2024-08-10 00:29:15As Van made his way back to the house, he discovered that his mother had gone out to the gate to look around for him because she was worried that something might have happened to him. As soon as she saw spotted him on his way back, she immediately walked over with a worried face and held his hand while asking hurriedly, “Are you alright, dear? They didn’t hurt you, did they?” She examined his body, checking everywhere to see if he was hurt.
Van felt his heart grow warm and he smiled at his mother, who was standing a feet shorter than he was. “Don’t worry, Mom. They didn’t hurt me. I took them to an ATM and withdrew the balance for them. They won’t be bothering us anymore for money.” “Really?" She exclaimed, then asked. "You’re not lying to me, are you? Where did you even get such a huge amount of money? We're talking about more than a hundred thousand!” She was having a hard time believing that her son had that amount of money with him, especially since he had just been released from prison. "Mom, please calm down. Like I said earlier, I'm not engaged in any illegal business. I got this money thanks to someone kind I met while I was in prison. I know it's hard to believe but it's true. He gave me this credit card when I was released because he wanted to help me." Van explained, handing his mother the card. "With this card, I'll be able to pay off any debt you might have owed." Van didn't want to lie to his mother about the card, but what could he say? He received a medal and a doctor's licence for saving the president, and even got ten years cut off from his sentence. But he was supposed to keep it confidential. And in a way, the mad grandpa was the reason he was able to get out early. If the old man hadn't passed down his knowledge of medicine to him, there was no way that Van would have been able to make that antidote. “Is that so? Wow, that's a relief! I hope this kind man is blessed greatly for his kindness.” She was filled with joy when he heard the explanation her son gave. "When you can, Van, make sure you repay his kindness in the future." She adviced. “Yes, Mom, I will!” Van smiled at his mother. "You know mom, now that I'm out of prison, I'm going to make sure I give you a good life. I'm going to make up for all those time you spent working hard all by yourself." He promised. “Oh don't worry about me dear. I am glad that you got out early, but I don't need you to do anything for me. It's you I'm concerned about. I want you to make good use of this second chance that you have been given. Try to get a job so you can come back to your feet. If you do that, then I'm going to have a good life as well." She took Van's hand and stared into his eyes. "I'm sorry Bianca turned out to be a bad person, I really wanted you two to live happily together." Van noticed a look of sadness and sympathy in her eyes as she stared at him. "It's fine mom, I'm glad I got to know the kind of person she is before we got married." "I'm really sorry dear. I couldn't protect your house, and now that your back after all these years, I can't even provide anything for you. My baby is now twenty seven years old. I'm so sorry for all the birthdays you had to spend in prison. I can't even imagine what would have happened if you were given your full sentence. You would be close to forty by then and-" her voice croaked and she had years in her eyes. If Van had been gone the whole fifteen years, there was a huge possiblity that his mother would have died before his return. She was working so hard and didn't have adequate medical attention, and fifteen years was a long period for a woman like her to live alone. "Mom," he placed both hands on her shoulder, smiling down at her. "I'm back now, still pretty young, and very handsome. You don't have to worry, I'll get my life back on track before you even know it." "But I want you to remarry too! I doubt many ladies would be willing to get married to….well…" …To an ex convict. He knew what his mother was worried about. “What are you talking about? Mom, look at me, can't you see how handsome I am? Women would be lining up just to go out with me." He said with a smile. "Just you wait, I'm going to get some new clothes, get a proper haircut and even you won't recognize me anymore." While he was in prison, Van only got a hair cut three times, so his hair had grown, so long that it was resting on his shoulders. "Mom, I'm starving. What do you have to eat?" He wanted to change the subject, but he also needed food. "Right, of course dear. Why don't we head inside? You can have your bath while I run out and get you something cold to drink." She urged him inside and rushed back out. Van didn't have anything to change into, so he had to put on his old clothes after his bath. A while later, his mother returned with two cans of coke and two plates of instant noodles. The package the delivery woman had dropped earlier was soup made from vegatebles, and it had two small pieces of chicken. His mother explained to him that every three days, the delivery woman would stop by to give her a free packed meal because she sometimes part timed at their restaurant. Van was happy to be back, he had finally been given the chance to give his mother a good life.
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From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 06. Single Time Friend
"Mom," Van said after their dinner. "Do you think I should sue Bianca?" "What? Of course not! Van, the past is the past, let's just bury it and move on." His mother complained with a sour face. "You know how scary the rich can be, why would you want to mess with them again? What will make me happy is to see you living a normal life in the sociery. Going to work, or to football games with your friends, planning dates with your girlfriend. That is what I want for you." "But mom, do you really want to let them get away with what they did to us? It's not fair. I know how hard you and I had to work before we could buy that house. It was supposed to be our forever place. Am I really supposed to just turn a blind eye to the fact that it belongs to them now? And what about the money I paid for the bride price? I had never heard of paying bride price before the wedding but I did, a hundred thousand dollars! Am I supposed to just let that go too?" "I know what you mean my dear. Truth
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 07. A Promise
"You see son, after you were imprisoned, your aunts and uncles all avoided me like a plague. They said they didn't want anything to do with the mother of a delinquent son. I knew that they were only avoiding me because of the compensation we had to pay the Wilsons though." His mother had three siblings, and they were all doing well, so he had hoped that at least one of them would have lended a helping hand to his mother. "When I turned to them for assistance, they all came up with lame excuses. Your uncle Joseph wouldn't even see me at all, telling me he had traveled every single time I reached out to him. Eventually I stopped, and decided to hustle for myself. When I had given up hope, you father's old friend was the one who came to my rescue. He is also struggling and yet he managed to raise a sum of five thousand dollars to help me pay from the debt. He also makes sure to check in on me from time to time. But I haven't seen him in about three months now because he is away
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 08. Saving A Life!
"Help, my husband is having a heart attack!" A woman that looked clearly expensive cried out for help. Her husband looked like he would be in his late forties or early fifties. Next to the woman was a young girl in a suit, probably their daughter, and judging from the outfits they had on, and the expensive jewelries and accessories, it was easy to conclude that they were a rich family. Van rushed over to the man and his family, kneeling next to the woman. "Let me check him." He offered and wasted no time in examining the man's body. He was unconscious, but he had a pained expresssion on his face, almost like he had been hurt before passing out. Van checked his neck and wrist, but felt no pause. "Give me your coat now!" He ordered in a tone of urgency. "But it's expensive." The young girl complained. Ignoring her daughter's attitude, the wonan immediately rushed to the car and came back with a luxurious fur coat. "Here you go." He folded it and placed it under the man's head. "H
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 09. A Medical Wizard!
A look of surprise flashed across Elaine's eyes. She couldn't believe the young man in front of her. How could someone who looked so measerly reject the sum of two hundred thousand?She started to think that maybe she might have misjudged him. Of course, she wouldn't admit that. “Can’t you just drop that already!” She replied harshly, trying to hide her surprise.“Is that any way to talk to our new friend?" The man glared at his daughter. Then he smiled and said to Van, “I have a suggestion, young man. Since you don’t want the money, perhaps you'd allow me to buy you lunch? I have to at least do sometjing to repay you. And of course, you'll get a proper apology from my daughter."Seeing tbat the man was sincere with his request, Van decided to accept his invitation. Any more refusal and it might come off as being rude. After all, other people wouldn't even spare him a second glance and here he was, smiling at him. "Then I guess my lunch is on you.” Van said with a small smile. “Ex
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 10. The Bank
Elaine still couldn't get Van out of her head. It was still a shock that someone who looked so poor could possess such amazing skills. But something was still unclear to her. If he was such a talented man, why was he dressed like that?"Father, why do you think he was dressed like that?" She asked, looking confused. "If he's really a doctor, he should be rich right?""Well that's the thing, he might not be a doctor. Have you seen a doctor without a medical license? My guess is that he must be a scholar.""A…scholar?""Yes. Maybe he's undergoing some kind of training. You know how complicated the minds of philosophers are. No one can fully understand them, all we can do is make our guess.""But what form of training would require him to be in such an outfit?" Elaine didn't understand. "You know the Oakland neighborhood is a small one, people like us hardly ever go there. But philosophers like him might want to go undercover. They tend to bend their nature to fit whatever aspect their
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"Emigrand?" Van knew his eyes widened when she said that, but he easily covered it up with a nonchalant smirk. "Never heard of it.""What! How dare you?!"The two guards advanced towards Van, a menacing look in their eyes. The people around started to back away, even the manager stepped backwards, not wanting to get tangled in the issue. "You've got some nerve asshole, laying your filthy hand on our boss's wife. Well I'm going to make you regret it" He lunged at Van, fist first, hoping to land a blow to his face but Van easily dodged his attack. He countered it with a low kick to the knees and the guard dropped to the ground. The second guard launched a high kick aimed at Van's chest but he ducked low and punched him at the side, breaking a rib as his fist came in contact with his body. The guard cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, clutching on to his side. "Why you!" The first guard-already back on his feet- lunged himself at Van, grabbing hold of his waist in an attempt
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 12. Van Everest
“Only ten in existence? Even those with a net worth of billions might not have the privilege of owning them?!” After hearing the director, the rich woman who was still seated on the cold floor was swallowed up by fear. She felt like something had snapped in her brain and she couldn't understand what was going on anymore. But even at that, she couldn't just accept the fact that a dirty looking kid like Van that was putting on rags would have that kind of money. She pulled herself together and got up to her feet. She turned to face the director, and in her most dignified voice she could find, she said, "Surely you don't believe that this hobo here can actually posses such an enormous about of money. For all we know, the card might be a fake. Or it might just have a similar appearance?What I know is that someone like this shouldn't own something so valuable."Van frowned at the woman's statement. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean? I'm not supposed to own something like this?
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 13. Mother Of Two?!
After Van left the bank, he looked at the card in his hand and smiled. When the mad grandpa told him that he was leaving a small sum for him to use, something in his heart told him to expect a large anount, but he wasn't prepared emotionally or mentally for the amount of zeroes he saw. The amount in the account would no doubt be up to trillions. Van knew the mad grandpa was quite wealthy, after all the man was a famous scholar, he just never expected him to have such an amount of money. "Man, you sure are an interesting man." He said, smiling at the clouds. Van thought about what he wanted to do next, then remembering his lunch date with the rich man he saved earlier, he decided that his next stop was the salon. He didn't want to make a bad impression, especially since they were to meet at a luxurious hotel. Having a man like Eric on his side would have its own advantages, and he wouldn't want to mess it up. After a brief contemplation, he decided not to get rid of his long hair c
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102. Abduction
Macy wondered why Ivy was always against her doing things for Jasper. It was no secret that she was against it when she mentioned having a joint account with him as well. Could it be that she knew something she wasn't telling her?Or was she just against her relationship with him because Jasper was younger?She would have to ask her once she went back. Just as she got out of the bathroom, a tall buff man blocked her path. "Hey pretty, wanna dance?""No. Now please excuse me , I have to get back to my date." She tried to by pass him but he stopped her. "What is it?""I'm afraid you have to come with me." He ordered. "Excuse me? I don't have to do anything, now get the hell out of my way." Again when she tried to leave he stopped her. This time with something else. "Does this change your mind?" He asked in an intimidating tone as he touched her with the revolver in his hand. Macy froze up, unable to speak or do anything else. "Now that you're calm, how about we try this again. Woul
101. The Club
After the doctor did one last check on Van, he was discharged and free to go home. They packed up their things, and Van was all set to leave. Since they had concluded that Cynthia had people that were monitoring him, Ivy decided to call Boyd for help. "This is what we're going to do," he started. "Since we don't know who those people are, or where they are. Van and I are going to switch our outfits, then I'll leave with Ivy and Van heads on a separate route to the hotel he wants to stay in. That way, people would think that I'm you, and they'd follow Ivy and I.""Wow, that's actually pretty smart." Van said after Boyd was done with his explanation. "Let's just hope it works. But why don't you want to complain to the police? I mean the drug she gave Van could have hurt him badly. You even have the test results to back your claims.""You're right, but Van and I came here for honeymoon. We don't want anything complicated like a police case. Besides, we don't know where she lives, we
100. Reconciliation
"Hey,"Ivy immediately perked up as she heard his voice. "Van, hey, are you okay?""Yeah, I think so." He slowly sat up. "Were you here all night?""Oh is it morning already?" Ivy had lost track of time but she knew she had been sitting by his bed for a while. "Are you sure you're okay now?"He nodded. "Yes. My head isn't hurting anymore, and I feel okay.""That's good." she had been worried sick after he passed out the night before. "Hey, about last night –""You need your rest, we can talk about it later.""No, please hear me out."Ivy had almost forgotten about it and she didn't even feel angry anymore. But for her to completely forget about it, they needed to talk. "Okay.""Cynthia told me she could help in getting Chris to stop bothering you.""What?""I know, I know, it was stupid of me to believe her. But I just- I thought she was being sincere. Or at least I hoped she was. We went to this hotel, but we only sat by the bar. She told me that Chris hired someone to try to get b
99. The Picture
When Van came around, he was in an unfamiliar room. He quickly sat up to scan his surrounding but that was a horrible mistake. "Argh!" A sharp pain shot through his head and his entire body felt weak. He looked down and was horrified to find that he was not putting on anything. With panic shooting through him, Van quickly got off the bed and put on his clothes and he rushed out of the room. Cynthia was nowhere to be seen and Van didn't know if he was supposed to be relived or angry. He was mostly angry at himself for letting her make a fool of him. He knew that it was a bad idea to see her, his gut kept telling him that something would go wrong, but he chose to ignore it, and now he was regretting it. He couldn't recall what happened between them–if anything had happened – but he knew that there was no way that Cynthia would have such an opportunity and not do something incriminating. Probably she took a picture of him and would try to threaten him with it in the future. He wonder
98. Trouble Brewing
Cassie smiled as she stared at herself in the mirror, finally she had the perfect face she had been yearning for. Ever since that day, since that moment, she knew she would have to do everything in her power to get what she wanted, and finally, she had it. She had waihed five long years for him, and when he finally came to her, she was still never given her chance. The world was cruel to her, too cruel. Then she realized something, if she wanted to have a happy ending, she would have to make it by herself. If she didn't take charge of her life, then rather than what she wanted, life would just give her anything it felt like. Luck seemed to shine down on her when she received a call from Chris saying that he had a very important job for her, and that job turned out to be her Van. She had finally been given her chance, and there was no wayshe was going to mess it up. ★★★"Cassandra Gardner," Van repeated the name, there was something very familiar about it. Almost like he used to
96. Sandra
A FEW YEARS AGO. "Good morning Sandra, it appears we're on the same team for our project." Van said as he sat next to her. "Uh g-goo–d m-morning. I-I l-look forward to w-working with you.""Same here." "S-so I was thinking –""Hey Van! It's time to leave." "Oh okay, I'll be there in a minute." He got to his feet and smiled at her. "See you tomorrow then.""Huh? Hmm." She nodded and he walked off. As Sandra watched Van smile and joke with Bianca, she couldn't help but feel sad. She wished she was the one he was holding, she wanted to be the one he would smile at like hat. Ever since her highschool days, she never had any friends. Her parents were okay, but compared to the other students, she was poor. The only way she was able to attend such expensive highschool and university was because of the scholarship her father arranged for her. She had grown used to being the shadow in the classroom, that one person that no one else saw or interacted with, and she wasn't complaining. Sure
96. Dangerous Criminal
Van paced around his bedroom, he still couldn't get Cynthia out of his head. There was no way she had been telling the truth, right?His gut feeling kept telling him that somethimg was wrong somewhere, he just didn't know where. Could she really have turn a new leaf and was genuinely trying to help he and Ivy? But if she were, why would she go as far as begging on her knees. If he was the one trying to help someone and they insisted that they didn't need his help, there was no way he would go as far as begging them. Chances are that she would just try to do something crazy again that would no doubt get him in trouble with Ivy. But what if she was actually being sincere? What if she could actually have some information that could help them deal with Chris once and for all. Their honeymoon would end on a sweet note. Still contemplating on whether his decision was a smart one or not, Van got dressed and made his way to the spot she said to meet her. When he came to stand in front of
95. The Encounter
"Yoo hoo!" Cynthia smiled and waved at Van, trying to get his attention. Van, who had already spotted her even before she saw him, pretended like he wasn't the one she was talking to. The second he laid eyes on her, he turned and started to rush off in the opposite direction. Cynthia was never one to take no for an answer, so she started to run after him. Just as he was about to get on the bus, she caught up to him and grabbed a hold of his sleeve. "Good morning." She said with a bright smile on her face. "What do you want this time? I'm honestly sick and tired of you randomly popping up out of nowhere and making my life difficult." He had a dry expression on his face as he spoke. "Oh come on, are you still upset about last time? Well don't be. This time I actually have something important to say to you.""Yeah, just like you did the last time too. Just leave me the hell alone, and stay away from Ivy as well." He started to walk away when she spoke up. "Aren't you tired of havin
94. Desperate
"Fancy running into you here."Cynthia almost choked on her soda when she heard Sandra's voice. The voice that had swept her off her feet. The voice she had completely fallen for. The voice that made her heart tremble when she heard it. "H-hey." She managed to say. "What are you doing here all by yourself? Shouldn't you be spending time with your friends?" She didn't give Cynthia a chance to reply before she went on. "Then again, I'm sure you don't have any friends. Just like back then, you're probably still a lonely weirdo, and that's the reason you agreed to take Chris's job. To while away your time. Am I right?The beautiful but lonely Cynthia was so bored of her ordinary, uninteresting life, so she decided to become a seductress. That way you won't have to be bored, and you can make a few bucks off Chris. It's sad. I don't blame you though. I can only imagine how tough your life must be. No friends, no lover. I mean, after everything you even failed to seduce just one man. I
