CHAPTER 19: CHAPTER 19 DRIFTING APART

With both their lives drifting apart even further, both Caden and Alora faced different realities of life.

Caden’s reality was worse. Having to adjust to life in jail wasn’t easy at all. With each passing day, he tried to stay sane.

In a shocking twist of fate, after spending three years in jail, a news broke the internet.

It was a video footage which was leaked anonymously, in the video, it captured Jacob’s uncle, Richard injecting a liquid into his drip sack. The case was immediately reopened and investigations began again.

The person who posted the video was caught. It was a nurse who had been working at the hospital Jacob had been admitted in.

She confessed to getting the drug for Richard that had made Jacob brain dead. She was paid heftily by him but for the past three years, she hadn’t been able to cope with the guilt of knowing she killed not only one young boy and made another innocent boy take the fall for it.

She submitted further evidence that showed undeniable proof that Richard had killed his nephew.

It turns out that he had wanted to ruin the Steele’s family’s name by all means. When he saw the opportunity of Caden having beaten Jacob to a pulp, he wanted to make good use of it. He had even prayed for his nephew to die so he could ruin the reputation of the Steele’s family.

But Jacob started showing positive signs of recovery. Richard had felt he wouldn’t get another chance to deal with the Steele family so he had to discreetly kill Jacob and then make Caden the prime suspect.

The news about what Richard had done sparked public outrage, as many people could not comprehend how someone could do such a thing simply because he had a business rival.

Richard was sentenced to life in prison, while Caden was acquitted from all the charges against him.

**********************

PRESENTLY...

*CADEN*

As I walked out of the jail building, I stared at the sky, having absolutely no idea what to do with my life from now on.

A car pulled up in front of me.

I sighed, seeing Mason.

Mason was the only friend and only person who didn’t give up on me. He always visited me in jail.

“Dude, are you just going to keep standing there?”

I got into the car and he drove off.

“So what are you going to do with your new found freedom?” He teased.

He grimaced.”No idea.”

He handed me a new cellphone.

“You could crash at mine for now.” He offered.

I stared outside the window. My father really kept to his word of abandoning me, he didn’t reach out to me these past three years and Mason informed me that my half-brother, Bennett had started working at the Steele Group.

I have no intention of meeting with my dad or begging him to take me back.

But it still fucking hurts that he never bothered to know how I was doing in jail.

We passed by a billboard and the face on it caught my attention.

“Stop the car.” I ordered.

Mason pulled up by the side of the road and I got down.

It was her.

Alora.

Wow.

Her success was impressive.

I know her schooling in London must have taken about two years and here she was, already getting so popular in acting.

“She won the award of best new actress, recently.” Mason informed me.

I nodded, feeling so proud of her.

But then I shook my head.

Her hatred for me ran deep, I guess.

She also didn’t even try to reach out to me during and after my sentencing.

I guessed she’s moved on.

Everyone moved on, except me.

Everyone turned their backs on me, Mason now own a security company.

While I...I didn’t even know what to do with myself.

I got back into the car.

“Let’s go.”

Mason got in too and drove off.

**********

As soon as Mason pulled up at the parking lot of his apartment.

My eyes dilated to see to see four men rounding up the car.

“Fuck! Get down!” Mason yelled as they started shooting at the car.

What the bloody hell!

Mason quickly called his men for back up, he brought out his gun and strategically fired back.

As the owner of a security company, he was extremely skilled and managed to hold them off until his men pulled up in two vehicles.

Seeing that they were outnumbered, the men started running off but Mason’s men managed to catch one of them.

I got out of the car, trembling like a leaf.

“Did you get on someone’s bad side?” I asked Mason.

He shook his head. “I’m about to find out. Take him to the basement.”

*******************

“Who sent you?!”Mason asked for the umpteenth time after torturing the heck out of the man.

I was by the side, eating a heavy and healthy meal. I had literally ordered all my favorite. Can’t blame me. Something like this is non-existent in prison.

Just as they were about to start cutting off his fingers one after the other, I knew I couldn’t continue sitting here and eating.

I stood up, grabbing my meals pack.

“Wait...wait...I’ll talk, we weren’t here for you!” The man breathed.”We were sent to take him out.”

I glanced at him, and frowned to see him pointing at me.

Mason scoffed.”He just got out of jail. He couldn’t have made enemies already. Besides, Jacob’s family now knows who to take their anger on.”

“I’m telling the truth. We were sent to kill him as soon as he got out.”

Mason stared at me then at the man.”Sent by who?”

“Ma...Matilda. We work for Matilda Steele.”

The meal packs fell from my hands.

Matilda was my father’s mistress, now his wife.

Bennett’s mother.

My teeth clenched.

Mason walked up to me. “Wow, she didn’t even let you spend a complete day out of jail. Could she be threatened by your return? Maybe she thinks your father would want you back.”

“I don’t want anything to do with the Steele family.”

“But it turns out your father’s wife won’t leave you alone. We already have him as proof, we should turn him in to the police, Matilda would get arrested...”

I laughed.”Do you actually think my father would let anything happened to his dear Matilda?” I stared at the man. “Kill him.”I ordered.

Mason stared at me, skeptically. “Are you sure?”

I nodded.

Suddenly, I knew what to do with my life now.

I needed to be greater than my father.

I needed to make sure no one dares to play with my life anymore. I needed to have power. Power to make people fear me!

I was barely starting to process how I spent three years of my life in jail for a life I didn’t take.

Before I can even get used to the reality of my life now, I’m being hunted?

The fuck!