Brandon went to his house and was really stressed. “Call the IT team. I want to know the members of the Gang, I want to know where Lucy is!” He was ranting and Ellie knew it. No hard feelings. “Ok.” She said and started to make her calls. She called the butler of the Ashford Manor. “Mr. Hartley? Hi!” “Hello, Miss Patterson. How may I assist you?” The butler’s voice echoed on the other side of the line, as politely as ever. “Mr. Hartley, please, I need you IT team working with mine.” She explained the whole situation for him. Of course Harold Hartley was not just any butler. As much as he was old and worked as a mere servant in the eyes of others, he was far more than that. His family has been working for the Ashfords for centuries. Some people are butlers, just butlers, but some are part of one of the four great clans, that give their lives to serve their masters. No, not slaves. They receive a great payment for their services, since they are well trained as fighters, strategis
“I beg your pardon?” Brandon asked, smiling nervously.James sighed internally, but kept his posture.“You, Mr. Friedrich Ashford, is under arrest.” He said. “Please, come with us without causing trouble.” “May I know under which pretense I am being arrested?” Brandon asked, still not believing his ears. “Of course. You are being arrested for the kidnapping of Lucinda Fairfax.” Brandon needed a few seconds to really understand the meaning of those words. “Wait a minute.. Why would you think I did it? I am looking for her!” Brandon asked and for what James could see, the man seemed to be in mishape, but they had evidence. “We have evidence and for that, you will be detained for further inquiry.” “That is not possible. How can you have evidence on something that didn’t happen? Huh?” He asked, shaking his head. “I’ll go with you, I won’t ‘cause trouble’, but I want my lawyer or I won’t say anything.”“As you prefer sir. You have the right to remain silent and anything you say might
Andrew could do nothing to take Brandon out of there unless he gathered proof that Friedrich Ashford was not in the place that the tape video showed he was. “I’ll work on it, ok?” He told Brandon, who nodded. “Well, I’ll just wait, then.” Brandon said. “I’ll wait. And you keep looking for Lucy.” “Sure, Mr. Ashford. “With that, the lawyer was gone and Brandon was led to a cell, where he would stay until further notice or, most likely, until trial day. The cell was not terrible, but even if it was, Brandon would not complain. James, on the other hand, was surprised because Brandon said nothing. Normally, if any rich man was put in a cell like that, he would complain nonstop about everything. ‘This man is different, indeed’, he thought.“You’ll stay here until we have an order saying we should release you.” James told Brandon, closing the cell’s door behind the man. “Ok.” Brandon answered. James nodded and walked away, leaving Brandon alone with his own thoughts. “Sir, the owner
“Thank you, Mr. Ashford.” Ellie said, but before she could open the door, he grabbed her hand. “Thank you, Ellie, for being so faithful to my son. After everything he's been through, I know how important this was to him. I never thanked you properly.” Ellie smiled and shook her head. “There is no need to thank me, Mr. Ashford. I like Brandon a lot. Let's just say it was 'love' at first sight, only one between brother and sister." She said happily, and William knew right there that there was no hope for Ellie and Brandon as a couple, ever. “You are the daughter I didn't have. And I'd like you to be even closer to our family
Judgment day has finally arrived. Brandon, other than visits from the attorney, was not allowed to speak to anyone else. He only ate what the lawyer brought him. As he hadn't been arrested with a trial, there was no problem with it.James was the one who escorted Brandon out of the police station, where many reporters were already waiting. Many pictures of Brandon were taken, and he kept his expression neutral, even when people other than the media swore at him, wished him dead.He tried not to look, not pay attention to it, but he ended up seeing some of the signs that were there. Apparently, his unblemished reputation was completely ruined.He got into the police vehicle and remained silent, heading to the courthouse. There, once again, the media and many more civilian people with signs and calling for 'justice'.“Mr Ashford, is it true that you kidnapped, raped and killed your girlfriend?”"Mr. Ashford, was your envy for your brother motivated?""Mr Ashford, is it true then that Br
It didn't take long to read the verdict, and the result was one that Brandon knew, deep down, would happen: He was found guilty on account of the DNA. There was no refuting there. Unfortunately.Georgiana and Devon Montgomery were satisfied with that. Simon and Augustina too, but..“Why do you have that face on?” Augustina asked Rindley, who didn't respond, and as soon as he could, he got up and left the room, alone.As he left, he leaned against the wall. He knew inside him that it was some kind of setup. Friedrich loved Lucy. There was no doubt about that.Then the sound of a door opening and he saw her, Ellie. She had her head down, her eyes red. Rindley took a step forward, however, William Ashford walked away and put his arm around Ellie's shoulders, causing Rindley to stand still.William saw Rindley and said something in Ellie's ear, who nodded and went ahead. William then turned towards Rindley.Immediately, Rindley shifted his stance. His aura grew colder. He thought about tu
Brandon wasn't taken to talk to the counselor or anything like that. No, he was led straight through a door that opened into a steep and, to put it mildly, insalubrious corridor.There were few cells there, and Brandon was thrown into one of them, brutally to the floor. If he had been less robust, he probably would have been much more injured."Let us now teach the illustrious, magnanimous, almighty Lord Ashford, how troublemakers are treated here." One of the guards said with contempt and he tapped his club in his hand, approaching Brandon.He knew there was no point in complaining or yelling. And much less fight the guards. That would only make them use it as motivation to beat up and do even worse to him, in there, where no one was watching their actions. After the shower of blows Brandon received, the men came out and left him there, bleeding.'Chung-hee, I need to talk to him'...That was Brandon's last thought before he passed out. When he woke up, he had no way of knowing if i
Brandon's POV"An accident?" I asked very seriously. “What kind of accident?” Seemed like everything was happening together. “The friends of Mr. Jin, those who helped you when… a-hen… the issue with Mr. M. Well, they were assigned a mission and there was an accident.”“Ok, and has anyone died?” I asked. “Yes, Mr. Ashford. Many. Most of them, actually.” Andrew answered and he was definitely trying to be very light about it. Then I understood what was going on. It was an ambush, no doubt. But of course... without Chung-hee and his allies in the police, there would be no way, or at least it would be very difficult, to prove my innocence."I understand." I said finally. My throat was still dry and my body ached from the beatings, but mostly my arms.“Try to keep a low profile for now, Mr. Ashford. Until we can resolve this situation.”“And Lucy?” She was what mattered most to me. Not knowing if she was dead or alive and being abused by the damned Gang was an agonizing pain every second