The Villain's Wife

Somewhere in the Netherlands.

"She's pregnant," the blue-eyed man frowned as he raised his head to look at the starless night above. His voice echoed inside the room that was dimly lit by a couple of candles.

"She's a woman- a married woman. Of course, she would get pregnant." A voice full of mockery responded. "You just couldn't help yourself, could you?"

"I believe he is not worthy." The blue-eyed man answered. "The seat was handed to him. Unlike all of us, he never had to work for it."

"That is not something you can decide." Another croaky voice echoed. "Harringfort… you disappoint me."

The blue-eyed man turned towards the older men sitting at the circular table. He smiled as he looked at their various expressions. This was already expected. After all the things he had done, this reaction was something he had already expected. "Then… I will accept my punishment." He said.

"Do you understand why we are punishing you?"

"I am a mere messenger. I should not have involved myself and dabbled into his life. I shouldn't have tried to test him. But what's done is done."

A sigh echoed after his words. "Antone… your potential is endless. But the way you handled this situation was truly disappointing. There are other ways to prove if a member is not worthy. Dabbling into his life while he is unaware of our existence is just stupid. You should have known better."

Antone Harringfort met the old man's eyes. "I will stand by my beliefs. I believe testing him before we approach him is the best way to prove if he is worthy."

"You do understand the repercussions of your actions, do you? Now… the people who know of our existence, people who were eying the old man's seat now know about Zhou Jingren and possibly Lily too. What do you think will happen then?"

"If he can overcome it then… it would only mean he is worthy to be one of us." Conviction was apparent in Antone's voice. He truly believed he was not in the wrong about what he did to Zhou Jingren.

"Zhou Jingren is not an issue. He is not one of us, yet. But Lily is… she is one of us. Her grandmother was one of us. We cannot risk her safety, especially now that she is pregnant."

"I agree." Another man answered. "The order seeks to control without domination. This was the reason why not many know who we are. They know we exist but they can never prove it. You know some people are already suspecting you as a part of something more powerful than the EU and UN. And yet you got careless."

"My apologies. I know I have gone overboard. But I believe this is the only way to test Zhou Jingren."

"Why are you worried about someone who belongs to the lower seats?" One retorted. "You keep on saying it is because you think he is not worthy and he does not qualify. Do you not really understand this is not about him? This is about Lily! A member of our council. One of the highest seats in the Specter. Our strategist. Do you understand that?"

Antone turned silent. He lowered his head. Lily was a very capable woman. How could a simple scheme get to her? However, he chose to remain silent.

"Imprisonment." The older man who was sitting opposite to where Antone was standing said. "A month of imprisonment. You will be isolated away from the world. By then… I hope you will be able to think about your wrongdoings. Your friends and family will be told that you are on a vacation somewhere in Asia. We will be sending them cards and pictures of you by the beach. We will ask them not to contact you for the time being."

The old man continued, "Does anyone object?"

Silence followed the old man's words. Seeing the other four people at the table pursing their lips, he continued, "Then… it will be done." He immediately pressed a red button in the center of the table. Not long after, two tall guards walked inside and escorted Antone Harringfort out of the room.

"He is obsessed with Lily." One voice echoed when the door of the room closed.

"I'm sure he is." A voice agreed.

"He is not obsessed with her. He is obsessed with her seat." Another voice commented.

"Antone knows that people are watching him and yet, he still took a risk. He approached Zhou Jingren knowing people were watching him from afar. His actions were so malicious. He truly wanted to eliminate the man."

"We are all malicious." Another man answered. "We can't blame him. Everyone wanted power." He sighed. "Now…unto the real topic as to why we are here today."

"Hmmm… Shall we ask someone to hijack some oil tankers to increase the prices of oil in the market?"

Targeting an oil tanker would make the oil company devise other tactics to avoid piracy such as changing the route into longer and safer ones, making the travel time longer, and the price higher. This will also affect the price of the oil that they are carrying.

"We can start in the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Let's also include the ships traveling through the Arabian Sea. Have someone contact the Somalians."

"But this may not affect the US economy." Another one answered. "If we want to control the US then we need a plan that is bigger than piracy."

"Then… what do you suggest?"

"Civil war."

"Raise chaos inside the US soil? That might be possible."

"Of course it is. Since that man does not believe that we exist, then… let us show him how capable we are. Let his country suffer!"

The men nodded unison and continued talking about manipulating the market to maintain the current status quo of the world. The poor need to stay poor and the rich need to stay rich. To do this… people are needed to be programmed to be poor.

And this ladies and gentlemen… is the best way to control the world without dominating it.

....

Proofreader: Dragon777