Chapter Three - Jason to the rescue!

“Someone help; Mr. Sinclair is unconscious!” Jason shouted, and immediately, dozens of the club’s employees rushed to the scene.

They took him to the clinic in the club, and after thirty minutes, he regained consciousness.

“Sir Thank God you’re awake. Is everything okay?”

Stephen had a sombre look in his eyes. "No, Jason, to be honest with you, I don’t have much time left.”

"What do you mean, sir?"

“I’m dying”

Jason was at a loss for words. He didn’t know how to reply to what he was just told; he simply sat in a chair in the room and listened to Stephen as he spoke.

“Brain Cancer. Inoperable” Stephen said, “I don’t want you to feel sorry for me or anything like that. All I want to do in my last days is spend time with my children and grandchildren, but I won’t even be able to do that.”

“Why Sir?” Jason managed to say, his voice shaky.

“There’s people conspiring against me at the company. They want to get me voted off the board and put me in jail, so they’re framing me for fraud and embezzlement,” Mr. Sinclair said, and for the first time in Jason’s life, he saw Stephen’s guard completely down.

Jason sat there and took in all this information. He never had a good relationship with his father-in-law; actually, he didn’t have any relationship with his father-in-law. Neither did he have any father figures throughout his life.

He also thought of Diana; the news of her father's illness would break her heart, but finding out she wouldn’t be able to spend his last days with him would absolutely destroy her.

“Is there anything I can do to help?" Jason said

Stephen thought for a while before answering him, "Well, there is one thing, but I don’t know..."

"Sir, please tell me. Whatever it is, I'll do it.

“This is it! This is my chance to prove to this family that I'm more than just a pauper. I can make a contribution, and finally they’ll see my worth”, Jason thought.

“You could take the blame.”

Jason blinked in shock “Sir?”

"Remember, you used to work as my secretary, so you could say you were the one doing the embezzling.”

“And go to jail, sir?”

“It would only be temporary. They’d drop the charges when they knew it’s you, and all would be well. Plus, after all this, I may be able to pull some strings and get you a good position in one of our other branches.”

Jason’s eyes lit up at Mr. Sinclair’s last words. Not only would he finally be of use to his father-in-law, but he could also get a good job and finally spoil his wife and provide for her.

No more humiliation. No more mockery!

“You’re one hundred percent positive that I won’t rot in prison?”

“Absolutely”

“I’ll do it,” Jason said, trying to sound stern and heroic, but his voice came out shaky.

"Wonderful, but can I ask a favour of you?”

“Of course you can, sir."

“Don’t tell my family about the cancer or about me being framed. I want to do it myself.”

“Of course, sir, I understand.”

“Good. We will do it tomorrow. Now let’s be on our way,” Mr. Sinclair said as he got up and walked out of the clinic, and Jason followed behind him.

He was already picturing how his life would be once this was all over and his job was secured.

When he got home, he couldn’t stop smiling.

“What are you smiling for, moron? Did you win the lottery or something?” Andrew mocked him, but Jason walked right past him without even sparing him a glance. He walked into his and Diana’s room.

“Good evening, dear.”

"Jason, where have you been?”

Instead of answering her question, he kissed her. At first, she wasn’t reactive, but eventually she melted into the kiss.

Jason began to take off Diana’s nightgown, and they both shared an intimate moment together for the first time in months.

***

"Sir, I'm sorry to ask, but please, could you go over the plan one more time?”

Jason was currently sitting in the passenger’s seat of Stephen’s SUV, and they were on their way to the police station so Jason could give his false statement.

Stephen sighed in annoyance but began to explain it to Jason: “The people who framed me are waiting at the station; they think that I'm coming in to confess today, but you’ll go in instead and present these documents and say you did it. Once they see it’s you, they won’t care because it’s me they want, and they’ll drop the charges.”

“Then I'll be free to go."

"Yes, I'll send Hulio to come pick you up. He can even take you to our branch in Brooklyn if you want to have a look around at your future office.”

Jason’s heart skipped at the mention of his future office.

I’ve got this. He reassured himself mentally. Even though he kept fiddling with the hem of his shirt and anxiously tapping his foot on the floor, he was sure of this.

“We’re here; go in. Oh, and I'll need your phone.”

“Why Sir?”

“I forgot mine at home, and I need to call Hulio to make sure he’s available. I’ll give it back to you when you get back to my mansion."

“Okay Sir” Jason stepped out of the car and hesitantly handed his phone over to Stephen.

“Good luck.” That was all Stephen said before he drove off, leaving Jason in front of the station.

Jason took a deep breath and walked into the station. His legs were so shaky that he feared they’d give up on him, and he’d fall to the floor at any moment.

It was early in the morning, and only two officers were around.

“I want to confess to a crime,” he said. The officer typed some things on his computer before leading Jason to the confession room.

Jason looked around, trying to find those who framed Stephen, but he couldn’t see anyone.

But he still went ahead and gave his statement, just like Mr. Sinclair ordered him to.

“Jason Grey, you’re under arrest for fraud and embezzlement. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law."

"No, I'm not; I can’t be. Please take it back; it’s not true!” Jason screamed and tried to escape, but the officers held him down and cuffed him.

Then Jason knew there wasn’t a new job. Hulio wasn’t waiting for him outside. None of it was real.

He was the one being framed, not Mr. Sinclair.

He blindly trusted Mr. Sinclair, and now he would rot in jail.

“It’s been done, sir,” one of the officers said, speaking to someone over the phone.

“Excellent. Send me your bank details. You’ll be rewarded handsomely for this,” Stephen said, then smiled.

He grabbed Jason’s phone and started to read the message he had constructed.

Di, I’m sorry, but I just can’t take it anymore. The humiliation I face in your home on a daily basis is enough to drive any man to the edge, but I've stuck it out. I’ve taken all the insults, but I'm done. I can’t do this anymore. I knew since your birthday that I needed to leave. Leave it all behind and start over. I don’t have the heart to say this to your face, but you just had to know. I’ll find someone on my level, and you should do the same. It’ll be best that way. Goodbye.

SEND

He tapped the button, then locked the phone and smashed it.

“Problem solved”