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
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 11. A Golden Card?!
"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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143. The Restaurant
Bianca stormed into the restaurant, her eyes scanning the room for the familiar face. She spotted him sitting alone by the window, sipping a drink. He beared only a little resemblance to the man she knew for all those years. It was still hard for Bianca to believe that he was the man she would have been married to. Her heart racing, she marched towards him."It's been a while."Van looked up, a blank expression on his face as his eyes locking onto Bianca's. For a moment, he just stared at her, wondering what she wanted and how she even knew where he was. "Bianca," Van said, his voice calm and collected. "What brings you here?""You know exactly why I'm here," she replied in a cold and unfriendly tone. "I do?""I hope you're not getting any ideas running around in that head of yours, what happened was a huge mistake, and it won't repeat itself. So don't go thinking you're special or anything like that."Van was almost certain he knew what she was talking about but he didn't want to
142. The Confrontation
"Van Everest?"Van paused and turned too see the person who called out to him. "Do I know you?" He asked, still scanning the stranger staring at him. "Not at all. But I know all about you." He replied, a calm smile on his face. "I think you must have me mixed up with someone else." Whatever he claimed to know about him, he didn't want to know. "No I'm pretty sure I have the right person. Van Daniel Everest, you're married to Ivy Wilson. You recently returned from Hawaii with your wife. Currently you live on Venus island with your family. You were sentenced to prison for attempted murder, but you got out early. Should I go on?"Van paused but didn't turn back to face the stranger. If he knew about all that, then Van suspected that he might know about his secret assets as well, and that was probably his reason for approaching him. "Does the name Dev ring a bell?"So he did know. Van slowly turned to face him, but he didn't have any expression on his face. The last thing he wanted w
141. The Condition
"What?""You heard what I said. If you want to remain as the CEO of the company, I want you to pack your bags and leave this house with immediate effect.""I'm sorry grandma, but that can't be possible.""Are you trying to defy my orders?""I would never dream of that. But grandma, this is my life we're talking about here. I already have kids, two beautiful children! Grandma, I'm pregnant!How can you ask me to just pack my bags and leave?That's not possible.""Then are you ready to tender your resignation letter?""That is also an unfair request to make of me. This company we're talking about here was my mother's and my grandfather's. It's the only thing i have left from both of them, and now you're asking me to give it up?For how many years have I been running this company? For more than five years, I have put my sweat and effort into making this company a success. Without me, the company would have never excelled up to this extent. But if you feel that I'm no longer needed as th
140. The Visit
That morning, when Ivy's grandmother said she was coming over to their place for an urgent discussion, Van wondered what she would tell him. Ivy was trying to convince him that he had nothing to be bothered about because she wasn't going to leave him no matter what she said. When she arrived, she refused to say anything to Ivy and instead focused all her attention on Van. "I am yet to accept you as a son in law of the Wilson family." She said firmly, a rigid expression on her face. "If I'm being completely honest with you ma'am, I have no intention of becoming a son in law of the Wilson family.""Oh? Then what do you want with my baby girl?""I want her.""To want her, you have to want to become a member of her family. Otherwise what you want is fleeting.""I'm going to have to disagree with you on that. I don't want to become a part of the Wilson family, and I don't think I ever will. But it doesn't mean that I'm not serious about my intentions with Ivy. I love your granddaugh
139. Exposed
"Are you fucking kidding me?!! After two whole weeks of searching, you're trying to tell me you weren't able to find anything?!""Dude, calm down. I haven't called off the investigation yet, all I'm saying is that this guy is very private with all of his doings. I'm not telling you it's impossible, I'm telling you to be patient.""Be patient for how long? I need answers NOW!" "And I'm going to get them for you. So stopped calling me into your office every two days and scolding like I'm your teenage son who's not doing his homework." The only reason Greg was allowed to talk to Moses like that was because of the friendship between them. Otherwise his job would be as good as gone. What brought about the heated conversation was the same issue he and Moses had been fighting over for the last two weeks. Dev. Moses was hell bent on uncovering the identity of whoever he was, and as usual, the job was given to him. Now Greg wasn't complaining, he was more than used to jobs like that. The p
138. Victory
When Ivy and Van called Chris's cousin, she wasted no time in posting a video online. She apologized to her fans and all those who had been anticipating her visit. She said as much as she would love to come down to the town, she was feeling unsafe as a woman continued to threaten to harm her in many ways. She even went an extra mile and said that the woman, Cassandra M that lived in her hometown-which she had the plan of visiting that week- said she would make sure she regretted the day she was born if she stepped foot at the Hawaiian airport. So as much as she hated to disappoint her fans and family, she had to prioritize her safety. Sandra sat at the cafe, watching the news with gritted teeth. "That bitch!" She slammed her fist on the table. "How dare she? When did I ever threaten her safety?" She chugged down the rest of her coffee, thinking about how she was going to deal with the situation. She wanted to make her pay for saying such a thing on social media, and she didn't even
137. The Plan
The next morning, after they had breakfast, Van and Ivy decided that it was time to start packing up. Judging by the way he handled the issue the last time, the couple guessed that it would take nothing more than two or three days to iron out the issue since they were getting inspector Dan involved, so hopefully by Friday or Saturday, they would hop on a plane and head back home. Van took Ivy to get checked at a hospital, she said she was feeling fine, but he just wanted to take extra measures. He explained what happened to the doctor about her attack, and how she felt. A proper test was conducted to determine the specific age of the baby, and how her body was reacting to it. All in all, Ivy was healthy, and so was the baby, but the result of the test would be out in a day, so they were to go back the next day. By the time they were done, it was already past twelve, so the couple decided to head to the police station. It was better to be early than to be late as Ivy had always sai
136. An Attack
While he was on his run, Van bumped into Cassie. She was dressed like she had also gone out for an evening stroll, but Van saw it a little too convenient to be just a coincidence. He had spotted her from afar and intentionally made a detour just so he could avoid her, but somehow she managed to catch up with him. Remembering Boyd's advice to stay clear from all of hem, Van increased his speed by a little but he didn't act like he saw her. To make sure he was passing his message clear enough to her, he took out his earpiece, even though he wasn't listening to any song. He kept on going at a steady pace, still aware that she was behind him. If he didn't say anything, maybe she would give up and just leave. He recalled that he had promised Ivy he wouldn't be gone long, and if he stuck to that strategy, he would have to run longer that he had promised. He came to a stop and started to stretch, and he noticed that just a few feet away, Cassie had done the same. He decided that he wo
135. The Shot
Flashback.Jasper woke up with a splitting headache, he couldn't remember what had happened the night before, and he was having a hard time getting his bearings.He looked around and noticed that he was seated outside a bar. "Ugh my head," he groaned as he tried to get up. "What happened?" There was no one to answer his question, so he just managed to drag himself up to his feet and practically staggered back to the Airbnb he was staying at with Macy. As he walked through the reception, he noticed that the women there were staring at him awkwardly, but thinking it to be just in his head, Jasper didn't pay much attention to it. He got in the elevator and headed up to the floor their place was. He turned the knob and the door came open with ease. So Macy was inside, that was good. He slumped on the bed, feeling exhausted even when he hadn't done anything. "Macy? Where are you?"When he didn't get any reply, he sat up and called for her again. Same thing. He took out his phone to c
