"They will be staying in Benjamin City for a week." Zenia reported.

    A week huh... Marcus was in deep thought.

    "Are you going, sir?" Zenia breaks his silence. "Should I book you a room at the Lafayette hotel?"

    "No." He answered. "Not for the whole week."

    "How about Friday?" She suggested.

    "Thursday night will do."

    "Copy that sir. I will also book an appointment with Mr. Shayne Kirei on friday."

    Marcus nodded in response. His mind is obviously trailing another path and Zenia could sense that she lost him after the small talk.

    He changed. He is not the Marcus she could freely converse with before. Does she needs reasons or significant topics before Marcus talks to her? No way!

    She''s a bit frustrated that she has to speak with Marcus about work only. That''s basically not what she wanted at first. Zenia longs to chat with Marcus about everything under the sun. He wants him to see her as a woman and not just a secretary! It was her main purpose when she applied at the company when Jade abandoned the young man. She wanted to be with Marcus, every minute, if that''s possible. However, his sudden hiatus made it impossible for her to carry her mission--- love and be loved by Marcus alone.

    Now, they''ve grown apart instead of strengthening their bond!

    Dammit! She curse within her. Marcus'' memories of Jade is already a handful for her, and now, Rachelle came back too. Now she''s even more pissed!

    "I promise to get rid of you, Rachelle. Dammit! You should have not come back!" She gritted her teeth in annoyance.

    Marcus glanced at his wristwatch and sighed in disappointment. He is scheduled to meet a journalist at 5pm yet she is nowhere to be found. It''s already 4:55 and Marcus doesn''t have much time to waste for an exclusive interview.

    He is being nice when he came at the venue thirty minutes before 5. Since it''s his first time to be in public again after how many months, many media personnel are dying to get an exclusive interview from him. But he only responded to an invitation from not a well-known journalist. Reason is unknown why he choses the infamous journalist.

    However, judging at the time, the journalist might have encountered an unexpected situation that she couldn''t come on time. Marcus only hopes that she didn''t encounter a misfortune while driving to the café. It is common for journalists or media folks to fight over exclusive interviews, worst, they can do more than fight!

    Although he is being paid hourly for the interview, no matter how expensive his appearance pay is, every second of his time is much valuable than sitting on the chair waiting to be interviewed.

    He doesn''t need the money so why should he waste a minute waiting!

    "I''ll call the driver right away." Zenia stood up as soon as she saw Marcus checking up his wristwatch. She could sense Marcus'' agitation. Well, who wouldn''t be? the man is too busy to wait for another minute just for a mere journalist. How dare that anchor let the CEO waits for nothing! She should be punished.

    Marcus'' time is too precious too waste for a measly journalist and knowing his patience, he is not good at extending the cords.

    A few minutes later, Zenia went back inside and was about to call Marcus but he was gone! Did he go to the washroom? She waited for over ten minutes but no one came out. She even dared to enter the men''s rest room but to no avail.

    Where could he be? Zenia tried to call Marcus but his phone number is out of coverage.

    What if... What if he got in trouble?! Zenia staggered at the thought of Marcus in danger. Now she''s anxious and called Barry right away.

    MEANWHILE, Marcus immediately exited the dining area via another route. He just received a tip about Jade''s location but he doesn''t know who the sender is. It could be a prank but he doesn''t want to waste the chance to see his precious Jade. What if the sender really found her?

    He needs to meet with the sender as soon as possible. However, the sender doesn''t want to. All he asks is a huge amount of money sent to his bank in exchange for the information. This is a total scam! fraud! Marcus gritted his teeth in annoyance.

    "I will definitely kill you once I find you!" He curled his fist into a ball. But what if?---- Still, that small hope within him kept his sanity.

    He drove the car that Sonny left at the back, outside the building. As soon as he confirms that no one is following him, he turned off his phone and brought out the other phone from his pocket. He knew there was a tracker on his old phone and Barry must have installed it while he was gone from his intensive training. He doesn''t want his father to doubt him that''s why he still keeps it. Though he asked Sonny to get him a new one where he can do his transactions secretly.

    Searching for Jade is difficult but Marcus never intended to give up.

    His old phone rings, before turning it off, he glanced at the caller id. ''I''m sorry Zenia but I don''t want you to be involved deeply.'' He mumbled before placing it inside his pocket.

    It''s wide. The designs and all furniture resembles that of a five star hotel. The only difference is that it''s obviously under the ground. It has different rooms but all in the same level. And each room has it''s own specific designs for a specific purpose.

    And of course, there are deluxe rooms made for him and rooms for the workers too.

    As soon as he parked his car, a big man appeared before him and greeted him with respect.

    "Our men is waiting to meet you, sir." The man informed him.

    "Lead the way." Marcus voiced as he followed the big man.

    They entered the room located at the very left side. To his big surprise, the ten men that he personally chose few months ago has multiplied into hundreds. Amazing!

    "Just as how many are you now?" He was too shocked not to notice the big man''s grin.

    "Five hundred and fifty, sir!" He voiced with pride. And they are all trained physically and mentally. We are about to sort them out tomorrow according to their skills and specialties."

    "Oh." Marcus ??r?sses his jaw after regaining his cool composure. Looking back at the men lined up in a military position, they seemed thorough and disciplined. They are composed of young men, though there are ?du?ts in the group as well.

    "Any words for them, sir?"

    He stared at them for a few seconds before giving a smile. "Thank you for choosing to stay with us. Besides training to be great warriors, I hope you also have your own dreams and goals in life or something you could look up and hold on to whenever you feel tired of your daily routine. I was able to survive my deadly training because I have an inspiration. That person kept me alive, that person became my strength to survive the hell I was in the past few months. So I hope you''ll have an inspiration as well to drive you to be the best that you can be."

    "Sir, yes, sir!" Everyone was overwhelmed with his speech.

    "We are all family here. So treat each one as your own blood brothers. Care for each other, help one another... treat each other as your own. In that way, you''ll survive together." He looked around the room making sure his words penetrated their hearts. " And feel free to use everything in this place as well. This is your home now."

    Just after his speech, another person came to him and reported. "Sir, we tracked the IP address. Some of our men are heading in that place now.

    "Alright." He muttered before saying goodbye to the big man .

    They entered another room, this time, the wide room was filled with big screens. One of the big screen being operated by a middle aged man has his house entirely. And on the outside, he saw Zenia left with his father in a black sedan car.

    He raised his brows in confusion. When was Zenia became close to his father?!