Despite his looming court appearances, Jake threw a big party to celebrate James’ first birthday. Megumi’s family flew in from Japan to participate in the festivity.
“You better throw me a bigger party for my birthday,” she told him with a pout.
“We could fly to the moon to celebrate yours,” he joked.
“That wouldn’t be bad but I think a trip to Jamaica would be perfect instead.”
“Consider it done.”
“Yay!”
“What’s the good news?” Victoria asked when she saw Megumi jubilating.
“We’re travelling to Jamaica for my birthday.”
“Cool!”
“When she said ‘we’, she meant me and her. You and James are not invited,” said Jake.
“What!”
“It’s called a beacation, darling,” said Megumi. “it’s for grownups only.”
“That
Jake’s landslide victory continued with the other lawsuits levelled against him. His attornies were able to argue that he didn’t owe anyone a dime because inherited Hector’s empire without liabilities.Once again, he was in the news and this time, it was for a good reason. His legal vindication boosted his reputation and his stocks boomed as a result.“Congratulations, my love!” Megumi laughed and clinked glasses with him.“Thank you, baby,” he replied. “Here’s to more wins.”There were sailing on a yacht across the clear blue water of the Caribbean sea. This was the first time that they’d been alone as a couple since they got married.Jake’s initial anxiety about leaving the children at home has since dissolved after their first 24 hours in Jamaica. Now, three days later, he couldn’t fathom why he had been so worried before.They made sure to video call the childr
“The doctor says you have tuberculosis. Are you aware?”Stephanie nodded slowly while avoiding Jake’s gaze.“How long have you had it?”“Nearly a year now. I had some other infections too that cost me loads of money to treat before the TB began. I’ve been in and out of hospital for months.”“What other infections are you talking about?”“I – I caught some nasty STDs from someone I was seeing. I got the TB from him too. We ended things when my condition began to get serious.”“Wow… it’s a miracle Michael doesn’t have any of that.”“I’ve been very careful to protect him from my sickness.”“What do you do for a living in the Caribbean?”“Oh, this and that… I worked as a receptionist in a hotel for a few months but stopped when the male guests wouldn’t stop hitting on m
“I’m so sorry, Jake. I swear, I wasn’t even going to say anything to her. Your wife is just blowing everything out of proportion.”“Is she?”“Yes! I was just so blown away by Victoria’s beauty, I was just admiring the girl.”“Is she my sister?” Michael asked.“No!” Jake and Stephanie responded at the same time.“Go and play outside, Michael,” said Stephanie.The boy immediately ran outside as if he had been waiting for an opportunity to go anyway.“I tried to look past the mean streak in you and just help you for the sake of your son, but you have let me down again, Stephanie. I am deeply disappointed in you.”She sighed dejectedly. “I am so sorry, Jake. I was just caught off-guard.”“You and your son have to leave right away.”She gasped. “Jake, where would we go?”He pr
“What are we going to do now?” Megumi asked quietly when three hours passed and there was still no sign of Victoria returning home.Jake was stewing on the floor where he sat beside his desk. He had instructed his P. A. and secretary to channel all business calls to Pierce. The only phone call he wanted to receive now was from Emilio, telling him that he is sending Victoria back home to where she belonged.After waiting a couple more minutes, he picked up his phone beside him and called Emilio.“My friend!” Emilio answered cheerfully.“Where is my daughter?”“She’s on her way to meet me here in Italy where I’m going to kill her and cut her little body into small pieces and ship them back to you in America.”Jake felt physically sick by the gruesome image that his former Italian pal had just painted. Losing Victoria to one of his enemies was his worst nightmare and it was already hap
They stopped in Alaska to refuel the helicopter before continuing their trip. Jake was restless the whole time and wished he had magical powers to transport him to Arlington within seconds.Four hours later, they landed on a deserted playground which was a short distance away from the gas station. It was already nighttime and Jake was exhausted.“There’s probably a motel nearby where they’re keeping her,” Shadow said as they approached the gas station.Adrian remained in the helicopter as per Jake’s instruction. The plan was to take off as soon as his boss returned with his abducted daughter.Shadow walked ahead of Jake, scanning the area with sharp eyes to make sure they weren’t being watched. To their dismay, the gas station was nothing more than an abandoned relic beside the road.“What the hell!” Jake snapped.“Your contact probably gave you the wrong coordinates,” said Shadow.<
Jake was pumped full of adrenaline as the jet landed in Maine. The Portland jetport was a short distance from the port where his daughter was about to be shipped to Italy.“Let me handle things from this point,” Shadow said. “I know Emilio’s men and I can spot them on the dock easily.”“So, what am I supposed to do now? Sit back and watch?”“Just stay out of the way as much as you can. We must keep a low profile and scan the place properly before making any move.”“Fine. Do your thing.”They rode a taxi to the largest seaport in Maine. Getting in was nearly impossible because they didn’t have the required IDs. Jake had to introduce himself to the security and tell them that he had an appointment with someone at the docks.“Your name seems to just open doors everywhere we go,” said Shadow as they were allowed in. “Must be nice.”Jake chuckle
When Jake reached the back of the truck, he began to drag out the crates of canned food stacked there. Ilya joined him while the others remained on standby with their weapons drawn in case of any unpleasant surprise.“Victoria, are you in there?” He asked desperately, hoping that he hadn’t imagined his daughter’s voice a few seconds ago. “Victoria?”“I’m here,” she answered.Jake had to pause for a few seconds to catch his breath. His daughter was still alive!With renewed energy, he began to rip through the crates like a possessed man. This time, Shadow joined him and Ilya.His heart nearly stopped beating when he saw his daughter tied to a crate like a helpless animal. She was still wearing her pink unicorn pyjamas which were now soiled. Her face was dirty and her hair was a tangled mess.“Victoria!” He sighed and crawled into the truck to untie her. She began to cry and imm
“Get dressed or I’ll drag you out naked!” Shadow barked at Emilio.“I don’t take orders from rats!” Emilio replied and spat on the floor with disgust.Yuri marched forward and slammed the butt of his rifle against Emilio’s head and shouted,” Get up and get dressed!”“You bastard!” He retorted, grabbing his bloody head and then he whistled.“Fucker,” Shadow muttered and rushed to the bed, grabbing Emilio and racing out of the room with him.As soon as they stepped into the corridor, two large black greyhounds appeared at the top of the stairs and raced towards them.“Attacco!” Emilio ordered them.Shadow pushed his former boss towards the dogs and he ducked just as one of them leapt into the air towards him. It landed behind him and he promptly lashed out his leg to kick it into Emilio’s room.He heard the girls screaming as soon as t