Chapter 8 THE PLOT AGAINST HIM

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN the stocks are not doing so well?” Brad asked into the phone.

He paced the length of the dining room, clearly agitated, while his lover and fiancée, Beatrice Wirtz, sat at the table, pouring maple syrup over her pancakes. She seemed completely unbothered by whatever Brad was saying on the phone. Her mind was on the forthcoming wedding. She and her mother planned to make it one of the best in town, no matter what.

When Brad finally came back to the table, he was tense with anger.

“What is it, darling?” Beatrice asked with fake concern.

Brad snorted and shook his head. “Bring more coffee,” he commanded the waiting servant, who hurried away.

As they ate breakfast in silence, Beatrice's eyes drifted to the muted television in the living room.

She froze. Her mouth fell open, and a piece of half-chewed food nearly slipped from her lips.

Brad frowned and turned to follow her gaze. He stiffened too.

“Isn't that... your ex-husband?” he asked. “What was his name again?”

“Elias...” Beatrice whispered. Then she laughed dryly and shook her head. “That can't be possible. I know Elias. Without me and my family, he is a nobody.” but as she said it, her voice cracked, unsure if she believed the words coming out of her own mouth.

“A nobody?” Brad snapped. “Can't you read what is on the TV?” He stood and walked into the living room before unmuting the television.

“...a strange passerby who miraculously saved the chairman of the Bellamy Medical Institute,” the newscaster was saying. “Some rumours suggest that the stranger was later inducted into the medical centre as a doctor, though we cannot confirm this at this time...”

Brad slowly turned to Beatrice.

“Your ex-husband was a doctor?” he asked.

Beatrice shook her head. “He can't be. He doesn't have the resources without us...”

“You are too dumb to understand!” Brad yelled angrily.

He ran his fingers through his hair. “I have been trying to become one of the major shareholders of the Bellamy Institute, but they never accepted me. And now they take that scumbag in as a doctor?”

“But that might be a good thing for us,” Beatrice said, standing up. “I know for certain that Elias never went to medical school.”

“So?” Brad asked. “What does that matter?”

“All you have to do now is try even harder to become a shareholder,” Beatrice said, walking slowly toward him. “Then we can expose Elias publicly for the fraud that he is. You could convince the board to demand his certificates, which he doesn't have.”

A smirk slowly formed on Brad's lips. “There will be more TV stations to publicize his disgrace.”

“Yes, darling,” Beatrice said, nodding. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall."

Brad laughed. "And the bigger hold they leave in the ground."

"But we have to tread carefully," Beatrice said. Her smile faded for the fraction of a second.

Brad frowned. “Careful about what?”

“Nothing,” she said quickly. “Just... make sure nobody starts digging into his old case.. you know it involves my family and might affect us in the long run.”

Brad looked her for some more seconds before he nodded and said, "I have to make a call.”

He took out his phone and walked toward the window as he dialled a number. The call was answered on the second ring.

“I was wondering when you would see the news and call me,” a voice said. “And just so you know, it was all my father's decision.”

Brad snorted. “Why didn't you dissuade your father from agreeing?”

“Because I wasn't even in the fucking state,” the man replied. “It was his decision and my stupid half-sister's.”

“Derek, you have to find a way to make me a shareholder,” Brad said. "My stocks are declining, fast. My companies aren't doing so well... becoming a sharefholder in your father's company could be the push i need."

"It would have all been going to plan," Derek replied. "If Elias had not popped in..."

“We have another plan. Me and my fiancée.” Brad said.

“What plan?”

Brad quickly gave him a rundown of what he and Beatrice had planned. When he was done, Derek took a few seconds to think.

“It sounds like a good plan,” he finally said. “It won't be easy, but I'll try to make it happen.”

“Good. And don't act in anyway thay would make you suspicious,” Brad warned.

Derek laughed.

“I was the first person to welcome him. He would never suspect anything from me... unless my stupid sister tells him, of course. I've seen the way she looks at him.”

“Find a way to keep them apart, then,” Brad suggested. “Send her out of the country...”

Derek sighed.

“I've tried. But the old man overruled me. He listens to her more.”

They were silent for a few seconds. Then Derek added, “But I'll find a way. Don't worry.”

“I know you will,” Brad replied. “We should meet for a drink later this week.”

“Text me the details.”

“I will,” Brad said. “And remember to sabotage his work.”

"Don't worry about his work,” Derek said with a quiet laugh. “He already has problems waiting for him inside that hospital.”

Brad frowned. “Your head-surgeon, Marcus?”

Derek smiled and nodded. “He has that covered already." "

“Good.” Brad smiled coldly. “We willl spoil his reputation, and then his career. After that, he'll find himself right back where he came from.” A cruel smile touched his lips.

“Fathom's Gate.”

He ended the call and returned to the dining room to finish his breakfast with his fiancée. Beatrice looked toward the television again where Elias's face was still frozen on the screen.

She stared at it for a long moment. Then she gave a sinister smiled and said, “Enjoy your new life while it lasts, Elias.”

The television continued playing, telling other news.

Neither of them noticed that the man they were plotting against had already survived six years in the worst prison in the country.