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From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 178. Elias
Flashback Two years earlier.The rain had been relentless that night—cold, insistent, and loud enough to mask the sound of approaching footsteps.Elias Grant stood alone in his office at JK Enterprises, the screen of his laptop casting a soft glow across his face. Financial reports, transaction logs, security footage timestamps—all of it laid bare in front of him. He had finally seen enough.He had been CFO for six years. Long enough to earn the family's trust, long enough to know which stones not to turn. But curiosity was a dangerous thing.Especially in a family like the Wilsons.The numbers hadn’t added up for months. Offshore payments disguised as consulting fees. A Cayman shell company with a fake board. Richard Wilson’s name never appeared directly—but his fingerprints were all over the transactions.Elias had started to put together a private dossier. He never told Ivy. Not yet. She was too close, too vulnerable. And he didn’t trust the board—or anyone else.That night, he co
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 179. Missing
Moses sat in his office, the steady ticking of the antique clock on the wall matching the rhythm of his thoughts. He stared at the documents sprawled across his desk, none of which made any sense anymore. The Hartley meeting had been a disaster—he didn't expect things to escalate that much. But he wasn't even botherd that much by it, what he was more concerned about was the fact that since that day, Bianca had disappeared from his life like a ghost retreating into the shadows.He hadn’t seen her. He hadn’t heard from her. Not a call. Not a text. Not even one of those curt voice notes she used to send when she was annoyed with him but still too fond to stay silent. The silence was deafening, and more than anything, it was suspicious.Bianca’s parents, especially her mother, were not ones to sit back and allow things to fall apart without putting up a fight. If her mother hadn't already tried to "talk sense into her,"as she would put it,then the world had surely turned upside down."Wha
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 180. The Chase
The headlights behind them hadn’t wavered for miles. Ivy tightened her grip on the steering wheel, trying to keep her breathing steady as she turned onto a quieter side street. The car behind them turned too. Her heart skipped. Once could be coincidence. Twice… She stole a glance at the rearview mirror. The vehicle maintained a steady distance, close enough to keep them in sight, far enough not to alarm casual onlookers.“Elias, I think we’re being followed,” she said quietly. Elias immediately snapped his head toward her. “What?”“I think they’ve been on us since the main highway. I tried to shake them a few turns back, but they’re still there.” she explained. His face drained of color. He ran a hand through his hair, fingers trembling. “It’s them. It has to be. Ivy, if they catch us—”“They won’t,” she said firmly, although her voice cracked on the last word. She pulled the car over and let a black SUV speed past—only to have it slow down a block ahead and pull over too. Confirmed
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 01. Released From Prison
The state Prison was located deep in the heart of the city, situated on an island about two hundred meters away from land. It was a facility with maximum security meant for only the worst of the worst. No visitors were allowed, and the inmates were hardly allowed to see the sunlight. It was like Alcatraz, but way worse! At that moment, an elevator had risen to the cell on the top floor. The elevator doors opened slowly, revealing a tall man with an intimidating look on his face. The chief warder. The man was as ruthless as he was fearsome. He stepped out of the elevator and walked into the hall, stopping in front of a cell. "Everest! You're free to go." His coarse voice echoed through out the silent hall. He opened the door and a slender– almost skinny looking –man walked out. "Congratulations. Once you step out of those big gates, you're a free man." Van only acknowledged the man's words with a small nod. If he wanted to, he would have gotten out of prison ages ago. Afte
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 02. A Backstabbing Lover
The loud bang at the door startled the couple on the bed. The man quickly hid his bare body underneath the blanket, and the women, behind her partner. "Who the hell are you? And how dare you barge into m bedroom without any form of curtsey?" He demanded in an angry tone. “You promised to wait for me. You said you would wait for fifteen years, and yet you do this… and in such a little time too.” Van clenched his fists so tightly that his nails tore through the skin of his palm. He felt his blood boil and his nerves were consumed with rage. “Van?” Bianca exclaimed in disbelief. He looked nothing like the Van that was arrested five years ago. He was much smaller, and paler.“You’re back? How?!” Van's lips curled upward into a bitter smile as he recognized the man that was in bed with his wife. "Really Bianca? You're with this a*shole? After what he did to you?" Moses seemed to regain his composure when he realized that it was Van and not some intruder that had broken in. He sat up
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 03. The Debt
With the help of his personal chauffer, Van was finally able to locate his mother's house. His heart sank in his chest when he saw the old, beat up house his mother lived in. When Van was arrested, he felt he didn't have much to worry about, since he had already bought a house he would live in with his wife after their wedding. And Bianca came from a good home, so he thought his mother would get by just fine. However, if Bianca had been unfaithful right from the onset, he wondered how his mother's life would have been for the whole five years he was gone. "Mom, I'm so sorry you had to live such a tough life because of me." He muttered to himself. "I swear I'm going to make it all better." Remembering Bianca and Moses, he clenched his fists tightly and his lips was pulled together tightly. He couldn't just let them get away with their actions just like that. At that moment, he saw a woman parking her electric bicycle just outside the gate. She was wearing a helmet, and appear
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 04. A Warning
Van felt disgusted by the Wilson family. Sending him to fifteen years in prison wasn't enough, they had to be compensated as well? "My question still stands. How much?" He said with a frown. "They demanded a sum of four hundred grand. Your wife was so generous, she offered to pay half of it by using her house, and your mother was supposed to raise the rest, but everytime we come to collect, all she gives us is f*ucking change! We're not beggars you know." Four hundred thousand, if Bianca really wanted to pay for the compensation, the cost of the house would have covered it. Since he bought it for five hundred thousand. "How much has my mother paid so far?" "It's really pitiful because your mother hasn't been able to raise up to forty grand in the space of five years. The Wilsons are already tired of receiving change, they want the rest of their money." "Well at least the son is back from prison now," one of the henchmen said, eyeing Van. "He can help her with the payment, unle
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 05. Home.
As 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 fr
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180. The Chase
The headlights behind them hadn’t wavered for miles. Ivy tightened her grip on the steering wheel, trying to keep her breathing steady as she turned onto a quieter side street. The car behind them turned too. Her heart skipped. Once could be coincidence. Twice… She stole a glance at the rearview mirror. The vehicle maintained a steady distance, close enough to keep them in sight, far enough not to alarm casual onlookers.“Elias, I think we’re being followed,” she said quietly. Elias immediately snapped his head toward her. “What?”“I think they’ve been on us since the main highway. I tried to shake them a few turns back, but they’re still there.” she explained. His face drained of color. He ran a hand through his hair, fingers trembling. “It’s them. It has to be. Ivy, if they catch us—”“They won’t,” she said firmly, although her voice cracked on the last word. She pulled the car over and let a black SUV speed past—only to have it slow down a block ahead and pull over too. Confirmed
179. Missing
Moses sat in his office, the steady ticking of the antique clock on the wall matching the rhythm of his thoughts. He stared at the documents sprawled across his desk, none of which made any sense anymore. The Hartley meeting had been a disaster—he didn't expect things to escalate that much. But he wasn't even botherd that much by it, what he was more concerned about was the fact that since that day, Bianca had disappeared from his life like a ghost retreating into the shadows.He hadn’t seen her. He hadn’t heard from her. Not a call. Not a text. Not even one of those curt voice notes she used to send when she was annoyed with him but still too fond to stay silent. The silence was deafening, and more than anything, it was suspicious.Bianca’s parents, especially her mother, were not ones to sit back and allow things to fall apart without putting up a fight. If her mother hadn't already tried to "talk sense into her,"as she would put it,then the world had surely turned upside down."Wha
178. Elias
Flashback Two years earlier.The rain had been relentless that night—cold, insistent, and loud enough to mask the sound of approaching footsteps.Elias Grant stood alone in his office at JK Enterprises, the screen of his laptop casting a soft glow across his face. Financial reports, transaction logs, security footage timestamps—all of it laid bare in front of him. He had finally seen enough.He had been CFO for six years. Long enough to earn the family's trust, long enough to know which stones not to turn. But curiosity was a dangerous thing.Especially in a family like the Wilsons.The numbers hadn’t added up for months. Offshore payments disguised as consulting fees. A Cayman shell company with a fake board. Richard Wilson’s name never appeared directly—but his fingerprints were all over the transactions.Elias had started to put together a private dossier. He never told Ivy. Not yet. She was too close, too vulnerable. And he didn’t trust the board—or anyone else.That night, he co
177. War
The boardroom at Greyson & Co. was sleek, minimalistic, and designed to intimidate. Floor-to-ceiling windows bathed the space in cold, natural light. Ivy sat at one end of the long, black marble table, dressed in soft gray—neutral, calm, disarming. Van sat beside her, hands clasped, playing the role of her financial advisor. Across from them were three representatives from the prospective buyer, Sondrix Ventures. They were everything she expected—sharp suits, sharper smiles. Eager. Confident. Completely unaware they were walking into a house of cards. “We’re excited about the potential here,” said Miranda Kane, Sondrix’s lead negotiator. “JK Enterprises has history, brand equity, and assets in motion. We think we can scale it within six months.” Ivy gave a polite smile. “I’m sure you can. I just don’t have the heart for it anymore.” Van stepped in smoothly. “Ms. Wilson is transitioning into private ventures. She’s agreed to stay on for a brief handover—thirty days, limited invo
176. New Plan
Ivy sat at the head of the table, her fingers interlocked as she stared down at the folder Elias had placed in front of her. The room was quiet, thick with tension, like the moment before a storm breaks. Van leaned against the wall, arms crossed, while Ivy’s aunt sat beside her, eyes locked on Elias. No one quite trusted him yet—not fully—but the truth he carried was too valuable to ignore. “This,” Elias said, tapping the folder, “is everything I’ve collected in the last two years. Bank statements, shell company registrations, falsified contracts. All of it leads back to Richard Wilson and, unfortunately, to other family members—some dead, some still very much alive.” Ivy hesitated before opening it. The last time she’d opened a file like this, it had nearly gotten her killed. “This isn't just about your company, madam Ivy,” Elias continued. “Richard’s reach was broader than you think. He used Wilson Enterprises as a laundering hub—for dirty money, offshore investments, even human
175. Unexpected Face
Ivy explained to her aunt that she had discovered an embezzlement scheme within her company—one that led directly back to their own family. Her voice trembled as she spoke of the financial records she’d uncovered, the falsified invoices, the offshore accounts... and how, to her disbelief, her own grandmother and uncle were tangled in the corruption. What began as a quiet suspicion had grown into a storm of secrets. Ivy recounted the long nights, the whispers, the close calls. She told her aunt how she had nearly died—more than once—while chasing the truth. Someone hadn’t wanted her to find it. Her aunt listened in silence, her face pale but unreadable. When Ivy finally stopped speaking, there was a long pause. “The Wilson family,” her aunt said slowly, “has always had its darkness. But I never thought it ran this deep.” Ivy sat back, exhausted. Her hands trembled as she held her glass of water, trying to steady her nerves. Her aunt continued, her voice low and brittle with memory.
174. An Aunt??
Two days had passed since Ivy’s conversation with Van, and in that time, she had made a decision. The weight of it pressed down on her chest, but it felt necessary. She had to rid herself of the past, of the memory, of the complication. Van had told her to trust him, that things would get better, that she had a chance to start anew. At first, the idea had terrified her, but now it seemed like the only path forward. She was ready. Ready to take control of her life. When she walked into Van's office that morning, her expression was determined. He had been going over some papers, his focus entirely on the documents in front of him. He had not been expecting her. "I’m ready," she said simply, her voice steady. There was no hesitation in her words. “Ivy hey,” he raised his head from his work and smiled at her. He didn't have to ask before he understood what she meant by her statement. “You sure?” “Fairly.” He chuckled slightly at her response. He knew it wasn't easy to let go of some
173. A Hard Decision
Ivy paced back and forth in her dimly lit bedroom, her mind racing as the weight of the past few weeks pressed down on her. The soft hum of the city outside her window did little to soothe her nerves. It was late—too late—but sleep had become a stranger to her. Her mind kept returning to the same thoughts: the endless trail of deceit, the shocking revelations about the company she had worked so hard to build, and the people who had manipulated her life from the shadows.She had thought the detective's advice to stay home was logical at first, but now, in the silence of her room, it felt suffocating. How could she sit here, in the safety of her home, when everything around her seemed to be falling apart? There was a gnawing sense of guilt deep inside her, as if by hiding, she was putting her family in more danger. She should be doing something —anything— beyond waiting. But what? The police had their hands tied, and the deeper she dug, the more dangerous the situation became. The web
172. The Comment
The family meeting ended terribly, with Moses's father kicking them out like they were beggars. “I want nothing to do with the Hartley family ever again!” He had declared in a loud voice. Bianca's parents complained and criticized her all the way home but she was less concerned. It was for the best. That was what kept ringing in her head. It was good the way things ended, after all she had never loved Moses, and since he said he was done with their relationship, she might as well find someone else who would be willing to spoil her the way she wanted. Then there was also Van. Bianca refused to believe that his feelings for her had vanished completely. That was impossible. What they had was different from a regular relationship, even though they hadn't tied the knot, they were already acting like a married couple. Van was always telling her how much he loved her and that he would do anything for her…and to some extent, he actually did. If only she had just left things the way they
