Page 22 of Wicked Trap

His mother laughed. “Well, cooking and gardening make me relax and have fun.”

He smiled, knowing it was true. He followed her into the small open kitchen and dining area that led to the outside garden. His brothers were seated at the breakfast counter.

“Grab a plate, baby, and start having breakfast. I’m plucking the fresh berries. I’ll be right back.”

Aryan’s mother stepped out to the small garden while he joined his brothers and served himself some of the delicious breakfast.

“Where the fuck were you?” his oldest brother asked with a frown.

Yash Varma was a stickler for time and punctuality.

Aryan grinned. “I had a busy night, bro,” he replied.

His other brother raised a brow. “I’m sure you were very busy,” Bhargav said drily as his gaze fell on the neck bruise.

Nothing escaped Bhargav Varma’s notice.

Aryan threw up his hands mockingly before taking the empty chair next to them at the breakfast counter. “Bros, relax. I’m only a few minutes late. Let’s enjoy the day. And by the way, I checked with Ma’s school. The summer holidays are starting a week earlier. The cruise dates won’t clash.”

They were gifting a two-month-long vacation cruise for their mother and her group of friends. He knew his mother had been planning one for a while, and her small group of friends was saving up money for the same. He had checked with all her friends, and they were more than excited to be offered a fully paid vacation.

“Send me the dates,” Bhargav said. “I’ll ensure the cruise checks into one of our hotels at each destination.”

“Ensure the security is airtight during those days,” Yash added.

There was no security threat to their mother. But having three billionaire sons who had plenty of business rivals, they didn’t want to take chances.

“Yup,” Aryan replied. “I’ll check on the security.”

He went to grab a plate. And on his way, he stuck a small envelope on the refrigerator.

“By the way, I heard murmurs that the Conagra crisis has reached the tipping point,” he said. “The brother who had a falling out wants to get rid of his and his wife’s shares.”

The company was one of the oldest and biggest hospitality industry companies. Although the company was old, it wasn’t as big as Yash and Bhargav’s companies. However, adding the old established company to their profile would benefit them.

Yash frowned. “How do you know that?”

Aryan smirked. “I just do, bro.”

Bhargav shook his head. “Doesn’t Conagra’s estranged brother happen to have a socialite daughter who parties in your circles?”

The beautiful heiress was currently in his bed back in the penthouse. He recalled their previous night’s conversation where the socialite was quite chatty.

“Yup. Apparently, daddy is eager to sell and retire.”

Yash frowned. “He won’t sell the shares to us for sure.”

Aryan laughed. Thanks to their cutthroat reputation, most of their business rivals hated them as much as they feared them.

“They won’t sell it to us,” he said. “But they will sell it to an upcoming family-oriented company.”

It was their usual business tactic to use one of their subsidiary companies as a friendly front to make acquisitions.

“The old board of Futura is still intact,” Bhargav added. “I’ll use them to buy out the shares.”

Right after they made plans to takeover yet another company, Aryan saw his mother return from the garden.

“I was planning to bake a cake,” she said while holding a basket filled with freshly plucked berries. “But since you boys are fitness freaks and into that six-pack mumbo jumbo, I decided to serve it with freshly whipped cream.”

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