Jason sat in the holding cell, the cold metal bench digging into his back as he awaited his arraignment. His thoughts were a whirl of anxiety and anger. The more he thought of the events of the previous night and the evidence against him, the clearer it became to him that he was set up. He began to pick apart the events with himself.“William mentioned my enemy meeting his requirements,” he began. “That was obviously Stefan. Which means he was expecting something from Stefan. He was blackmailing Stefan, wasn't he?” Jason asked himself, then answered, “Yes of course. He had to be. So Stefan actually had a motive to get rid of him.”The door opened, interrupting Jason’s vocal thinking. “Talking to yourself already Grey? The crazy usually sets in after the hearing” the guard mocked him “Well when I talk to your detectives they don’t seem to listen to reason” Jason spat ”It's time for the hearing,” the guard scoffed.Jason nodded, and the guard escorted Jason down the dimly lit hallway
Jason’s mind swirled with a maelstrom of emotions as the judge’s gavel fell and the bailiff’s voice rang out, “Court is adjourned.” The guards moved in to escort him back to the holding cell, their firm grips on his arms jolting him from his stunned stupor. He felt as if he were moving through a thick fog, each step heavy with disbelief and dread.This was happening again? Wrongfully imprisoned again? Set up again? Jason kept repeating it in his head.His heart pounded in his chest, threatening to leap out of it. The courtroom around him blurred, the faces of Serena, the judge, and the guards all merging into a sea of faded eyes. He was vaguely aware of Serena gathering her papers with a look of determined frustration, but her movements seemed distant and detached from his immediate reality.As they led him down the hallway, Jason felt himself slip into a dissociative state once again, his mind retreating to a place of numbness. He couldn’t believe this was happening. The memories of
“Okay, thank you for letting me know.” Amelia nodded with her phone pressed to her ear."Anytime,” Reuben said from the other end of the call.Amelia hung up and let out a deep sigh as she scraped her hands through her hair. “I can’t believe this; they denied him bail.”As Amelia sat in her office with dozens of papers in front of her desks and calls from the press about the night before, There was a lot of damage control to do, but all she could worry about at that moment was Jason.Three knocks on her office door jolted her out of her thoughts. “Come in,” she said.The door creaked open, and Victoria walked in. The clinking sound of her heels on the tile floor seemed amplified due to the radio silence in the offices.“Good morning,” Victoria said under her breath as she sat in the chair facing Amelia.Amelia cleared her throat. "Morning,” she replied.“I know everything that happened last night must’ve not been easy." Victoria started, and under the table, she began to fiddle with t
“From the looks of it, he was denied bail, no?” Victoria’s voice emanated from her phone speaker. “Yes,” Amelia answered. Roland grinned from ear to ear, then stopped the recording of "Perfect.” Victoria sat there and watched him enjoy every second of Jason’s suffering. She wanted to scream at him, curse him out, and remove him from her life forever, but she couldn’t. At that moment, the person she envied most was Franklin. Even though he was currently in a physical jail, he had the courage to free himself from the mental and emotional prison of blackmail. courage that Victoria did not possess, and she despised herself for it. “Don’t look all sad; you’ve done well,” Roland said. He reached out his hand to caress her cheek, but she dodged it like it was a virus. Roland simply laughed; he used to. and even amused by her rejection. “But you sounded so nervous. If you’re going to keep being my little agent, you’ll have to be more subtle when recording conversations.” “I’m not doing
Kent paced back and forth in the dimly lit warehouse, the musty smell of old machinery filling the air. He glanced at his watch, impatience growing with each passing minute. Since he had been hiding from Anatoly, he hated staying in one spot for too long. The sound of a car pulling up outside interrupted his thoughts. He straightened, expecting to see Roland’s familiar face. Instead, his heart sank as the warehouse door creaked open, revealing Roland with a look of terror in his eyes. Behind him, Anatoly emerged, a gun pressed firmly against Roland’s back. “Anatoly” Kent breathed out as he subconsciously backed away. “Really Rivers? A warehouse? If I knew that you'd be so basic with your hiding place, then I would've found you much sooner." Anatoly laughed as he walked into the warehouse, still trailing Roland with the gun. “Too bad for you; there isn't a hole you could hide in that I wouldn't be able to find.” “Anatoly, I know that." Kent started struggling to find the words t
Kent and Roland struggled to their feet, wincing from the pain that Anatoly’s attacks caused. Even though the pain from the assault was still fresh, they quickly rose to their feet as they couldn’t afford to waste any more time.Kent rubbed the back of his head, feeling the tender spot where Anatoly had struck him. “That bastard sure loves to make a scene,” he mumbled. “How are you sure that we can get Mr. Harrington on our side?” he asked, his voice tinged with desperation.“It’s obvious. You did a good job getting on his good side these past few weeks. Besides, you should’ve seen him this morning. He’s anxious about the whole situation.” He assured Kent Z. “He’s actually been looking for you." Roland added a lie at the end to boost Kent’s ego. Roland hated Kent’s ego most of the time, but he knew that once it was inflated, he could do almost anything. It was like a superpower of his, and now more than ever, they needed it.Kent’s eyes widened in surprise. “He’s looking for me?” His
Kent left Mr. Harrington’s office grinning from ear to ear and went straight to Roland’s office.“Did he agree?” Roland asked.“Would I be smiling like a fool if he didn’t?” Kent answered. “The meeting will be holding soon, so go and make sure that Victoria is going to be as compliant as she always is.”Roland mirrored Kent’s grin. “That’s good. Very good.” He got up from his seat and walked out of his office and to Victoria’s in record time.Roland opened the door to Victoria’s office and plopped down into the. hair in front of her like he owned the office.Victoria’s eyes narrowed into slits, and she felt a pit form in her stomach. "Roland, please, haven’t I done enough today?” She pleaded, “What else do you want?”“You better lose that tone because very soon I'll be the vice president,“ Roland grinned.Victoria couldn’t stop herself from scoffing. “Really? You think Jason would make you his vice?”“Who’s talking about Grey? He would’ve been smart enough to, but Kent would,” Roland
As the shareholders filed out of the meeting room, the tension in the air was palpable. Victoria trailed behind the others, her face flushed with anger. She felt the pit in her stomach grow wider once again. She thought of what Franklin would think of her if he knew what she did.“I’m absolutely pathetic,” she murmured to herself. Now that she thought of it, it was for the best that Amelia wasn’t present during the meeting to see her be weak and vote for Kent once again.She felt like a traitor. Like she was betraying Franklin, betraying Amelia, and betraying Jason. But most of all, she felt as though she was betraying herself. Each time she let Roland do what he pleased and get his way, and each time she did his bidding, she lost a part of herself, and she knew that sooner rather than later, he would pick away at the final piece of herself and leave her with absolutely nothing.A shiver went down her spine at the thought. At that moment all she wanted to do was run away and hide fro