As Jason walked to his car, the thoughts of his grandfather and mother that he tried to push out of his mind seemed to flood it. “Hey Connor,” he said to Connor, who was standing in front of Jason’s Mercedes, in a low tone, his exhaustion evident. “Good afternoon, boss,” Connor said. He knew exactly why Jason was like this, as he had listened to the conversation that he had with Timothy, and he planned to use Jason’s state to his advantage. He entered the driver's seat of the car and started it. Jason slumped into the passenger seat, his eyes distant as he stared out the window. The hum of the engine was the only sound in the car, a comforting monotony that drowned out the chaos of his thoughts. Connor glanced at him through the rearview mirror, calculating his approach. After five minutes of silence, Connor cleared his throat. “Pardon me if I’m being nosy, but you don’t seem good, Jason,” Connor began, his voice carefully neutral. “Is everything alright with my favourite execu
After Connor dropped Jason off at his apartment, his work day ended. It was early in the evening, and the sky over the city was comprised of a soft, fading blue, tinged with gold as the sun began its descent.Connor looked up at the sky and smiled. “Beautiful evening,” he muttered to himself.He walked on the street for a while to pass the time. After five minutes of walking, he lifted his left arm to check the time on his wristwatch. “Twenty more minutes till 5:00 pm,” he read the clock to himself.It was time for him to get going, so he went to hail a cab. Standing on the curb, he outstretched his arm to stop the first cab he saw. The cab veered towards him, its tyres crunching softly against the asphalt. Connor stepped back as the cab pulled up beside him.Once he boarded the vehicle, he wasted no time in telling the driver the address he was to take him to. But it wasn’t Connor’s house address; it was Timothy’s.Eventually, the driver reached Timothy’s neighbourhood.“Just park in
Late at night in Jason’s penthouse, as he was drifting off into sleep, the notification sound of his phone jolted him awake. Jason blinked against the darkness and fumbled for his phone on the nightstand. His fingers finally found the cool, smooth screen. He took the phone in his arms and turned it on, the bright light piercing through his grogginess, illuminating a new message from Timothy: “Good evening, Young Master, I apologise for sending this so late, but here is the contact information of the therapists.”Jason squinted his eyes to read the message. He tapped on it so he could see the full list of therapists and their contact information. There were three of them in total.As Jason stared at the list, he wondered if therapy was really the best way to unlock his past memories. Jason breathed deeply, and his mouth stretched out into a wide yawn. “I’m too tired to think of this right now,” he rasped, then tossed his phone on the bed, returning to sleep.The next morning, Jason w
As Jason walked into the therapist’s office, his heart raced with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation. His steps and movements were hesitant as he approached the receptionist’s desk. When he reached the desk, the receptionist's warm smile greeted him; for some reason, Jason felt like he recognised her. “Good morning, sir. How can I assist you?” The receptionist inquired. Now that Jason had a closer look at her, he was certain that he had seen her before, but he couldn’t remember where. “I have an appointment with Dr. Smith,” Jason replied. “Okay Sir, may I have your name, please?” The receptionist asked, fingers poised over the keyboard. “Jason Grey,” he answered. The receptionist paused for a second when she heard his name. She looked at Jason with a furrowed brow, then immediately turned her face to her keyboard. As she typed away, Jason could swear that he saw her cheeks redden. “Ah, yes, Mr. Grey. You’re all checked in. Dr. Smith will be with you shortly. Plea
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