Chapter 3

The moment I stepped into The Onyx Grand, a receptionist came rushing over to welcome us. “Mr. Shackelford, what brings you here today?”

Mr. Shackelford said darkly, “Did that brat Wren reserve the banquet hall on the top floor?”

The supervisor was stunned for a few moments by his question, but quickly recovered and said with a smile, “Yes, Ms. Shackelford did reserve the banquet hall on the top floor to entertain her friends.”

“Arrange the nearest private room for me. I’d like to see for myself what she’s up to!”

“Yes, sir. This way, please.”

Mr. Shackelford looked at me and said respectfully, “Mr. Jackson, if Wren does anything to humiliate you, I won’t spare her. Please give Shackelford Enterprise a chance.”

“Let’s see for ourselves whether she’s worth that chance.” I took my sunglasses off and entered the private room with Mr. Shackelford. I wasn’t in a rush to head to the banquet hall just yet.

From the window in the private room, I could see that Wren had arrived with Sean.

Wren was wearing heels and stood with one hand on her hip. She was instructing the crew to set up the venue while Sean stood by her side, leaning over occasionally to glance at her phone with a half smile on his face.

A text popped up in the chat group.

[Will John Jackson end up not daring to come? Wren, I’ve prepared everything according to your instructions!]

The text came accompanied with a video.

In the video, Zane Chambers was crouching on the carpet at the entrance, fixing a rope down while explaining smugly to the camera.

“This rope is suspended at calf height. I’ve tested it out, and it can trip a 340-pound man. When John the Hailstone walks in, he’ll trip and land on thumbtacks I’ve buried in the carpet. He’ll roll around in pain and knock his head right smack into the cream cake I've prepared!”

A few people could be heard sniggering in the video. Many commented about how excited they were to watch what would happen.

Someone sent a second video shortly after.

Ryan Harris stood by the buffet line and lifted a spray bottle in his hand.

“I even have some pepper spray with me! My secret recipe with essential oil as the base, soaked with ghost pepper and two spoonfuls of coarse salt added to it. I’ll spray this at his face the moment he enters and spice that pig head up!”

A third video popped up soon after.

A boy waved a small packet of pills in his hands.

“I rubbed some laxatives on his cutlery and used two whole packets! I had someone seal all the toilets and apply superglue to the toilet seat cover. We’ll soon be able to enjoy the look of him desperately looking for toilets everywhere!”

Laughter filled the chat group.

Wren tapped her wine glass as she sent a voice message to the group. Her voice was lazy, with a hint of a smile on her lips.

“Have the phone set up to record John kneeling and apologizing. I want everyone to see how disgusting he is.”

Sean poked his head out and hugged Wren’s arm, his voice hesitant. “Wren, although we’re just playing some harmless pranks on him, will he take revenge on me?”

“I dare him to!” Wren smirked, her voice dripping with disdain. “I’ll leverage all of my family’s networks and doom him across the country!”

In the private room, Mr. Shackelford’s hand that held his teacup was shaking hard. Fury and disappointment filled his eyes.

I looked at Wren through the window and chuckled. “Your granddaughter may not be talented in corporate management, but she certainly is adept at pranking others.”

Mr. Shackelford turned to look at me and said anxiously, “Mr. Jackson, I’ll discipline that brat for sure. Please give us one more chance!”

I retracted my gaze and said calmly, “We’ll never cooperate. That’s my answer to you.”

With that, I turned to leave the private room.

The cold air in the corridor gushed in my face. I leaned against the wall and stood there for two seconds before my phone buzzed.

Thorned Rose had texted me privately. [Are you here? The people in the chat group are secretly plotting to bully you. Shall I go in with you?]

I furrowed my brows. How did she know which account hidden in that chat group was mine?

Before I could wrap my head around the mystery, a clear, crisp female voice sounded from a distance. “John Jackson?”

I turned back.

Clad in a sleek black dress, a woman stood at the end of the hallway with a cool, distant grace. She seemed to have waited for me for a long time. The light above her wrapped her in a soft glow.

The door to the private room behind me was pushed open, and Mr. Shackelford came running out.

When he saw the woman, he looked clearly stunned. He approached her and spoke in a voice that could barely hide his excitement.

“Gemma? What are you doing here? Oh, yes. Please help me persuade Mr. Jackson right here to cooperate with Shackelford Enterprise!”

I looked at her beautiful eyes.

I didn’t know how she was related to Mr. Shackelford. Given the tone of his voice, they were clearly on good terms.

She glanced at me and ignored Mr. Shackelford’s request. She didn’t bother clarifying their relationship, either.

She simply lifted the corner of her lips and said, “John? The banquet is about to begin. Shall I go in with you?”

I looked at the doors of the banquet hall, which were still shut tight.

The voices inside could still be clearly heard through the heavy wooden doors.

“The pressure sensor is installed. The moment John the Hailstone comes in, the balloon above him will explode with black ink. I even added glass shards inside. I’m sure it’ll be super exciting!”

“That doesn’t sound very good. What if the glass shards scratch my brother’s face? My brother already has an inferiority complex because he’s fat…” Sean said; his voice had just the right amount of concern, but the tone was rising.

“John’s face is pockmarked and pimpled. A few more scratches won’t make any difference,” Wren drawled lazily.

The laughter that burst forth was piercing to my ears.

I quietly looked at the people in the private room.

“Oh, don’t eat the cake later,” someone warned in hushed tones. “I brought some industrial release agents from home that will cause ulceration upon contact with mucous membranes. He'll be vomiting and having the runs, and it’ll also be painful for him to open his mouth and talk!”

“Interesting. I even applied superglue to the toilet seat cover. He’ll have to leave the washroom with the toilet bowl attached to his bottom!”

“And this dog cage! I found someone to deliver this cage made specifically for large dogs. We’ll release him whenever he’s ready to kneel in the cage, apologize, and give up his right to inherit the Jackson Group!”

“Everything is in place. Now, all we’re waiting for is John the Hailstone himself! I really can’t wait to see him begging on his knees. And with that 30 million dollars wager, I’ll be able to get that newest supercar on the market!”

Each word that was spoken only made Mr. Shackelford’s face paler.

His mouth opened and closed repeatedly, but he was no longer able to even beg me to work with Shackelford Enterprise.

He knew that this was no longer just a harmless prank, but deliberate harm and illegal detention.

I gripped my phone hard. It had been recording our entire conversation the moment I entered the private room, and the red line on the recording interface was still jumping quietly.

I had taken screenshots of every message, video, and ID, and backed them all up.

I had recorded every word everyone spoke. What awaited them was criminal prosecution.

Gemma Shackelford followed my gaze and spotted a surveillance camera on the ceiling. She retracted her gaze and looked at me with crystal clear eyes.

“If you need it, I can have someone retrieve the surveillance footage.”

The moment she said so, Mr. Shackelford’s head snapped toward her and raised his voice. “Gemma Shackelford, must you blow things up? It’s just a prank between some youngsters! Why are you interfering in this?”

With that, he turned to me and spoke in a much gentler tone, his interrogative stance immediately switching to diplomacy he was so used to in business circles.

“Mr. Jackson, I heard you’re friends with Wren. For all you know, this is a welcome ceremony she has prepared for you. They’re just fooling around, don’t take it personally…”

“Fooling around?” I turned around and looked straight into Mr. Shackelford’s eyes.

The smile on his face froze.

“Fooling around at the expense of my personal safety? Is burying thumbtacks in the carpet just a harmless joke? Is putting glass shards in a balloon a mere prank? How about mixing industrial release agents in the cake? Or forcing me to give up my inheritance by using a dog cage?”

Every word I spoke made the color drain from Mr. Shackelford’s face.

“Mr. Shackelford, we’ll have the police determine if this is just a harmless joke or not.”

I turned around, not wanting to speak further to him.

Gemma stood in between us, the look on her face polite yet distant. There was no space for negotiation in her voice as she spoke.

“Mr. Shackelford, when the police come later, you can’t be seen here given your identity.”

Mr. Shackelford looked at her for two seconds before turning to walk to the elevator on his cane. His figure soon disappeared in the elevator lobby at the end of the corridor.

Silence ensued along the corridor once more.

The sound of roaring laughter came muffled through the thick wooden door.

I held the door handle tight, feeling the cold metal against my palm. I sighed and started counting down in my head.

“Three.”

I could hear footsteps from the other side of the door and someone yelling, “Is the phone ready? Start filming the moment he walks through the door. Don’t miss anything!”

“Two.”

Someone responded to the person, then I heard the sound of the dog cage being moved. The sound of metal being dragged across the floor pierced the air and the hubbub of voices.

Wren’s voice cut through the noise clearly and I could hear the certainty and excitement in it.

“Everyone, in position! He’s almost here.”

“One.”

I pushed the door open.