Jason arrived at his penthouse a few minutes before midnight. As he got ready for bed for the second time that night, Jason replayed what little he heard from Kent, Andrew, and Stefan’s conversation in his mind.Now he knew for sure that the Sinclairs wanted Kent to win the election. He assumed at first that they wanted him to win so that they could use him as a puppet, and while he still thought that, from what he heard there was another factor. The Russians. He wondered so they were and what their role in all of this was.He also thought back to what Andrew said about Franklin. He heard clearly that Kent convinced Franklin to vote for him. But from the way they talked about it, it seemed more like blackmail than convincing. Is that the reason why Franklin has been looking so worn out lately? Jason thought to himself.“What does he have on him?” Jason repeated the same question that Andrew asked.Jason’s anxiety rose as he thought of how all of this could affect the elections. He con
Franklin and Mr. Harringron arrived at the Elysian Syndicate early that Friday morning. They were in Mr. Harrington’s office, sitting opposite each other.“This is the document that formalises the transfer of ownership of my shares to you,” Franklin said, holding up an envelope with a document inside. He outstretched his hand, handing the envelope to Mr. Harrington.Mr. Harringron breathed a sigh and hesitantly took the envelope from Franklin. “Franklin, are you sure about this?”“Sir, if I wasn’t sure, then I wouldn't have formalised it. I’m positive that this is what’s best." Franklin said, his tone firm even though inside he felt like falling apart.“And what if I don’t vote in your favour?” Mr. Harringron said.“I know you’ll do what’s right. I don’t know where your sudden fondness for Kent spawned from, but you have to remember why you didn’t like him before,” Franklin sneered.“It’s not that I didn’t like him; I just thought that he was greedy and ambitious, but he has proved me
After the stock report meeting ended, Amelia and Franklin followed Jason to his office.“I just knew you had a plan; I never doubted you for a second,” Franklin beamed.Amelia cocked a brow at him. "Yes, you did.”Franklin’s cheeks flushed. "Well, then, thank goodness, I was wrong to do that,” he said cheerily.Jason smiled. “I won’t lie; at one point, I even doubted myself.”“Why didn’t you tell us that you did it on purpose?” Amelia said as she playfully shoved Jason’s shoulder.“Wasn’t the surprise more exciting?” Jason retorted.Amelia nodded. “You’re right, it was." She clapped her hands in joy. “I’m so happy for you.”“Thank you, Amelia, but let’s save the rest of our joy for after the election,” Jason said, his expression turning serious."Oh, come on, with the success of your investment and what you did at Prodigy Structures, I’m sure that you’ll win." As Amelia said, she didn’t look at Jason; instead, she fixed a probing gaze on Franklin. “Don’t you think so, Franklin?”Frank
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