Chapter 24 She offered him a lucrative job as a consultant for her father's company. Alex knew she was up to no good but he couldn't resist the opportunity to flex his skills and make some extra cash. He agreed to work for Madison, but he kept his guard up, wary of her true intentions. And as they began to work together, he couldn't help but be drawn in by her charm and intelligence, a spark of attraction building between them. The closer Madison and Alex became, the more he let her believe he was letting his guard down. He confided in her about his frustrations with Ethan, his desire for more respect and recognition in the hacker community. And Madison, sensing his vulnerability, began to plant seeds of doubt in his mind about Ethan's motives. "Do you really think Ethan has your best interests at heart?" she whispered one night, her breath hot on his skin. "Or is he just using you for his own gain?" Alex tried to brush off her questions, but they stuck in his mind l
Chapter 25"You're right," Alex said, his voice low and measured. "Ethan won't know what hit him. But I need to know more. I need to know that this will work."Madison smiled, her eyes flashing with excitement."I can assure you, Alex, that this will work. But I need your complete loyalty. No wavering, no second thoughts. Are you with me?"Alex hesitated, his thoughts racing. He knew that aligning himself with Madison could be the most dangerous move of his life, but he also knew that he needed her help to bring down the Parker family."Alright," Alex said, his voice betraying a hint of hesitation."I'm with you." Madison smiled, her eyes gleaming with victory."Excellent," she purred. "Now, here's what we need to do..."And so began a plan so twisted and intricate that even the most hardened of criminals would have hesitated to undertake it. But for Madison and Alex, the stakes were too high, the potential rewards too great to ignore. They set to work, their web of deceit and betra
Chapter 26It was finally the day of the meeting, Ethan couldn’t believe that he was about to own the Parker’s cosmetics company.Ethan entered the meeting with Mr. Parker with a cool, confident air, his hands in his pockets, a smirk on his face. He was sure that he had the upper hand, his evidence of human trafficking ironclad and irrefutable. But Mr. Parker was not impressed. He leaned back in his chair, a cold smile on his face."Ethan, I'm afraid you're wasting your time," he said, a dismissive wave of his hand."You think a little bit of evidence is going to bring me down? Please.”Ethan's face hardened, his hands curling into fists. "You think I'm joking, Mr. Parker?" he said, his voice like ice."I know what you're doing. I know what you've done. And if you don't sell your company, I'll make sure the whole world knows too." Mr. Parker laughed, a cruel, heartless laugh."Ethan, you think you're the only one without skeletons in your closet? You think your past is squeaky clea
Chapter 27 Mr. Parker, once the king of his domain, now sits in a prison cell, his throne taken from him, his power and influence nothing but a distant memory. The judge's gavel comes down like the judgment of God, the sentence echoing through the courtroom with a deafening finality. "Adam Parker, for the crimes of human trafficking, racketeering, and fraud, I sentence you to life in prison without the possibility of parole. May God have mercy on your soul." The cuffs are slapped onto Mr. Parker's wrists, his world now reduced to the cold, gray bars of his cell.As Mr. Parker is dragged away, Madison watches on in silent fury, her eyes burning with rage. She is the last of the Parkers standing, a queen without a kingdom, her family's legacy in tatters. But she is not defeated, not yet. In the days that follow, she begins to hatch a plan, a final act of desperation that will either secure her freedom or seal her fate. She enlists the help of a fellow inmate, a hardened criminal w
Chapter 1“That exam was …”“Absolutely exhausting. God!”, Benji blurted out.“Ohkayy..”, Ethan said slowly in a low voice.“I couldn't even get halfway through the theory and those objective questions were just way too difficult to solve each in sixty seconds! It was our last exam for God Sake, why did they have to make it so hard!”Benji kicked a bottle in his way in anger. He kicked it again and this time, Ethan strolled a little ahead of him, kicking the bottle to the side. It jumped up as he applied force to the slimmer end. When he caught it, he shot it into the dumpster.“Really?”“What? We have to keep the school clean”“We are graduating in a few weeks Ethan. You don't have to care so much”“Well, as vale…”“Valedictorian yeah, we get it. You don't have to rub it in our faces”, Benji said, rolling his eyes in an annoyed and exhausted manner.“How am I rubbing it in your face? I was making a fact”“Oh yeah, in the middle of me pouring my heart out about that exam”“Hey, hey.
Chapter 2He leaped, trying his best to run as fast as he could. He caught some sand and threw it in their direction, delaying them a little. As he detoured into a bushy path, his legs got caught up in a twig and he fell.“Arghh!”, He groaned, his already injured foot knocked once again against a stone. “You asshole! Thought you could run from us huh?”, one of them grabbed him up. The next thing he felt was a heavy punch to his jaw. Another one landed on his cheekbone and Ethan felt the blood gush up through his throat. He sputtered out.“C’mon boy. Control yourself Pickle Boy. We haven't even got started yet“They dragged him along the ground, pulling his body with the dirt, through the thorny, bushy path. The sharp thorns cut through his clothes and he was well tattered before they even threw him into the abandoned plant house.“Urghh!”, He groaned, holding his side cut by the thorns from the naked bushes they'd dragged him to. “We are just getting started, Pickle Boy”, the bigges
Chapter 3“Maddie…”His sentence was cut short as she rushed him in a hug. He hugged back but slowly. His mind couldn't wrap around how she knew. “What happened? Why didn't you call me? Look at … you… you look…?”, she paused, scrutinizing him with her eyes, expecting his body to be badly battered. “ … Benji didn't even know where you were..”“I. . I lost my phone. But I'm alright, it's fine”“You're not. They beat you up Ethan. You know better than to stand up against those boys”“You … know what happened?”, Ethan asked in a more concerned than surprised manner. Maddison's eyes widened, like she'd let herself be caught off guard.“How did you know?”“Claire told me. She said she'd seen you punch Lucas and then they chased you like a thief. And then Phil said he saw you covered in blood, staggering into the cafeteria. I bugged that one and she wouldn't even tell me a thing. I was so scared, Ethan. I…”“I'm sorry. I'm sorry I scared you”, he said, standing as he pulled her to himself.
Chapter 4Mr. Trevor stared hard at Ethan as he took his phone to his ear.“Get your team up here at the administrative board room”“No.. no! I'm the victim. I am the victim!”, Ethan shouted, scattering the documents atop the table. His eyes were reddish and tears darkened them even more.“I'm the victim!”Ethan pulled down the large drawer mounted against the wall closest to the door in anger and rage.“I'm the victim!”“Security, get this boy out of here!”They held onto Ethan, taking him by the arms. “No! Let me go!”He struggled, kicking and pushing against their hard, strong grip. He shouted and struggled, even holding onto the door as they attempted to carry him out.“Let me go!”They soon loosened his grip on the door. Handcuffed, they shoved him into the school's security shuttle. Ethan breathed heavily as the bulky tears streamed down his eyes. The men monitored him as he cleared the apartment the school had built and awarded him personally. While at it, a knock came to the