Mr. Harrington walked to the head of the table and took his seat. Franklin looked at Mr. Harrington and then looked away, his heart pounding in his chest.Kent glared at Franklin, giving him a warning look. Roland did the same to Victoria, who had broken into a cold sweat because of the tension. Amelia caught the way that Kent looked at Franklin and shook her head, cupping her face in her hands.As for Jason, he felt like there was no worry or anxiety left in him. He leaned back in his chair, getting comfortable.“Okay, we will start voting from right to left. Jason, you’re first.““I vote for myself,” Jason said with confidence.The next person to vote was Kent. “I vote for myself,” he declared with equal confidence.So far, everything is going as expected. The next person to vote was Roland.“I vote Kent." Roland wasted no time in expressing his vote.It was now Victoria’s turn. Even though her gaze was fixed on her feet, she could feel Roland’s glare on her body; to her, it felt l
Jason, Franklin, Amelia, and even Victoria all had wide victorious smiles on their faces when they heard the news. They had to hold back screams of joy.On the other hand, Roland and Kent seethed. If looks could kill, then Kent’s glare would’ve sent Franklin six feet under. Kent dug his nails so deeply into his palms that he drew blood. “Now you’re going to rot in hell forever, imbecile,” Kent murmured. “Excuse me,” he said, then walked out, Roland following after him.Everyone watched them leave, but they didn’t focus on that. Immediately, they all began to extend their congratulations to Jason.“Congratulations Jason… I… I know I didn’t vote for you, but you have no idea how happy I am that you won,” Victoria said. Jason couldn’t detect a trace of insincerity in her tone or in her eyes as she spoke.“It’s okay, Victoria; I’m sure I was your second choice." Jason joked.Victoria laughed; it was the first time Jason had ever seen her so carefree. "Yes, you definitely were.”Franklin’s
"No, they can't do that,” Amelia exclaimed. She began to charge towards the officers, but Jason held her shoulder to stop her movement.“Why are you holding me back? Can't you see that Franklin is getting arrested?” Amelia sneered.“I know, but look at his face; he's accepting it.”“Jason I can't believe what you're saying! You want us to leave him?” Amelia said her tone was mixed with disbelief and rage.“For goodness sake, of course, not Amelia. But right now, we need to calm down until we know the whole story. Don't make a scene; we might make it worse for him.” Jason explained.Amelia paused and thought of everything Jason said. She nodded slowly. “You're right,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. She and Jason focused their gazes back on Franklin.They cringed as they watched the officer snap the handcuffs onto Franklin’s wrists. Jason watched, a mix of emotions churning inside him. He wanted to shout and protest as much as Amelia did, but he had to hold himself back, an
“Amelia, Jason” Franklin paused, bracing himself for what he was about to admit: “Kent is my family. He’s my brother, to be more specific.”Amelia and Jason looked at each other with wide eyes, then back at Franklin. They stayed quiet, trying to process what they had just heard.Jason was the first to speak. “Your brother? Same mother and father?” he blurted out.Franklin shook his head from left to right. "No, he’s my half-sibling. Listen, just let me explain everything and what I did to get in here,” Franklin said.“Please go ahead," Amelia said her tone was laced with astonishment at the revelation that Kent and, frankly, we’re brothers.“Thank you” Franklin cleared his throat and began, “When I was young, I didn’t care about finance, business, or anything else. I was rebellious and irresponsible, the opposite of my father, who was the president of our family company in Connecticut.”Franklin’s eyes grew distant as he told them about past events. “There was even a period of time wh
"Jason, don’t tell me you’re thinking of seeing her." Franklin said, his tone full of disbelief, “What do you want to do? Convince her to drop the charges.”“It’s not a bad idea, Franklin. Our only other option is to prove Kent’s guilt, and that would take a long time,” Amelia defended."No, you two don’t know my grandmother. She’s ruthless; once she puts her mind to something, no one can change it, and she swore on my grandfather’s grave that she would put the person responsible for the failure of the company behind bars,” Kent explained. “When I went to see her and tell her everything that happened, she didn’t have a shred of sympathy for me. She even said I was lying about Kent’s involvement. She looked at me with pure hatred.”“It wouldn’t hurt to give it a try,” Jason said“What’s the harm in trying?” Amelia seconded.Franklin groaned, “You two won’t take no for an answer, will you?”"No, we won't,” Amelia replied immediately.Franklin contemplated it. They had a point; technical
“Of course, I will, Victoria,” Franklin replied, his gaze softening.“Thank you,” Victoria said. She anxiously fiddled with the hem of her skirt and took a deep breath, composing herself. Then she began, “Do you remember Joshua Graham?".Franklin furrowed his brow, his eyes narrowing slightly as he cast his mind back, searching through his memory for any trace of the name.He snapped his fingers when he recalled the name: "Yes, I remember him. He was that investment banker. Wasn’t he the one who used to hang out with Roland?”Victoria nodded. "Yes, that’s him.”“He and Roland were good friends. When I started at the Elysian Syndicate, Roland and I were working on a project together, so naturally we spent a lot of time together. Joshua spent a lot of time with Roland, so he spent a lot of time with me too.”“At first, I didn’t mind that Joshua was spending time with us; he was a charming guy and he was funny too, but then things started to get…strange.”“It started with the messages. H
Jason and Amelia had Connor drive them to the airport once they left the jail, and they took the first flight to Saranac Lake.The two-hour flight went by quickly, and soon they were in a taxi on their way to Franklin’s grandmother's house.As the taxi drove around Serene City, Jason gazed out the window, feeling an odd sense of nostalgia. He remembered the last time that he came here and the house that his mother grew up in. His chest tightened slightly.With everything that had happened, he hadn’t thought much of his mother, but being in the place where she grew up made thoughts of her resurface in his mind.He thought of how she probably walked the streets that they drove on and ate at the restaurants that they passed by."Jason,” Amelia called out, boring through his reverie."Yeah,” he mumbled.“We’re here,” she said.“Oh, sorry,” Jason said, running a hand around his hair. He paid the taxi driver and got out of the taxi, with Amelia following after him.Franklin’s grandmother’s
Amelia and Jason had been in front of Franklin’s grandmother's for ten minutes, waiting for a taxi. Amelia was standing with her arms folded, while Jason sat with his jaw clenched.As the minutes passed, they grew more anxious and impatient. Their eyes stayed glued to the road and their minds on Franklin, but a single taxi hadn’t passed; in fact, barely any cars had passed by. Amelia’s gaze frequently darted from the road to Jason. She thought back to his outburst and her eyes became sympathetic.Jason’s hands were trembling slightly, and his face was pale, with eyes that were distant and unfocused. She knew that his altercation with Clara was still weighing on him and that there was something bigger that troubled him. "Jason, it doesn’t look like any taxis are going to pass by here.” Amelia’s voice came out in a soft but audible tone to get his attention.When Amelia’s voice reached Jason’s ears, he blinked and stared at her for a few seconds before replying, "Yeah, you're right."