Connor pulled the car over a few blocks away from the therapist’s office. On the side of the road where he pulled up, there was a young man who was wearing tattered clothes and had dark circles around his eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days. He was just the kind of person that Connor needed.Connor rolled down the window of the car so that the young man could hear him say, “Hey, you.” The young man looked at Connor, then looked back, making sure that Connor was calling him and not someone else. “Me?” the young man asked.“Yes, you,” Connor said.Hesitantly, the man stepped closer to the car. “What’s up?” he asked. Getting a closer look at him and hearing his voice, Connor could tell that he couldn’t be older than twenty.“You don’t look too good, man,” Connor said, feigning concern.“Why do you care?” The man’s brow furrowed.Connor lifted his hand, which had two hundred dollar bills in it so that the young men could see it. “I bet I could help you.”The man’s eyes lit up, a
Inside the office, Dr. Smith was deeply engrossed in a book on neuropsychology, with earphones playing classical music that blocked out all awareness of his surroundings.Dr. Smith’s two distractions made it easy for Connor to quietly slip into the room and plop himself down on the armchair in front of Dr. Smith.“Good afternoon, doctor,” Connor said, making sure that his voice was loud enough to get Dr. Smith’s attention.Dr. Smith jumped slightly, startled by the sudden interruption. He looked up, pulling out one earphone, his eyes widening in surprise as he registered Connor’s presence. "Sorry, but who are you?” he asked, closing his book and setting it aside.“I’m William Hacker, your new patient,” Connor said with the same confidence he said to Susan.“William Hacker? Isn’t our appointment by 1:00 p.m.? Did Susan let you in?” Dr. Nolan asked with a frown."Yes, she did, but don’t put the blame on her; it’s my fault. I literally begged her to let me in because I’m desperate.” Conn
Twenty-four years ago, Chicago A young Adam Grey walked into the gates of the Goldman residence with a bouquet of flowers in his hands.One of the maids, who was watering the flowers outside, greeted Adam with a soft smile once she saw him. “Adam, what a lovely surprise.”Adam returned the smile. “Good morning, Silvia. Is anyone home?”“Mr. and Mrs. Goldman are out; the only one home is Miss Lauren, but she’s having a session with her therapist,” Silvia answered Adam.Adam furrowed his brow in confusion. “I thought that they only had sessions on Fridays. It’s Monday.”Silvia shrugged her shoulders. “It was an emergency. Miss Laura demanded that I call Dr. Smith immediately, then sent me out of the house to water the flowers, even though the gardener already did it this morning.” Silvia lowered her tone. “Between you and me, I think she’s spiralling, and I'm very worried about her. I know he’s your brother, but I blame Sebastian. His lack of affection is really lowering her self-estee
Present Day, Dr. Smith's Office“I know about your affair with your patient Laura Goldman, and if you don’t do what I ask, everyone else will know,” Connor said, his eyes darkening.Dr. Smith could swear that he felt the blood leaving his veins and turning his skin pale, as it did when he heard what Connor said. But quickly he snapped out of it and put an angry expression on his face, his jaw tightening.“Who the hell do you think you are? Coming into my office and making such outrageous accusations.” Dr. Smith walked to his door and opened it. “Leave now,” he ordered Connor, gesturing to the door.Connor simply smiled and plopped down on the armchair. He didn’t reply to Dr. Smith; instead, he got out his phone and opened his photo gallery.Dr. Smith’s face reddened with anger. “Didn't you hear me? I said to leave. Now”Connor scrolled up in his photo gallery and selected a photo. He stood up and held his phone up so that Dr. Smith could see the photo.“What are you…” Dr. Smith’s word
At the Elysian Syndicate, Jason was in his office reading stock reports. His anxiety grew as he noticed that his plan with Noratz still wasn’t going as he thought it would.But Jason convinced himself to stay calm.A knock on the door drew Jason’s attention from his desktop screen. “Come in,” he said.The door opened to reveal Amelia. She was holding a glass of water in her hand and smiled as she walked in. "Hello.”“Amelia, how are you?” Jason asked.Amelia shrugged. “So, so,” she said, placing the glass on Jason’s table and sitting on the chair facing him. “You?”Jason sighed “Same as you,” he said, but didn’t look at her face; his eyes were glued to his desktop.“Are you working on something? Is it a bad time?” Amelia asked.Jason sighed as he ran his hand through his hair. "No, it’s not a bad time; I’m just looking at stock reports, that’s all.”“Worried about your investment in Noratz?” Amelia questioned.“Not worried, just checking on it,” Jason said, his nervous lip biting bet
“Good afternoon, Mr. Grey. I’m sorry to inform you that you may have to find another therapist as Dr. Smith has resigned.” the receptionist said.Jason’s face was twisted in confusion. “Did I just hear you right? Did you say that Dr. Smith is resigning?”“Yes, My Grey that’s correct. Excuse me, have a nice day.”“No wait,” Jason said, but it was already too late; the receptionist had hung up.Jason slowly dropped his phone on the table, struggling to understand why Dr. Smith suddenly resigned. During their session, he seemed to enjoy his job, and he didn’t give off the vibe of a person who was about to resign.It was all very strange to Jason, and he could feel that something was wrong sometimes, but he didn’t have a choice but to accept it. After all, he couldn’t force Dr. Smith to stay.“What am I going to do now?” Jason wondered aloud.Of course, there was the option of choosing one of the other two therapists that Timothy recommended, but Jason didn’t know if he wanted another th
Days passed, and in no time, Thursday came, the day before the elections.Toward the end of the work day, Amelia called Jason and Franklin into her office to update them on Patricia. They entered her office, anxious and apprehensive about what she would share.“Hey guys” Amelia welcomed them in a low tone, her lips pressed into a thin line and slightly turned down at the corners. From her expression, Jason and Franklin did not expect good news.“Brianna spoke to Patricia’s mother, and she said that Patricia is out of the country and doesn’t want to be bothered." Amelia relayed the message to them.Jason’s shoulders slumped, disappointment washing over him.“Damn it” Franklin cursed, “What’s going to happen now?”“There’s nothing much we can do. We just have to accept the fact that Kent won this round, I guess,” Amelia frowned.“What about the stock investment? Jason, is your plan working out like you thought it would?” Franklin asked, his tone riddled with urgency.Jason shrugged his
Jason waited impatiently in his car for Christopher to send him the address of the hospital. After what felt like forever to Jason, Christopher finally sent it, and just like that, Jason was off. He reached the hospital at record speed and dialled Christopher’s number as soon as he got there.“Christopher, I'm here. Where are you?” Jason asked.“The waiting area on the second floor”Without saying another word, Jason went into the hospital and went straight to the second floor. He spotted Christopher, who was carrying Lana in his arms, and went up to her.She was still making the soft wheezing sound that Jason heard on the phone. His heart broke as he saw her.“Poor thing is struggling to breathe,” Jason whispered to himself. He felt tears prickling his eyes and had to hold himself back from crying. “Don’t worry, princess, you’re going to be okay,” Jason whispered to Lana. Before he realised what he was doing, he began to whisper affirming words to her, and Christopher swore that he