“I’ve got some not-so-good news for you,” Pierce said gravely.
“What is it?” Jake asked eagerly.
“Your wife is selling the Hawaii mansion and relocating to Japan with James.”
“What? Why? Is she broke already?”
“I don’t think so. I guess after that tragic incident that happened at her party last month and the ensuing negative media coverage, she has decided that it’s time for a change of scene.”
“That’s a rather drastic move.”
“I agree. Victoria is pretty upset about this. She doesn’t want her brother to be taken away from her but there’s nothing any of us can do to stop it.”
“Damn… even if something happens to Meg, her family will step in and take care of James. The only way we can get him back is to prove beyond reasonable doubt that her family is unfit to care for him.”
“That’s
On the seventh day after Jake received that dreadful email from the anonymous hacker, a troll account on IG released several pages of what was purported to be emails sent from Jake Turner’s email account since his death.Several media outlets and online bloggers were tagged in the post and within minutes, the news was everywhere. The Underdog Billionaire might still be alive after all.Pierce was hounded by press people who stormed his villa and camped outside the Turner Group office building, demanding answers to this explosive revelation. Even the CIA wanted in on the details.“Is it true that your boss is still alive?” Tessa Sanders asked him over the phone.“I am just as surprised as everyone else,” he lied.“But you’ve been communicating with him. Everyone has read the leaked emails and I’m made to believe that they are authentic.”“Is that so? Then it means someone is imperson
As Pierce already predicted, the hacker sent Jake another email two days after the viral leak, threatening to reveal Jake’s location. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, he had doubled his fee and was now demanding 200 million dollars.“This is ridiculous,” Jake laughed after reading the email. He showed it to Shadow a.k.a Fransisco, and he too laughed.“What an idiot.”“I hope Pierce is wrong about his suspicion though. It would break my heart if he’s right.”“At this point in your life, nothing should surprise you anymore. I could even be your enemy.”“Please, don’t be. Let me have at least one human being that I can trust.”Shadow smiled. “I’m just kidding. I value loyalty and integrity above everything else in life.”“That’s refreshing to know.”“I better go out and catch us some fish for dinner. We do
“In a shocking plot twist, all speculations about Jake Turner, also known as the Underdog Billionaire possibly faking his own death have finally been laid to rest following a confession from his former PA, Gregory Lowe, who has admitted in a social media post to being the brain behind the leaked emails. “According to Lowe, he conceived the idea after months of battling with emotional instability due to a terrible break-up that he never recovered from. He created deep fake emails and posted them to gain attention and create excitement in what he has described as a boring life.“The story is still developing and we have with us in the studio a behavioural analyst who will break down this topic and – “Pierce flipped a button on the remote control and the TV went dead instantly. He swung his swivel chair around to face Jake on the desktop computer screen where he’d been watching the news report f
“Another round, please,” said Jake Turner. He pushed his empty shot glass toward the middle-aged barman, Sam.“Yeah. Right after you pay for the ones you already drank,” came the reply.“Come on, man. Cut me some slack here. Didn’t I tell you that I just got laid off from the factory?”“How’s that my business?”“Ok, you know what. I’ll pay everything I owe once I get another job and that will be very soon.”“Very soon doesn’t pay the bills here, Jake. Pay what you owe and get out of my bar.”Jake sighed. Why did his life suck this much? He couldn’t even afford to drown out his sorrows with a few shots of cheap whiskey.“Come on, man. Pay up,” Sam growled at him.Whatever Jake was going to say next was silenced by the loud crash that happened behind him followed by a man yelling, “Stupid bitch!”He looked back to see what the commotion was about and he saw a sleek guy in a suit, towering over a lady who was sitting in front of an upturned table. She looked terrified.“I’m trying to do
“There he is! The man of the hour,” said Brian as Jake entered the tiny apartment he shared with him and two other guys.“What’s up, bruh?” Jake greeted him.“Cut the crap, pretty boy. Where’s your rent?” Freddie asked. He was a short, bulky guy with a mean streak and a foul mouth.“Chill out, man,” said Paul. “At least, let him sit down first.”“He can sit after he pays,” Freddie growled.“So, where’s your cut, bruh?” Brian asked.Six pairs of eyes focused on Jake. He realized just then that this was a gang-up against him. He’d walked into an ambush.“Look, I got laid off from work today,” he explained.Paul laughed and said, “I won!”He stretched out his hand towards Brain and got a $20 bill in return.“Wait, you guys bet on me?” Jake asked. He was embarrassed.“Yeah, because all you ever come up with are stories,” said Freddie. “You never pay your share of the rent and hardly contribute to buying the groceries.”“And yet you get to eat, sleep here and load the toilet with your stin
“Morgan has always been a very picky girl but I can see why she chose you,” said Richard Sherwood. They were in the sunroom and he’d been grilling Jake for over two hours about his background and life experiences. “I want my daughter to marry a street-smart guy, not those pansies with ivy league education but no grit. I like you, son, and you have my approval to marry my daughter.” “Just like that? I don’t even have a dollar to my name!” “I have all the dollars you could ever want, Jake. The question is, do you have what it takes to keep them coming or will you throw them all away?” “But isn’t that Morgan’s responsibility?” Richard scoffed. “Morgan is like a Sherwood mascot. She doesn’t know anything about my businesses but she thinks she would magically figure them out after I’m gone.” “Where are you going?” “Are you blind? Can’t you see I’m old? What’s left in this world for me?” “Oh…” “A stylist is coming to dress you for the engagement photoshoot later today. Morgan has a
Ever since the will reading, Jake felt as if he was walking on land mines in the mansion. Linda had stopped speaking to him and Morgan hated him.“I can’t believe I brought you here to steal my inheritance from me!”“Listen, I had nothing to do with that. I’m just as shocked as you are.”“What did you discuss with my father the following morning after I brought you here?”“He was just telling me about his businesses.”“Liar! You somehow managed to convince my father to give you my inheritance!”“That’s not true, Morgan, and you know it. How would a complete stranger convince an intelligent old man to give up his fortunes like this?”“I don’t know. Why don’t you tell me how you did it?”He sighed. The arguments were always the same every day and he just couldn’t win. He too was still struggling to wrap his head around it all.In two weeks, he had gone from a poor guy to becoming a billionaire. It was unbelievable and he hadn’t yet come to terms with it.The following day, he was summon
“I can’t believe it!” Said Morgan. “Martin?”“Yes. And he pulled out a bunch of paperwork showing that Richard did owe him half his empire. I couldn’t even tell if the documents were legit or not.”“I thought Martin was an investment banker,” said Linda.“Well, he invests in shady businesses and banks on his partners going sideways on him so that he can steal everything they have,” said Jake.“What do we do now?” Morgan asked. She sounded panicked.“I don’t even know. I have no clue about this kind of backdoor business. Richard didn’t explain any of this to me!”“Get yourself together!” Linda snapped at him. “If Richard entrusted you with his wealth, it’s because he knew you have what it takes to handle it. Think!”Her words set the wheels in his brain turning at high speed. How do you beat a bully at his own game?“I’m going back to see Martin,” he announced. “I’m going to have a look at those documents again and see what I can find out.”“Good,” said Linda. “Make us proud.”When he
“In a shocking plot twist, all speculations about Jake Turner, also known as the Underdog Billionaire possibly faking his own death have finally been laid to rest following a confession from his former PA, Gregory Lowe, who has admitted in a social media post to being the brain behind the leaked emails. “According to Lowe, he conceived the idea after months of battling with emotional instability due to a terrible break-up that he never recovered from. He created deep fake emails and posted them to gain attention and create excitement in what he has described as a boring life.“The story is still developing and we have with us in the studio a behavioural analyst who will break down this topic and – “Pierce flipped a button on the remote control and the TV went dead instantly. He swung his swivel chair around to face Jake on the desktop computer screen where he’d been watching the news report f
As Pierce already predicted, the hacker sent Jake another email two days after the viral leak, threatening to reveal Jake’s location. And as if that wasn’t bad enough, he had doubled his fee and was now demanding 200 million dollars.“This is ridiculous,” Jake laughed after reading the email. He showed it to Shadow a.k.a Fransisco, and he too laughed.“What an idiot.”“I hope Pierce is wrong about his suspicion though. It would break my heart if he’s right.”“At this point in your life, nothing should surprise you anymore. I could even be your enemy.”“Please, don’t be. Let me have at least one human being that I can trust.”Shadow smiled. “I’m just kidding. I value loyalty and integrity above everything else in life.”“That’s refreshing to know.”“I better go out and catch us some fish for dinner. We do
On the seventh day after Jake received that dreadful email from the anonymous hacker, a troll account on IG released several pages of what was purported to be emails sent from Jake Turner’s email account since his death.Several media outlets and online bloggers were tagged in the post and within minutes, the news was everywhere. The Underdog Billionaire might still be alive after all.Pierce was hounded by press people who stormed his villa and camped outside the Turner Group office building, demanding answers to this explosive revelation. Even the CIA wanted in on the details.“Is it true that your boss is still alive?” Tessa Sanders asked him over the phone.“I am just as surprised as everyone else,” he lied.“But you’ve been communicating with him. Everyone has read the leaked emails and I’m made to believe that they are authentic.”“Is that so? Then it means someone is imperson
“I’ve got some not-so-good news for you,” Pierce said gravely.“What is it?” Jake asked eagerly.“Your wife is selling the Hawaii mansion and relocating to Japan with James.”“What? Why? Is she broke already?”“I don’t think so. I guess after that tragic incident that happened at her party last month and the ensuing negative media coverage, she has decided that it’s time for a change of scene.”“That’s a rather drastic move.”“I agree. Victoria is pretty upset about this. She doesn’t want her brother to be taken away from her but there’s nothing any of us can do to stop it.”“Damn… even if something happens to Meg, her family will step in and take care of James. The only way we can get him back is to prove beyond reasonable doubt that her family is unfit to care for him.”“That’s
Megumi’s case against Pierce was thrown out of court because the law supports the provisions made in Jake’s will regarding how the Turner estate is to be divided and who can be Victoria’s legal guardian.The same thing happened with Jude Weiss and members of The Association who had crawled out of their holes to try to rock the Turner Group boat with hopes that something would come out.It had been six months since the fatal explosion that supposedly took Jake Turner’s life and the world was starting to move on quickly. The CIA finally beams their searchlight on Irina, tasking her to produce her boss in exchange for a commuted sentence.The offer was way too juicy for her to pass up, so she agreed. Unfortunately, she never lived to deliver her end of the deal.She was shot in the head by a long-range sniper at the airport as she was being escorted onto the flight that would take her to Finland. She died instantly and her killer was
“That’s incredible!” Victoria gasped after Jake had finished speaking. “So, it’s really you. You’re alive.”“Yes, Vicky. I’m alive,” Jake replied with an apologetic smile.Victoria’s eyes misted and she reached forward to embrace her father. He wrapped her in his arms and let her weep on his chest.Even he was overcome with emotion. It felt good to be reunited with his daughter.“I am so sorry for deceiving you like that,” he said softly as she continued to cry. “It was the only way to make sure that I could escape from Hawaii without being discovered.”She broke the embrace and nodded slowly. “I understand. You did what you had to do to protect yourself.”“You’re wiser than your age.”“You’re braver than you look.”“What about Megumi? Are you going to tell her the truth?”
San Fransisco, three months ago…“What you’re asking me to do is not impossible, but the time frame for its execution makes it seem… undoable.”“I’ll quadruple your fee if you can get it done in 24 hours.”The Ferret’s eyes widened slightly. His services didn’t come cheap, so earning four times that amount on a single job was too juicy to pass up.“If I may ask, why the urgency?”Jake shrugged. “Many people want me dead anyway, so I might as well beat them to it.”“You have an army of bodyguards to protect you. So why did you choose this drastic option instead?”“Do you want the job or not?”“I’m just curious.”“Don’t be. Pierce told me you’re very discreet. I hope that’s true.”The Ferret looked insulted. “Of course, I am discreet. I just like
Victoria was silent throughout the boat ride. She was thankful for the noisy boat engine that made normal conversation impossible.The boat rider sat in front of them and looked straight ahead. Victoria wondered if the elderly man spoke English.Would he help her if she told him now that her father’s PA was kidnapping her and taking her to an unknown destination? Or was the man in on the plot?The ride took over an hour and by the time they reached their first stop, the sky was dark. They stopped on an island that was anything but secret.The place was alive with tourists and locals dancing to music, eating, drinking and laughing loudly. Gregory led her past the noise to a beach on the other end of the small island.They got into another boat and began another silent ride across the ocean. At this point, Victoria lost all hopes of ever getting found.Not even the FBI can track her to this remote destination. She should’ve probabl
“So… where are we going?”“Indonesia.”“For real? I’ve never been there before!” Victoria said excitedly.“Me too but I’m looking forward to exploring the place,” Gregory replied with equal enthusiasm.For the first time since her father died, Victoria did not feel that heavy weight of grief that constantly clouded her thoughts. For once, she felt eager and excited to see what the rest of the day would bring.The only thing she found odd about this trip was that Uncle Pierce had insisted that they travel without any of the bodyguards. She never went anywhere without them since her kidnapping, and she felt a bit nervous about not having them around this time.It didn’t matter that they were flying in one of her dad’s private jets. Not having an armed guard nearby just in case something unexpected happened, didn’t quite sit well with her.She could only