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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116. Dinner Date
"Hi.""Hi, do I know you? You look kinda familiar.""Me? Oh I don't think so. I've lived here all my life.""Oh… then you're not the one. My bad.""Not at all. You're the wife of the man who lives down at the beach house, right?"Ivy was surprised because she didn't know who the other lady was, or how she knew who she was. "Um … yeah?""There's no need to look so concerned. I live around and I love going to the beach a lot. I've seen you and your… husband?..." Ivy nodded and she smiled. "Okay. I've seen you two around a couple of times.""Oh okay. Nice to meet you.""Same here. The reason I approached you today was because I wanted to be friends. I've been thinking about the right way to go about it but nothing seemed right so…""It's totally fine. We can be friends. It would be nice to have at least one friend before I leave.""Leave?""Yeah. My husband and I are just here for our honeymoon.""Ah, then I guess I should have approached you much more earlier.""Hehe. It's fine. We can
115. The Visit
Everyone froze when he said that. Immediately, Van turned to Ivy, he had no idea she had been looking for her parents. It made him feel like an incompetent husband for not knowing something so crucial about the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Chris had a smile on his face. Ivy was hooked, he could see that and he was enjoying it. He mentally gave himself a pat on the shoulder for opting for the background check. "What is he talking about?" Macy was the first to speak. "Mom knows your parents, so why are you looking for them?""No-no. It's not that. See, after my mother passed away, I spent a few years with a nice couple before my grandparents took me in. I haven't seen them since and I was hoping I could find them." She explained. "Well my dear, your search has officially come to an end.""How did you know she was looking for her parents?" Van asked. He knew there was no way Ivy would say something so important about her to Chris, especially since she didn't eve
114. The Punishment
According to Van's plan, Macy was to invite Jasper out with Ivy to celebrate their engagement, and the trio would go to a near by bar. The plan was to get him drunk, then Macy would steal his other girlfriend's phone number and send all the pictures to her with the hope that it'll be enough to save her from falling a victim to Jasper's wicked schemes. "Baby, this was supposed to be a secret but, I have decided to get you that sports car you've always wanted, as an engagement gift."When Macy said that, Jasper's eyes widened in surprise, then for some reason he glanced at Ivy, as if to check if she was okay with it. Ivy, who knew Macy was only lying to make Jasper more excited, pretended like she was surprised, but she didn't object to it. "I think you're going to have to give her something as well Jasper, or are you going to let a woman defeat you?" She said in a cheerful tone. Feeling relieved that she didn't say anything about it, Jasper laughed heartily. Finally, things were go
113. Background Check
"What did you say?" "Yes. It was very surprising to me at first. I think it was about two weeks ago, I received a call from a really nice sounding man– and young too!-- and he said he was interested in buying my hotel.""Just one guy? That's impossible!""Exactly! Or at least that was what I thought at first too. But then I told him the price I had in mind and the next thing I knew, he had made the payment.""Who is this person?""He said his name was Dev or so. Yes it was. He made the payment at once. I didn't even think there was someone wealthy enough to make a transfer of such a huge amount of money at once. Very impressive, I would like to do business with him again very soon."Moses could hardly believe what he was hearing. The Zion hotel had been in existence for almost ten years, and the owner had always been Ellis Graham. Before he became the owner, the Zion hotel was known as Heaven On Earth hotel and suites, and it was jointly owned by three brothers. The stories goes th
112. The Plan
"Have you told mom yet?""No.""Andrew?""No.""So, something like this happened, and rather than actually talking to your mother about it, you grabbed your boyfriend and hopped on a plane here.""Yes.""Are you serious right now?""Hey, don't forget that I'm your older sister.""Oh wow, why don't we just leave you to take care of yourself then. My older sister is so smart and she definitely doesn't need her younger brother or his wife looking out for her.""No! That's not what I meant. Sorry."He sighed as he sat next to her. "I'm sorry things didn't work out the way you wanted it to. I know how terrible it must be for you to be betrayed like that." His experience with Bianca was something that would have scarred him for life, if it wasn't for the fact that he had Ivy and their kids around him, so he could understand his sister's feelings. "So? What do you want to do?""I want to punish him. I know that if I get the police involved, it won't solve anything because you can't arrest yo
111. Terminated
Van Everest, a hardened criminal or a victim of society?Moses scoffed as he read the headline of the new article posted by The Fisherman. "What the hell is with these two?!" He hated feeling like he was at a dead end, and he had been feeling that way for a while because of the articles. A young man who only wanted to live his life with the woman of his dreams. If only he knew the hard lesson the cruel society had instored for him. As he kept reading, Moses could feel himself getting more angry. He desperately wanted to know the identity of the publisher. In the last article, he posted that Van's ex fiancee regretted her actions and went to seek forgiveness at his wedding, with the hopes that his feelings for her would be rekindled but she was disappointed when she was denied entry into the venue, and she made a fool of herself. Now the new article –which was only a few hours old – claimed that both he and his fiancee, along with their entire families were villains. While Van was
111. Terminated
Van Everest, a hardened criminal or a victim of society?Moses scoffed as he read the headline of the new article posted by The Fisherman. "What the hell is with these two?!" He hated feeling like he was at a dead end, and he had been feeling that way for a while because of the articles. A young man who only wanted to live his life with the woman of his dreams. If only he knew the hard lesson the cruel society had instored for him. As he kept reading, Moses could feel himself getting more angry. He desperately wanted to know the identity of the publisher. In the last article, he posted that Van's ex fiancee regretted her actions and went to seek forgiveness at his wedding, with the hopes that his feelings for her would be rekindled but she was disappointed when she was denied entry into the venue, and she made a fool of herself. Now the new article –which was only a few hours old – claimed that both he and his fiancee, along with their entire families were villains. While Van was
109. The Hotel
SIX HOURS AGO. Van was walking back to his hotel room when a pregnant woman suddenly bumped into him. "Oh my, I'm so sorry.""No ma'am, it's okay. I should have been more careful." Van replied kindly, even though it wasn't his fault. He gave her a small nod and started to walk away when she called out to him. "Um excuse me?""Yes ma'am?" From the way she looked, Van guessed she would be in her late twenties or probably early thirties. But either way, he was sure he was older than she was. The reason for his polite attitude was because Van had always accorded more respect to women that were pregnant. "You look like someone I know, I apologize for delaying you but, are you from New Jersey?""Uh no ma'am, I'm not.""Really? Then it's probably not you. I'm sorry for bothering you.""Not at all. Then, have a good day." He gave another small nod and walked away. ★★★"I've confirmed it myself Chris, Van isn't staying at the house presently," Sandra reported as she took off her wig and
108. A Psycho's Confession
"C-chris? What are you doing here?""Isn't it obvious my darling? I came here to check up on you. Besides, I wanted to apologize for frightening you back at the club the other night. That was not what I had in mind.""How did you know where I live?""Don't mind that, I can find anyone and any place as long as it's here. You seem to be forgetting that this is my territory." He strolled into the living room, looking around like he was accessing the place. "Not bad. But if you were with me, I'd get you a house ten times bigger and better than this one." He said with a confident grin. "Go away."He frowned at her. "My love, are you still angry at me? Honest, I never meant to scare you." He took small steps towards her as he spoke. "Stay away from me you psycho. Get out now before I call the cops.""The cops? Don't make me laugh honey. No one can arrest me, and even if they dare to, my father will just get me out, and I'll come right back to you. There really is no need for this to be d
