CHAPTER 6

“Hey, stand up right away!” The officer spoke immediately, his eyes were gleaming with disdain.

Oscar expertly hid the phone under his sleeves before the officer noticed that he sneaked in with it.

“We are taking you straight to the prison unit. Put on these clothes and prepare for a mugshot.”

Oscar’s eyes bulged with surprise. “What?! Why would I go to the prison without even a court trial?”

Oscar then noticed the name tag on the officer’s uniform and addressed him by it. “Officer Franklin, I need a lawyer right away.”

Oscar’s declaration was falling on deaf ears as the officer’s lips curled in a smirk of arrogance.

Officer Franklin’s eyes were blazing with an unforgiving stare as his boot thudded against the floor before he dashed towards Oscar and shoved him out of the interrogation room with a menacing growl.

Oscar was forced to put on the prisoner’s uniform and his face was dampened with sadness. He knew that it was Lady Vivian’s influence that made the officers treat him in such a demeaning way but he couldn't stop thinking about the call he had with his father.

Oscar managed to expertly hide his phone inside the prisoner’s uniform as he knew it was going to be useful for him when he found himself in the prison walls.

He had gotten to the mugshot station and was prepared for photographs when he noticed three hefty-looking men in suits and dark glasses trying to interrupt the process. Oscar leaned his ears closer to get a grip on what was going on because it seemed like it was about him.

“Officer, I have already made mention of the fact that this criminal is of a high caliber and needs to be held under the Primary Intelligence Unit,” one of the hefty men in a suit spoke.

“We made the arrest and we are the ones to put him in our prison facility,” Officer Franklin responded, his eyes burning with a defiant blaze of courage despite talking to Federal Agents who were much higher in ranking. “Also, my bosses haven't given me the go-ahead to release him.”

The PIU agent spoke. “Do you realize that you could lose your job by disregarding our order? This is an order from a level above your ranking and that of your bosses.”

Oscar’s eyes narrowed with distrustful scrutiny, his gaze suspicious as he scanned the acclaimed PIU agents. He sensed at once from their demeanor that they were the people that Lord Henry warned him about.

They had to be the same people who his father warned were going to come after him if they managed to tap their call. He knew that there was going to be no hope for him if he allowed them to take him captive. It was now or never!

With a burst of tension and with his heart pounding in a breathless rhythm, he darted towards the closest window that he had earlier spotted.

Like a hunted animal fleeing from his pursuers, his feet barely touched the ground.

Pow! Pow! Pow!

The PIU agents fired at him in desperation to get him into captivity but Oscar was faster.

His fingertips grazed the window with razor-sharp precision as he hauled out of the precinct and lunged himself into a huge river on the other side.

The PIU agents toiled all night to find Oscar but their efforts were in vain.

***

The next morning, Oscar was on the run again as he moved secretly until he reached WindFall estate where his father, Henry Jones lived.

The gates were a work of art and the ironwork was stunning and symbolizing prestige and wealth. As Oscar approached the gate, he recalled some of the memories that he had from the environment before he learned about the death of his father, Henry Jones.

Its lawns were trimmed to perfection and the gardens were booming with exotic flowers. It was a city on its own.

Oscar’s heart stopped for a second and his mind was frozen with disbelief as he came face-to-face with the man he believed to be dead in a plane crash five years ago. He wasn't expecting Lord Henry to be the first person who would welcome him.

While surrounded by armed guards, Henry Jones rushed towards Oscar, his embrace fierce and unyielding as he clutched onto Oscar, his breath heaving with relief.

He had grown a much larger beard than the last time Oscar saw him. His skin was thick and he wore a blue robe and purple crown that exuded majesty.

“Oh, thank goodness you were able to make it,” Henry spoke, his shoulders sagged as the weight of tension seemed to have been lifted from him.

Oscar was still trying to process the shocking reality that the man he thought was lost forever was alive and standing before him.

“I couldn't send my foot soldiers to come get you because I didn't want to risk Ryder finding you. If he found you he would have killed you,” Henry’s voice was a sigh of relief. “I had to be mindful of how I passed the message that I was still alive because he may not be able to break in here but he knows a thing or two about how we operate.”

Oscar asked, his brows furrowed in curiosity as he was getting confused. “Killed me? Why would my uncle want to get me killed? When did Ryder become an enemy?”

Henry heaved a sigh that supposed that the words were too heavy to say. “Why don’t you get in and I will explain everything to you.”

Oscar’s eyes darted around with an anxious quiver of impatience when he got into the inner chamber where his father lived. “I was expecting Ryder to be among those working with you now that you somehow came back from the dead.”

Henry responded, noticing the sarcasm in Oscar’s tone. “Son, Ryder is not who you think he is. He was the one who planned by death and that was why I had to lay low all these years. I used the opportunity to fake my death and restrategize, son. Now we can work together even better than we ever did.”

Oscar’s mind reeled with an overwhelming rush of revelation. “Dad, help me understand. You faked your death because Uncle Ryder tried to kill you and now you are back?”

“Yes, son,” Henry responded. “That plane crash was all planned by Ryder. Unfortunately, I trusted him with the information that I was going to bequeath all my properties and businesses to you because of my cancer diagnosis and he wasn't too happy with that.”

Oscar’s breath hitched in a gasp of shock as he struggled to process the news. “Dad, did you just say you have cancer?”

Henry’s lips curled in a slight smile. “Yes, son. That’s why I actually had to come out of hiding. I only have a few weeks to live.”