CHAPTER 614: CHAPTER 614 EVEN GREATER LOWS

Please vote to show me your support for the story. The higher we climb in the rankings, the more motivated I will feel. Mass releases will be rewarded for each 10 rankings we manage to climb.

Join Discord to connect with me and share your thoughts on the story so far. https://discord.gg/hTQJtj2K9U

#More than 10 Chapters ahead on my Patreon: patreon.com/TrikoRex

{!!!Please leave a review; it helps me a lot and lets me know how many people are invested in the future of this novel!!!}

~~~

[07/07/2020 | Time: 12:00 AM | Location: Hahnwald Estate, Cologne]

The following five days blurred together, a strange mix of chaos and routine for Rakim and May. The first day after the news broke had been nothing but calls—long, exhausting hours spent glued to their phones. Rakim had gotten in touch with his parents, but they were none the wiser as they had been staying with his mother’s side of the family at Uncle Williams’ vineyard in Montana. Additionally, they had been busy dealing with their own business, which had taken a significant hit due to the pandemic, as their adjustments in the online market barely generated a slight profit beyond the breakeven point.

May finally managed to reach her stepmother, Evelyn, who was staying at her father’s ranch in Texas with her brother, Reece. To May’s pointed questions, as she felt both blindsided and angry for being kept in the dark, her mother’s exhausted voice had been both placating and matter-of-fact.

"Your father and his lawyer are handling it," Evelyn said firmly over the phone. "He told me not to involve you, not to stress you. Plus, why didn’t you tell me it was this bad? For months, I was struggling to figure out the reason you and your dad had a falling out, but now I finally understand."

What followed between the two women was a less-than-pleasant conversation that arose from Victor’s betrayal, but left them to deal with the outcome. Both became defensive, adamant about their points, as May figured she had a right to be angry after discovering that her father had drained the inheritance left behind by her mother. Evelyn, on the other hand, felt like the father and daughter pair had kept something so monumental that affected her family, hidden from her.

In the end, Rakim had to drag the phone out of May’s hands before both women could say something that they couldn’t take back, but he was a step too late. The words "You’re not my mother" had come out of May’s mouth, and Evelyn had snapped back with something about this affecting her son’s future before the line went dead.

~~~

[08/07/2020 | Time: 06:30 AM | Location: Hahnwald Estate, Cologne]

The second day brought a different kind of chaos. Rakim woke to the distant sound of car engines and muffled voices beyond his estate’s gates. He couldn’t see them after peering through his bedroom windows, as the estate’s garden was far too big and with all the trees visually planted, no one could look in. He wasn’t slow and could already figure out what or who it was that decided to break their peace this early in the morning.

Connecting his phone to the security system, the vultures quickly appeared on a video feed at the gate. Those who served the Fourth Estate appeared before him, holding microphones as they set up cameras as if they were gearing up for a battle. "What’s going on?" May, who was tucked in the bed, groggily asked, her eyes dark as she had barely gotten a few hours of sleep.

"Don’t worry, it’s just a couple of bums gathering outside," he responded as he flicked on the security app, calling the community’s security team, only having to wait for three rings to get an answer. "How can we assist you, Mr Rex?" a tiered but clear voice spoke clearly, having been sleeping on the job.

He took a moment to compose himself before speaking. "Well, Daniel, could you call the police? A couple of homeless people have gathered outside my place." He told the man, hearing rustling on the other end, before receiving a response. "Don’t worry, we will deal with the ’Penners’ right away."

Within minutes, two community guards in dark jackets appeared on the cameras at the gates, gesturing at the reporters to move along. The reporters refused to leave, stating that it was their right to be there, but the security guards were having none of it. Less than ten minutes later, five police vehicles pulled up as a group of officers surrounded the reporters, promptly writing them up for trespassing into a private community.

Despite the morning’s disruption, Rakim still had training to attend. The Champions League committee had made their decision that the remaining matches would be played as a one-off elimination tournament starting next month in Lisbon, and Leverkusen needed to prepare. The cup victory had given them confidence, for the competition as they geared up to face RB In the quarter finals.

As his Lambogihni pulled up to the training ground gates, the same circus that had woken him up at his estate had relocated here. Cameras flashed through his tinted windows, and microphones were thrust toward his car like weapons. Security guards struggled to keep the growing crowd of reporters at bay as they shouted questions in multiple languages.

Not caring for whatever they had to say, he revved the car, causing the V12 engine to roar in displeasure, scaring the reporters enough to make way to the gate. With a slight nod of thanks to the security guards, he found his parking spot and got on with his day. Some teammates were curious about what was going on, but most kept to themselves as they went on with training.

~~~

[09/07/2020 | Time: 11:30 AM | Location: Hahnwald Estate, Cologne]

On the third day, when Rakim was at training, May was at home, trying to finish her online university coursework. The villa felt too big and too empty for her, despite Zeus’s company. The German Shepherd had been restless for the past few days, almost as if feeling his owners’ distress.

She’d given up trying to concentrate on her Marketing paper and was instead mindlessly scrolling through social media. For some reason, her entire feed seemed to be out to get her, as she either saw negative comments under her posts or stories about her father. Most of it was just the same old stories, as people seemingly recycled facts and added their own opinions, treating them as news.

What hurt her most was the fact that the friends in her streamer community started keeping their distance. Some even posted videos to clarify that they did not know of their associate’s involvement in such an incident. Sighing at seeing people she had considered friends betray her, she got up and walked to the kitchen island for a glass of water.

Filling up a crystal glass with chilled water at the island, she took a sip only to receive the fright of her life. A man dressed in a black trench coat crouched in her backyard, camera raised toward the kitchen window where she stood. The telephoto lens was pointed directly at her, capturing her private moment in what should have been the sanctuary of her own home. For a split second, neither moved, the intruder frozen mid-shot, May paralysed with shock, the glass trembling in her hand.

It slipped from her grasp, crashing onto the marble floor, shattering into a million pieces, causing time to resume. The man fell backwards in shock, his camera clattering to the ground, hitting the stone pathway leading to the koy pond. Zeus immediately locked onto him and exploded from his resting platform, which was in the form of a boulder, at the corner of the living room.

The 95-pound German Shepherd moved like a missile through the sliding glass door that they kept open so he could exit into the garden whenever he wanted. Zeus’s powerful haunches propelled him across the manicured lawn in three massive bounds, his teeth bared and a deep, guttural snarl emanating from his throat. The intruder, who had been scrambling to retrieve his expensive camera equipment, looked up just in time to see a furious canine bearing down on him.

Before May could react the man’s terrified shriek resounded as the dog’s jaws clamped down on his outstretched forearm. The telephoto lens cracked against the stone pathway as the photographer went down hard, Zeus’s weight driving him backwards into the ornamental hedge that bordered the koi pond.

The man’s black coat tore as he thrashed, trying to protect his face while Zeus maintained his grip on the intruder’s arm. Blood seeped through the fabric as the dog’s training to subdue kicked in but his protective instincts were in full control. The photographer’s panicked kicks only seemed to anger the Shepherd further, who adjusted his grip and clamped down on the man’s thigh.

"Help! Somebody help me!" the man screamed in accented English, as he desperately tried to fend off the attack. May finally snapped out of her shock, slippers crunching over broken glass as she rushed toward the chaos in her backyard.

"Zeus! Platz! Platz!" she commanded, using the German commands Rakim had taught her. The dog’s ears twitched at the familiar word, but his grip remained firm.

.

.

.

.

To Be Continued...