Every employees of the accounting and finance department of NewEra was nervously standing in the boardroom as the rest of the Briggs family members sat at the table, reviewing the bank transaction documents from yesterday. So far, only Mr. Duncan was missing from the group, and after Jason ended his call with the bank, his icy gaze rested on his brother.“How come the signature on the check that Mr. Duncan carried to the bank was yours, and they can confirmed that it wasn't forged?”“He-he- must have been good at copying signatures. I swear to you, Jason… I didn’t authorize Duncan to make that withdrawal!” Austin cried, feeling the cold eyes of the others burning a hole through him. His head began to ache, as if he had just drank an entire bottle of coffee. “Look, I really don’t know what happened. How can I authorize someone to wipe out the entire company account? What would I gain from such a thing?” A scoff left Jason's lips as he watched the sweat bead at his brother's forehead,
Hand bonded with ropes and eyes tied with cloth, Mr. Duncan sat in a chair, his heart pounding as fear consumed him. His breathing came faster and louder, and he looked around anxiously, blind as a bat. He felt trapped, unable to move his body, scream out, and defend himself as someone walked over to stand behind the chair. They leaned their hands on it, and Mr. Duncan’s body went cold at their touch. “You are not an Uber driver, are you?! Who are you? What do you want with me?” Mr. Duncan demanded in a raspy voice, regretting his decision to leave his hotel room to grab something to eat from a cafe.Even though he got no answer, he could feel the presence of more than one person in the room, which send a shiver down his spine. “Is it money that you want? I can give you and your men a million dollars if you let me go! Tell me what you want, and I'll get it!” Mr. Duncan said desperately. “You are a bold man, offering money that is not yours.” When he heard those words, his heart st
A buzzing sound made Austin sat up in bed, stare at his phone on the night stand and reach for it.The calmness he felt from a well rested night immediately faded as he read the text, “Mr. Briggs, I thought you were a man of your words. It saddens me to find out that’s not true. And now, I am coming to collect my debt.”“What kind of madman is this!” Austin cried, hitting the call icon.But the number rang and rang and rang without any answer, and suddenly, the air-conditioned room started to feel a bit claustrophobic.“I swear to you. I am going to get the money! Just give me time. Please!!” Austin wrote back. "I will have it by tomorrow, please."But his message was received by silence, and fear gripped him tightly as he remembered he had no other way to pay since Mr. Duncan seemed to have vanished and the trails Jason's men were using to find him had gone cold.Feeling like he was about to have a heartache, Jason quickly got dressed, rushed from his room, and searched the entire h
The sight of the waves as the ocean crashed upon the rock and the wind in his hair made Zane feel free of his responsibilities and obligations. It was silent for a while before Yoko disrupted it, saying, “Your uncle has finally decided to meet with Mr. Alfred to discuss NewEra.”“He called you?” Zane mumbled, raising his gaze.“Yes. Mr. Alfred been trying to call you to inform you about this. Your phone had been switched off.” Yoko replied.Turning away from the ocean, Zane stared back at the resort and said, “I guess my two week vacation is over… I thought it was going to take Jason more than that to grieve his brother. Burying him that early was wild of him and cold.”“It was smart for you to leave. And with everything that is happening with Golden Key, you need the rest. Plus, the media had been bloodthirsty and on their tail since Austin got shot before their eyes.” Yoko said. “I still don’t know how to feel about his death.” “Me either.”“I still can’t believe Derek went throug
The waiting room was calm as the quietness settled in, but Mr. Alfred could feel the tension Austin was bringing to the atmosphere and he could tell from his body language that he didn’t trust him.But for someone who has been in the business circle for years, he knew his way around these types of situations, and with a calm expression, he rested back in his seat, staring at the transparent wall and said, “To be honest with you, I am using your family…”Just as Jason had suspected, but then again, it didn’t make sense to him that Mr. Alfred would just come clean to him without even denying a bit, especially if he was working in line with Zane.“The truth is, I am afraid of that boy…” Mr. Alfred added, turning his focus back on Jason with a worried look in his eyes.“Now… Now. A man like you fears a prodigy you created?” Jason asked mockingly, leaning forward and folding his arms against the table. “Forgive me for not being a believer in that.”Frowning slightly, Mr. Alfred hesitated b
With the bankruptcy situation and Austin's death, the NewEra building felt like a graveyard, cold and quiet since the majority of their employees were laid off and some left on their own. A frown crossed Sophia's face at how dull and empty the lobby was, and she mumbled to her mother, “After what happened to Austin, this place feels haunted. I hope we can sell it soon and start fresh, away from all the bad memories.”When her mother didn't answer, she glared at where her mother was looking and saw her staring at an older gentleman hasting across the lobby for the front door.“Isn’t that the company lawyer? Why is he here without our knowledge?” Sophia mumbled with a scowl.“Mr. Harris!” Deborah called out to him, hurrying in his direction, and Sophia quickly rushed after her.Even though he tried his best to pretend he didn't hear her and continued walking, Deborah caught up to him anyway. He turned around to look at her with a glare, but as he stared at her cold eyes, the anger dis
The sight of Mr. Wu left both Emma and Mr. Alfred enraged, and the two stared at him for a few seconds, making Wu break the silence. “Well, hello, Alfred.” “Get out. Now.” Mr. Alfred growled, not wanting a man like Wu two feet near his daughter. With a mocking laugh, Mr. Wu's gaze flickered between Mr. Alfred and Emma, and then his expression turned serious as he said, “I had to break my promise again to you because you have stop being a man of your word.” “Emma, can you please excuse us?” Mr. Alfred said with a pleading expression that spiked Mr. Wu's curiosity immediately. “You two seem very close. Is there a dot I am not connecting here.” Mr. Wu commented as he moved closer to Mr. Alfred. Looking at his daughter, who stood frozen, staring at Mr. Wu with her fists clasped by her side, and Mr. Alfred felt a sense of worry and said, “Emma, please.” This was going to be about Zane. She just knew it, and a part of her wanted to know why he came... What his new request was now, bu
When Mr. Alfred walked into the dining room and saw Emma sitting at the table, it shocked him because she was usually locked up in her room in the morning, and the maid had to get her every time. Even though that didn't happen today, relief wasn't something he felt since she had that stubborn expression like what she was about to say was something he won't like. “Good morning, dear.” Mr. Alfred said, noticing that she was also dressed up, which he hadn't noticed before, and his heart sank. “Morning, dad,” Emma replied. Then a little later added, “Can you take me to see Zane?” There it was... what he had been afraid of... and he refused to look up at her, even though he could feel her looking at him. “We should talk... What Mr. Wu came to speak to me about last night was…” Mr. Alfred said, then paused, taking a deep breath. He finally looked at her and noticed how pale she had gotten as she stared at his face. “You… You and Zane will have to go through with it, Emma.” For a long