♜

MARCUS LOOKS AT MAX with a serious expression before laughing. He then grabs a spoonful of Mac n' cheese and takes a large bite of it before saying, "You want to conquer BND?" he asks with his mouth full, making Max look at him with disgust.

     "Why? No rule states that I have to follow the order of the brotherhood ranks. And besides, you're already a Duke. Can't you just give me merit points?" Max asks, and Marcus immediately shakes his head to disagree with the idea.

     "Nope, not gonna happen. I need my leader's permission in order to do that," Marcus says while wiping his mouth.

     "Then ask your leader."

     "That's not gonna happen either," Marcus answers before taking a sip of his coffee.

     Max stares at him with his brows furrowed. After replenishing himself, Marcus looks back at Max and continues, "Hans doesn't like you."

     "Master, I have urgent news," Étienne suddenly butts in, making Max unable to ask his brother a question after hearing what he just said about him and their leader.

     Étienne, who was holding onto his tablet, looks at Max and tells him, "Your father's secretary just called. He said he wants you to attend the board meeting at 10."

     "What? Why all of a sudden?" Max asks in surprise, looking at his watch and seeing that it was almost 9:30 AM.

     Étienne shows Max what's on the screen of his tablet. Max's eyes widen for a quick second, but he sighs right after and massages his temple in frustration. "That old man is seriously a pain."

     Max looks back at Marcus, and he didn't even have to tell him anything. Marcus nods his head in complete understanding, giving Max permission to leave. Even though he was younger than him, Marcus understands the responsibilities that Max has with their company.

     "I apologize for suddenly leaving. I'll pay for the meal," Max says, gesturing at the food that he and Étienne barely touched.

     Marcus, who still continued eating, nods his head and gives his brother an okay sign as Max and Étienne stand from their seats. After saying their goodbyes, Max went to the counter and placed a thousand-dollar bill on top of it, surprising the owner of the diner.

     "You got a smaller bill son? It's still too early and I don't have change for that," she tells him.

     "Then I'll pay for everyone else who's eating," Max says, surprising everyone in the diner. And before the owner could even react, Max was already out of the door, his butler following right behind him.

     As soon as the door closes, the woman stares at the bill before looking back at Marcus, "Hey Marcus, who was that?"

    Marcus chuckles and takes another sip of his coffee as everyone looks at his way as well, curious about the identity of the stranger. "Just a friend," Marcus answers with a smile.

     "Well, you better bring that friend of yours more often," the woman says, making Marcus laugh. "Alright everyone, got any more orders? I got a thousand-dollar bill here and I am not afraid to use it!"

...

"Good morning sir Maximilian." The employees, who were perfectly aligned in front of the entrance, greets in the exact moment Max stepped out of the car. Étienne closes the door for him, and both of them walk inside as employees continue to bow to the young heir.

     Welcome to Sinclaire Corporation, a French hotel, and casino company based in London. Like J.S High, they also have rankings here that are far more gruesome than what's in school because there's nothing more terrifying than facing adults who act like children. Everyone here craves power, and they will do everything they can to achieve it.

     For you to understand further, here is a quick history lesson.

     Before this corporation became what it is today, Sinclaire Corp. was first known as the Lemieux Corporation. The corporation was founded by the Lemieux family in 1692. In 1966, Ulysses Leigh Lemieux became the chairman at the age of 32 after his father's death. After two years, Benjamin Sinclaire became his vice-president. Obviously, both became Max's grandfathers.

    In 1997, Ulysses officially retired and gave all of his shares to his only daughter, Luna Lemieux, who is Max's mother. Thanks to her father, Luna obtained 30% of the company's shares at the young age of 18, making her the shareholder with the highest stocks. Because of this, the board of directors voted her as the chairman of the Lemieux Corp.

     The same year, Benjamin also retired, and his son Denzel became the next CEO.

     With Luna and Denzel as the two people who are in the top management, the company slowly started going downhill. After only 2 years of Luna becoming the chairman, rumors started going around that Ulysses was threatening to take Luna's inheritance and shares from her. So Luna, as smart as she was, married Denzel and gave all of her 30% shares to him, making him the chairman.

     With the guidance of Denzel, the corporation started to rise. As years passed, the Sinclaire family slowly made their way to the corporation. In 2018, Luna died in a car accident. In 2020, Ulysses passed away as well, and the Lemieux Corp. was officially renamed Sinclaire Corporation.

     With Max being the only heir of the Lemieux family, and the Stepanov Clan perishing in 2015, the Sinclaire family was born and became the strongest household in the world.

     As you may know, Max is the inheritor of the corporation, which means that once Denzel steps down from his position, his shares will be given to him. But since Denzel has another son, Marcus Thompson, he divided the shares into two, leaving Max with only 15%, which makes him the shareholder who doesn't have the highest share, so his chances of getting voted as the next chairman are slim.

    Now, what happens to Max? Well, the answer is the Lemieux family themselves. Even though the Sinclaire family has officially taken over the company, the Lemieux family kept 14% of their shares, which Max will eventually inherit.

     Ulysses did not have siblings, and his only child was Luna, who was already dead. So his wife, Estelle Lilith D'Amboise, kept all the inheritance, which she later gave to his younger brother, Alphonse D'Amboise.

     This corporation has five major shareholders. The share distributions are as follows: Denzel Sinclaire (their father slash the chairman) has 30%, Mr. Dante Sinclaire has 21.5%, Mr. Alphonse D'Amboise has 14%, madam Catalina Delton has 13%, Janus Sinclaire has 11%, and the remaining 10.5% is distributed to minor shareholders.

     There are rumors that Max's father divided his shares so that his uncle Dante could become the next chairman and completely remove the Lemieuxs from the company. Of course, that is only a rumor, but that is the reason why Max is always keeping an eye out on his father's side.

     Though Max doesn't want to admit it, all of these problems wouldn't even happen if it weren't for his mother, Luna. The Lemieux family has a tradition, and that was to only have one child so that the inheritance will branch straight down. It's almost like a chain that keeps the wealth in one family. They didn't want siblings fighting for the inheritance, so that's what happened. If Luna didn't give all her shares to Denzel, then everything would have been alright. And in her death, all her shares would have been passed down to Max directly.

     "Good morning sir Maximilian." Someone suddenly greeted as Max and Étienne approached the elevator.

     Max stops walking, and in an instant, a smirk appears on his bored expression. The person who greeted him was waiting for the elevator. She has a smile on her face when she faced Max, but that almost made Max laugh because of how fake it was.

     "Ms. Edith Thompson," Max greets back.

     Ms. Edith is Denzel's ex-secretary. Actually, she's not only an ex-secretary but Denzel's ex-girlfriend as well. If it's not already obvious, this is where Marcus got his surname, making her his biological mother. It's very cliché, I know.

     Not everyone knows that she has a kid with Denzel since the Sinclaires made sure that no scandal would come to their family. But why is she still working here then? Well, the answer is because it was requested by Max's mother, Luna.

     Luna wanted Edith to see her every day to make sure she knew her place. When Luna discovered the affair, she didn't really do anything to stop it. But she made sure that Edith would suffer. Even with Luna's death, the Sinclaire's never let her go. They were afraid that she'd tell everyone about her affair with Denzel, so technically she's here by force.

     Max could ask his father to just fire her so she could finally remove the painful clutches of the Sinclaire's, but Max chose not to for Marcus's sake. Marcus isn't allowed to recognize her as a mother, which means he's not allowed to see nor talk to her either. But her being in the company is the only connection Marcus has with her. If she gets fired, who knows where the Sinclaire's would throw her. That's why keeping her here is the best thing Max could do for his dear brother.

     "Sir, the board of directors is waiting for you in the meeting room," Edith says without meeting Max's eyes.

     "And my father?" Max then asks, instantly making Edith look uncomfortable.

     Max would usually address or refer to his father as old man, but whenever he's speaking to Edith, she'd call him father just to tease her. Maybe that's one of the cruelness that he inherited from his mother like what Denzel said earlier during breakfast.

     "Well? Where is he?" Max insists with a cold tone, and Edith looks down on the floor and pitifully grips the strap of her bag.

     In all honesty, we have never met the real Max before. Because of how he's bounded by the rules of J.S High, Max's real attitude and personality are restricted. But in reality, Max is a terrifying man. He might just be as crazy as Viktor.

      "Lift your head, you're not a child. Look me in the eye and answer my question. Where is my father? He left home early so I don't know where he is," Max says even though he already knows where his father went since Étienne showed it to him earlier.

     "I-I'm not sure sir," she answers as she slowly lifts her head up to look at Max.

     Max takes a step closer. With his hands inside his pockets, he stares at Edith with his cold eyes and tells her, "Oh Ms. Thompson. You've been here long enough to know that you shouldn't be lying to me."

     Edith gulps in terror.

     In Max's eyes, this pitiful woman was a mistress who helped destroy his mother's sanity. Max's mother was twelve years younger than Denzel. Other than the marriage being strictly business, Luna did not have immediate plans to have children since she was only 20 years old when they married. But don't be fooled, she loved Denzel, with the little love that she had left in her. But Denzel was impatient, and luckily for him, Edith was a beautiful older woman who wanted him, even though she was well aware of their marriage.

     Luna knew about the affair, but she knew she had no right to disapprove since Denzel was the one who was fixing her company for her. But what Luna didn't know was that Denzel and Edith secretly had a child. She didn't know about this for four years, and that's when Luna knew that she had to do something.

    Max was born the following year as if Luna was forced to since the inheritance would go to someone who isn't even a Lemieux. Four years after that, in the year 2010, Denzel brought 8-year-old Marcus to their home and told his wife that he will be living there from now on, devastating Luna even more. Thus, Marcus's terrible childhood started.

     "I a-apologize sir. I heard he is heading to the airport for a business meeting at Macau, that's why he asked that you take his place for the time being." She answers nervously.

     Max doesn't say anything as the elevator door finally opens. Everyone inside steps out and respectfully greets Max. Afterward, Max walks in, followed by Étienne and Edith who honestly would rather walk the stairs.

     Étienne presses the button to the top floor. As the elevator lifted itself up, Max glances at Edith through her reflection in the elevator door.

     "By the way, did you sleep well?" He asks out of the blue, making her flinch.

     "Y-Yes...thank you for asking sir."

     "Well, it's only natural that you did, especially when you slept at the most expensive room in our hotel. I'm glad my father still finds comfort in you before he leaves on business trips. As his son, I thank you for that." Max reveals to her, and Edith instantly drops the folders that she was holding out of shock.

     "S-sir Maximilian I—"

     "Don't worry, I'm not mad. You've already been sneaking around with him when my mother was alive so what more now that she's dead? Why not marry him too? Don't you want me to be your step-son?" Max asks as he finally turns his head to look at her.

     Edith gulps and suddenly drops to both of her knees. She doesn't say a word, but it was clear that she was apologizing to Max with the little pride that she has left in her.

     Max chuckles at the sight in front of him.

      "You must be regretting it now. You thought you'd live happily once you have a child with Denzel. You thought he'd take you and give you all the riches he can offer. But no, that's not going to happen. He's cruel to his own family, so what makes you think you're different?" Max asks, and a tear finally drops on the floor.

     Max sighs and goes down on one knee so he could kneel in front of her. He then helps pick up her files from the floor and neatly hands it to her.

     Edith looks at Max with her eyes filled with tears and anger. But she doesn't say anything as she takes the files from Max's hand.

     Max looks back at Edith and wipes the tears off her cheeks. With such an intimidating stare, he says, "The only reason why you're still here is because I love your son. But step out of your boundaries again and I won't hesitate to throw that love away and make both of you suffer. Do you understand me, Ms. Thompson?"

     "Y-yes sir," she answers with her voice trembling.

     The elevator door finally opened, and the employees who were waiting immediately step aside as soon as they saw what was happening inside the elevator.

     Max stands up and walks out of the elevator. While walking away, Max ends the conversation by saying, "Tell my father to inform us personally if he's leaving. Because next time, I won't be so nice."

- END -