2025-01-22 00:37:01The Riverside Motel smelled of stale cigarettes and broken dreams. A fair thing since Macus’ life was now going down the drain. It had been only two days since he left the Wong mansion and already it felt like he had hit rock bottom. Not to mention the harrassing messages he got on the daily from the Wong family. Although he was no longer in the same house and accepting the abuse, keeping up with them over the phone was also exhausting.
Marcus sat on the edge of the sagging bed, staring at the duffel bag that contained everything he'd been allowed to take from his life of the past five years. His laptop, a few changes of clothes, mostly three shirts and a change of pants and his father's watch. The rest remained locked behind the Wong family's gates, probably being packed away or destroyed under Eleanor's supervising eyes.
He pulled some sites on his phone, wanting to see if there were any job openings around but then his eyes met something far worse.
SON-IN-LAW OF THE WONG FAMILY HAS A DAMNING AFFAIR
“Wait, what?” Marcus muttered, clicking on the link which led him to an interview where Victoria and another woman sat facing one another. What the hell was going on here?
“It’s good to see you Victoria even though it’s under bad circumstances. How have you been through all this?” The woman asked her, a solemn look on her face.
Victoria nodded and gave a small smile.
“I have been doing well considering everything. Work has been hectic but it helps me take my mind off these things.”
“Okay. Now, I know it might be hard but I have to ask. What happened between you and your husband? Why is your marriage on the rocks?"
Marcus watched in disbelief as Victoria started to cry on the video. The woman, Marisa, held her hand.
“We had been having some fights over the years but it became really bad recently. Marcus, my husband, had been coming back home late almost everyday. When I asked where he was he said he was working late at his part time job and that I shouldn’t ask anymore questions. I kept it civil at home but he kept on drinking and staying out of the house.”
She started to sniffle and took a tissue to blow her nose.
“So, one day I decided to follow him. I went to his workplace and they said that he wasn’t at work that day. I checked his GPS and saw that he was in Crenshaw. We have an apartment there so I thought nothing of it. I went over and headed into the building. I saw clothes on the floor so I went to the bedroom and I saw… I saw him and a woman in my matrimonial bed having sex.”
The water works increased as Victoria broke down in front of everyone.
“I confronted him and he said that he never loved me and he was only married to me for my money. I love him. How could he do that to me?”
Marcus paused the video and went through the comment section.
“Men truly are SCUM.”
“How could he cheat on such a catch? He must be stupid.”
“Guys I heard he’s poor. Like really poor.”
“Guess he was just with her for the money. I don’t think he’ll get a cent now though.”
“Do you think they’ll get a divorce? I mean who knows what she’s going through.”
While Marisa tried to calm her down Marcus turned off the phone and threw it across the room. He had had enough. He held his head in his hands.
“She has the audacity to spin the story on me. She cheated on me. What the hell is her problem? Couldn’t she just leave me alone?" He mumbled to himself but it didn’t help the anger bubbling inside of him.
His phone buzzed again, snapping Marcus out of his thoughts and causing him to go pick up his discarded phone. It was another message from James, his backstabbing friend.
"Be reasonable, Marcus. You know how Victoria's family operates. Take the settlement offer and walk away with something."
Something. As if five years of his life could be reduced to a number in a checking account. As if his dignity had a price tag that the Wong family could afford.
He deleted the message without responding, just as he'd deleted the dozen others that had preceded it. His phone buzzed again almost immediately. Victoria this time. Were they planning this non verbal assault together?
"Mother is having the rest of your filthy things packed. You have one hour to send someone to get them or they’re all going to get burnt. Honestly, I’m sure that even if we try to donate them, not even the beggars would take it. And really, Marcus, refusing to speak to our lawyers? Don't be childish."
The bedside lamp cast sickly yellow shadows across his face as Marcus grimaced, his anger seeping through. The bitch. Because of that family he had nothing. No home, no wife, no money, no best friend. His architectural designs, stored on the home computer he hadn't been allowed to retrieve, represented years of work now lost. He didn’t even have a job of his own anymore. Apparently, Richard Wong's influence extended to his employers, who had suddenly found his services no longer required, kicking him out of a somewhat well paying job.
A knock at the door startled him from his thoughts. For a moment, his heart leaped, thinking that it could have been Victoria or James but he knew them well. They would never set foot in a place like this. Plus, they didn’t even know where he was. So, who the hell could it be?
Marcus got off his bed, grabbing the closest thing he could use as a weapon just in case. The closest thing being a dented aluminium mantle piece from his nightstand. He moved slowly towards the door as there was another knock and waited patiently, hoping that whoever was behind it would give up and go away.
"Mr. Chen? I have your dinner order." A woman’s voice echoed out.
He hadn't ordered dinner or anything for that matter. A woman was harmless enough so he turned the handle of the door and opened it. A young woman holding a paper bag that smelled of cheap Chinese takeout stood before him, a small smile on her face.
"I didn't..." he began, trying to turn her away but she spoke up.
"Sarah Martinez," she interrupted, extending the bag. "I own the coffee shop next door. You looked like you could use a meal when you checked in this afternoon." She said to him, her eyes bright.
Marcus stared at the bag, then at her. With the news going around about him right now, how could she be offering him food. The husband who supposedly cheated on his billionaire wife. The internet and the world already hated him. How could she stand him?
“Why would you..”
“I’ve seen you enter this building three times without any food and I’m sure that they don’t cater to dinners at this motel. Plus, I’m pretty sure that you’re being punished for something that you didn’t do.” She mentioned with a chuckle. Marcus was about to ask her what she meant by that but like before she beat him to it.
“Just take it. I’m trying to be a good person.” She said, pushing the bag in his face.
"I can't pay you right now. My accounts are frozen." Marcus lied through his teeth. His accounts weren’t frozen. Victoria had taken everything from him.
"Good thing I'm not selling it, then." She pressed the bag into his hands. "Consider it a welcome to rock bottom. Trust me, the view only gets better from here."
Before he could respond, Sarah turned and walked away, her practical shoes squeaking slightly against the worn carpet. Marcus watched her go, the warm bag in his hands feeling like the first real thing he'd touched in days.
Inside his room, he found not just dinner but a handwritten note with a phone number:
"When you're ready to start climbing back up, call. I know some people who might be interested in an architect's perspective on their new business ventures.And no, I’m not stalking you. -Sarah"
Marcus sat on the bed, his eyes reading the note but his mind wondering where Sara might have known him from. He sighed and began to unwrap the container of food when his phone buzzed again. It was his mother-in-law this time.
"You ungrateful little man. Did you really think someone like you could ever be part of our family? Victoria told us everything – how you've been emotionally manipulative, how you tried to isolate her from James. We'll make sure everyone knows what you really are."
The lies shouldn't have surprised him. Of course they would try to rewrite history, to paint him as the villain in their story. He could already imagine the whispers spreading through their social circle, the carefully crafted narrative of poor Victoria and her abusive husband, saved by her noble friend James. Tch. How low were they willing to stoop?
His phone buzzed one final time. A text from James.
"Look, take the settlement. One hundred thousand and a clean break. It's more than fair considering your position."
Marcus frowned. Was that all they thought he was worth? He had taken their abuse, day after day, taken the betrayal with insults to boot and then they thought that they could just write him off to the side and ruin his name publicly. How dare they?
He pulled out his father's watch, turning it over in his hands. The inscription caught the dim light: "Time reveals all truths." His father had always said that justice had its own schedule, that the universe had a way of balancing its books. Marcus smiled at the thought. Justice would prevail and he would be the one to make sure that it did.
He would have his revenge on the Wong family but first he needed to survive. To rebuild. To become someone that they would never see coming. Sarah’s note caught his eye once more. It was unexpected, considering the news that was now floating around about him but it was welcomed. Tomorrow he would call. Tomorrow, he would take the first step up from rock bottom. He would show the Wong’s that he was no one to mess with.
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“Another thing. I need that laptop back. It’s important that I get it back.” Marcus said as he turned back to the smirking men, wanting to get one thing straight. That laptop was still important. One of them shook his head. “We can’t. We still need to get paid by our previous employer.” He said, a small sneer forming on his face. “Do you still want me to pay you or do you want nothing?” Marcus slightly threatened. “What do we tell him when he asks?” Green eyes asked. Marcus rolled his eyes as he couldn’t believe that these men were able to kidnap people in broad daylight and not be caught but can’t lie to save their own lives. It was truly unbelievable. It was a let down. “Tell him that you got the evidence and destroyed it. As for me, let him know that you couldn’t kill me. I went straight to the police while the girls came over here and did the exchange themselves. Assure him that you’ll keep on trying and soon enough, you’ll have me killed.”The men glanced at one another bef
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Those green eyes stared back at Marcus, Rachel and Lori menacing and ready to pounce. The man who Marcus could see clearly now, smirked at him, taunting him with that sly grin. Marcus had a feeling that this meeting was probably going to end up with someone dead since the man was purposefully going to kill him before. He could smell the bloodlust from the man.“Calm down. I’m not here to kill you. We need to take care of this business first and then I can finally end your life maybe later.” The green-eyed man spoke out, placing one hand on his waist. “Who ordered you to do this?” Marcus asked, getting a bit on edge as the man and his two partners edged closer to them.“Who ordered me to do what exactly? I have a lot of employers.” He retorted, toying with Marcus. “You know what I mean. Who asked you to kidnap those people and try to kill me?” Marcus asked him more clearly, not in the mood for fun and games. The green-eyed man waved his hands in the air.“Whoa, whoa, whoa. I’m not h
Chapter One Hundred and Five: GREEN EYES
Marcus left the mansion in a hurry with the new found knowledge that his uncle had been watching him. It irked him as he got into his car wondering how long Eric's spying had been going on. He knew that there were cameras at every inch of the mansion but he didn’t think that his uncle would be keeping such a close eye on him. Now that Lori's family had been taken by Eric, of that he was sure, he had no choice but to turn in the evidence that they had just uncovered. It was annoying that Callum was right to say the least, but he couldn't risk having anything bad happen, especially to Lori's little brother. She would never recover from that and he would blame himself explicitly. Marcus swerved through the streets trying to decide whether to go to the police station and tell Callum what had just happened or to go straight to a place he knew could disable the cameras of his prying uncle without being noticed.As he made his next turn he noticed that a car turned with him. It wouldn't ha
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Marcus successfully got Rachel on his side after he took his time to explain what was really happening. He had pulled her into his room, Lori too and re-explained everything to the both of them also while showing Rachel the pictures that Lori had brought to further prove his point to her. At the end of his talk, Rachel blushed, extremely ashamed of the behavior she had shown when she thought that something else was going on when she saw the both of them together. She had gone through a rough time with Davon and although she and Marcus weren’t romantically involved, she didn’t want another ruined relationship that would be based on lies. She wasn’t sure that she could take that again. “Oh, I see.” She uttered, bending her head a little and staring at the ground while Lori just stood there and rolled her eyes at the situation.“But now that we have this, we have to take it to the authorities and even if nothing can be done, we have to take matters into our own hands.” Rachel said, gett
Chapter One Hundred and Three: EVIDENCE
Ever since the impromptu meeting that Marcus had attended with his family, the emotions in the mansion had shifted. While some people were rallying up against the police force and whoever they thought had put them up to framing Eric, the rest of them were confused at what had happened and right now, had no idea what route to take. Mostly because they trusted Eric but it all seemed very convenient. One of the latter being Marcus, already had something working in the background as the house was in a state of utter confusion. He sat in his room, at his workstation trying to wrap his head around not only the whole Eric situation but also the standing of the company in terms of their records when he received a call from Lori. He had called her earlier hoping that she could help him find something that could prove that his uncle was either innocent or guilty like Callum had insisted but something felt off.“Hey. You’re calling very early. Do you have anything yet?” Marcus spoke as soon as
Chapter One Hundred and Two: CAT AND MOUSE
Marcus ended up going home after some minutes of reflecting on what he wanted to do when he came face to face with the rest of his family. His car pulled up to the front of his house and he got out while a valet came up to him and took the keys to his car before taking it to the garage where it was meant to be kept. Marcus took in a huge breath before he stepped into the house.He had some relief when he entered the lobby of the house and no one was there to greet him. He turned to go up the stairs when his name rang out in the space.“Marcus!”He turned around, feeling a bit nervous about meeting her. Rachel walked briskly towards him; a questioning look on her face. She pouted as she reached him.“Marcus where have you been? Eric came back all by himself. What happened?”“Nothing. I picked him up but I needed to get something while he wanted to get back to the house as soon as possible. I gave him a car and we went our separate ways.”Rachel crinkled her eyes, obviously showing susp
Chapter One Hundred and One: THE INTERROGATION
Marcus and Callum walked silently to the interrogation room where Eric was already seated and twiddling his thumbs. They saw him first from the windows before they entered the room through the door. Marcus took a seat first before Callum did and pulled out a recorder and a notepad that he could jot on. Callum flipped through his note pad looking for the questions he had meticulously wrote down to ask while Eric and Marcus stared at one another, one not really knowing where this interrogation would lead and the other confused as to why he was even in the interrogation room being accosted by a family member. Callum found what he was looking for and broke the ice. He turned on his recorder.“This interrogation is being carried out by Detective Callum Bennet. Marcus Wei is sitting in on the interrogation. The suspect is his uncle, Eric Wei.”After Callum had introduced himself to the recorder for reference purposes, he turned to Eric and began the interrogation.“Mr. Wei, you are here as
