Chapter 73 – Raphael’s Games
As Victor clutched the steering wheel, his car hummed pleasantly as he raced through the city streets. As he relived the day’s events, his thoughts raced, he was uneasy after being shocked
to hear from Davies of Madeline Graves‘ disappearance. There was only one person who could provide him with the answers he needed now, Raphael.
Victor’s jaw tightened as he drew into Raphael’s tall office building’s parking lot. With resolute steps, he got out of his car and hardly acknowledged the front desk receptionist as she greeted him. Rather, he stormed by her and headed straight for Raphael’s office,
“Sir, you can’t just…” the receptionist began, but her words fell on deaf ears. Victor pushed the door open without knocking. With a composed assurance, Raphael leaned back in his chair
as he worked at his desk,
“What have you done?” Victor barked, his voice echoing in the spacious room
Unfazed by the unexpected interruption, Raphael arched an eyebrow. Marrison rushed in behind Victor before he could respond, looking agitated,
“I’m sorry, Mr. Raphael, he just…”
“It’s alright, Marrison” Raphael said, raising a hand to dismiss her,
“You may leave us”
She hesitated, then nodded and stepped out, closing the door behind her.
Raphael gestured toward the chair in front of his desk,
“Sit down, Victor”
Victor paused, then sank into the chair, his stance rigid with barely controlled rage,
“What the hell is going on?” he demanded,
“We had a plan, Sebastian was the plan. So why is Madeline Graves missing?”
Raphael leaned forward, steepling his fingers as he spoke,
“Sebastian is old news, Victor”
Victor’s eyes narrowed,
“What are you talking about? We were supposed to pin everything on him, that was the agreement”
Raphael smirked,
“If it had been Sebastian, Davies would have assigned another team to investigate. But Madeline? She’s a game changer”
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“Her disappearance is personal, a case Davies can’t afford to ignore. It keeps him distracted, exactly where I need him to be”
Victor stared at him in disbelief,
“You should have told me, I found out from Davies, Raphael! I was blindsided”
Raphael spread his hands in a gesture of mock apology,
“I needed this to be seamless. Sometimes improvisation is necessary for the greater good‘
Victor ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident on his face,
“And you think this is going to work? You think this won’t blow up
Raphael leaned back in his chair, confidence radiating from him,
in your face?
“My man has already done the hardest part without any mistakes. Madeline is exactly where she needs to be. Trust me, Victor, this will all work out”
Victor rose to his feet, glaring at Raphael,
“This better not backfire. If it does, don’t expect me to clean up your mess”
He hurried out of the office after saying that, slamming the door behind him. A tiny smile played at the corner of Raphael’s lips as he watched him go. He picked up his phone, dialed a number, and made the call appear to be from an unknown ID. When the line connected, a voice picked up,
“Hello?”
“Hello, pretty star” Raphael said smoothly.
There was a pause on the other end before the voice replied, sharp with recognition,
“Raphael”
“That’s right” he said, his tone dripping with amusement.
“What do you want?” Emily asked, her voice cold and wary,
“Check your phone” Raphael instructed.
After a moment of hesitation, Emily took her phone away from her ear to see what the new notification was. She gasped when she saw the picture, a single photograph of Madeline strapped to a chair, her face smeared with fatigue and terror. She returned to the phone as she gasped, her voice shaky,
“What the hell have you done? What do you want with Madeline? She hasn’t done anything to you!”
“True” Raphael admitted, his voice casual, almost conversational,
Chapter 73 – Raphael’s Games
“Madeline hasn’t wronged me in any way. But you, my dear Emily… you’ve done me plenty of wrongs”
Emily’s grip on her phone tightened,
“This is between you and me. Leave her out of it‘
Raphael chuckled darkly,
“Ah, but where’s the fun in that? You see, if you don’t act the way I want, your little friend Madeline will pay the price”
Emily’s voice dropped to a whisper,
“What do you want, Raphael?”
The line went silent for a moment, Raphael savoring the tension,
“Oh, you’ll find out soon enough” he said finally, his tone smug,
For now, consider this a friendly reminder of just how serious I can be”
The line abruptly ended, leaving Emily to stare at her phone while her mind raced with anger and panic. With a contented grin, Raphael put his phone down and reclined in his chair, Everything was falling into place.
