CHAPTER 44: THE SCHOOL BEHIND THE CITY

"Okay, sir. Copy."

Alpheus’s secretary said before hanging up. She immediately began typing rapidly on her computer, her fingers flying over the keyboard as if racing against a deadline. Then, she picked up her phone again and made another call.

The three men in the room—Dave, Calyx, and Rome—turned their attention to her.

"Hi, is this the director of the Integrated Community School in **** City? May I ask how much the school currently costs? The Monteverde family is interested in buying it—today."

She paused, then continued.

"Do I sound like I’m joking? Mr. Monteverde said so himself. He’s interested in your school and is offering double the original price. He also wants the current school principal removed. So name your price—right now. The Monteverde Group will buy out all the shares, whether you like it or not."

She hung up after that, then calmly returned to her work as though nothing unusual had just happened.

Rome leaned forward, narrowing his eyes.

"I thought Alpheus was at his niece’s school right now. So what’s this ’Integrated Community School’ he’s suddenly buying?"

Dave and Calyx scratched the backs of their heads, trying to play it cool.

They knew it was the twins’ school Alpheus was buying—but neither of them wanted to spill the truth to Rome.

"Maybe he just got interested in the property," Dave said with a shrug. "You know how Alpheus is. He gets curious about random things—even the small ones. It’s not really that surprising anymore."

Rome frowned in disbelief.

"Tsk. Isn’t that just some small school tucked behind the city? There’s nothing special about that area. Is he seriously wasting his money?" he muttered, then glanced at his watch and leaned back on the couch.

He decided to wait in Alpheus’s office, figuring his friend would return soon.

But two hours passed... and Alpheus still hadn’t shown up.

By then, Rome was already half-asleep from waiting. With a groggy sigh, he sat up, pulled out his phone, and began searching for Alpheus’s number.

Riiing... Riiing...

Rome frowned as he stared at his phone. He had already called Alpheus three times, but not once did he pick up. The calls just kept ringing.

"Where are you going, dude?" Calyx asked as Rome abruptly stood up from the couch.

"I need to see Alpheus today. It looks like he’s not planning to come back unless I go find him myself."

Dave and Calyx exchanged a quick, uneasy glance.

"Come on, man," Calyx said, trying to sound casual. "You don’t need to go after him. He’ll be back here eventually."

"But I have an important business matter we discussed earlier," Rome said, checking the time on his wristwatch. "And I need to settle it today. No more delays."

"Then just tell us what it’s about," Dave chimed in. "We’ll pass on the message as soon as he gets back."

Rome’s eyes narrowed.

He had noticed it earlier—how the two of them kept trying to distract him, how they casually avoided his questions whenever he brought up why Alpheus and Alfonso were at that small elementary school on the outskirts of the city. And now, they were clearly trying to keep him from leaving.

Something about where Alpheus went didn’t sit right with him.

"Look," Rome said coldly, "this isn’t something I can just relay through someone else. It’s critical that I talk to him today—in person."

The issue involved his wife, Ingrid—who also happened to be Alpheus’s cousin. Rome had finally decided to move forward with the divorce, but Ingrid’s family was strongly against it. They had made it clear that if he went through with it, the Monteverdes—Ingrid’s family—would pull their partnership from his newly built company.

Only Alpheus could help him now. Without his support, his company could be at serious risk.

Alpheus had promised him—he would help convince Ingrid’s family by exposing all of her lies and deceit. As someone who held one of the highest positions in the Monteverde Group and its affiliated businesses, Alpheus was the only person with enough influence to back him up.

"Is this about your wife?" Dave asked.

Rome froze for a moment at the question.

"Yes."

He answered without hesitation.

"Then I’m guessing... you’re planning to divorce her, aren’t you?"

Rome didn’t reply, but his silence was more than enough confirmation.

"Well," Dave said dryly, "congrats and good luck with that. I heard the Monteverdes—and your family—aren’t too happy about it. I’m sure they won’t let you go through with the divorce, especially because of Gabriel."

That name made Rome pause mid-step. His expression darkened as he slowly turned to face Dave.

"They don’t have a choice," Rome said coldly. "They’ve known for a long time that Gabriel isn’t my son. They just won’t admit it publicly because they don’t want to ruin their reputation."

With that, he turned away and started walking toward the door.

Calyx and Dave exchanged a quick, uneasy glance. They couldn’t let Rome see Alpheus—not while Alpheus was with the kids right now.

As Rome was about to push the door open, both Calyx and Dave jumped to their feet and hurried after him.

"W-Wait for us, Rome! You can’t just leave us like that—we’re coming with you!" Calyx called out as they caught up to him.

Rome frowned. "What’s wrong with you?"

Calyx quickly slung an arm around his shoulder to stop him.

"You see, we’re bored to death here. We want to have a little fun. Why don’t you postpone your talk with Alpheus for now and just come with us instead? Let’s hit a bar. You know, there are plenty of pretty ladies out there waiting to entertain us. Haha."

Rome scoffed and shrugged Calyx’s arm off his shoulder.

"Tsk. Idiot!" he muttered, walking away without even glancing back.

"What’s wrong with him?" Calyx muttered, watching Rome disappear down the hallway.

"Idiot. It’s blazing hot outside, and you seriously expect bars to be open right now?" Dave snapped as he hurried after Rome.

"Come on, let’s follow him. We cannot let Rome see the kids—you idiot!" He muttered under his breath.

As they moved quickly to catch up, Dave pulled out his phone and tried calling both Alpheus and Alfonso, but neither of them was answering.

-----

Meanwhile...

"Did you like it, kids?" Alpheus asked warmly, watching Paris and Egypt enjoy the lunch he and Alfonso had brought for them.

"Yes! It’s yummy, Uncle!" Egypt replied with a wide grin, her cheeks puffed up as she happily chewed her food.

Alpheus smiled gently.

Earlier that day, the school principal had been officially removed.

After being dismissed, he was escorted off the premises with only a few of his personal belongings. Now, Alpheus and Alfonso were seated in what used to be the principal’s office.

A handful of Alpheus’s bodyguards, whom he had called in for support, were now busy cleaning and clearing out the space.

They had decided to let the kids rest for the day. Instead of returning to class, Alpheus had invited them to stay in the office.

"Uncle Alpheus, are you going to be our new principal now?" Paris asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

"P–Paris... M-Mr. Monteverde is a very busy man. You can’t expect someone like him to become a school principal. He’s also the chairman of the Monteverde Corporation." Amie said with a nervous laugh.

The unease on Amie’s face was obvious. Ever since she found out who Alpheus and Alfonso truly were—men from one of the country’s most powerful families—she couldn’t meet their eyes the same way.

She was still adjusting to the fact that the man who casually visited the twins at school was also the one who had just bought their school.

"Oh, about that—you don’t have to worry about the new principal," Alpheus said with a reassuring smile. "I already assigned someone capable, someone who will do a much better job."

"Not someone like our old principal, right?" Egypt asked cautiously, her expression serious.

"Yes, not someone like him."

Riiing... Riiing...

Everyone turned at the sudden ringing of Alfonso’s phone. He furrowed his brows and stood up from his seat.

"Excuse me for a minute, guys. I just need to take this call." he said before stepping out of the room.

A few moments passed.

When Alfonso returned, his demeanor had changed—he looked uneasy as he quickly walked over to Alpheus.

Alpheus noticed the shift in his expression and raised an eyebrow, just as Alfonso leaned in to whisper something in his ear.

Alpheus’s eyes widened.

"Shit!" he muttered under his breath, abruptly standing up. "I completely forgot. I promised him I’d help him settle things with his wife today."

He grabbed his phone and smacked his forehead when he saw it was on silent mode. Several missed calls lit up the screen—from Dave, Calyx, and multiple from Rome.

Without hesitation, Alpheus immediately called Calyx’s number. The line was picked up almost instantly.

"Hey, man—"

"Alpheus, why the hell haven’t you been answering our calls, you idiot?" Calyx’s voice barked from the other end. "We’re outside the school gate right now. And Rome’s with us!"

Alpheus froze.

His heart dropped.