Europe / Britain / London (Samwell Tower): March 13th, 1993.
It was a beautiful morning for the world.
The sun had risen over london like a pale rich man pretending he had nothing to do with the crimes committed in the dark, the clouds moved slowly across the sky like old witnesses refusing to testify, and mankind went about their morning routines with smiles on their faces at the beauty of the city, but also sad looks on their faces at the horror of it whether it be financially, emotionally or physically.
Yet if you were to look closely in london.
To be more specific, inside of samwell tower.
You could see something very interesting happening.
A old man losing his empire.
Not all at once.
Not like a building collapsing after one clean explosion.
No.
This was uglier.
Slower.
Quieter.
The kind of collapse that started with whispers, then questions, then phone calls that stopped being answered, then men in suits avoiding eye contact, then women in pearls pretending they had always hated you, then newspapers asking questions they already knew the answer too.
(Alfred's POV)
Alfred samwell stood inside of his private office with both hands behind his back and a ugly look on his face while staring at the city of london through the tall glass windows.
Behind him, his office looked like power had learned how to decorate.
Dark wood.
Gold trimming.
Paintings of dead samwell men who had robbed, married, bribed, conquered, inherited and laundered their way into respectability.
Shelves full of leather books he had not read.
A polished desk larger than some people's bedrooms.
And on that desk.
Newspapers.
A lot of them.
Too many of them.
The first headline sat at the very top.
SAMWELL ENTERPRISE UNDER PRESSURE AS QUESTIONS MOUNT OVER FOREIGN DEALINGS.
Another.
ROYAL CHARITY DISTANCES ITSELF FROM SAMWELL FOUNDATION AMID SECURITY CONCERNS.
Another.
WHO SENT THE CAR? PRIVATE DRIVER SCANDAL LINKED TO LONDON ELITE.
Another.
CRYSTAL CORPORATION SOURCE CLAIMS "QUESTIONABLE ATTEMPTS" WERE MADE AGAINST KNOWLES FAMILY.
Another.
OLD MONEY, NEW QUESTIONS: WHY IS ALFRED SAMWELL HIDING?
Alfred's right eye twitched.
The room was silent except for the soft ticking of the antique clock on the wall and the distant sound of phones ringing outside his office like the whole building had developed a nervous system.
His secretary stood near the door with a pale face and a stack of fresh reports in her hand.
She had been standing there for almost four minutes.
Alfred had not told her to speak.
She had not been stupid enough to do so anyway.
On the television mounted on the wall, a morning news anchor smiled like a woman pretending she had not smelled blood in the water.
"Questions continue this morning regarding several unusual incidents surrounding last night's private celebration hosted by crystalline alina knowles after her widely praised royal albert hall concert." Said the anchor calmly from the television.
The screen cut to footage of me leaving royal albert hall in white and silver while cameras flashed and crowds screamed my name like I owed them salvation.
Alfred's jaw tightened.
The anchor continued "Sources close to crystal corporation declined to make direct accusations, but confirmed that several security irregularities were discovered shortly after the event, including a fraudulent medical service request, a suspicious private driver assignment and a gift that is now reportedly being examined by private investigators."
The television cut to another anchor.
"Samwell enterprise has denied involvement in any improper activity, though representatives have not answered questions regarding whether any former samwell contractors were present near the estate last night."
Alfred turned around sharply and said coldly "Turn that off."
The secretary flinched and reached for the remote with trembling fingers.
The television went black.
The room went silent.
Alfred looked at the black screen and said softly "Questions."
The secretary said nothing.
Alfred turned toward her slowly and said with a cold tone, his voice quieter and uglier "Questions."
The secretary swallowed and said "Sir, the press is being careful. There are no direct accusations yet."
"Yet." Said alfred with a cold smile.
The woman lowered her eyes.
Alfred walked toward the desk and picked up one of the papers, his fingers tightening around the edge until the page bent.
"She has berry gordy moving old music men. She has american gossip columns asking where my money comes from. She has lawyers whispering to bankers. She has actresses repeating rumors at breakfast. She has reporters circling my foundation like dogs around a corpse." Said alfred calmly.
The secretary stayed silent.
Alfred looked down at the headline again and laughed once.
Short.
Dry.
Humorless.
"That little black devil learned quickly." Said alfred softly.
The secretary's eyes widened slightly but she said nothing.
Before alfred could speak again, the office phone rang.
*BRRRRING* *BRRRRING*
Alfred stared at it.
The secretary looked at him.
He picked it up.
"What." Said alfred coldly.
The voice on the other end spoke quickly.
Alfred's expression did not change at first.
Then his lips thinned.
"What do you mean suspended." Asked alfred softly.
The room became colder.
The secretary's grip tightened around the reports.
Alfred listened.
His hand tightened around the phone.
"Our london credit line has been suspended pending compliance review." Said alfred slowly, repeating the words like they personally offended his bloodline.
The voice on the other end continued.
Alfred's eye twitched again.
"No. You will not put me on hold. I am alfred samwell." Said alfred coldly with bloodshot eyes.
The line clicked.
Silence.
Alfred slowly looked down at the phone.
He had been put on hold.
The secretary looked like she wanted to pray but could not decide which god would survive this office.
Alfred set the phone down very carefully.
Too carefully.
Then he picked up a silver letter opener and threw it across the room.
*CLANG*
It stabbed into the wooden panel beside a old portrait of his grandfather.
The secretary gasped.
Alfred looked at her slowly.
She immediately lowered her head.
"Katherine." Said alfred calmly.
"Y…yes sir." Said the secretary with a stutter.
"Tell the board I want them upstairs. Now." Said alfred.
"They are already here, sir." Said katherine quietly.
The room went silent.
Alfred's face slowly changed and he asked softly "What did you say."
Katherine swallowed and said "The emergency board meeting began ten minutes ago. They requested your presence."
For one moment, alfred did not move.
Then he smiled.
It was not a human smile.
It was the kind of smile a corpse might make if it remembered one last insult before rotting.
"Requested." Said alfred with a chuckle.
Katherine nodded once.
Alfred adjusted his cufflinks.
Then he walked toward the door.
"Then let us see who in my house forgot their place." Said alfred calmly.
TIMESKIP: A couple minutes later.
Inside of the samwell enterprise executive boardroom, twelve people sat around a long black table with folders open in front of them and fear dressed carefully as professionalism on their faces.
Jonathan samwell sat near the far end of the table in a dark suit with his hands folded calmly in front of him.
He looked tired.
Not afraid.
That irritated alfred immediately.
The boardroom windows looked out over london, and for the first time in decades, the city did not look like something alfred owned.
It looked like something watching him.
Alfred entered without knocking.
The room stood.
All except jonathan.
Alfred noticed.
Of course he noticed.
"Sit." Said alfred calmly.
They sat.
Alfred walked to the head of the table and remained standing.
No one spoke.
Finally, an older board member named sir cecil wainwright adjusted his glasses and said carefully "Alfred, we thought it necessary to meet before the markets open fully."
Alfred stared at him.
"We." Said alfred softly.
Cecil swallowed and said "There are serious concerns regarding reputational exposure."
Alfred smiled coldly and asked "Reputational exposure."
Another board member, a woman named margaret ellis, opened her folder and said "The questions spreading this morning are not isolated. Several american outlets are repeating similar language. French and german papers have begun picking it up. The charity suspension has made it worse."
Alfred looked at her.
"My charities have survived scandals before. I don't see the need for sudden agitation over this." Said alfred with cold eyes.
"Not when the scandal suggests the charity may have been used as access cover." Said jonathan calmly.
The room went silent.
Alfred slowly turned his head toward his son.
Jonathan did not blink.
Alfred smiled and said "You have become very talkative lately."
Jonathan's expression remained calm.
"I have become tired of pretending silence is wisdom when in fact it achieves nothing if not used." Said jonathan calmly.
The board members shifted uncomfortably.
Alfred chuckled softly and looked around the table.
"So this is what she bought. Your nerves." Said alfred with his arms spread.
Margaret leaned forward slightly and said "This is not about ms knowles buying anything. This is about containment."
"Containment. You speak as though I am a spill." Said alfred with a soft laugh.
Cecil wiped sweat from his forehead and said "The banks are nervous. Two investors have requested private audits. The singapore group has delayed their transfer. The paris division wants distance. The crown-linked foundation removed our name from tonight's dinner program."
The room went silent again.
That one landed.
Alfred's smile faded slightly.
"The crown-linked foundation did what." Asked alfred with widened eyes.
Margaret slid a paper forward.
Alfred did not touch it.
He stared at it like paper had grown truth.
Jonathan finally looked down and said quietly "They removed samwell from the program."
Alfred's fingers curled slowly.
"Temporary language. They have not made a public statement yet." Said cecil quickly.
"Yet." Said alfred with a cold snicker.
The word tasted worse the second time.
Margaret opened another page and said "There is also a request from outside counsel that you temporarily step back from daily leadership until we determine whether any contractors connected to you were involved in last night's incidents."
The room became absolutely silent.
Even the air seemed to stop moving.
Alfred looked around the table.
One face at a time.
Old friends.
Old cowards.
Old parasites.
Men who had eaten at his table.
Women who had smiled beside his wife.
Families his family had lifted from irrelevance.
All of them now staring down at paper as if paper was brave enough to protect them from him.
Alfred laughed.
Low.
Slow.
Dangerous.
"You want me to step back." Said alfred softly.
Cecil's lips trembled slightly and said "Temporarily."
Alfred slammed both hands on the table.
*BAM*
Several board members jumped.
"This company is my blood. My father built with his hands what your families begged to be invited near. My grandfather bought rooms your grandfathers were not allowed to clean. My name is on the stone, the accounts, the doors, the goddamn history. I am the one who solidified its foundations and what it what it is today." Said alfred loudly.
Jonathan looked at him and said calmly "That is the problem."
Alfred froze.
The room went still.
Jonathan stood slowly.
"Your name is on too much. And now people are looking at it and asking how you achieved it exactly." Said jonathan calmly.
Alfred stared at him.
"You ungrateful little bastard." Said alfred softly with amazement.
Jonathan's jaw tightened, but he did not look away.
"No. I am the son who finally learned the family name is not a shield if you keep using it as a knife." Said jonathan with a clenched jaw.
Alfred moved before anyone could breathe.
He grabbed the heavy glass ashtray from the table and threw it toward jonathan.
*CRASH*
Jonathan stepped aside just enough for it to smash against the wall behind him, glass scattering across the floor like frozen rain.
One board member screamed.
Security outside the room shifted.
Jonathan looked at the broken glass.
Then back at alfred.
"You missed." Said jonathan calmly.
Alfred's face went red.
Before he could speak, the boardroom phone rang.
*BRRRRING* *BRRRRING*
No one moved.
Margaret slowly reached over and answered it.
"Yes." She said carefully.
She listened.
Her face changed.
"Put it through." She said softly.
The large television at the side of the boardroom flickered on.
Alfred turned toward it.
The screen showed a live broadcast outside of samwell tower.
Reporters.
Cameras.
Police cars.
A swarm of them.
A reporter stood with wind whipping her hair across her face as she spoke into a microphone.
"We are outside samwell tower in central london where authorities appear to have arrived moments ago. Sources say warrants may be connected to a wider investigation involving financial irregularities, private security contractors and possible obstruction tied to recent threats against an unnamed american entertainment executive's family."
The boardroom exploded into murmurs.
Alfred went still.
Not afraid.
Not yet.
But something old in him recognized danger before pride allowed him to name it.
Cecil stood halfway up and said with a whisper "Warrants."
Margaret's face had gone pale.
Jonathan looked at the screen in silence.
"Samwell enterprise has not yet issued a formal statement, but several members of the board are believed to be inside the building at this time." Said the report calmly on the screen.
Alfred turned away from the screen and looked toward the door and said loudly "Katherine."
The secretary opened the boardroom door halfway with a terrified expression and said "Sir."
"Call lord weathers. Call harcourt. Call the home office. Call every man who owes me a favor." Said alfred Immediately.
Katherine's eyes filled with panic and she said "Sir…we have been trying."
The room went cold.
Alfred stepped toward her slowly and asked with bloodshot eyes and a ugly look on his face "What do you mean trying."
Katherine's voice shook as her neck shrank back "No one is answering."
The room became silent enough for the television static to sound loud.
No one is answering.
Those four words did something no headline had managed to do.
They entered alfred's chest.
Not deeply.
But enough.
Enough to make him realize that power was not the same thing as loyalty.
Alfred slowly looked around the boardroom.
The board avoided his eyes.
Jonathan did not.
On the television, the crowd outside grew louder.
Then another image appeared on the screen.
A pre-recorded press statement.
My face.
Crystalline alina knowles.
I was standing inside of what looked like a private office with a black dress on, diamond earrings in, honey blonde hair falling over one shoulder and a face so calm it looked like god had taken the emotion out of it and replaced it with expensive lighting.
Alfred stared.
The room stared.
My voice came through the speakers.
"Last night, after a successful evening celebrating music, culture and survival, my family and I were made aware of several security concerns involving suspicious services, unauthorized appointments and dangerous items sent under false pretenses." I said calmly on the screen with a serious look on my face.
The reporters were silent in the footage.
I was silent for a moment and sighed while saying "I will not make reckless accusations. That is not my job today. I am not a court. I am not the police. I am not god, although I do understand how people get confused."
A few reporters in the footage laughed nervously.
Jonathan's mouth twitched slightly.
Alfred did not move.
On screen, I smiled softly and said "What I will say is simple. Any person, company, institution or old rotting family name that believes it can frighten me by reaching for the people I love has misunderstood not only my character but my schedule."
The boardroom was silent.
Berry's voice could be heard off camera saying quietly "Crystal."
I lifted one finger on the screen and said "I am speaking."
The footage continued.
"I welcome any lawful investigation into any matter connected to my family's safety. I welcome audits. I welcome questions. I welcome sunlight. Old houses rot fastest when somebody finally opens the curtains." I said calmly with a smile.
Alfred's face twitched.
I leaned closer to the microphone and said "And to whoever needs to hear this, love does not make me careless. It makes me thorough."
The screen cut back to the news anchor.
The boardroom remained dead silent.
Alfred stared at the television like he wanted to walk inside it and strangle the image.
Then his phone rang.
Not the boardroom phone.
His private mobile.
He pulled it from his jacket slowly and answered.
"Yes." Said alfred calmly.
The voice on the other side spoke one sentence.
Alfred's face changed completely.
For the first time that morning.
Something cracked.
"What." Asked alfred.
The voice repeated itself.
Alfred lowered the phone slightly.
Jonathan watched him.
Cecil asked carefully "Alfred."
Alfred stared at the table and says softly "Trading has been suspended."
The room erupted.
"What." Said a older voice
"Suspended." Said a young voice.
"By who." Asked a man.
"On what basis." Asked a woman.
Margaret grabbed another phone.
Cecil sat down like his bones had become wet paper.
Jonathan closed his eyes for one second.
Alfred stood in the middle of the chaos with his phone still in his hand.
Trading suspended.
Credit line frozen.
Charity removed.
Board circling.
Authorities outside.
No one answering.
Questions everywhere.
Questions.
Questions.
Questions.
That was the cruelty of it.
Not accusations.
Questions.
A accusation gave a man something to deny.
A question made the whole world lean closer.
Alfred slowly lifted his eyes toward the screen where my face had just been.
Then he laughed.
It was quiet at first.
Then louder.
Ugly.
Cracked.
"Hahaha…hahaha…" Said alfred laughing while the boardroom watched him in horror.
Jonathan took one step back.
Alfred looked around at them and said with a wide smile "You think she won."
No one answered.
"You think a singer with money and a mouth has killed samwell." Said alfred loudly with both arms spreading.
The television outside showed police moving closer to the building entrance.
Alfred pointed toward the screen and said "Let them come. Let them search. Let them ask their little questions. Samwell has survived kings, wars, recessions, scandals, enemies and women prettier than that monkey."
Jonathan's face tightened.
Alfred turned toward him and said "And you. My son. My blood. You think standing near her shadow makes you safe. Huh, do you."
Jonathan was silent for a moment and said quietly "I think standing near you makes me doomed."
Alfred's smile vanished.
The room went silent again.
Then the elevator outside the boardroom dinged.
*DING*
Everyone turned.
Footsteps.
Many of them.
Heavy.
Coordinated.
Closer.
*Tak* *Tak* *Tak* *Tak*
Alfred stood straighter.
The board members froze.
Katherine stepped away from the door with both hands over her mouth.
Edward was not there.
I was not there.
No one from my family was there.
And yet somehow the room felt like I had already arrived before the police ever did.
The footsteps stopped outside the boardroom.
For one second.
Nothing.
Then.
*BANG*
The boardroom doors flew open so hard they slammed against the walls.
Uniformed officers and men in dark suits entered with warrants in their hands and no respect in their eyes.
The first officer looked directly at alfred.
"Sir alfred samwell." Said the officer loudly.
Alfred's face hardened.
The mexican officer lifted the warrant and said while picking his ear and blowing his pinky finger "We are here to search these premises in connection with financial fraud, conspiracy, obstruction, and threats made against private citizens under false service arrangements."
The room was silent.
Cameras flashed outside the open doors.
Reporters had somehow gotten close enough to see the old king standing in his own boardroom surrounded by men who no longer bowed.
Alfred looked at the officers.
Then at the board.
Then at jonathan.
Then at the broken glass on the floor.
Then finally at the black television screen where my face had been moments ago.
His chest rose once.
Slowly.
And for the first time in a very long time, alfred samwell realized something.
The room did not belong to him anymore.
Somewhere far away, probably sitting in silk with a glass of water and a smile too soft to be innocent, crystalline alina knowles had not killed him.
Not yet.
She had done something far worse.
She had made the world ask permission to look inside his house.
And when old houses were finally searched.
They never stayed royal for long.
Alfred slowly smiled.
Not because he was saved.
Not because he had won.
But because some men would rather burn their own house down than admit somebody else had found the door.
He looked at the officer and said calmly "You are all making a mistake."
The officer stepped closer and "Sir, you need to come with us."
Alfred chuckled and turned toward jonathan and said softly "My son."
Jonathan's eyes narrowed.
"Come here." Said alfred with his hand out toward him.
The room went silent.
Jonathan did not move.
Alfred's smile widened and said "Do not embarrass me in front of strangers."
Jonathan slowly stepped forward.
The officers watched carefully.
Cecil swallowed and said with a whisper "Jonathan, don't."
Jonathan ignored him.
He stopped a few feet away from his father.
Alfred stared at him for a long moment, then reached up and placed one cold hand against jonathan's cheek like some twisted imitation of fatherly affection.
Jonathan's jaw clenched.
Alfred leaned closer and whispered low enough that only jonathan could hear clearly.
"You think warning her made you brave. You think that brown girl in your car made you a man. You think betraying me frees you. I will kill you when you least expect it, just you wait, boys." Said alfred softly with his hand gripping jonathan's chin with abused force.
Jonathan's eyes darkened.
"I will survive this. I always survive. And when I do, I will peel every soft thing out of your life until there is nothing left but my name inside your mouth. I never fail." Said alfred with a gentle smile.
Jonathan's breathing stopped.
Alfred stared into his eyes fir a moment and Zach with a whisper "Jasmine first."
The world went silent.
Not quiet.
Silent.
As if god had pressed one finger against london's mouth and told the whole city to hush.
Jonathan stared at his father.
Then slowly.
Very slowly.
He smiled.
It was small at first.
Confused.
Almost broken.
Then it spread wider.
Too wide.
Alfred's own smile faded.
Jonathan let out a soft laugh "Hah."
The officers shifted.
Cecil stood up.
"Jonathan." Said margaret softly.
Jonathan laughed again "Hahaha."
Alfred took one small step back.
For the first time in the room.
Alfred samwell looked uncertain.
Jonathan reached inside his jacket.
"Sir, don't move." Said the nearest officer shouting with his left hand reaching for the gun in his belt.
But jonathan moved anyway.
Smoothly.
Calmly.
Like his body had already decided something his soul had been too cowardly to admit.
He pulled out a small black pistol.
The room exploded into screams.
"JONATHAN." Said cecil loudly.
Officers raised their weapons.
Alfred's eyes widened.
Jonathan pointed the gun at his father's chest.
Alfred's face twisted with disbelief and he said "You ungrateful…"
*BANG*
The gunshot cracked through the boardroom like heaven had finally lost patience.
Alfred jerked backward.
His hand flew to his chest.
For one second, he looked less like old money and more like any other dying man who had never believed death knew his address.
The room screamed.
Katherine fell against the wall.
Jonathan did not move.
Alfred staggered backward into the table, knocking over folders, glasses and the papers that had carried his collapse into the morning.
His legs gave out.
He hit the floor hard.
*THUD*
The great sir alfred samwell.
Chairman.
Patriarch.
Old money filth.
Racist bastard.
Father.
Name.
Corpse.
Jonathan stared down at him.
The officers shouted.
"DROP THE WEAPON."
"DROP IT NOW."
Jonathan did not drop it.
He looked at the blood spreading across his father's white shirt and then down at his own hand like he had just discovered it belonged to him.
For one second his face was blank.
Then his lips twitched.
A sound crawled out of him.
Small.
Shaking.
Wrong.
"Hah."
Then another.
"Hahaha."
The room froze around him.
Jonathan's shoulders started shaking.
"Hahahaha."
It grew louder.
Wilder.
Broken.
Manic.
He threw his head back and laughed like a man who had finally escaped hell only to realize he had brought the fire with him.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."
The cameras outside the door flashed wildly.
The officers screamed again.
Jonathan slowly lowered the gun.
Not because they told him too.
Because the moment was already done.
Alfred samwell lay on the boardroom floor beneath the eyes of his board, his police, his son, his empire and the reporters who would carry his ending across the world by lunch.
Jonathan looked at the dead man and laughed harder.
Tears streamed down his face now, but the laughter kept coming.
"HAHAHAHAHA…HAHA…ha…"
He dropped the gun.
*CLANK*
The sound echoed across the room.
Officers rushed him.
Hands grabbed him.
Cuffs snapped around his wrists.
But jonathan did not fight.
He only kept laughing.
Softly now.
Insanely.
Like somewhere deep inside him, a child was laughing because the monster under the bed was finally dead, while the man he had become was laughing because he knew he had become one too.
The television on the wall flickered again.
Outside, reporters shouted.
Inside, board members wept.
And on the floor, alfred samwell's blood crept slowly toward the broken glass from the ashtray he had thrown at his son.
The name had eaten itself.
Somewhere across london, crystalline alina knowles would hear the news soon enough.
And maybe she would smile.
Maybe she would sigh.
Maybe she would call it sloppy.
But she would understand one thing better than anyone.
Alfred samwell had made his final mistake.
He touched the house.
And his own blood took the name.
*BANG*
Somewhere down the hall, another door broke open.
But nobody looked away from the body.
Why.
Because crystalline would call it checkmate.
…
THE END…