Aiden Rockefeller had his team search far and wide for Adriana Hastings because they had to avoid all forms of surprises.
The timing was just too perfect for the Hastings to send such a powerful representative as the faceless Adriana Hastings to Country C, at the same time that the Rockerfeller family is on a hunt for their top-secret hard drive.
The drive is evidently containing every single dealing the family has ever been involved in since its inception. This goes as far back as ten decades.
The Hastings have not had any special dealings or conflict with the Rockefeller family for about two decades and this has made Aiden particularly interested in them.
In his words, "their silence seems too loud to be ignored."
Coincidentally, Matilda Hastings finally took time from her many tasks to assist her sister on her current mission.
Her task was simply to uncover the mysterious identity of Aiden Rockerfeller, as it is clear from their sources that the Rockerfeller family sent the family's ace card to recover the missing drive.
Adriana herself has been the ace of the Hastings for so long a time that, her identity is similarly shrouded in so much mystery. Many are still of the view that the famed 'iron lady' of the Hastings is nothing but a myth.
Those who had been at the receiving end, however, feel it better to keep their mouths shut to avoid further trouble.
They hope and pray that the doubting Thomases could also have a feel of what they experienced.
An opposing mafia group once kidnapped and tortured Adriana's nanny for information about the family.
They wanted anything at all, as the family seems to be overly guarded and surrounded by a group of absolutely devoted servants.
There was really no telling how Vicker Hastings had managed to acquire a group of people who will rather die than betray their employer. It remains a mystery to date.
When Adriana appeared in disguise at the doorstep of the said mafia group, she announced herself as the one they were looking for, only for the boss to toss her out of the compound with a severe warning of killing her when next she appears.
Unsurprisingly, she appeared a few minutes afterward amid the shouts and screams in the compound.
Unknown to the boss, the few seconds Adriana spent in his house were enough to plant the explosives which detonated immediately after she left.
Making explosives was one of her many talents which she unleashed on the group.
To date, everyone in the mafia world still wonders what happened to the family of five as well as their many servants and guards.
With no one as a witness, none ever found out about the miserable fate of a big boss who became a nobody, due to his incessant quest for power, even in the wrong places.
Five years ago, Vicker decided to leave the family business to the fifteen-year-old Adriana who took out a medium-scale mafia group all on her own without the slightest assistance from anyone.
The only thing they saw was a weeping Adriana who returned with an unconscious nanny. They needed not be told of what happened.
No one asked Adriana what happened, neither did they ask where the missing persons were.
That one act of hers as well as many others made Vicker realize she was the one to take up after him.
The other siblings didn't even bother making any comments as they saw it as a form of liberation. They could finally have a breather as their prayers had finally been answered.
They never wanted to take up the family business and for that matter, when Adriana accepted the responsibility, her sisters felt indebted to her and consequently went out of their way to assist her whenever she needed their assistance.
As Adriana sought to find some source of entertainment from her father's current family, she realized that she had to wait a while for many things to unfold.
She felt too lazy to delve deeper into the people of the family. She was there to destroy the company, not the people.
The people are only a pass time for her currently boring life as she puts it.
Besides, her father willingly let go of his wife and newborn triplets, just so he could get his supposed heir for the family business.
He was not willing to pass the company even to his late elder brother's son or the many male children in the family. He reckoned that he needed an heir to keep him in the President's chair.
Leaning in her chair, Adriana says, "you enjoy power so much! Why don't I take it away from under your nose then?"
She then stood to look outside the window with a knowing smile as she speaks to herself, "Alright! Let's pull that chair, Gerald!"
***
Flynch residence!
When Gerald Flynch got to his bedroom, he was shocked at what he saw. Did burglars break into his room of all places?
The vases which were supposed to be beautifully arranged on the windowsill were lying broken on the floor.
A piece of broken glass even cut his leg as he removed his work shoes and was about reaching for his home shoes.
He got the servants to clean the room after he double-checked and confirmed that nothing was missing, which left only one possibility, his wife was at it again.
He was in the process of asking a maid about Dorothy's whereabouts when she walked in with hurried steps. Gerald could only mutter under his breath, "speak of the devil"
Seeing Dorothy made him feel so angry that, the servants felt the atmosphere change to being too tense.
They hurriedly did their work and scurried away. Nobody wanted to be at the receiving end of the fury in the air.
When he realized they were alone, Gerald then asked in a threatening tone "care to explain?"
Dorothy was searching for the perfect believable excuse to give her husband when he went further to request a response from her. She was cursing herself for not being prudent enough to have the room cleaned earlier.
Who could blame her anyway? Gerald never comes home at noon. 'What changed today? A thought suddenly crossed her mind, which caused her expression to turn twisted for a brief unnoticeable second.