Elsewhere in the city, a knock sounded on a door of a study. Without waiting for an answer, the door was pushed open. It was a routine that had been done over years and Sam Reyes knew that the occupant of the room would not answer, it was just to alert him that he was coming in.
It was a spacious home office. It had a huge wooden table that looked to have been made of the finest wood as it looked like marble from afar. It stood at one corner of the room. The room was well ventilated, and the source of light looked to be coming from the two large ceiling to floor windows made entirely of glass.
The view from the third floor was amazing as it overlooked a man-made lake at the back. There was an equally huge bookshelf that looked to house a variety of sophisticated books. This mansion was in the Beo city luxurious 'A' Grade Settlements. It was settlement number one in the neighbourhood.
Sam stood in front of the desk patiently until the man placed the newspaper he was reading on the table with a satisfied smile on his face.
"Was it delivered," he asked when he raised his eyes to look at his assistant.
"Yes, Mr Owens, it was handed to Kelvin directly," Sam replied and that earned a satisfied nod from Mr. Owens.
She has done well by securing a 'G' apartment for herself. That's very impressive, Mr Owens said thoughtfully.
Beo city's settlements and housing were all graded in alphabetical order with the last being Grade 'S', which was short for 'slums'. For instance, Settlement 'E', was reserved for the Elite in society. For settlements 'A to D', they were people who did not know how much they were worth themselves. It was rumoured that only five mansions existed in the 'A' settlement, but no one had ever seen it since one needed to be in that circle to be privy to that knowledge.
"Is there anything else?" he asked, and Sam handed him an envelope.
Mr Owens opened it and burst out laughing. Then he said, "My instincts were right about the young man."
Curiosity got the better of Sam and he stretched his head to look at the contents only to see the waiter, Kelvin looking very homey in an apron.
***
Back in the apartment, Amanda looked up at her mother when she asked, "So, who was the man that helped you get the certificate?" Yvonne interrupted them and asked. She had been observing them bicker, but she found that part of the story was a bit fuzzy.
And she was very right to think so as well. She had analyzed the scenario from many points and did not know whom her daughter knew enough to help them selflessly like that.
Amanda sighed and left to her room temporarily. She returned with the black card that she had been given and gave it to her mother.
He gave me this card, as the way to contact him if I wanted to, but I do not know him at all. Then she asked, "Do you know the man, Kelvin?"
Kelvin just shook his head.
She realised that her mother was quiet, so she looked at her and saw the skewed facial expression.
Yvonne shook visibly while she stared at the card in her hands, and this alerted them to the fact that something might be wrong. With concern evident in her voice, Amanda asked, "Mum, what is wrong?"
"H-has anyone else seen this card?"
"I – I m-mean, have you talked to or shown it to anyone apart from the people in this room?" Yvonne asked her daughter.
For the first time in her life, Amanda saw her mother struggle to get words out. She was so flustered that it began to affect Amanda as well. It was just a business card. Even though it was an odd one because apart from the fact that it was black as the night and had gold threads intricately designed around the edges, there was nothing much to see. It had a lone phone number on it. Unlike other typical business cards, it had no other information, no name, business name or type. So, Amanda was very curious as to why her mother was acting like that.
"Businessmen will kill anyone, literally to get their hands on this card," Yvonne whispered as her voice cracked a little.
"What do you mean by that?" this time, Kelvin asked the question and from the faces of everyone there, they also wanted to know.
"Before I answer that, Amanda, are you sure you have never met the man?"
Amanda shook her head in response as she was starting to get agitated.
"And he said that you have already paid him in full?"
Amanda nodded and asked exasperatedly, "Mum please! Stop talking in circles and let us know what you mean."
With all seriousness, Yvonne said, "In the business world, there is a man who can make anything happen, be it money, resources … I don't know... just think of the impossible and it gets done. No one knows his name or what he looks like. In fact, we are just assuming that he is male based on how powerful and well-connected he is. One can only reach him, if he allows it and it is usually through a card like you have here. The phone number is never the same but I have heard of businessmen killing their partners for it so…"
Kelvin frowned when he heard this, "How exactly had Amanda made the acquaintance of this man?" he wondered.
They all turned to look at Amanda and she still shook her head with a helpless look on her face.
Yvonne did not say anything again as she felt that Amanda and her new husband were smart enough to know what to do. On the other hand, she also felt that if her daughter already had the backing of someone this powerful, then she could relax as there was no way Mitch could do anything even if he tried.