After the wait of 6 hours Rui woke up again and just like before her mother was right next to her. However this time around no one said a word. A grave silence enveloped the room. Mrs. Smith was looking at Rui. But Rui was looking out of the window, somewhere around the horizon.
Mr. Smith was missing from his usual spot. He was somewhere near the Richards Mansion, approaching the old man's trap.
When he entered the gates, Mr. M.L. Howland was standing at the entrance to welcome him.
" You arrived earlier than expected." He looked around. " Sir, the rest of your family?"
" Sorry, they both were not feeling well. I hope you don't mind." Mr. Smith smiled cunningly. " Where is he?"
" Follow me." Howland smiled back.
They went up the elevator and reached the terrace. The large terrace appeared empty at first. But right next to a bamboo plant, a man was sitting on the floor. He was sitting in lotus pose. Maybe he was trying to meditate.
" Wait here." The assistant went ahead. He said something to that person. Then he walked back. " Sir asked you to wait downstairs."
Mr. Smith thought of something and then smirked. " Please go and tell him it's Black Boa 96."
The assistant went ahead and again said something to the man. This time the old man looked in his direction.
Without any delay, the old man approached him. When he was close enough, he stared at Mr. Smith's face blankly. After half a minute, he finally opened his mouth.
" You are?" He asked again.
" Master Richards, I am Black Boa 96 a.k.a Roger Smith. The founder of RRA intelligence. Nice to meet you."
" I can't believe it. For the last twenty years you never showed yourself. I always wondered what kind of man would have planned such intricate business model. But now that you are here I am..." The man stopped abruptly.
" Disappointed?" Mr. Smith laughed mockingly. " Well, truth to be told, I am disappointed as well. I always thought Master Richards was a man of morals. But turns out you are a snake who was bold enough to target my family. I am warning you Mr. Richards. If you ever tried to approach my family again, I will destroy you."
The old man glared at Mr. Smith and the vein on his forehead popped. " Ha Ha. How courageous of you. You are blaming me for something I never did. You are calling me snake and questioning my morals. It seems like you are forgetting your status. I want to remind you Mr. Smith, you are standing in my territory right now. I can make sure you never leave this place alive. So, choose your words wisely."
Mr. Smith grinned again. He walked forward until he was face to face with Master Richards. " Listen, you old dried piece of crap. Do you think I am just spouting shit? Look above, you are surrounded by drones. Each one is equipped with camera, recording everything and saving it to our data base." Mr. Smith took a long breath and whispered again. " They are also carrying missiles. I have also send some of these drones to play with your dear grandson. You know, I can make sure that no one leave this place alive. And, I assure you, I will cut off your Richard bloodline today."
The old man giggled mockingly, " You.. son of a gun. Aiming for the bloodline, aren't we. Well let me tell you, your family is also under my surveillance. They are still in the hospital. Aren't they? Well, you should always check your bouquets before you place them on the bedside. You know how these trackers work. One underhanded movement and boom..."
The old man and the black boa were ready to lock horns. These two alphas, one was dominant and other was shrewd, were so tangled up in their showdown that they almost forgot there was a third person around.
" Ahem! I think you have misunderstood something." Mr.Howland interrupted
Both the alphas looked at him in rage. The pitch of Howland's voice got smaller." Master, he is Mr. Smith, Rui's father. He is going to be our young master's father in law." Howland tried his best to cool these animals down.
" You....you are Rui's father?" The old man asked in amazement.
" Huh? Old man, did you not hear me when I was talking about my family." Mr. Smith was amazed too. What the fuck is this old man so confused about.
Master Richards smiled instantly and his mood took a 180 degree turn. " Oh! It's a pleasure to meet you. You are Rui's father. No wonder she is an elite omega. I am Mark Richards grandpa."
Mr. Smith found the whole situation ridiculous." Yaah! Are you messing with me right now?"
The old man laughed again." No. I am definitely not joking around."
" Old man. You are really getting on my nerves now." Mr. Smith held back his anger, "Don't beat around the bush. What the fuck do you want from me. I hate your hypocrisy already. If you kept laughing like a creep, I am afraid i will blow this place just to not see this fucking face again."
" Ha Ha Ha..you are really funny." The old man yet laughed again.
"This son of a..." Mr. Smith was ticked again.
Howland saw the whole ordeal and knew that old master was doing it intentionally to piss Mr. Smith off. As a beta with a brain, he interrupted. " Mr. Smith, Master wishes that your daughter get officially wedded to young master."
Mr. Smith froze. He turned his head to look at Howland with disgust. " WHAT?!"
" Wow...you really hate the idea. Huh? But what can we do, our kids are bounded and are mates now. Oh! Poor you." The old man giggled.
The veins on Mr. Smith's forehead started pumping vigorously. He was about to turn his head towards the old man but Howland placed his hands on both of cheeks.
"Mr. Smith, look at me!" He grabbed his jaw with both hands and placed his head closer to that of Mr. Smith. It looked like they were about to kiss.
The old man couldn't stop but giggle.
This pissed Mr. Smith even more. He tried to side eye the old man because his jaw was firmly gripped by Howland.
" No! Look at me. You are better than this. That man is trying to enrage you. But rage solves nothing. You need to calm down. You have your family and friends to protect. Don't lose yourself in the gust of anger. A real alpha stays calm like the eye of storm. Don't let your anger get the best of you." Howland ended his speech with little pat on the cheek.
Mr. Smith was taken aback. Not because the speech was so touchy. He was shocked blank by how awkward it was. " What the..."
" Ha ha Ha..." The old man laughed out loud. " Oh! Don't be surprised. Howland is anger management specialist. He deals with alphas who have anger issues." The old man paused for a second and laughed again. " Ah! Isn't he like Budha? But freakier?"
Mr.Smith looked at the old man in ridicule. But he has to agree. Never had anyone preached him like this. He felt cringe all over but he was much calmer now.
Howland continued, " Mr. Smith, alias Boa96, we know that our young master was the one who marked your daughter. My Master wishes that our young master inherit the Richards legacy. However, this incidence has scarred his reputation. We want to turn this around. If young master is wedded to your daughter, he will become officially eligible. With his marriage to an elite omega, he will become the new heir of Richards Co. His tarnished reputation will be repaired too."
Mr. Smith looked at Howland with disgust again. " And why would I agree to that?"
Howland cleared his throat and continued, " Do you really believe your agreement matter at this moment. The whole world knows that your daughter was bounded by Mark. If it is destructive for Mark, it is destructive for daughter as well. Do you believe people at her university won't give her a hard time because of what happened. Do you believe you can protect your daughter from the media. Especially, when the Akso is right there. Believe me, this case is more of a headache to us than it is to you. Young master's involvement in this case has caused our shares to plummet. We will handle this situation by hook or by crook. But it will get a lot easier if you cooperate."
" But I will not." Mr. Smith emphasized. " I will never let my daughter or force my daughter to do something she doesn't want."
" Mr. Smith..." before Howland could say another word, Mr. Smith stormed out.
Howland ran after him, " Mr. Smith...Mr. Smith...Listen." But Mr. Smith did not stop.
" We can ask for the investigation team to retreat." Howland yelled.
Mr. Smith froze, he turned around and went back to where he came from. Howland followed from behind.
Mr. Smith faced the old man and questioned, " You can order the Akso to retreat?"
" No. Not the Akso but the people above. I can also arrange this savage case to be closed. The media and content related to the savage omega will be erased too. They can announce that the omega died in an accident or it was not a savage to begin with. I know you are hiding that savage omega. I can help you. But you have to help me too." The old man replied.
Mr. Smith thought for a while. " Give me some time to think about it."
" I am afraid we can't wait." Mr. Howland interrupted. " This needs to be sorted ASAP."
" But I need to talk to my daughter." Mr. Smith emphasized. He paused for a while, " How about this, you send out rumours that Mark and Rui are getting engaged. Give some bits to the media as well. And make them delete the content about savage omega. Make sure the engagement stays a rumour until I give you a conformation. Till then, I will talk to my daughter and try to convince her. Only when she agrees, you will make an official statement through press conference."
The old man smirked, " Fair enough."