Chapter 156: Escape Plan

Words : 1593 Updated : Oct 11th, 2025

Chapter 156: Escape Plan "Alfonso, this line of yours is getting boring," Old Mr. Thorne started immediately after Alfonso’s fierce declaration. "Get him out of here. I’m sure the black cells are dying to have him." He said, this time around looking at Eric and Shawn. The duo, having done their homework on who Old Mr. Thorne was, nodded respectfully and roughly jerked Alfonso’s arms, preparing to drag him away, but Alfonso pulled his weight, refusing to be moved. Instead, he kept talking. "Since there is a higher chance that Ewan won’t see the light of day tomorrow..." "Alfonso!" Sandro and Zane echoed at the same time, while Fiona wondered what her father was up to this time around. A shuffle of feet from the exit door caused everyone to turn aside, their eyes furrowing when they saw Margeret walking in. Seeing that the guards stationed at the exit had let her in, Athena believed the latter had told them that she wanted to give her husband and daughter her last regards before they were taken away. But Margeret paused when she noticed that she was the center of attention. "Did I interrupt something..." She muttered, tad bit scared, but was greeted with no response. Alfonso swallowed painfully, knowing that the next step in this plan would offend his wife greatly but had no choice but to continue, especially since Athena just called him out. "You were saying, Alfonso..." Athena had said, folding her arms across her chest. Alfonso opened his mouth to speak, but Athena still cut him off by raising her hand. She turned to the men carrying Ewan. "Please take him to the hospital. When you get there, ask for Doctor Finn. He will tell you what to do." The men and Zane nodded before carrying Ewan out of the hall. Athena quickly sent a text to Finn before turning to Alfonso. "You were saying?" Alfonso bit his lip, controlling his simmering anger at being treated like a nobody. "I said you can’t confine me now. It’s possible that Ewan could be dead in a few hours’ time..." "And what is your point exactly, Alfonso? Get to it; we have no time to waste here!" "Since Ewan is incapacitated at the moment, a shareholders’ meeting has to be held to determine who will be the acting director for the time being. Since I and Fiona are among that group, we can’t be confined at the moment. We have to be present at the shareholders’ meeting." Old Mr. Thorne laughed, shaking his head in disbelief. "You want Ewan dead then, to save your asses? What is even your amount of shares in the company?" Alfonso ignored his wife’s stare of shock and glared at Old Mr. Thorne. "With Fiona’s shares, it is more than enough." Athena wasn’t surprised. With the way Ewan had allowed the two idiots to use him as a pawn in their game, it would even be shocking if he hadn’t given them a share in the company. But that wasn’t a problem. She had her game cards ready. She watched Alfonso turn to Sandro. "If you want Ewan to be happy, you have to keep the company afloat. To do that, you have to let the shareholders’ voting to take place, so that an acting director can be appointed..." Alfonso paused and laughed sarcastically. "Of course, I might not be the best candidate for that position, but my votes count. And you know Ewan’s rule: all shareholders must be present in the meeting for any voting to take place. No representatives are allowed either." Sandro balled his fists, wondering how long he had to deal with this scum of the earth. However, as much as he hated Alfonso, the wicked man was right on this point. Of course, he was hoping for Ewan to wake up fast; he trusted Athena to do all she could—she was a woman of her word—but he didn’t trust the townspeople who had all seen Ewan fall. Words spread fast, and before one knew it, the shareholders of the company would get wind of the information. It was best the voting exercise was organized now to prevent issues in the future. "Are you seeking to escape punishment, Alfonso?" He finally asked, relaxing his fists. Alfonso smiled thinly. "Of course not." He then looked at Fiona, who was struggling to hide her own smile. The voting process and arrangements could take a few days, at least three; it was ample time for Morgan to get them away from the shackles of Athena and Old Mr. Thorne. "It’s okay, Athena. I will take care of them." Alfonso’s smile dried up after hearing those words. "What are you talking about?" Old Mr. Thorne chuckled snidely. "You just have to be around for the voting process, right? Then I will make sure of that. But until then..." He turned to his agents. "Take them both to the cottage, and make sure they are adequately taken care of." Alfonso exchanged a frantic glance with Fiona. What does ’adequately taken care of’ mean in this context? But before he could say another word, Eric and Shawn dragged him out of the hall, with Fiona following right behind him. As she walked past Athena, however, she paused, hissed and spat at the latter. But before she could gloat over the look of shock on Athena’s face as the spittle landed on her right cheek, Fiona received a huge blow to her nose, causing it to bleed again. "How dare you?" She distinctly heard a rageful voice for her senses were still buzzing with static; she couldn’t see or hear anything clearly for a few moments. "Fiona!" She heard her mother shout, and tried to cuss at the woman who hadn’t been of any help to her since her cure, but she couldn’t even speak as her tongue was coated with blood. "How dare you beat a woman?! Aren’t you ashamed of yourself? Didn’t your mother teach you better?" She heard her father’s muffled voice. What was going on? She thought numbly, disoriented and still trying to regain her senses. "Well, why didn’t you train your daughter to be aware that spitting on people is disrespectful and downright disgusting?" Fiona heard the rageful voice again. "And if you call my mother again, I will cut off your tongue; after all, it’s your hand that you will use to vote." Fiona tried to remember the man who had been standing beside Athena, but her mind was failing her, just as her head began to pound. "Fiona, are you okay?!" She heard her father scream, his voice echoing and reverberating in her head. She tried to nod, but her head was too heavy. Darkness was approaching; she tried to fight it but failed, and then she welcomed it. "What did you do?!" Alfonso screamed at Antonio again, but the latter folded his arms nonchalantly, watching boredly as Fiona slumped to the floor. Lucas found it funny— the only thing funny since Ewan had slumped. He had stood to one side watching the subsequent events unfold. Now, he spoke to the guards who were handling Fiona. "Please take her away." Alfonso glared at him, but Lucas wasn’t bothered. He only wanted to be out of there so he could see his daughter. The guards looked at Old Mr. Thorne for permission, and when the latter nodded, they dragged Fiona away, letting her feet scrape the ground, not bothering to lift her in their arms. Alfonso watched angrily as they treated his daughter like dirt. Margeret, seeing this, sighed, shook her head, and walked away without a word. Alfonso, watching his wife exit, turned to Eric. "Get me out of here." "With pleasure, old trash." Alfonso blinked furiously, not expecting the jab, but he kept his mouth shut, giving up for the moment, hoping that Morgan would be able to trace them and get them out of Old Mr. Thorne’s custody by all means. He just had to! After they had left, Lucas walked up to Athena. "Can I see her now?" Athena nodded. "Thanks for today..." Lucas shook his head. "I should be the one thanking you, Athena. If I hadn’t given a false testimony six years ago, you wouldn’t be in this trouble now..." Athena said nothing. She turned to Old Mr. Thorne. "Please drop him off at Stella’s place. I’m sure Stella would know what to do." Lucas wasn’t sure who Stella was, but he nodded his thanks at Athena and followed Old Mr. Thorne out of the hall. "Do you think things would have been better if he hadn’t accused you falsely six years ago?" Athena shook her head at Antonio’s question. "I don’t think so. Considering the desperation of Fiona and her father, which I have seen during this case, I can say that I would have died if I had continued to stay in that house." Antonio nodded. "And I wouldn’t have met you too." Athena nodded curtly before turning to Sandro, who had retraced his steps and was now standing where Ewan had slumped to the floor, his blood still splattered everywhere. "Don’t worry, Sandro; cleaners have already been called to take care of it." "I will wait until they arrive," Sandro answered without looking up from the pool of blood. Athena sighed and started out of the hall with Antonio, but Sandro’s voice called her back. "Will he survive?" Athena sighed. "I will try, Sandro. I will do my best to make sure he survives."

Chapter 156: Escape Plan

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