“What are we going to do?” Roland was pacing around Kent’s office like a madman.“Did you see the way that Victoria reacted?” Roland sneered, “I have to give credit where credit is due." Roland mimicked Victoria’s words in a mockingly high-pitched tone: “I felt like strangling her right there.”“Would you stop pacing like a maniac? Shut up and let me think,” Kent hissed.Roland stood still but continued talking. “I knew it. I knew we shouldn’t have underestimated him. You were too laid back about the whole thing and now look. He made himself look like a hero in front of everyone. I bet Mr. Harrington already knows about it.”“Mr. Harrington’s opinion is irrelevant. He has no shares, so he can’t vote,” Kent said, his voice coming out louder than he expected.“He may not have shares, but he has influence in this company. People look up to him.” Roland said.“I don’t give a damn about his influence. Right now, the only people who matter are Frank and Victoria,” Kent insisted. “But you’re
On Jason’s way to Amelia’s office, he caught Andrew leaving Kent’s office again. But luckily for him, Andrew didn’t see him. Andrew walked like he was in a hurry, or rather like he didn’t want anyone to see him coming out of Kent’s office.Jason couldn’t shake the feeling that their meetings weren’t for anything good. That was one of his motivations for becoming president—keeping Kent away from the presidency. Even though he had nothing to back up his theory, he was certain that he, Andrew, and possibly even Stefan were up to something and that it had to do with the presidency. Maybe that was the information Jason needed to lock the Sinclairs up behind bars. Another thing that worried him about Kent was the way that the shareholders behaved towards him. Mr. Harrington himself told him that Kent was feared. Why were they all so afraid of him?Jason didn’t miss the way Victoria stuttered in his office that morning after she looked at Kent when she praised Jason.Even Franklin froze a b
Jason spent the rest of the day researching and reading articles on Ponce de Leon’s Amelia was right; they were a very reserved family. There was hardly any information about them online. They liked to keep business and personal lives private, it seemed.Jason heaved a sigh. “If I could do things my way, I’d invite them dancing, then we’d talk about business later,” he said to himself.That was the only detail he knew about their personal lives; they loved to dance.Jason knew that he was just procrastinating with the research he was doing. He knew exactly what he had to do to find the information he needed to reach the Spaniards, and it wasn’t on the internet. It was in the brain of Michael Allen Grey, his grandfather.But Jason couldn’t just call and ask him. He had too many doubts about the man. He didn’t even know if he wanted to know him. He remembered what Mr. Harrington said about his grandfather changing, and it didn’t sound good. There was also the fact that his mother and
Goosebumps erupted on every inch of Jason’s skin, accompanied by a wave of chills down his body. A wave of pressure constricted his chest, and suddenly he forgot how to breathe.He shut his eyes and began to take slow, deep breaths. In and Out. Inhale, Exhale. He repeated the pattern over and over, and all the while his grandfather’s voice rang in his head like an alarm. As he closed his eyes at that moment, it was as though he opened a door to his past memory that his grandfather’s voice brought back, and he could see it clearly.***Jason is just a boy; he doesn’t know how old he is, but he couldn’t be old enough to start school yet. That’s how young he was.He sees a familiar face—his mother’s. He’s looking at her through a cream in a door. She can’t see him, but he can see her. She’s arguing with someone in the room with her."Please, you can’t do this,” Abigail cries out.A box is thrown on the ground by someone; the door is covering the person’s face, but from what Jason hears
Franklin and Jason arrived at The Rustic Lantern, a small bar near the Elysian Syndicate. It was a quaint establishment with dim lighting and a cosy seating arrangement. What caught most patrons' eyes were the dozens of lanterns that hung from the ceiling.“This place is nice; do you come here often?” Jason asked as he took in the ambiance.“Only with co-workers that I like, so not very often,” Frank said, and Jason let out a small laugh.They ordered their drinks at the bar and then sat at one of the booths.“So I'm assuming that, like me, you don’t want to talk about what’s troubling you,” Frank said as they took their seats."No, I haven’t had enough alcohol for that just yet," Jason saidFranklin smiled. “My thoughts exactly. Cheers to that.” He lifted up the glass of water in front of him, then Jason lifted his, and they clinked their glasses together, the sound resonating in the air.“So then,” Frank started, then raised his glass of water and took a sip, “tell me about your mis
“You should’ve just minded your own business." The man growled, his voice menacing. He pointed the gun at Jason and then back at the boy. “This place is empty. I kill you both right here and throw your bodies in the river. It'll be days, maybe even months before anyone finds you. So you'd better do as I say, or I'll flip a coin and decide who dies first." He pointed the gun at Jason again. “Heads, you,” he pointed it at the child, causing him to flinch and shut his eyes. “Or tails, you.”Jason put his hands up slowly. "Okay, I'll do as you say, just put the gun down.”“Shut your mouth!” The man exclaimed in a firm tone, “I make the orders here, not you. Now go, walk to that van with us.” His voice was authoritative but a tad shaky, something Jason quickly picked up on.Jason’s eyes darted between the man and the boy. The boy's big hazel eyes were wide with fear, and he was trembling. “Please don't let him take me; I don't want to die,” the boy begged Jason, his voice barely above a wh
As Jason slowly regained consciousness, he groggily opened his eyes and was met with a blurry and hazy vision. He tried to lift his head, but a sharp pain shot through his skull, forcing him to lie back down.Jason snapped out of his dazed state once he remembered that there was a kid in the car who was also being kidnapped. With all the strength that he could muster, he sat up and leaned against something solid. Only then did he realise that he was in the trunk of a moving car.He looked to his side and saw that the child was already awake and staring at him with eyes full of fear.“I-” the child began to speak, but Jason quickly covered his mouth before he could make a sound.Jason pointed at the kidnapper who was driving the car, then pressed his finger to his lip. Silently telling the boy to remain quiet for their safety.The boy nodded and gave Jason a thumbs up, letting him know that he understood, so Jason removed his hand from the boy's mouth.Jason laid back down and gestured
“Looking for us?” The kidnapper sneered. Jason looked to the man’s side and saw Leonardo tied up. “You thought it would be easy to fool me, didn’t you?” The man laughed. Who’s the fool now?”“Get in the car!” He yelled and pressed the gun into Jason’s forehead. He cocked the gun. “And don’t try anything this time because this one’s loaded and I’m afraid to...”In a split second, Jason removed the unloaded gun from his pocket. With a swift, precise motion, he swung the gun upward, using the butt of the weapon, to strike the man with a resounding crack. The man’s grip on the gun loosened, and it clattered to the ground. He stumbled backward, his head reeling from the force of the blow.Wasting no time, Jason struck the man again, sending the man crumpling to the ground, unconscious.The first thing that Jason did was untie Leonardo, who seemed to be frozen by fear. Next, he covered his hand with a handkerchief and picked up the loaded gun. Then he searched the man’s pocket for his phon