Bryan burst into loud laughter. "Are you trying to betray me?" Jade asked, trying hard for her voice not to quaver."I can betray you if I want to, but I'm not doing that."Bryan turned to those that bowed before him. "Don't kill my friend. Let him go."Surprised at what Bryan said, they began to murmur among themselves."But he is the—""Did I ask you to talk?" Bryan roared. "I asked you to release him. Do it this very moment and I don't want to hear a word from any of you."They glanced at each other. The man Bryan was asking them to set free was the same man that caused his father's death. They could not decipher why Bryan would decide to save Astor Ace's son, a supposed sworn enemy of Bryan."Are you all deaf?" Bruce lashed out. They shrugged and hurriedly ran to Bruce to untie him.Bruce was untied but was too weak to raise even a single finger. "What are you all doing?" A voice thundered. They turned to the direction from which the voice came from. It was Mrs. Williamson's wing
A lot went through Jade's mind as she sat by the pool, drinking her favorite wine. She thought it'd make her feel much better, but what she felt was far from good.The wine tasted sour in her mouth.Jade frowned as she looked up."My mood has been ruined already," Jade muttered to herself. "Why should it be ruined any further?"The last person she wanted to see was the person walking toward her."Your husband is locked up in a cell and you're drinking expensive wine."Jade rolled her eyes as she heard Bryan's annoying voice. He crouched before her and picked up the bottle of wine beside her."You're making me miss my wealthy days," Bryan said and Jade glared at him."Drop my wine." Jade's voice was low and intimidating. "I'm not interested in drinking your wine. I won't enjoy it since my friend is being imprisoned." Jade threw her face away and he watched her intensively."You still think Bruce is the kind of person that will try to steal from you, don't you?"Jade ignored him. She
Tears spilled from Archibald's eyes as he watched Bruce. His body was filled with bloody wounds. The room he was kept in was dark and untidy."I can get you out of here within the blink of an eye," Archibald began. "You on the other hand do not want me to do so." "You know why I don't want to leave here with your help," Bruce replied faintly.Archibald frowned. It wasn't the first time he was offering to help Bruce, but each time he did, Bruce refused his help. "Why are you making yourself suffer for a Fulton?""Jade's my wife and that makes her part of my family. I'm not leaving here until I prove my innocence to her. If I don't, she'd hate me. How would I live if my wife hates me?""You should be angry at her for not believing in you?" "I'm angry at her, but I'm not leaving here until my innocence has been proven," Bruce said sternly."You're in a cell. How would you prove your innocence to her from here? I'd help you get out then you can prove your innocence," Mr. Archibald said
‘I forgot to tell you. I found something else. Mrs. Williamson wasn't the only one that planned Jade's kidnap. She in fact was acting under the command of someone else who wants your downfall. This person might strike again anytime soon.’Bruce couldn't keep Mr. Archibald's words off his mind. He was glad to be back home, safe and sound, drinking wine on the rooftop but from Mr. Archibald's words, someone was trying to take this away from him.The biggest problem was that who the person was was unknown.‘Who is it?’ He recalled asking Mr. Archibald.‘I wish I knew. Just be very careful.’ That was his reply."Arghhh," Bruce groaned. It was just too frustrating. He wondered when all the attacks from enemies would stop."What are you thinking?"Bruce got startled. He heaved a sigh on recognizing Bryan's voice."I knew it. Something is troubling you." Bryan took a seat beside him."I thought you left."A few minutes ago, Bryan had told him he was heading home. Bruce wondered what brought h
"That's not it," Bruce said dryly. "If I whe tch, she would have wanted you to draw closer to me? She wouldn't have tried to separate us. She wants a rich son-in-law, doesn't she?""What then did the kidnappers ask for?" Bryan asked. He looked confused as was Jade."I can't say.""How then would we know if it's my mother's doing or not?" Jade raised her voice. She heaved a sigh immediately, realizing that she might have overreacted."There are other ways to confirm the truth," Bruce shrugged. "I have an idea.""And what might that be?"~~~Bruce peeped at the open field from behind a tree. A man who was among those that held him captive was pacing."You shouldn't have held his grandmother captive," Bruce said softly to Bryan who was behind him."This was your plan," Bryan replied, frowning."Kidnapping a man's old grandmother wasn't part of it." Bruce turned to Bryan to glare at him."Do you think he would have been here if we had not done that? If he does not help us, that old lady
"I did not do it! I was framed. I've done so many bad things but this one isn't included."Bruce could hear Lucia screams. He sighed in frustration. He felt strange. His gut feeling kept on nudging him that Lucia was innocent.It was strange because he knew Lucia as a bad person. She was capable of commiting the crime she was accused of and it was strange that he suddenly felt that she was innocent."Arghhh!" Bryan groaned. He sat beside Bruce on one of the benches. "Her screams. Anyone who does not know Lucia well would think that she is innocent. She just have a way of appearing innocent before people.""She does?" Bruce wondered if that was why he suddenly felt she was innocent."I know Lucia more than most of her family members does. We used to be accomplices, remember. She has opened up to me numerous times. I know exactly what she is. If we're not careful, Lucia would prove herself innocent even if she isn't. You should pressurize the police to torture her immensely till she conf
Whir!"Confess."Whir!Lucia looked expressionless as she was whipped. She didn't move an inch till the officers were done with their ‘torture’. Several whips were more than enough to induce pain on any random person, but the only feeling Lucia had was numbness. It was ten days since she got arrested and she had adapted pretty well just like she had adapted to the unloving ways if her husband.She scoffed. "I wasn't expecting him to come anyways. I knew that he wouldn't." Her face fell. "I thought Jade will."Ten days of staying in prison and unlike what she had expected, she was yet to be released. Lucia thought that are refusal to confess to a crime she had not committed would make her daughter know she isn't lying leading to her release.Lucia sighed. "This time around, she got really hurt," she muttered to herself. The Jade she knew would not have let her mother rot in prison no matter what. She was a type that forgave easily.Lucia clenched her fist. It was all Bruce's fault. "If
Bruce sighed in frustration as he looked up at the building rooted before him. This was the last place he wanted to visit.Lucia was in there and he hated to see her face. "Why am I suddenly visiting her?" Bruce asked himself. Yeah, right, he still had the gut feeling that Lucia was accused falsely.Bruce turned his back to leave.After walking a few steps, he paused, sighed again, turned back to the building and walked into it.As expected, Lucia was in her most miserable state. It was hard for Bruce to believe that the woman behind the bars in front of him was the same woman that devoted most of her time to looking good. She devoted more time to looking good than to doing evil. She stinked, there were holes of various shapes, decorating her cloth, her hair was unruly and her skin had darkened."You're here to see how pathetic I have become," Lucia said with a sad smile. "You've finally had your revenge, haven't you.""You brought whatever predicament you're in on yourself. I only