“Would you like me to park the car?” asked Jose, looking at him through the rearview mirror. Nodding, Jason said that he should pack at the curb, and Jose did just that. They were parked close enough to the curb that Jason could hear what they were talking about and he listened intently for the privileged man's response to his daughter. "Oh sweetie, I got the job and I was offered a very big salary. Daddy is going to be making a lot of money and he will buy you all the toys in the world, everything you want!”Jumping on her small feet, the little girl exclaimed,“Yay daddy! Can we get some ice cream and some waffles to celebrate?”nodding his head quietly, her father responded in the affirmative, his face kind,"Yes we can anything you want. I think I saw a stand not too far away from here. We can walk or I can carry you-”Before he completed that statement, she squealed in excitement, “Piggy back ride!” With a laugh and a nod, her father agreed and lifted her up onto his back.He st

Unfolding the piece of paper and pulling it closer to his face, he could make out a few printed figures, and he read it out, the words not making sense to him.Reading it aloud, he said,“We are watching you.”Startled, he threw it down to the floor and stepped back. He did not spare the thought that it had been the Big 5, any of his time.He had just left them, and the shaky font was an exact replica of the first one that he had been sent. Besides, the Big 5 used less covert messaging, and were direct about all of their threats. He had believed that they were being genuine when they told him that they had not sent that note, and so it had to be someone else.But how did whoever wrote it manage to get into his room? He had guards and maids working around the clock, and the thought of one of them being foolish enough to allow a stranger into his room was hard for him to stomach.Turning the knob of his door, he went out into the hallway to query them, although he already knew the answ

Chapter 35Half an hour later, dinner came to an end, putting everyone at the table out of their misery. Jason had been anticipating the end just so he could go back to his mansion and make a decision concerning the Big 5, but as it turned out, the patriarch of that household had something else in mind. Smiling tightly at his daughter, he asked her to go to her room. “Ashley, kindly go up into your room. Don't worry about our guest here, I will see him out of the house.”“But Dad!” protested Ashley, still holding on to her memories of her father mistreating poor Jason. She suspected that now that Jason was rich, her father was looking for a way to exploit Jason, and she wanted to protect him. Yet, something in his eyes warned her not to try to disobey him, so she did as he asked and climbed up the stairs. Smiling at Jason, Ashley's father held one hand out to guide Jason out. “Come along, son. Would you like to take a seat before you have to move to your car? Dinner was pretty hea

The next morning, things were not looking any better, and Jason sighed with irritation.He kept on making attempts to call Ashley, but his calls had stopped going through, and he decided that it was time to give up.That weekend, he laid in his bed and fielded off calls from everyone, including the Big 5. The weekend had exhausted him so profoundly that he did not want to deal with anyone, consequences be damned. But as all weekends do, his quickly ran to an end, and Monday came, with him having to go to school. He had quickly forgotten all about the Big 5 and the wicked quest that had told him he would be undergoing, so when Monday came and Jim came over to put his hands over his shoulders, he visibly cinched. “Jim, what's up?”“You didn't forget about our quest, did you?” asked Jim, a smile on his face. Jason gulped down his saliva. How could he possibly forget their quest? He smiled at Jim and shook his head, conveying that he hadn't forgotten. “Well, either way, pretty boy, yo

They came in at the same time, but instead of sitting down like he had, his mother disappeared into the hallways that he knew left to her room. He was curious about what she wanted, but he didn't think much of it. He still had some loopholes in his thoughts, but his mother had done a terrific job of grounding him, which he appreciated. When she arrived, she was wiping down an apple dusty book he recognized as a photo album, and handed it to him. “Mum, what's this for?" He asked, but wordlessly, she gestured at him to open it. And he did. As Jason sat there looking at the pictures, he felt a mixture of emotions. He had never seen these pictures before, and it was strange to see his mother pregnant with him. He had always known that his parents hadn't planned on having a child, but he had never heard his mother talk about it so openly before. He did not see his sister, but he could see that there was a lot of character in those pictures.In each picture, his mother failed to smile,