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
Darius and Vaughn were waiting for them as soon as they landed in Honolulu. Jake and Victoria followed them into the white Bentley which the bodyguards came with.The ride back home was a quiet one. Jake kept one arm around her to offer her comfort. He could tell that guilt was still eating her up inside.As soon as they arrived home, Megumi ran out of the house in a flowing chiffon gown with her untamed hair flapping around her face.“Victoria!” She screamed with joy and embraced her stepdaughter tightly.“I am so sorry,” Victoria whispered against Megumi’s neck as the woman cried. “I’ll never sneak out of school again, I promise.”“Oh… I was so scared,” Megumi wept. “I was so scared.”“I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry.”Megumi broke the embrace and looked into her stepdaughter’s eyes. “It’s ok, my darling. You’re
“Be honest with me, Boris. What do you want to use this company for? Money laundering?”The Russian Don laughed. “What do you think?”“I don’t want to be a part of that. Send Irina here to continue with the registration and filing of the required documents. I don’t want Turner Group to be associated with any kind of illegal business.”“Stop talking like a saint. You and I know that you’re not.”“I never said I was. I’m just saying that I prefer to keep my business clean. You wanted your paper factory to be a subsidiary of my business but that’s not going to happen if you intend to use it for shady business.”“Listen, we had a deal. I have been playing my part, so you should play yours too and stop whining like a toddler.”“I’m not doing it.”“Don’t cross me, American. You know what I am capable of and don
The D-Day finally came and Jake along with his family and their 200 guests went aboard The Siren, a 1000-foot-long cruise ship that would be their party venue for the next 24 hours.“This is amazing!” Victoria squealed with utmost delight.She was dressed almost identically to Megumi who wore a shimmery pink floor-length gown with a thigh-high slit and thin straps. However, Victoria’s version was the same colour and fabric but with cap sleeves and without the slit.Jake and James wore bespoke formal suits that were tailored to perfection. They looked like fraternal twins born several decades apart.Their guests arrived promptly and began to climb unto the ship. Each of them felt extra special to be invited to such an exclusive party.On Meg’s insistence, Jake had permitted a handful of press people to attend the event but they were forbidden from taking pictures or filming a video. Only Jake’s appointed media
“What do you know about Sandra Barnes?” Jake asked Dono the next day after the party.“The name doesn’t ring a bell. Who is she?”“Some weirdo who found her way onto the ship and some noise about writing an expose editorial piece about me on The Daily Cable.”“And you’re bothered?”“Not exactly, but there was something about her confidence that tells me she has some solid backing to come after me like that.”“That’s how journalists roll. They’re all bark and no bite. She just wanted to rattle you and see what she can get out of you. I wouldn’t sweat it if I were you.”“Still… I want to know who she is and what her deal is.”“Fine. I’ll look her up and get back to you.”“Thanks.”He hung up and leaned back in his home office chair. He felt restless because his real
“The Underdog Billionaire is back in the news but this time, he has been renamed as ‘The Billionaire with no History,’ by award-winning investigative journalist, Sandra Barnes. The explosive piece which was published in Barnes’ column yesterday has since been the talk of the town, trending on all social media platforms and raising eyebrows about Jake Turner and his rise to fame and fortune.”Megumi clicked the power button on the remote control and the TV went off. Her husband had been the hot topic on every TV channel for the past 24 hours and she was sick of it already.“You should sue that bitch, you know,” she said angrily. “you can’t let her get away with spreading those lies about you. How dare she?”“That’s exactly what she wants,” Jake replied calmly. “she’s doing all of this just to get my attention but I’m not falling for it.”“If
“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