Edward's voice broke through the pleasurable sounds that filled the room, making Sandra and Richard jolt in shock and face reality.
"Edward, what the hell are you doing here?" Reaching for her clothes on the floor, Sandra said in shock. Mr. Richard also dragged his pants up to cover himself. "What do you mean by that question? Are you out of your mind? I should be asking what you are doing with your so-called business partner," Edward answered, his voice breaking in disappointment as he found it difficult to believe what his eyes were seeing. "Baby, who is this guy?" Mr. Richard asked with a confused expression, his eyes still locked on Edward. But Edward was quick to reply before Sandra did. "I'm her husband, and who the fuck are you?" Edward said angrily. "Enough, Edward, just shut up!" Sandra yelled at him, turning to Richard. "Don't mind him, Richard. He's the peasant I told you about, the one I fell in love with while I was in college, who unfortunately turned out to be my husband," she said and cupped Richard's face with her hands. "Oh, you mean the loser of a husband?" he asked, and she nodded. Edward couldn't believe his ears. What was he hearing? "Sandra, I'm your husband, remember? You loved me..." "Oh, shut up, please. I have had enough of your nonsense. You must be stupid to think I have ever loved you. How do you expect the daughter of Mr. Hudson to fall in love with a pauper like you from a poor background? I was only close to you in school because I had a terminal illness and needed someone close by who would look after me, and you were the only available option. Well, thank goodness the illness is gone, and I don't need you in my life anymore," she spat angrily, leaving his emotions shattered like old bricks smashed on the ground. Edward couldn't say a word as he stared at her, astonished by the words she had just said. Was this actually coming from Sandra, the girl who had bragged about being in love with him? "Edward, I can understand how life is for someone as poor as yourself, but let me give you a piece of advice. I'll leave Sandra alone if I were you. I can never be you, though. Haa," Mr. Richard said and laughed in mockery. "She's not your level. Sandra had told me your mom is diagnosed with kidney cancer. I can help you with $10,000 to go help your dying mom if only you heed my advice, huh?" Richard raised a brow as he awaited a response. "I don't need your money, you bastard! Leave my wife alone," Edward sneered angrily, and Richard flinched in shock. "What is wrong with you, Edward? How dare you insult Mr. Richard? You should be grateful for him being a kind person," Sandra said, staring at him in disappointment. "It obviously shows he's a dummy. I want to help his poor sick mom. I don't know where you get your dumbness from; it might be from her," Mr. Richard said and burst into laughter together with Sandra. Annoyed by his words, Edward covered the distance between Richard and himself, fixing his eyes on him. "Don't you dare talk about my mom like that," Edward said, clenching his fingers, glaring at Richard. "Oh yeah, and what would you do, pauper!" Mr. Richard hit him on the chest, trying to initiate a fight, but Edward shook his head and said, "I'm not interested in having this conversation. Sandra, let's leave. I forgive you." Edward grabbed Sandra's arm and turned toward the door to leave with her, but she hit his hand off hers. "Leave me alone," she hit his hand off her immediately. Edward, in shock, stared at her for a moment and tried to hold her arm again, but Mr. Richard quickly landed his fist on his chin, and he staggered back. "Leave her alone," Richard said, setting his hand for another punch. "You wanna do this, right? All right, cool," Edward said, clenching his fist while Mr. Richard did the same. Mr. Richard was obviously a fighter as he maintained a proper stance. Richard made the first move, but Edward dodged, and before he could make a second move, Edward punched him in the face and sent him crashing to the floor. Immediately, Edward got on him and began punching him incessantly while Sandra shouted, "Stop! Stop that now!" When she noticed she couldn't stop Edward, she quickly rushed out and returned with some security guards who grabbed Edward off Richard. Before they helped Mr. Richard up, Taylor Hudson, Sandra's mom, came running through the hallway with two bouncers flanking her side. Terror was written all over her face. She came to a halt in front of Edward, and before Edward could say a word, she slapped him three times across the face before speaking. "How dare you touch a personality like Mr. Richard? Do you know the repercussions of what you have just done?" she said, glaring into his eyes angrily. "Ma'am, it's not what you think. He attacked me first!" "And so what?" she said. "He was also having sex with my wife, Mrs. Hudson." "How dare you even call Sandra your wife? I never knew you were this stupid to think a girl like Sandra would be for you," she said, and Edward stared at her, unsurprised. He had known Taylor Hudson hadn't been in support of him marrying her daughter. She had always been against Mr. Hudson's decision to marry Sandra off to him, but she had kept her hate on a low profile when he was alive. Since he passed away, she showed him her real character. "You are so gonna pay for this," Taylor Hudson said and signaled the two bouncers who held Edward to the ground, facing up. "Mr. Richard, please have your own share of the fight. Do whatever you want until you are satisfied," Taylor Hudson said, and Richard smiled. "That's so nice," he said, clenching his fist. He got over Edward and started punching him heavily in the face. He punched and punched until Edward's face became messy with blood, and his eyes were bloodshot that he couldn't see again. Still, he didn't rest. He kept switching arms until Sandra decided to intervene. "Baby, it's okay. Leave him alone," she wrapped her hands around him, and he straightened up. Just as he stood up from Edward, the policemen hoisted him up, flanking him by his sides. They hurled him into the elevator and down the stairs, where they put him in a police van and headed away. When they arrived at the police station, he was placed behind bars and asked questions which were all formalities. "Mr. Edward, you are charged with three offenses. One is battery on a high-profile individual, two is you being accused of sexual assault on Mrs. Sandra---" "What? Sexual assault? Sandra is my wife, how can I---" "Quiet! I'm not joking with you," the policeman said, hitting his hand on the desk before him, and Edward jolted in shock. His rude manner showed that he had already been bribed by Mr. Richard. "Third is public disturbance in a prestigious company like Hudson Corporation. "You have 24 hours to pay a $10,000 fine to be granted bail or serve a jail term of 20 years," the officer said, and Edward opened his mouth wide in shock. Where was a poor boy like him supposed to get $10,000 in 24 hours from? *******With both hands cuffed, Edward walked through the narrow corridor of Ashville's prison, with two prison guards flanking his side. Each step he took further was him passing a cell locked with inmates. The 24 hours grace given to him to pay up the fine had elapsed without him meeting up to the charges. Where was he gonna get $10,000 from when he couldn't even come up with part of the money for his mother's surgery? His savings was barely up $2000 as he had taken out from it several times, trying to satisfy his wife's incessant quest for material things. Mr. Richard had intentionally caused this because he knew Edward wouldn't be able to come up with such an amount. Who was going to take care of his mom now when he's away? He had no friends or relatives. Who was gonna pay for his mom's dialysis in his absence? She wouldn't even last more than a week before the doctors disposed of her body. Life is indeed difficult for the poor.As they guarded him to his cell, the noise that emanated fr
Edward took a few steps back, terrified by the angry-looking men around him. He was completely surrounded by the tyrants of the cell he was told about—the Black Vipers. Why was he so slow to have noticed it was Marcus Santosh from the beginning?He scanned the dining room to see if anyone would say a word, but no one was willing to help him. It was just him against the horrible-looking men."You dared punch Marcus Santosh in the face. It's like you have no respect," Marcus said in his Mexican accent, his burning gaze on Edward's frightened face."I'm sorry, but I didn't mean to. I'm a new inmate," Edward begged, and the men all broke into laughter."Hahahahaha.""Yeah, I know you are new, and that's why I'm not going to be different with you, unlike others. Since you punched me, you must be a good fighter. There's only one way out. We are both going to fight one on one. If you beat me, you have my respect and you are free, but if I beat you, you are going to be my puppet, and I promis
Edward stared at the men kneeling in honor of him and was struck with amazement. Having observed them for a minute, being lost in a moment he thought would never happen to a peasant like him, he emerged back to reality. "Young Master Loyld?" he said, his voice laced with disbelief. "I think you have the wrong person. My name isn't Loyld. You better call the person you are looking for," Edward said as he struggled to get to his feet, and the man assisted him. "Are you not Edward? The biochemist who graduated from Presvile University with first-class honors last year? The one whose mom is diagnosed with kidney disease? The guy who was made to work as a mop boy in a company despite his amazing qualifications? And also, the one whose wife cheated on him with an influential man?" the man said, and Edward stared at him, shocked, as he wondered where someone of such repute or position must have known him from. Maybe it was him they were looking for. "Excuse me, have we met before? How do
"Young Master Loyld, I know you must be really surprised to see me like this. This was the reason why I didn't come to you myself. I was diagnosed with this sickness ten years ago. And that's why I avoided coming to you because the sickness is rapidly contagious," Mr. Lakes spoke through the pipe that was connected to his throat, and his voice was magnified on a small speaker sitting on the nightstand next to him. "What kind of sickness is this?" Edward asked, surprised. "It's called a Spirogyra virus. The name is gotten through the green and sticky nature of the sickness. You get a symptom of part of your body turning green in color. It starts from the heart and spreads to the whole body. It usually takes 3 months for it to completely spread to the whole body, and if this happens, the victim would die at this stage," Mr. Lakes said and motioned to Donald to come take off the cloth covering him. Edward flinched in shock seeing Mr. Lakes' bare body almost covered with the green colo
It had been a week since Edward came into possession of the great formula book. He had read extensively from its unending chapters, and his knowledge of the world of medicine had expanded tremendously. He delved deeply into the section on the spirogyra virus, working through the chemical formulas in the book to find a solution. Eventually, he did. Edward actually discovered the cure for the virus, but he was continuously surprised by the different formulas for various viruses and diseases he had never heard of. It made him wonder about the kind of mind his father had. Dr. Loyld was truly a genius.However, despite studying the book as Mr. Lakes had instructed and waiting for his freedom, a week had passed, and he still hadn't been able to use his knowledge to escape the boring prison. Everything seemed to be going as usual, and there wasn't an outbreak of the virus. At one point, he started to doubt whether everything Mr. Lakes had told him was true.He was seated in the dining area a
" What did you say?" One of the nurses wanted Edward to repeat what he said clearly."I said it's a spirogyra virus. A kind of virus that decapitates your whole body and makes you become vegetables," Edward repeated. Everyone in the dining hall, both doctors and prisoners, exchanged glances in confusion."A spirogyra what? Ha! You are no biochemist, just a cheap liar," the doctor said."It's a new virus and you wouldn't know about it. But only I can cure it if you give me the opportunity," Edward said, and the nurses hissed at him." .tsk... let's take him to the medical center," the nurses prepared to take Marcus away but they were stopped by the Black Vipers who protested."No, you can't take our boss elsewhere. Y'all are gonna treat him here for us all to see," the Black Vipers protested."We have to. It's important.""No, we don't trust you guys. Do the treatments for us here to see, or better still, we, the Black Vipers, will follow you into the emergency ward until you are done
"Martin, it's okay, don't hold our hero like that," Marcus said, standing up from his seat. Martin released his grip on Edward with a frown."Bro, you don't need to get angry about that. Your friends can join us," Marcus said to Edward, putting a hand on his shoulder. He motioned to Martin, who sighed and reluctantly left, returning moments later with Rodney and Junior to have breakfast with the Black Vipers.Junior and Rodney arrived, looking scared, their eyes darting between Marcus and Edward cluelessly. They didn't know why they were invited until Marcus explained."You both should join us for breakfast," Marcus said. It sounded like a setup to them, and they didn't believe it until Edward nodded in agreement."It's fine. There's no trouble," Edward said, and they both had a seat. Rodney and Junior stared agape at the exquisite meal on the table in front of them. Since they came to prison, this was the first time they would be having such a meal."Eat as you like, there is plenty.
Edward fully understood what Marcus Santosh was talking about regarding protection in the prison. He looked at the prison yard and could see various gang groups, most of whom were stealing glances at him. The Black Vipers weren't the only gang that bullied in the prison; there were many. The difference was that the Black Vipers were the biggest and the most feared. Linking up with them would give him protection. He wasn't ready to be an object of bullying.With his mind made up, Edward said to Santosh, "I agree to be part of you guys. You scratch my back, and I scratch yours. But I will want my friends to join too.""No problem. If you are with us, your friends are with us. No one would even dare think of hurting you while you're with us. You made the best choice for you and your friends, and the Black Vipers accept you," Marcus Santosh said and smiled at Edward.With this, they walked back to the dining hall together while Marcus showed Edward around the prison on their way. He showe