Chapter 127 Sweet Turn Sour - Part 2
"I am not sleeping again," Bryce said to himself and got out of bed.
Bryce exited the bedroom and went to his study. He decided to distract himself with some work. The interview for the movie premiere went great, and they were preparing to shoot another movie. He decided to go through the script. He was not a man who was into stories. He stared at the script, not sure if he was the one not interested in the story or if the story was that bad. Bryce ran his hand through his hair out of frustration. He recalled that Angela was the one who worked with Don on the script they used to shoot the amazing movie that has now become the talk of the city.
Out of frustration, he tossed the script to the side and worked on other things that were within his area of expertise.
The night slowly passed, and it was soon morning. There was a knock on the door, and Bryce lifted his head from the table. He realised he had fallen asleep while working on some documents. The knock came again, and he invited the person in.
"Good morning, Sir," Josephine greeted. "Your father is on the line downstairs," she reported.
Bryce checked his phone and realised he had missed 6 calls from his father. The time is 7 am. The phone's ringer was also off.
"Hymh," Bryce said and stood up from behind his desk.
Josephine exited the study after briefly staring at him. Bryce followed Josephine out and went into the living room while Josephine went to continue with her chores.
"Hello," Bryce said as soon as he picked up the receiver and was comfortably sitting on the sofa.
"Bryce, you were supposed to be here an hour ago. What is wrong with you?" Devon yelled from the other end of the phone.
"Dad, it's only 7 am. What is the hurry for me to get there?" Bryce said. "Besides, it's just an engagement party," he added.
"No, Bryce, no," Devon said, and Bryce frowned, wondering what he meant.
Back at Susan's place, Susan and Eva were both sitting together chatting while a make-up artist attended to their hair.
"Eva, today is going to be the happiest day of my life. Bryce's father wants Bryce and me to proceed with a signing at the court immediately. We will have a grand wedding later," Susan said excitedly.
"Really?" Eva asked, surprised.
"Yes," Susan said, filled with joy she couldn't contain. "This is why the engagement is being done this early. We will move to the court to sign once Bryce proposes," she explained.
"Wow," Eva expressed, her eyes sparkling with joy. "Congratulations. I wish Bernard and I would just go sign at the court too, but he is dragging his feet on everything," she complained.
"Sweetheart, stick to the wedding date. As for backing out, he won't, but you can speed up things by publishing your upcoming wedding on social media. You can announce it as the second employee couple to tie the knot in Diamond Corporation. The news will spread like wildfire. Everyone knows about Diamond's rule of not allowing employees to date each other," Susan suggested.
"I am going to do that. I think I can tweet; Harsh tag, I am at Diamond Corporation, CEO and HR's engagement. I am going to be next with my handsome better half Bernard, also from Diamond Corporation. What do you think?" Eva asked.
"It's perfect. And do get exclusive news on your upcoming wedding too," Susan said.
Back at Bryce's place, Bryce was very angry.
"What do you mean I am supposed to proceed with a court signing after the engagement announcement?" Bryce questioned.
"Bryce, you will propose to Susan in the presence of everyone, and you'd better mean it. The car will be ready to take you two to the court to sign. A grand wedding can be done later," Devon said.
"No, Dad, I am not proposing to Susan in front of everyone, and I am not signing anything," Bryce said.
"Bryce, you saw the documents," Devon reminded. "You are just an employee managing my fortune. If you don't marry Susan, I will kick you out on the street. I mean every word coming out of my mouth," Devon threatened and ended the call.
"What the hell was that?" Bryce asked himself. "Why the sudden demand for me to marry Susan? And this threat to take everything away from me?" he asked himself.
Bryce stood up and went up to his room. He got into the shower and took a quick shower. He wanted an explanation for what was happening. He casts his mind back and realises that his father doted on Susan, even before she lost her parents.
"I will understand if Susan is some big shot and this marriage is for a business alliance benefit, but Susan has nothing. Everything she has is from the Moore family. So why is my father so bent on me marrying Susan and this fast too?" Bryce thought as he dressed up.
He called Martin and asked him to get the car ready. Bryce exited his room handsomely dressed. Josephine saw him leave, and her heart ached, but she kept herself composed.
"Sir, is there anything you would like me to prepare for you for lunch or dinner?" Josephine asked, and Bryce frowned.
"Josephine, you have managed my home for a long time now. Do you not know what to do?" Bryce spat the words at her.
"I am sorry, sir. I thought you would have a preference for something different, knowing today is a special day," Josephine replied.
"Get lost," Bryce said and walked towards the exit.
He was already angry and was not ready to deal with silly things like what Josephine asked.
"Sir, everything I found on the Adams family murder," Martin said to Bryce and handed him an envelope as soon as Bryce exited the front door.
Bryce took the envelope from him and pulled out the contents, which were sitting in the back seat of the car. He started going through the report.
"To the family house," Bryce said and shifted his gaze back to the report.
Bryce was surprised to find out that the report he was reading, with some evidence, proved that Mrs Anderson's story was right. He went through everything, and he knew his father lied to him, but he still wanted to be sure.
"How did you come by this?" Bryce asked.
"I found the neighbour whose house was next to Mr Adams. He was a witness to everything that happened that day. I also spoke with a friend of Mr Adams, and he told me what Mr Adams did. Mr and Mrs Anderson were the ones who killed the assassins who were tasked to carry out the job because the assassins killed Mrs Adams and shot Ms Angela. Something they were not supposed to do. One of the assassins survives and lives far away from the city. I got his testimony and the backing evidence of the transaction between Mr Devon Moore and Mr and Mrs Anderson," Martin replied.
"You did all that yesterday?" Bryce asked, surprised by how fast he was able to contact all those people.
"No, sir. When Marcus was head of guards, you tasked him with getting information about Angela. I read a part of the report that Marcus left on the table inside his room. I had come to discuss something with him, and that was when I saw the report. I read a part that stated that Angela's parents were murdered. So I started looking into it. So when you tasked me to do that, I already had a lot of information gathered," Martin confessed.
"I see," Bryce said.
"Sir, we are here," Martin announced, and Bryce looked outside.
"It's time to confront my dad to understand what is going on. Maybe I might be able to convince him to drop this obsession," Bryce thought as he walked towards the house.
His phone rang, and Bryce retrieved it from his pocket, stopping in his steps in the process. The word unknown caller flashed on his screen. He answered anyway.
"Hello," Bryce said and waited to confirm who had called.
"Hello, Bryce Micheal Moore, the only son of Bryce Micheal Moore," the person said, and Bryce frowned
"Who are you and how did you know my late uncle's name?" Bryce questioned, and the person laughed.
"The right question should be, who are you?" the person asked and laughed.
"I don't have time for silly games," Bryce barked.
"Hmm, you are a hot one, your mother made that clear when she reached out to me asking me to help you," the person said, and Bryce knitted his brow, wondering what the man was talking about.
Back inside the house, Devon was all dressed. He kept Susan, who was glamorously dressed with expensive jewellery complementing her dress, company.
Devon had the whole house decorated for the engagement, and they used the big hall in the house for that.
"You look stunning. There is no better woman for Bryce than you. Today, you officially become a Moore," Devon said, and Susan smiled while Eva giggled.
The house was crawling with guests. Occasionally, the front door opens, and the servants usher in some guests.
"No, she will not. This engagement is cancelled, and I am sure as hell not marrying Susan," Bryce said upon entering the space decorated for the engagement.
Susan felt dizzy at once and would have fallen to the floor if not for Devon, who caught her in his arms.
"Bryce, what is wrong with you?" Devon asked. "If anything happened to Susan because of your decision. You can forget about your inheritance," he threatened, and the gathered crowd gasped.
"Your threat holds no effect on me, Devon," Bryce addressed Devon by his first name for the first time, and Devon was surprised. "If you are so bent on turning Susan into a Moore, have her change her name, or you can marry her yourself; you two look perfect together," he added, and Devon's eyes widened.