Matthew cracked his eyes open, he was in a strange room with a high ceiling. He was seemingly alone in the room and was tied to a chair. When he attempted to get up, he was instantly restrained and pulled back due to the tightly knotted ropes that bound his wrists and ankles. His mouth was gagged, so even when he tried to let out a cry, it came out as a muffled sound. He was relentless however, he kept struggling and trying to free himself screaming as loud as his inner voice could let him. He broke a sweat out of exertion as he struggled to release himself from the bondage. The metallic chair he was placed upon began to screech as it scratched against the floor with each movement he made. He relentlessly kept trying until the chair lost its balance standing on only one leg before it fell to the ground with a harsh thud. The air in his lungs were instantly knocked out as pain resonated around his diaphragm. His temples also collided with the hard ground, making him grunt. While
Xander arrived at Lola's apartment and he parked his car right in front of her place. He got down from his car and made his way to her apartment, knocking on her door.Inside, Lola was still trying to get ready. Her roommate Karen quickly rushed into the room holding two purses. “So which one do you want to go with the black purse or the red purse?”Lola quickly looks down on the dress she was wearing and then at the purses that her friend was holding. “Just give me the red.” She snatched it from Karen's hands and then rushed to the door and opened it. “Hey Xander,” she said almost breathlessly, she had been hurrying to prepare from fear of being late. He raked his eyes over her as though she was a specimen, from head to toe and a smile formed on his lips. “You look amazing.”Her cheeks were flustered as she chuckled, accepting his compliment. “Thank you, you don't look too bad yourself.” He reached into his breast pocket and pulled out a small rose, handing it over to her. “For yo
Raymond parked his car in front of the abandoned warehouse, grabbed the gun and made his way in. As he walked towards the main building, one of his goons greeted him. “Sir, you finally made it.”He couldn't care less about pleasantries, and so he went straight to the point. “Where is Sinclair?”“He's inside.” “Matthew?”“He's also inside sir.” “Great.” Raymond marched into the building and headed to the room where Sinclair was looking. Similar to Matthew's condition, Sinclair was tied up to a pole and left in a large dusty dimly lit room.He raised his head to see Raymond walking into the room. “Why did you have your men apprehend me and bundle me here like a criminal?”“Aren't you a criminal?”His eyes grew wide. “If I'm a criminal what does that make you?”Raymond shrugged, “I always knew I was rotten, it's not new news to me. I may be so many things but I'm not a hypocrite, I know what I am.”Sinclair was breathing heavily as he stared down at Raymond. “So what do you want with
Under the bright afternoon sun of New York City, Matthew Donovan scooped a bowel full of water and splashed it on top of the dull sedan he was scrubbing down at the car wash.His phone suddenly buzzed loudly, vibrating inside the pocket of his jeans. Calmly, Matthew wiped his damp hands before fishing out the phone. Glancing at the screen, a smile lit up his weary face. It was his girlfriend, Ashley, and she was just what he needed to brighten up his day.He accepted the call. “Hey Ashley, what's up?”“Matty, I need $300, like right away!” Ashley had a sweet voice, but as usual, she was very direct. “I just found this gorgeous necklace, and I want to buy it before someone snatches it away.”The earlier smile on Matthew’s face quickly disappeared. He knew how much Ashley loved her jewelry, but he also didn't have that kind of money with him. “Uh… Ashley?”He could sense her frown through the call. “What is it!?”“I only have $200 on me right now. Can't it wait until—”“No, Matt! It can
Matthew was numb, his eyes were locked on Ashley but he just stood there, not knowing what to say or what to do.Her expression shifted from anger to shock, and soon she began to avoid his gaze.As he connected the dots—the underwear in his hand, her earlier furious accusations, and the look on her face now—everything fell into place for Matthew.Now, she felt like a stranger. But a stranger's betrayal wouldn't cut this deep.“Ashley,” he finally managed to say, his voice was low and trembling with emotions that were barely restrained. “You cheated on me?”Ashley’s mouth opened and closed as she struggled to find the right words. Not that Matthew would believe a word out of her mouth.“Matthew, I—” she stammered, taking a hesitant step back. “It’s not what you think, I—”“Then what is it?!” Matthew found himself almost yelling. “How can you do this to me?! I’ve given you everything I could! All these years, all the sacrifices I made... was it not enough? Was I not enough?”“Well, isn'
Matthew sat on the cold, hard bench in the police station, his head still throbbing, his ribs aching and his entire body weary from the earlier ordeal.Out of nowhere, three men in black suits had arrived and picked him up from the car wash, forcefully taking him to the police station. So there he was, handcuffed with his face low as he regretted his life.He regretted ever meeting Ashley! He regretted falling in love with her!Policemen walked about in the station, there were low voices and the clattering of keys. It was a busy day, and no one cared to listen to his pleas of innocence.“Look at you,” Darrell Ferguson, who was standing just a few feet away, sneered. He was flanked by two officers who seemed more like his personal guards than upholders of the law.“Pathetic, useless thing. You thought you could stand up to me? You, a mere car washer against the man who runs this city? You're as stupid as you're poor! You’re nothing, Matthew. Nothing but a worthless piece of trash.”Eve
“Get him cleaned up!” the chief commanded the officer. “And bring him to my office. Now.”The officer, along with another that had just arrived, scrambled to obey. They lifted Matthew and half-dragged him to the station's medical room where they hastily patched up his wounds, cleaned the blood and urine with a wet rag, then wore him old, lost and found clothes.Although he was too dazed to comprehend what was happening, Matthew had caught snippets of their nervous conversation. Who was this Harold Wellington and why had he come for him? Matthew had no friends in high places, no connections to power. It made no sense.Within minutes, he was ushered into the chief's office where a man in an expensive tailored suit stood by the window, holding a briefcase. He had dark hair, and his eyes were sharp behind his pair of glasses as he assessed Matthew.‘Who is this?’ Matthew wondered. ‘What is going on?’“You harmed him,” the man said to the police chief once he was done with his assessment.
Matthew sat on the black, plush leather seat inside an expensive Jeep that was being driven by a stern chauffeur. In his mind, he was trying to put together the events that had just happened because none of it made sense to him.Maybe one of the men had hit his head so hard and he was imagining all of this. Beside him was Harold Wellington, the powerful lawyer who for some reason had come to his rescue. Although he felt too overwhelmed to ask them, Matthew needed his questions to be answered.“Why are you helping me?” Matthew finally asked Wellington. “I don’t even know who you are.”Wellington glanced at him briefly, an assuring look on his face. “I understand how confused and overwhelmed you might be after all of this. But I assure you it will be fine, Matthew. My name is Harold Wellington. I'm your family's lawyer—your true family, the Houston family.”Matthew blinked. “Houston family? I've heard that a lot today. I don't know who they are so I don't understand what you're talking