"We're almost there sir," said the taxi driver, looking at Anthony in the back seat through the rearview mirror with curious eyes.
"I couldn't believe it when you told me that the Maple mansion was your destination but I'm glad I didn't clock off early today" The driver had a huge grin on his face
"So what job do you work here? Are you like one of the helpers or something? Maybe a bodyguard? So cool!" the driver smirked while Anthony remained silent.
Just the assumptions being made by the driver were already insulting enough, but, Anthony didn't take it too much to heart.
He accepted the fact that from how he looked, nobody in their right minds would straight up assumes he was a family member of the Maple's
"My wife and I are in serious need of a job and extra cash so if it's possible, can you try putting a word for her when I drop you off? I'll like to get your number so that we can keep talking—"
"You're mistaken, I don't work here. Never have and never will!" Anthony finally broke his silence, peering out the window and seeing a familiar Police car parked at the front of the Mansion.
The driver after hearing Anthony's reply felt a little bit confused but also insulted like the man he was driving was trying to play with his intelligence.
"What'd you mean you don't work here? Are you trying to make jokes right now, even after I just opened up to you about my need for some work?" He smacked his tongue, scowling.
"What could someone like you even be doing here if not work?" The driver abrasively parked the taxi right next to the empty police car, glaring at Anthony through the rearview mirror with his eyes daggers.
Anthony could care less about the driver. He was more focused on why the police car was there while he told the driver who he was to the Maples, their son-in-law.
Out of nowhere
"Fuck out of here you stupid bum! Son-in-law my ass!" The driver insulted, causing Anthony to pause from trying to open the door.
"You think I’d believe some dumb lie?! The Maple's would never talk to you let alone bother hiring you, even if it was to pack the dogs' shit!" The driver was grunting
Anthony didn’t know how to respond. At first, the driver had been polite when he told him that he was heading to the Maple mansion but that politeness had a coat of skepticism shrouding over it.
Now, seeing that Anthony might be someone of importance and could be of help to his wife, the driver tried to act friendly and force a fake relationship with him. However, everything changed when he assumed that Anthony was lying about knowing the Maple and his true impression of Anthony finally came to light.
*CLICK*
Having gone through a lot in the past few hours, Anthony didn't want to be in such a negative environment any longer than he had to and so he got out of the taxi, not even making an attempt at addressing the insult he just received. It wasn't worth it.
"Here's the money for the fare, hurry up with the change—" before he could finish the sentence the driver yanked the money from his hand, causing Anthony to have a paper cut on his thumb
"Change?! Since you're the big son-in-law of the Maples then you don't need change!" The driver stuffed the money with the rest before igniting the engine.
“You know what, do me a favor and get fucked! Next time I see you on the street, your knees are going to know what the bumper of my car tastes like, asshole!" he said, spat at Anthony but missed then reversed, making a quick turn and drove away
This whole exchange was so unexpected that it left Anthony scratching his head dumbfounded, sucking on the blood slowly escaping through the cut on his thumb
*STEP*
"SIGH… Home sweat— whatever I guess" Exhausted, Anthony headed for the entrance of the mansion, pushing the massive doors forward, and exposing the hall in which the party had taken place earlier.
"I wonder why Officer Wils— Huh?! Officer Wilson, what are you doing here?" Anthony asked, seeing Officer Wilson, his partner, and the rest of the Maple Family standing in wait for his arrival.
Julius' wife and their only son were also there with the family.
"Anthony!" Annabelle called out to him with a panicked and saddened look, trying to run to her husband but was being held back by the mere presence of Patience.
"What in the world is going on here?" Anthony questioned himself in shock. From the looks of those right in front of him, it seemed like there was about to be a battle.
It was an ambush waiting just for him.
Aside from Annabelle, Anthony could sense the hostility oozing from everyone else and all the alarms in his head were going off. What could they want? "Look at that, the dog has returned! Sadly, Officer Wilson and his partner will be taking you back to jail, a cage where animals like you truly belong!" Patience standing in front of the other family members spoke. "What are you talking about? You know what, I don't have time for thi—" Anthony was extremely tired so he waved Patience and the rest of the family goodbye, wanting to walk away when… "You're not going anywhere you scumbag! You remember this?" Officer Wilson stepped forward, blocking Anthony's path to his room and then he pushed something small and shiny towards him. "A woman's necklace? Of course I don't remember that, why should ?!" Looking annoyed Anthony answered. "This was found in your room and we all know you can't afford something this luxurious. The real owner is right here, Carla Maple!" Officer Wilson said, pro
Without needing to be asked, Anthony extended his hands with his wrists pressed together, expecting them to be cuffed. However, Officer Wilson who was walking over to him didn't even try to take out his handcuffs from around his belt buckle. "There won't be any arrests happening here today," Officer Wilson said, standing behind Anthony and helping him drop his hands. "Then what are you going to do Officer Wilson?" Julius asked "Well, I've come to understand that my Captain cares about this trash a lot, so if I was to make the arrest I'm certain that the Captain would find a way to get him released by tomorrow. I know none of you wants that, right?" "That sounds like a logical concern, so what's your idea, Officer Wilson?" Patience inquired. "This is up to you guys to agree with or not but I suggest that you all KICK him out of the mansion and force him to pay the amount the necklace is worth. That would also mean that I and my partner will be responsible for holding on to the ne
Disgraced and kicked out from the only home he's known since the day he married Annabelle, right now Anthony needed a place to spend the night but he didn't have any cash. His wallet was still in his room but he swore he wasn't going to step his foot back into the Maple mansion. The faces of his in-laws were the last thing he wanted to see right now. After a little thinking, there was only one place he could go, a men's homeless shelter and so he got on his motorcycle and drove there at full speed. The place was crowded and he could barely sleep because of the noise but he managed and in the morning, he went straight to THE BANK He needed money if he was to survive his exile and because he didn't have his debit card on him, he had to get a counter check and withdraw all the money he had saved. "Here are your five thousand dollars" the accountant passed him his money in a tidy envelope and he kept in his suit pocket, right beside his phone which had been blown up with messages from
Before coming to the casino, Anthony had first spent some time in a movie cinema, and towards the evening was when he arrived at the Jade Casino, walking over to one of the busy roulette tables. He had a sack in his hand that contained all of his betting chips. He had bought $5000 worth of chips which he’s used and lost and now he only had $500 left. There were already two very wealthy men, brothers, playing a game of roulette when he arrived at the table. They had a stick of the most expensive cigar sold within the casino in their mouths, and even the lighter they use was more expensive than everything he had on him. "Where do you think you're going, pig?!" One of the bodyguards of those two men blocked Anthony's path, stopping him from getting closer to the roulette table. "I'm just trying to place my bet after this round" Anthony said, trying to act cool so that this mountain of a bodyguard doesn't hurt him for no reason. The bodyguard took a good look at Anthony, from head to
"Anthony?!" Annabelle turned around and instead of her, Anthony was looking at the suitcase. "Thanks for bringing my stuff, hope it didn’t inconvenience you," he said then pulled the rolling suitcase to his side. He started to notice how quiet Annabelle was being which isn’t how she behaves around him, and because of that Anthony got a sense that something was wrong that he didn't know about. This had to be different and unrelated to him being exiled from her family mansion, he thought. "Hey, what's wrong? You’re acting like you’re hiding something from me, are you?" He got closer, trying to comfort her. "No it's nothing, don't worry ab—" she said with her head lowered but the moment she looked at Anthony, she paused abruptly. She became angry, scowling, and defensive all of a sudden, saying "You're not using that on me right now are you?! You promised me that you'll never try it again” Her sudden outburst caught Anthony off guard, leaving him speechless for a hot second. Thoug
The leader began to panic, red-faced, eyes bulging out their sockets, and was grabbing his veiny neck, trying to breathe. He started hammering his chest with his fist to try and force himself into breathing again and although it worked, his breathing was now unsteady. The leader stepped back, afraid of what Anthony would do next, however, his legs were too weak that stepping on a small pebble behind him made him trip and fall on his butt. The other gang members were also terrified by Anthony because only higher echelon members of the Mob have ever been able to place this level of fear in any of them. Even the police have never been able to get this type of reaction from them but here comes Anthony doing the same thing. "The penance stare!" the informant in the gang mumbled but he went unnoticed. They quickly rushed to their fallen leader, trying to help him up while he looked like he was just about to throw up everything he had eaten that day. Being forced to hold his breath for
After Anthony's call ended, it took exactly thirty minutes for two black vans to drive into Neon Grove, each packed to the limit with people all dressed in black hoodies, black baseball hats, black nose masks, black denim pants but surprisingly pure white canvas shoes. They were in uniform. These two vans drove fast and carelessly, almost hitting people but thankfully they didn't. "Where in the world are they going like that?" People asked themselves, only for the vans to take a right turn, and parking in front of the Untitled Hotel moments later. All the people inside the vans came out and the person who had been in the passenger seat of the first van lead the charge while the rest gathered at one spot. He had an access card in one hand and in the other hand was a sealed brown paper bag. They were in a hurry so he unlocked the hotel. "Alright people, you know what to do!" He signaled to everyone and in a rush, they all went into the Untitled Hotel. They split up at the elevator
The Overseer chuckled at Anthony's response ["Don't worry your head about what my identity is yet, in due time I will find you. Just wait until then and don't think that you can escape me"] The Overseer spoke in a malicious tone "You're going to find me are y—" Anthony was cut off ["Give back the phone to the busboy"] the Overseer instructed and Anthony feeling rebellious hesitated in doing so. The Overseer also refused to say anything more until he had made sure that Anthony had obeyed his instructions so he had no other choice but to comply. Both the Overseer and the man in black had a very short-lived one-sided conversation before the call was cut and he returned the phone to his pocket. "What did he say?" Anthony asked the man in front of him but was met with silence before… "Goodbye, sir! You know where to reach us if you have another order" The man in black bowed his head a little then left, walking in a hurry and heading back down. *DING* Down at the lobby, the cleaners