Lily ran until she lost sight of Vincent and Eli, certain that they didn't follow her.She bent over, placing her palms on her knees as she tried to catch her breath. Of course, she didn't live anywhere near that place. She only misled her friends because she didn't want them to know the truth about her.She had followed them to the rich side of town on purpose just to save face. She didn't think any of them would like to be her friends if they found out that she wasn't as rich as they were.Lily stood up straight, stretching her back until she felt it crack.Lily took a shortcut and arrived at her real house. Somewhere among the average people.She pushed the door open and walked into a dirty home. It didn't surprise her at all that the house was dirty, after all, her mother hardly did any chores around the house.Lily kept her school bag aside and went further into the house to search for her mother but all to no avail."Where did she go to this time?" Lily wondered and in that seco
Samuel had always had a difficult relationship with his stepmother and step-brother. Growing up, he had always felt like the odd one out, never quite fitting in with their family dynamics. Things only kept getting worse between them. The older he got, the worse he was treated and the harsher their words against him became.Samuel could recall those early days when it started small. His step-brother, David, would ask him to fetch things for him, and his step-mother, Felicia, would scold him for not doing things to her satisfaction. Then came the insults that followed behind. Those insults began to fly. Felicia would criticize his appearance, calling him ugly and unkempt. She would make fun of his interests, saying that he was wasting his time on things that would never amount to anything. And his David would join in, laughing along with his mother and calling him names like "loser" and "weirdo."Samuel couldn't understand why they were treating him this way. Sure, he had always be
Samuel stood there dumbfounded. Did Felicia just call him from his room to wipe his stepbrother's shoes?For the first time in a long time, while speaking with Felicia, Samuel raised his eyes to meet hers.Seeing that, Felicia raised an eyebrow at Samuel as she was taken aback by his audacity."Got something to say?" She asked as if daring Samuel to speak back.Once again, just as other times, Samuel lowered his eyes and answered, "No"."That's what I thought." Felicia said, "Now hop to it." she added, a smirk curling up on her lips.Samuel bent down to his knees and started to wipe David's shoes.A few minutes in, Samuel was almost done when he felt a hard hit from the side of his eye. He shouted and groaned in pain. David had just thrown a shoe at his face."You missed that one idiot," David said and laughed.Samuel said and did nothing against it. He picked up the show and wiped it as well. Once he was done, he was permitted to return to his room.Samuel slammed his door shut and s
"Guys, I don't think you should go through with whatever it is that you two are planning." Samuel tried convincing Lily and Eli to stop with their plans while all three of them were standing at his gate."We have come too far to back down. And besides, all you need to do is get us in. You can stay out of it afterwards." Lily said to Samuel."I told you I don't want anything to do with this," Samuel replied."That's fine. We can just wait here until it gets dark and we will sneak ourselves in." Lily crossed her arms and grinned.Samuel scoffed and pointed to the top of the fence. Lily and Eli looked to the direction Samuel was pointing and then Samuel said, "Those are not just barbed wires. They are barbed electrical wires. Guaranteed to shock you to death.""What?" Eli looked on with surprise."It's turned on every night after my father gets home," Samuel added."Then I guess we better get in now," Lily smirked."How do you plan on doing that with the security guards moving about?" Sa
Samuel had never been curious about his father's study, and he knew he wasn't allowed to enter without permission. However, Lily has said things to him that only piqued his curiosity and he let his curiosity get the best of him when he brought his two friends, Lily and Eli, into that study room.Samuel sat up on his bed, thinking back to when all three of them rummaged through the shelves and drawers, he couldn't get his mind off the words Eli had whispered to him before leaving."You need to find concrete evidence,"... "Something that Mr. X and his wife can't deny."Although Felicia had kicked Eli and Lily out, Samuel knew he still had to get to the bottom of things. Even if it meant increasing his punishment.Samuel got out of his bedroom and took a look around his floor. Luckily he didn't bump into Felicia or David as he went downstairs in search of a hammer.He soon found one and he made his way to Mr X's study. After opening the door, he thought that maybe this was too dumb of a
Knowing that there was no getting out of his room, Samuel just stayed there on the floor. He chuckled at the thought of still being grounded at his age. Heck, he wasn't even supposed to be living under the same roof as his supposed parents by now. But he couldn't understand why.Why would Mr. X want to keep him in the mansion even after what he did today?"He said I deserved to die," Samuel recalled.He was sure that Mr. X must have been keeping him away from his real parents at this point."I have to leave this place." Samuel tried to get up but his entire body was so weak that he only managed to shake a little. His entire body was covered in such many bruises that it was difficult to pinpoint the particular areas that needed to be treated gently.It took almost five hours but Samuel's bedroom door was finally opened and a hateful Mr X stood by it."So, you turned into a detective in my absence?" Mr X asked.Samuel remained quiet, careful not to ignite another beating on his weak bo
As the trio huddled in a secluded corner of the university, Eli had to ask again, "Remind me why we are coming here instead of going over to either yours or my place?""I told you already. Mr. X may know where we both live. He will for sure come to look for us but he won't think that we are here." Lily explained, once again rolling her eyes back."Samuel, what happened to you?" Lily asked, a look of concern in her eyes."He beat me up," Samuel answered before taking a big bite of his hotdog."Who?" Eli asked."Who else if not Mr X?" Lily said to Eli."I just wish we had heavy evidence on that man. I'm sure that he has done more sinister things than this." Eli added."Did you find anything out that day?" Eli asked Samuel. Samuel stopped eating, feeling empty all of a sudden as he sighed.Samuel began to divulge the astonishing discoveries he had made. His voice trembled with a mix of excitement and apprehension as he relayed the truth that had unfolded before him. His friends, Lily and
On arriving at the airport, Eli, Samuel and Lily were met by a man at the entrance."Are you the one my father sent to me?" Eli asked the man."Yes sir. He decided to let you make use of the private jet and I am your pilot." the man answered."Woah. I never knew your dad had this much money, Eli." Lily said, getting excited.Eli smiled and all three of them followed the man to the private jet.As they boarded the jet, the trio couldn't help but feel a mix of nervousness and excitement. This trip could either bring them the answers they needed or lead them down a path of danger. As the jet took off, they settled into their seats, feeling the turbulence beneath them. Lily tried to contain her nerves and focus on the excitement of the moment."I hope we find what we're looking for," Samuel said, his voice full of determination."We will," Eli replied with confidence. "We just have to keep searching and following every lead until we find the truth."Lily leaned back into her seat, closin