“We’ve got a problem, Jake.”
His ears perked up immediately he heard the worry in Sandra’s voice. “What is it?”
“I’ve just received a heads-up from a friend about a story that is about to hit the media first thing in the morning. We’ve been discovered.”
“What?”
“Some nosey paparazzi caught us leaving that Malibu resort together yesterday.”
“Aw, shit!”
“My friend just let me know as a courtesy but there’s nothing we can do to stop the story. It’s going live in a few hours.”
“Damn it! We’ve been very careful this entire time.”
“I know but I guess we got sloppy this time. Our disguise wasn’t good enough I guess.”
“What do we do now?”
“Prepare for impact. That’s all we can do.”
“You’re taking this rather calmly.&rdqu
“My phone has been ringing off the hook all morning. Photos of you and that shameless bitch have been making the rounds all over social media and beyond.”“I’m sorry about that, Meg,” Jake replied tiredly and sank onto a nearby sofa.“Where did you spend the night? Were you with her again?”“Hell, no! I was at the office.”“I didn’t even know when you left the house. Why didn’t you come back home?”“Because I was on the phone with Orlando’s boys. I wanted them to get me everything they could find on Sandra.”“Why?”“Because it turns out that she has been running an undercover operation with the CIA to spy on me.”“What?”“It gets worse.”“What’s worse than being spied on by the CIA?”“She’s been meeting with Rex in prison.”
“What the fuck?” Jake whispered in awe as he stared at his former bodyguard who had been pronounced dead in Jersey more than a year ago.He’d grown his hair out, gotten rid of his tattoos and was less muscular than Jake remembered. His skin had even lost its usual tan.“You look like you’ve just seen a ghost,” said Barry/Orlando.“How are you still alive?”“Because I never died. Come on, let’s get out of here. The noise is starting to do my head in.”He walked past Jake into the games arcade, leading him past a labyrinth of gaming machines that are manned by enthusiastic gamers. They passed through a door that led to the parking lot of the bowling alley.“Where are we going?” Jake asked.“My crib,” Barry answered. “It’s a short walk from here.”“Ok,” Jake said and fell in stride beside his host. He wondered if
Not wanting to draw unnecessary attention to himself, Jake sent Darius and Vaughn to the location that Dono provided as the address of the anonymous blogger.To his disappointment, they returned with feedback that the place was a small coffee shop that opened only three times a week.“Anybody can go there to do whatever they want and leave once they’re done,” Darius said. “It’s not a credible location. It’s a dead end.”“Are you sure the person that gave you the address wasn’t just guessing?” Vaughn asked."I don't think so,” Jake replied. “As you already pointed out, the location is a hub for everyone to eat and work and then return to their bases.”“So, what do we do now?”“Don’t worry. I’m sure there’ll be another opportunity to catch the culprit.”This turn of events made Jake even more suspicious than ever. What
Jake was silent on the trip back to Hawaii. Tessa Barnes had made him an offer that seemed like a deal between the devil and the deep sea.He was troubled and restless at the same time. The worst part of it all was that he couldn’t even confide in anyone. Not when he’d been told that the real enemy was someone close to him.Instead of going home, he asked to be driven to his office. He needed some time to think carefully about his situation before he made his move.“Only three people know about what happened in the Bahamas,” he thought aloud. “Dono, Barry and Megumi. Which one of them is trying to sell me out and why?”His phone rang. It was Sandra calling him.“How did it go?” She asked curiously.“Not so well. I have been given a task that is nearly impossible to perform,” he said cautiously.He had to choose his words wisely because he knew Barry was privy to all of his ph
“I’m not a magician.”“I know. However, with a skill like yours, I do not doubt that you can carry out my request successfully. Just name your price.”“Well… I was under the impression that you wanted to find someone.”“Yes. That was my initial plan but I think this new idea is much better.”“Look, I find people. I don’t make them disappear.”“Same difference. If you can find people who don’t want to be found, you can as well make someone vanish into thin air too.”“Even if I could do that, don’t you think I might be in trouble afterwards?”“How?”“Who knows you’re here?”“My COO and his brother-in-law who contacted you.”“You see? If I make you disappear tonight, the trail will lead back to me. That’s not how it’s done. You should vanish wit
The news of Jake Turner’s sudden death sent shock waves throughout the country. Nobody had seen it coming, perhaps, not even him.The police began investigating the suspicious explosion that incinerated the Underdog Billionaire in his opulent residence. Everyone was a suspect including his newly widowed wife.“Why am I being interrogated?” Megumi wailed when the police detective showed up at the mansion yet again to question her about her husband’s untimely death.“As we have stated before, everyone is a suspect in this investigation,” one of the policemen explained calmly. “this is merely a routine process to rule out the possibility of your involvement in your husband’s murder.”“Are you kidding? Why would I want him dead?”“That’s exactly what we want to find out,” the second detective said patiently.“I don’t understand. Even if I wanted my hu
The animosity between Megumi and Victoria continued to worsen to the point where they no longer talked to each other.Jame’s third birthday was not celebrated but he got his favourite strawberry cupcake as a treat for the day.It was already a month after Jake’s tragic death and nothing had been done to commemorate his painful exit.Gregory, Pierce and Fletcher finally showed up at the mansion on the 31st day after the incident to discuss the way forward with the Turner family.“We think a memorial service will be a decent way to close this chapter and begin the journey to healing for everybody,” Pierce said solemnly.“You don’t have to worry about the planning, we’ll handle it,” Gregory told Megumi.“A memorial service without a body to bury…” Megumi sighed.“We could use the ashes salvaged from the explosion site,” Gregory suggested. “we&
“When is your family leaving this house?” Victoria asked Megumi the next morning while her stepmother sipped dandelion tea alone in the dining room.“What happened to ‘Good morning,’ huh?”“I’m sure we can both agree that there hasn’t been a good morning in this house since my dad died. Now, back to my question. When are your folks leaving?”Megumi lowered her teacup slowly and pinned Victoria with a blazing look. “Now, you listen to me very carefully, little girl. I will no longer tolerate your rudeness towards me. I am also grieving but you don’t see me going about insulting my elders.”“I only asked a simple question. When are they leaving?”“Not any time soon.”“Why?”“Look, I’m not in the mood for your tantrums this morning, Victoria. Leave me alone.”“I am going to move out of this hous
“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