Sixty Two

Sixty Two

Damien Martinez—

The masked leader handed me my phone on the way out. I retraced my steps out of the abandoned warehouse.

Karl's words haunted me all the way back to my car, and I felt my sanity level decline at an alarming rate.

"What have I done?" I whispered faintly into the air, talking to no one in particular.

If Clarissa got hurt in any way because of me, I will never be able to forgive myself.

“... I see, we'll play it your way then, CEO Damien. I do hope you really meant all that you said,” Karl's words echoed in the air.

It was all over me, everywhere. What's the plan now? For once in my life, I felt unsure, like I had made a big mistake somewhere.

I ended up playing my part a bit too well. Now he actually bought it and assumed that I was a cold, heartless man. My plan was just to scare him a little and make him rethink everything.

I know that Karl was just an ordinary man. He didn't have the wits like I did, or the cruelty that Morgana possessed. He was just another ordinary man who sought revenge.

And I was hoping to make use of that advantage to make him abandon his plans altogether.

If you thought that keeping Clarissa with him would not make him any safer, I assumed that he was going to let her go at the end. But I had underestimated the length of his hatred towards her.

Now, he was going to hurt her just for the fun of it, and it was going to be completely my fault.

“Dang it!” I cursed, slamming my fist on the dashboard.

How could I be so careless? I should have just given him what he wanted. Even though there was no assurance that I would get Clarissa back if I comply.

I headed for the highway, driving home blindly unsure of where I was really going.

I didn't even know where to turn this time. This mistake of mine was going to cost me a lot.

I considered contacting Morgana straight up and asking her what she wanted. It was scary how I was willing to give her anything as long as she kept Clarissa out of it.

I stopped myself at the last moment, knowing that that was not the way to deal with this. I'll be considered weak, and she was going to take advantage of it. And unlike me, she was not going to regret her actions.

I stepped on the brakes and looked up, realizing that I was in front of a building.

A huge metal gate stood imposingly in front of the estate. There were a couple of guards here and some kids playing around. The gate opened automatically, and I found myself driving in.

Images and memories flashed through my mind as I drove. I knew this place, or rather, I remembered it. It was the Martinez mansion—or rather, the place where heartless businessmen were born.

I gulped. In my time of need and uncertainty, I drove straight into Diego's clutches.

Why was I here? Couldn't I have gone to any other person for help? Or maybe deep down, my heart needed the truth. There was no one else to help me, no one else to understand what I was going through except my father.

He was the only one who understood the urgency, how crucial time really was.

I might have acted like I hated him in public and in private, or the truth was he was the only one I could trust to make impromptu decisions that made perfect sense.

He was heartless, yes, but maybe that was what I needed at this time. I was overcome with my own emotions and could not think through them. I needed another point of view, someone who could deal with this with a clear head.

“Take me to Diego,” I stepped out of the car and headed straight for the nearest officer.

He gave a bow, recognizing me immediately. “CEO Damien Martinez,” he greeted.

There was a hint of confusion in his eyes. “I don't remember there being any family meeting, sir,” he said carefully.

“Funny, I don't recall asking you if there was any meeting today. Now take me to Diego, please,” I added after a while.

I didn't even know why I had to beg him to do his job. Not that he's smarter than me anyway, considering that I already felt so pathetic, I might as well act the part too.

His eyes widened in utmost surprise. Clearly, he was confounded. Then, sensing the apparent urgency in my voice, he stood up with a nod.

"Right this way, sir," he said.

He motioned to the rest of the officers standing nearby in a sort of coded language before walking in front.

I followed them closely behind. We passed through a lot of buildings on our way. I couldn't shake off the feeling of nostalgia as I walked. Maybe coming here wasn't such a good idea after all. I was trying to shake away all the emotions, but more were flooding in.

I think I could conclude on one thing though: I was a mess.

From news that Clarissa had been kidnapped, to the realization that Morgana was still in my life and didn't seem ready to leave anytime soon, there was still the problem with the headquarters falling apart under my reign.

Everything had been piling up gradually. Just that, today was the icing on the cake, the breaking point. I had reached my limits.

Give me a break, I was only human and half of the city was looking up to me, while the other half wanted to tear me down.

What did it matter? The point was that everyone was looking at me.

We walked towards a huge building in the middle of the room.

It only made sense that Diego would be here. This was the training ground, the place where he peered into our minds and filled them with his experiences and lessons until we were just like him.

“Right upstairs,” the officer called out, pulling me out of my thoughts.

“The master is there. He's on the highest floor; they say he has been there for days now,” he said, stepping back.

For days now? I thought. I shook my head, refusing to even think about it.

Diego did whatever the hell he wanted, and no one had the right to question him. If he wanted to sit in seclusion, then he bloody well did that.

I turned to the officer and walked through the glass doors, knowing fully well that he wouldn't be able to come in with me.

They were restricted to the outside parameters only and so couldn't actually enter any of the main buildings.

There were a couple of tables lined up on the first floor.

Iron chairs surrounded them, a kind of mini restaurant. There was a flight of stairs leading upward and an elevator in the middle. It looked basic at most, even a bit antique when one thought about it.

Tapestries lined the walls and different ancient artworks. If I remembered correctly, the pyramid used to be my favorite one.

I shook away the thoughts. If I allowed myself to remember the little details, then I would be forced to remember the huge life-changing ones too, the ones that crafted me into the man I was now, and I wasn't ready for the implications yet.

I headed for the elevator and punched in the highest floor. It was the penthouse on the roof.

There was a sick lullaby tune from the 80s playing in the elevator.

The annoying melody assaulted my ears relentlessly. It didn't help my anxiety level one bit.

I tried to calm myself down, knowing that I had to be mentally prepared if I wanted to meet with Diego.

He would try to play some of his mind games on me, and he would make me feel weak for coming to ask him for advice in the first place.

So put simply, he was going to majorly act like a jerk. But I was going to get what I needed, and at this point, that was all that actually mattered.

The door of the elevator slid open, and I walked through the narrow passageway that sloped upwards, opening up into a mini penthouse.

I scanned the room briefly, taking note of the new decor designs. There were miniature statues of Norse gods around the room.

Thor stood in the middle of the room with cats at his feet. His hammer opened up into a water fountain, and Diego sat on a sofa around the fountain with his back to me.

There was a table next to him, and he was playing chess with himself, or maybe Thor decided to indulge him... Who knew.

“Ah, there you are. Took you long enough. You walk pretty slow, don't you Damien?” he asked calmly.