Too Late for Sorry, Mr. Billionaire (Chasing my Wife Back) novel Chapter 146

146 /234

CHARLES had stopped answering the door which was a knew thing to his friends that new him very well. Charles had always been a man who moved towards people and always made himself the center of attraction in whatever room he entered because he understood instinctively that presence was money, and he had spent his whole life cashing it. But right now, he drowned in self hatred. With all the money he had made, he never thought of getting his own place, instead of crashing at his friend's. Who knew this would happen.

Charles phone rang on the nightstand and he went to switch it off as usual, until he saw the caller ID and his hands hovered around the phone for a few seconds. He debated on picking the call from his estranged brother, but later agreed.

"What are you calling me for? To mock?" Charles voice was harsh. He had not spoken to his brother in years, and the only time he deemed it necessary to call was when he had been publicly humiliated.

"Not quite." His brother's voice was low. "It's actually two things... To mock you, and to give you a piece of advice."

The second part came as a surprise to him. Even when the 'mocking' was mentioned, Charles had not expected the call to last this long.

"Get it over with. I have some things to do." He lied through his teeth.

"You've soiled the family's name." He said harshly. "So, I hope, for your own sake and my own sake that you clean this up immediately. Everyone who knows you're connected to our family has been calling mom and dad for weeks now, and you know how much I hate bad attention on this family." His voice has grown darker, and Charles could feel a spike of fear in his chest.

He knew what his brother was capable of. And he would hurt him, Charles, without batting as much as an eye.

"If you can't do it, then give me the names of everyone involved." His brother's voice had gotten colder which made Charles shiver.

"I... I'll handle it. Before the month is over. I'll do it myself. Discredit their credibility." Charles voice shook towards the end, and he waited.

"You have two weeks, Charles." After that, the line went dead.

The phone slipped from his hands and fell to the floor after the call. His knees went weak, and he had to hold on to the edge of his bed unless he fell.

He thought about the people he realized were behind his downfall. Marcus. Julian. Sandra. Amelia. Amelia's daughter, Hazel. Her best friend, Amaka. And the man who worked for Amelia... What was his name? Tyler? Ryan?

The traitor, Marcus, had come twice. The first time, Charles answered but didn't let him past the hallway, and the conversation lasted six minutes and ended with Charles saying he was fine and Marcus clearly not believing him but also clearly not knowing what to do with that. The second time, Charles simply didn't answer, and stood on the other side of the door listening to Marcus knock for two full minutes before the footsteps retreated.