“How did it go?” Meg asked Jake as soon as he arrived home.
“Not too bad. It could have been worse,” he replied coolly. He didn’t want to get into the details with her because he didn’t want her to panic.
“Did the supervisor figure out how the machinery came loose?”
“Not yet, but he will. The police and the OSHA are on it too. Where’s my son?”
“In his bedroom, sleeping.”
“And Victoria?”
“Who knows?”
He sighed and went in search of his children. James was indeed asleep in his crib while Victoria was busy in her playroom, tidying up her toys.
“Oh, that’s nice. You’re cleaning up your playroom.”
“Hi, Daddy! When did you get back?” She asked and hugged him.
“Just a few minutes ago. Are you done for the day?”
“Not really. I want to give these toys to Celine.&
Adding Margot’s empire to his already overflowing conglomerate was more satisfying than Jake wanted to admit. It was as if he was flipping the middle finger at Margot and her son at the same time.He received another anonymous message from the supposed Francesca Lopez but this time, the postman was not so lucky with his sneaky moves. The new CCTV camera’s caught him as he was slipping the envelope into the mailbox and the security men showed up in time to catch him in the act.The frightened man was dragged into the compound and Jake was alerted immediately. When he showed up, he didn’t expect to see an elderly man cowering amid his security team.“Who are you?” Jake asked him sharply.“Dennis. My name is Dennis,” the man stuttered. “I haven’t done anything wrong. I only came here to deliver a letter.”“Are you a registered postman?”“No, sir. I live near the train
Jake watched with horror as the armed men marched toward his vehicle with guns aimed at it. If they unleash more bullets on the car, it was only a matter of time before the protective shield caved in under pressure.Meg and Victoria were crouched behind the front seats and they were crying with James now. Jake hated feeling so helpless but there was nothing he could do but sit there and pray for a miracle.“Do something!” Meg screamed at him desperately. “They’re going to kill us.”“I don’t have a weapon with me in here. Let’s just hope that someone shows up to save us.”Just then, something caught the attention of the armed men and they began to fire their bullets into the distance. The one closest to the driver's side got hit in the head and fell down.Bullets were flying back and forth and the assailants began to drop to the ground like dead flies. Jake couldn’t see who was taking them
“Orlando and six of his buddies didn’t survive the attack,” Shadow informed Jake. “The police are already in your place trying to figure out what happened.”“Any idea who might have tried to wipe out my family?”“No. I’ve sent word to Emilio in Sicily to see if he can find out who’s behind it.”“Thanks. I’ll get in touch with my other contacts too.”“Sorry about Orlando.”“Yeah… thanks. He died protecting me. I’ll reach out to his family personally to let them know.”“Cool. I’m out,” said Shadow and he left the penthouse suite.“Did you find out anything meaningful?” Meg asked him after Shadow left.“No. Only got some bad news. Orlando and half a dozen security men died at the villa. We still don’t know who ordered the hit on us.”“Oh, that’s
“We’ll keep him in our custody until he talks,” said Detective Fred. “and even if he doesn’t, he’ll still be charged with attempted murder.” “Sounds like music to my ears,” Jake drawled. “How did you manage to subdue him?” “I didn’t, my wife did.” “Wh-what?” “I was just as speechless when I saw her in action. Imagine my awe when I discovered that I’ve been married to a grandmaster of martial arts all this time.” “Wow…” Detective Fred was impressed. “Don’t make it sound like a big secret,” Meg laughed. “You never asked me if I knew martial arts and I never spoke of it because it wasn’t a big deal.” “What level are you, ma’am?” Detective Fred asked her. “9th Dan Black Belt,” she replied smoothly. “Holy cow,” the detective breathed and Jake whistled. “You won the jackpot, Turner.” “Thanks, Fred,” Jake chuckled. “I think at this point, we need to arrange for more secur
The tunnel seemed to stretch on forever and Jake began to wonder if they’d been buried alive by his Serbian pals. He was struggling under Victoria’s weight and exhaustion was slowing him down.“Let me hold the lantern,” Megumi offered. ‘you’re carrying too many things already.”He passed the lantern to her without arguing. He was too tired to even talk.“We forgot to ask them how long this tunnel trip would take,” Meg said as she led the way with the lantern held in front of her.At some point in the journey, she’d taken one of her dresses from the carryon bag to make a sling which she tied around her shoulder and put James in it.“Imagine if there’s no end to this tunnel,” Jake rasped.“Please, don’t imagine such. There has to be an end to this nightmare,” Meg snapped.Jake chuckled and licked the sweat from his upper lip. He was so thirst
“Now, that Orlando is gone, you’re in charge,” said Jake.“Copy that, boss,” Darius replied promptly.“I need you to oversee the funerals of everyone we lost in that massacre. I will get in touch with my CFO to liaise with you on finances and settlement for their families.”“Noted.”“The survivors will also be compensated and relieved of their duties for the time being until the police conclude their investigations.”“They’ve been looking for you, boss. They said you were abducted from the hotel.”“I wasn’t abducted, I left with my family. The police led an assassin to us, probably unintentionally. We weren’t safe there anymore.”“I understand.”“I hope you also understand that I can’t give you my location for now. It’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just a safety precaution, es
“Thank you, Pierce. Let me know once you’ve set up the ZipCom board meeting. Every other meeting should remain on hold until our IPO is cleared for take-off.”“Of course. Meanwhile, the police have concluded their investigation in Nebraska.”“What’s their verdict?”“They ruled it as a freak accident. Records show that the plant supervisor did carry out the necessary maintenance checks before work resumed that fateful morning. It wasn’t a case of negligence.”“Halleluyah,” Jake sighed.“FYI, Detective Fred has been searching high and low for you. He’s been here twice and I have assured him that I have no idea of your bearing since the incident at your home.”“I’ll call him when I have the chance. Does he have any information about the shooting?”“He wouldn’t say. He’s more concerned about finding you and y
In that split second, Jake practically saw his life flash before his eyes and how history was about to repeat itself. Without thinking, he lunged at Athena the Mamba, just as she squeezed the trigger.Jake felt the heat of the bullet whizzing past his shoulder and he heard Meg screaming behind him. He didn’t turn back to check if his wife was ok or not, because the next few seconds were crucial to his survival.“You motherfucker!” Athena cursed and kicked him in the groin.Jake doubled over but refused to let the pain stop him from fighting for his life. He rammed his shoulder into Athena’s midriff, knocking her to the ground.She’d lost hold of her gun during the fall and she scrambled to get it back. Unfortunately for her, Meg got to the gun before her.“Stand down, bitch,” Meg snarled, pointing the gun at Athena.“Be careful, babe,” Jake told her. He wasn’t sure if Meg knew how t
“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