Rage

After a long day cleaning, defusing Nevada, and reminiscing for a bit, it was late in the afternoon. Chance hadn't realized how much time had passed until his stomach started to complain.

He threw together a sandwich and took it into his office.

After sending a text message to Lola to request Charlie's help, he powered on the computer.

A few seconds before the computer had fully booted up, Lola responded.

[I will have an answer for you by the end of business tomorrow.]

Chance thanked him and turned his attention back to the computer.

Chance wanted to look into the auction house that was selling his car and the seller, Theodore Romero.

Aside from an official website, there wasn't much online information to be found about Stella's Auto Auction. Even then, most of the information on their website was hidden behind a 'members only' log in screen.

All he had access to were some blog posts about past auctions and some testimonials from people who had used their services.

Seeing that there was nothing for him to click on to create an account, he could only give up on it for now.

Next he ran a search for Theodore Romero.

There were exponentially more results for the crooked businessman.

Chance started with the most recent article. It was posted just a couple days ago.

The article focused on the bid for construction project that Romero's company had just won. Interestingly, he had won the bid just after Addison Enterprises went bankrupt.

Normally, these types of events couldn't be connected, right?

But a name popped up in the article that made Chance's blood run cold. A name he was all to familiar with, Jerome Hughes.

The computer mouse creaked in protest as his grip tightened around it.

Jerome Hughes was the man who had been closest to Chance for the past few years. He was also the one who stabbed him in the back.

The article stated that the investment company working with Romero Construction was Evergreene Financial, a former competitor of Addison Enterprises. The liaison for the project was none other than Jerome Hughes.

The more Chance read, the higher his blood pressure climbed.

This was a project that he had refused to invest in. He had never ventured into construction before and was in the middle of his bid for Lovewell Publishing.

He didn't want to have so much of the company's resources tied up in such a long term project so he stepped away from it.

Jerome had really pushed back hard against his decision to let the project go. This project was probably the reason he had lost everything.

Chance abruptly stood up, sending the office chair rolling back until it hit the wall. He wanted to punch something but there was nothing around he was willing to break.

He tried taking some deep breaths and got a glass of water from the kitchen but nothing seemed to be able to calm the rage building inside him.

He paced the entire apartment, looking for a way to calm himself down, until finally going into his bathroom.

He stepped into the shower, stripped off his shirt, and turned the water on at its coldest setting. He gasped when the icy liquid made contact with his skin. The shock was enough to break his fury and he felt his whole body relax.

He leaned against the tiled wall and lamented how pathetic and lost he felt in that moment.

Once he had calmed down, he increased the water temperature to warm himself back up so he wouldn't get sick.

Chance removed the rest of his clothes and enjoyed the comforting feeling from the hot water.

His strong reaction surprised him, it even scared him a bit. He liked to think he was a rational, peaceful kind of guy. But something in that moment felt like it snapped, unleashing violent thoughts and bloodlust.

He tried to shake off his uneasy feeling and turned the water off.

While he was getting dressed, a white paper shopping bag caught his attention.

When he had finally made it home last night, after he convinced Fait to stay the night, he had just tossed the bag into the closet.

Inside was the little yellow dress that he'd bought for Genevieve. Even after all the chaos that had ensued the day before, he still managed to bring the dress home.

Any remaining trace gloom or anger faded in an instant when he thought of giving the dress to the little girl. He could already picture her adorable smile when she saw the unicorn print.

He probably wouldn't have a chance to deliver it himself in the next couple of weeks. Who knew how busy things would get after the board meeting this week.

Then there was the issue of safety. Going shopping had already proven to be quite dangerous and he didn't want to put anyone else in danger.

Chance let out a soft sigh. He would just have to ask Fait about mailing it out tomorrow.