Chapter 424: Ready to leave

"That bastard," Jared rushed to an unconscious Kane and punched him in the face, making him groan in pain. But he did not open his eyes. He just swayed on his feet, the chains keeping him intact.

"How are we going to tackle this issue?" Charles held his palm under his chin and stared at Maggie, who was waiting for further instructions. "Can you stop the timer?"

"Can do. Let me try." Maggie pushed the chair back and sat on it, typing on her laptop at a speed the three men could not comprehend. She then connected the tablet and activated an auto-launch code, while the three men just looked not knowing what she was doing. "Come on." She breathed and pressed enter. Her code took over the tablet's operating system and in just a matter of few seconds, the system crashed. 

"Do you want the videos or is it fine if it is deleted?"

"You can delete it permanently. I want no trace of it anywhere." Charles ordered, narrowing his eyes slowly.

"Then, I am done. This tablet is as good as new now." Maggie handed the tablet to Jared's assistant and she repeated the same procedure on Kane's phones, wiping clean of all the data it contained. "Done with these two too." After finishing her job, she stared at Jared who seemed to be amazed by her skills before she turned to Charles, who nodded at her in appreciation.

Maggie nodded back at him and stifled a yawn. "May I leave now? I am quite tired." 

"Sure, Maggie take care." Jared agreed even before Charles did. He had seen her exhausted expression and he did not want to stress her more. She was already overworked and tired. Jared's eyes did not shift away from her until she vacated the room.

"You like her," Charles commented, tapping his cane on the ground.

"I guess."

"Does she like you?"

"No."

"Oh, what do you intend to do then?"

"Take it slow," Jared answered not sensing the dreadfulness that was filling the air. His GOdfather was getting furious and he had no idea about it.

"Take her by force." He deadpanned and Jared's eyes snapped to him at once, shocked at his suggestion. "You like something, possess it. What have I thought you all these years?" He admonished him and beckoned him with his finger. 

Jared, at once, shifted closer to him understanding what the man wanted to do to him. Although his heart and mind had gone numb with fear, he stood expressionless, not conveying how he felt. He knew his Godfather hated it if he showed his weakness. Without any warning, Charles struck him hard on his back, hitting his spine. Jared clenched his teeth, pain spreading through his entire body. He waited for the next strike and Charles was careful enough to him at the same place. This continued until Jared was struck fifteen times.

The pain was too much for him to bear and his back was on fire. Yet, he did not flinch nor did he utter a word allowing the old man to do as he pleased. "I think you have learned your lesson. I am going to leave now. Keep Kane alive. I still have some questions for him and seeing his situation right now, I am sure I will not be getting anything out of him."

Jared did not speak much, only nodding at him politely. Charles stopped when he was at the door and turned to see the man who stood rooted to his place. "And about the girl, I approve." That was all he said before he left the room. Jared was certain his assistant would escort him outside. For the first time, he did not follow him, not because he was angry at him and hurt by him. No. He was stupefied by him. Jared was stunned by the old man's reaction when he had accepted Maggie and that itself was a miracle.

Charles was a hard man to please and for him to accept Maggie right on their first meet, it only meant Maggie was quite exceptional. Jared could not control his emotions, his heart dancing with joy. At that moment, all he wanted to do was go to Maggie and hug her. But he stopped himself when he felt the pain in his back. 

'I cannot go to Maggie this way. She should not see me in this state. I cannot show her my blood. I need to take a shower first.' Taking a detour, he approached the elevator rather than the stairs and got inside. After the explosion that had destroyed his warehouse, he and his gang had moved to another warehouse of his. Although it was smaller than the previous one, they had to make do with it for the time being.  Jared smiled thinking about Maggie as he waited for the elevator to reach the fifth floor.

Meanwhile, the girl in question reached her room in a hurry, not caring about the men who were giving her strange looks. She was shocked to even perceive their senses on her. Although she had put on a brave front with a calm heart, in front of the three men, the shock hit her the moment she left the room. It was only then she remembered that she had seen the disgusting man who Jared addressed as Godfather.

She opened her room door and slammed it shut, stunning the men who were walking by. Not giving a damn about them, she plopped on her bed, her mind still in disbelief. "Charles...Charles Miller is the man behind Jared. How did this happen? How?" She breathed, his mind refusing to function this once.

Maggie knew who Charles Miller was. As soon as she had found out about her friend being in a relationship with Noah, she had done a thorough check on him, albeit it being the second time. Though it was no easy as Noah's files were encrypted and safe under Joshua's monitoring, she bypassed him with ease and had retrieved his details.

It was then she had found out about Samuel Carter's, Noah's father, first wife who had left him for money for another man, and that other man was none other than Charles. He was a small-time businessman and his status was nowhere near Noah's. "How the hell did he become like this? Just how?" She wondered and Maggie held her head. The sudden revelation had taken her by a storm and combined with the fact that she had spent an allnighter trying to find proofs against Jared, her head was now throbbing in pain. 

Maggie needed sleep. However, before that, she had other things to do. She had to clean out all that she had done using the devices in her room. Her work here was done and she had made a decision. 'I am going to leave this place, once and for all. If I continue to stay here, I might end up crazy.'

Maggie started with her work, ignoring her throbbing head, cleaning the devices that lay spread on the table. It did not matter to her if she lost content in them for she had saved all she wanted and she had found about Jared and Charles in the cloud, accessible only by her. Moreover, al the gadgets and devices did not even belong to her in the first place. 

It took more than an hour for her to finish her work and when finally she was done, she sighed lightly. "All done and all clean." He clapped her hands as though dusting off the trouble she had been through all the months since the time she had joined Jared's gang. She yawned once again and she knew that she had to get some sleep. 'If I have to leave tonight, I need to well-rested.' She shook her head and immediately after, she went to lie on the bed for one last time.

Meanwhile, Jared stared at the marks that adorned his back, with blood oozing through the cuts. Although he was well accustomed to the way the old man behaved with him when he was pissed, he could not shudder thinking about his hits. Charles was the only one who could intimidate him and he was the only one he feared.

Jared raised her hand to clean the blood off the cuts. However, his hands did not reach the said place and he ended up brushing the cotton somewhere else. He groaned in agony, clenching his jaw. Since childhood, there was no one who catered to his needs. His father was more or less involved at bootlicking Charles and his mother, he had no idea who she was or where she was right now. 

It was Charles who had taught him to take things by force and since then, Jared had done as he was taught. It was not because he wanted to, but because he would be punished if he did not. He could never hide from his Godfather. The man would find out about him somehow and if he did not follow his rules, he would be reprimanded greatly. Some days, the old man hit him until he could not even move. But there was no mercy in him.

Whenever Charles hit him, he was all alone, with no one to take care of him. He was left alone to suffer and Jared had since then, become accustomed to it. He had adjusted and accepted his fate. yet, there was some hope in his heart yearning for the warmth he had never received from anyone. He wanted someone to love him, assure him, coax him and accompany him in his misery.

Jared tried once again only to meet the same result. Frustration hit him and Jared threw away the medical kit in anger. The bottles landed on the floor and some even shattered to pieces. He did not care about them. Right at this moment, his assistant knocked at the door.

"Master, I have some news for you."

"Don't enter the room," Jared ordered and his assistant did not dare disobey him. 

"Master, I have some information about you father"

"Yes?" Jared did not give much interest to it. Yet, he continued to listen to him.

"The President has ordered for him to be produced to court."

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Hello Everyone,

I made an error while writing Charles's name. It was supposed to be Charles Miller but I wrote it as Charles Sommers. I have rectified it. I apologize for the mistake.

Thank you.