‘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
"Did he agree?"Lucia frowned. Life sucked. She hated the fact that she had to deal with a mannerless jerk like Bryan.Who did he think he was? Lucia thought to herself. He was penniless and fatherless."If you're the one behind Jade's kidnap, why did you kill your accomplice, Mrs. Williamson?" Lucia knew the answer, but she only wanted to ask. She knew how ungrateful Bryan was and how he would discard whoever is no longer important to him without thinking twice."She tried to mess up my plan," Bryan smirked and locked eyes with Lucia. "If you try to do what she did, I'd send you 6 ft away from the surface of the earth."Lucia froze. She gulped and tried too hard to maintain a straight face. "What did she do?""The plan was to get Bruce's property. She messed up everything and let Jade escape. Without bothering to reach out to me, she decided to take your daughter's property and run." Bryan cackled. "I might have lost money and power, but I'm still smart. I offered to help Jade find B
"Lucia did it. Stop forcing me to tell lies."Bruce stared at the man that just roared the words at him blankly."George, right?" Bruce said after a while. The man looked at him in disdain. George was the man that had confirmed that Lucia was the one who kidnapped Jade."You were paid by the real culprit to pin the blame on Lucia, right?" George looked away. "Make another confession. This time around, you have to tell nothing but the truth."George smirked. "In your dreams. Lucia is innocent but she would rot in jail until my boss decides to help her get out.""Who is this boss of yours?" Bruce asked. "He must have a problem with me, right? He knows who I really am after all.""I won't tell you that either."Silence prolonged between them, then Bruce opened his mouth to talk. "You know very well that you're alone here with me. You're beaten up and at my mercy. I can kill you this very moment if I want.""I dare you." George smirked. "We also both know that you can do nothing to me."
"Jade," Bruce called out. "I can prove to you that he is lying. I proved it to the police."Bruce brought out his phone and held it out to Jade. "Here. A recording. I tried to force him into saying the truth. He said he wouldn't and I recorded him saying so." Bruce grinned. "That was smart of me, wasn't it."Jade slapped the phone off his hand to the ground. "What do you take me for? A fool?""Jade suspects that you planned everything. Everything in the recording was staged.""You believe the same, don't you?" Bruce frowned. It was heartbreaking for him to see that the very same people who he thought would always trust him now distrusted him.""Bruce," Bryan began. "Have you forgotten the last time you got imprisoned? I stood by you when every other person didn't.""What changed?" Bruce asked."These days, you've been acting very suspicious. I don't blame Jade for distrusting you and to be sincere, I don't—""Don't say it," Bruce chipped in."Green snake," Lucia said in disdain to Bry