Jason’s mind swirled with a maelstrom of emotions as the judge’s gavel fell and the bailiff’s voice rang out, “Court is adjourned.” The guards moved in to escort him back to the holding cell, their firm grips on his arms jolting him from his stunned stupor. He felt as if he were moving through a thick fog, each step heavy with disbelief and dread.This was happening again? Wrongfully imprisoned again? Set up again? Jason kept repeating it in his head.His heart pounded in his chest, threatening to leap out of it. The courtroom around him blurred, the faces of Serena, the judge, and the guards all merging into a sea of faded eyes. He was vaguely aware of Serena gathering her papers with a look of determined frustration, but her movements seemed distant and detached from his immediate reality.As they led him down the hallway, Jason felt himself slip into a dissociative state once again, his mind retreating to a place of numbness. He couldn’t believe this was happening. The memories of

“From the looks of it, he was denied bail, no?” Victoria’s voice emanated from her phone speaker. “Yes,” Amelia answered. Roland grinned from ear to ear, then stopped the recording of "Perfect.” Victoria sat there and watched him enjoy every second of Jason’s suffering. She wanted to scream at him, curse him out, and remove him from her life forever, but she couldn’t. At that moment, the person she envied most was Franklin. Even though he was currently in a physical jail, he had the courage to free himself from the mental and emotional prison of blackmail. courage that Victoria did not possess, and she despised herself for it. “Don’t look all sad; you’ve done well,” Roland said. He reached out his hand to caress her cheek, but she dodged it like it was a virus. Roland simply laughed; he used to. and even amused by her rejection. “But you sounded so nervous. If you’re going to keep being my little agent, you’ll have to be more subtle when recording conversations.” “I’m not doing

Kent and Roland struggled to their feet, wincing from the pain that Anatoly’s attacks caused. Even though the pain from the assault was still fresh, they quickly rose to their feet as they couldn’t afford to waste any more time.Kent rubbed the back of his head, feeling the tender spot where Anatoly had struck him. “That bastard sure loves to make a scene,” he mumbled. “How are you sure that we can get Mr. Harrington on our side?” he asked, his voice tinged with desperation.“It’s obvious. You did a good job getting on his good side these past few weeks. Besides, you should’ve seen him this morning. He’s anxious about the whole situation.” He assured Kent Z. “He’s actually been looking for you." Roland added a lie at the end to boost Kent’s ego. Roland hated Kent’s ego most of the time, but he knew that once it was inflated, he could do almost anything. It was like a superpower of his, and now more than ever, they needed it.Kent’s eyes widened in surprise. “He’s looking for me?” His

As the shareholders filed out of the meeting room, the tension in the air was palpable. Victoria trailed behind the others, her face flushed with anger. She felt the pit in her stomach grow wider once again. She thought of what Franklin would think of her if he knew what she did.“I’m absolutely pathetic,” she murmured to herself. Now that she thought of it, it was for the best that Amelia wasn’t present during the meeting to see her be weak and vote for Kent once again.She felt like a traitor. Like she was betraying Franklin, betraying Amelia, and betraying Jason. But most of all, she felt as though she was betraying herself. Each time she let Roland do what he pleased and get his way, and each time she did his bidding, she lost a part of herself, and she knew that sooner rather than later, he would pick away at the final piece of herself and leave her with absolutely nothing.A shiver went down her spine at the thought. At that moment all she wanted to do was run away and hide fro

Amelia took a deep breath and answered, “As of today, Kent is the interim president of the Elysian Syndicate.”Jason’s fists clenched, and he clenched his jaw. The news felt like a blow straight to his core. But though it was not ideal for Jason that Kent was now president, it didn’t surprise him that Kent took the opportunity.“Of course he is,” Jason scoffed.Amelia’s eyes widened slightly. “You don’t seem surprised.”“Of course, I'm not. Even though I don’t like it, I knew Kent would take the opportunity now that I'm locked up here. Although I admit he was pretty damn quick to Jason heaved a sigh. It felt like everything was slipping out of his hands, and he couldn’t let that happen. He needed to find a way to turn the situation around.And just then, Jason remembered the night that Christopher called him about Lana not feeling well. That night, after they put Lana to bed, Kent came over to Sinclair's home and was excited about the elections and his winning them.Jason’s eyes lit u