerily similar to the other girl, but she had more of a womanly beauty than her. Her black hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, falling mid-back in waves. Her expression gave nothing away, yet she exuded a certain aura that was mysterious to Ezekiel and difficult to penetrate, which was saying something when that comment came from him.
"She doesn't owe you an answer, you should talk to me if you have questions." Her voice was calm but Ezekiel could detect an undertone of fierceness.
"Okay, back up for a second." Archer said, "Who are you? What is going on here?"
The woman held Ezekiel's gaze, as she answered Archer's question.
"We can help you find the Crown of Fire."