Ethan Blaze survives death by a whisker when his whole family gets wiped out in one particular night by brutal feral creatures. Him being seven years old, he only remembers vague images and scenes of that disturbing night. Being an orphan and the fact that he doesn't have any known relative, Ethan Blaze transverses many foster homes and orphanages. He runs from most of them due to the abusive treatment that he receives or in other cases, becomes such a thorn to the foster parents that he gets kicked out. With time, he became a child no foster care or orphanage was willing to take in. This led to him being signed up in a juvenile correction facility, a place he would never even dream of escaping until he became old enough. As he grows older, his mind develops many more questions of the night when all his family got murdered, when all his life lost meaning. Headset on unravelling the mystery behind the murders, Ethan Blaze sets back home on his eighteenth birthday, when he finally gains his freedom from the juvenile correction facility that had held him hostage for three years. Ethan Blaze discovers that his family's death was more than just an unfortunate misfortune. He also unearths many dark secrets about his family that he never knew of, secrets that also incorporated him.
Ethan POV
Tenesse Juvenile Correction Facility
I sat on the pane of my window as I stared further into the forest that encompassed the whole correction facility under the eerily dark night sky, lost in my own thoughts and fantasies. With my legs dangling outside, I felt the cool chilly night breeze from six floors below crash against my exposed skin bringing about small pimply bumps. It didn't bother me a bit that I was only dressed in my underwear and that every time a cold breeze whizzed by, I shivered. It didn't matter if I would freeze because the sound of night owls, wind whistling past the trees, leaves rustling and the feeling of being in complete darkness oddly brought a tranquil feeling to my crazily troubled mind and soul.
Every night as was my tradition, after all the lights in the facility were switched off, I made it a personal quest not to miss a moment of the serene midnight sensation. I always allowed myself to be swallowed by the night, forget everything about my real life and indulge myself in the fantasies and fictional creations of my artistic mind, take a break from the harsh reality that has grown to become an ordinary affair in my life over the years. I would rather miss a meal and good sleep but not a self-meditation engagement.
I was officially eighteen years, just turned about forty five minutes ago and nothing seemed different at all. It was just like the other previous nights I had spent on this window just wondering why I exist and why I wasn't dead or murdered already.
Happy birthday, yay! , I told myself inwardly then scoffed. Birthdays were ridiculous, they held no particular importance in your life apart from only existing to remind you that you are getting older and closer to your deathbed, reminding you that this was the start of another year of torture. Don't get me wrong, ever since I was born I was all in for birthdays, I believed in birthdays, believed that birthdays should be celebrated just like Christmas was, I always looked forward to celebrating my birthdays with the whole lot of my family. Well, that was until the night of my seventh birthday. After the events that had transpired on my seventh birthday, I always hated birthdays to the core, abhorred them in fact. Every other year on my birthdays ever since, I was reminded of the traumatizing occasions that I so longed to forget. I had tried hard drugs, insomnia pills, pain that was self-induced, psychologists, religious persons some of whom dealt voodoo stuff on me, I had literally tried everything...but I couldn't rub that five-minute memory from my mind. The memory was like super glued- stuck to my head, it was always stuck on replay, like it was on a loop of some sort. My birthdays were my nightmare.
I had tried everything, everything in my power, everything in the scope of my imagination, everything except one thing....
I blinked then turned my gaze to the asphalt pathway that was six floors down. This had to be the only remaining solution that I had left, being finally relieved from my depressed life. I had never attempted to make this kind of decision before, never even thought of it, yet it has always been right under my nose. The pace of my breathing rushed at the prospect of the thought, I could make my eighteenth birthday different if I wished it to, I could take a perpetual break from this horrible life if I wished to, I could reunite with my family if I wished to. I only had to make one big decision, a decision that I ought to have made years ago.
My eyes darted around just to confirm if there was someone watching, confirming because everyone was always asleep at this time and not that I cared if someone watched, no one loved me that much to miss me if I was gone. I would be like a shooting star, passing but still shining, though dim but still flashing. I knew I had left no major footprint of my existence in this world, I knew that I owned nothing except for my body and mind, no one to mourn me. Heck, with my frail body I would take the smallest space in the cemetery. I took a deep breathe then closed my eyes.
With only a small movement, I could be falling to freedom, falling to ecstasy and leaving the life of sorrow behind. I smiled at that thought, the first genuine smile I have ever mastered since eleven years ago, a smile of relief. I could almost see the faces of my family smiling at me in my mind, their welcoming arms stretched out in a warm embrace, my mom crying in literal joy, my dad smiling from ear to ear his eyes wet, my younger twin sisters chuckling while looking at me, my three elder brothers grinning at me, my uncle and aunt smiling contentedly, my grandfather nodding at me encouragingly. I missed them. I could feel a tear trickle down from my eye and on my dry cheek then on my bare chest.
"I'm coming" I whispered "Finally, I am coming home"
Home is wherever family is, my family was in paradise and I longed to join them there. In a matter of seconds I will join them, I must join them, I couldn't bare anymore , I couldn't continue to carry the whole load of the physical and emotional torture I have put up with since eleven years ago. It was time I let go and join them.
I saw my father beckon towards me with a smile.
My mom mouthed 'come here my son, we miss you'
I couldn't stop the tears that now trickled uncontrollably from my eyes, I sobbed silently in joy. My family was right there in the warmness of the ethereal light, waiting for me to step unto their threshold and towards them. I just had to make the step.
" I'm coming" I whispered then opened my eyes to take one final look of the facility that has been my home for three years, more like a prison and I was a captive. I would not miss anything or anyone.
I took another deep breath, closed my eyes then slowly slanted forward....
When Pegatron Technologies develops a Brain-Computer Interface technology (BCI), its popularity instantly blows up. The BCI has the ability to link any living thing with a brain to a special computer, with additional functions of remote control and unlimited access to memories. As such, a large number of institutions ranging from national governments, military to privately owned companies, place their bids to acquire the new-age technology. However, despite the shocking amount of cash they offer, the billionaire and scientist heading Pegatron Technologies, Robert Jenkins, refuses to sell it. He genuinely believes that some individuals only want the technology for evil principles, contrary to what it was invented for – aiding in neurosurgery. His blunt stance does not abide well with a portion of the bidders. Consequentially, his whole family begin getting death threats from anonymous persons. Robert Jenkins doubles up his household security detail but though vetted, they do not really have his trust. His family’s security is paramount and despite the perilous moments they undergo, his ultimate wish is to keep it safe. He decides to make that one phone call to an old friend. Trained proficiently in martial and medical arts ever since he was young, Michael Lee is suddenly brought out from the mountains. With an overly mysterious background, he is to act as the bodyguard to Charlotte Jenkins, the billionaire’s daughter. His stint in the city sees him uncover multiple threats and treacheries in Pegatron industries making him a person of value.
After two years of marriage, Sadie was finally pregnant. Filled with hope and joy, she was blindsided when Noah asked for a divorce. During a failed attempt on her life, Sadie found herself lying in a pool of blood, desperately calling Noah to ask him to save her and the baby. But her calls went unanswered. Shattered by his betrayal, she left the country. Time passed, and Sadie was about to be wed for a second time. Noah appeared in a frenzy and fell to his knees. "How dare you marry someone else after bearing my child?"
Rumors claimed that Fernanda, newly back with her family, was nothing more than a violent country bumpkin. Fernanda just flashed a casual, dismissive grin in response. Another rumor suggested that the usually rational Cristian had lost all sense, madly in love with Fernanda. This frustrated her. She could tolerate gossip about herself, but slander against her beloved crossed the line! Gradually, as Fernanda's multiple identities as a celebrated designer, a savvy gamer, an acclaimed painter, and a successful business magnate came to light, everyone realized they were the ones who had been fooled.
Anabel found out she was pregnant and dialed her husband's number to share the good news to him. They have been married for two years without a child. Desmond's mother had been accusing her of being barren and unproductive. When the call was picked, she was flabbergasted and broken. She was hearing a loud moan of feminine voice. "Ohh! Yeah! Don't stop fucking me! Fuck me harder baby!" accompanied with sound of skins slapping against the other. She went home to confront her husband and end up receiving a divorce paper. Desmond divorced him for a lady his mother was rooting. Few months later when he found out that his ex-wife is a billionaire heiress and she is pregnant with twins, he went crazy!
The whispers said that out of bitter jealousy, Hadley shoved Eric's beloved down the stairs, robbing the unborn child of life. To avenge, Eric forced Hadley abroad and completely cut her off. Years later, she reemerged, and they felt like strangers. When they met again, she was the nightclub's star, with men ready to pay fortunes just to glimpse her elusive performance. Unable to contain himself, Eric blocked her path, asking, "Is this truly how you earn a living now? Why not come back to me?" Hadley's lips curved faintly. "If you’re eager to see me, you’d better join the queue, darling."
P-please, I beg you. Come let's go tell Christian I had no hand in whatever happened, p-please." I clutched the lapel of his jacket desperately. "Let's go. You need to tell my husband you were paid." "Young lady, you're harassing me." His tone was cold and his stare granite. But I could care less. "You harassed me first! You had sex with me without my consent, my husband knows and now I'm pregnant with this child he doesn't want. You ruined my marriage! I-I hate you!" ************************************ Caught by her husband with another man on their matrimonial bed the morning after her birthday, Hailey Codza could not defend herself. As though it's not enough, she gets pregnant. Her enraged husband decides to pay her back for her infidelity by having an affair with his ex-girlfriend - Denise Kellers, the family Hailey never knew she had. Losing her family's wealth and company to her husband and his ex (now girlfriend), she is devastated, homeless and penniless as all her credit cards are blocked by her husband. She sees the man who is responsible for her pregnancy. The man she has no idea how he'd found his way to her matrimonial bed - Jared Johnson. Jared is annoyed when this strange woman disrupts his meeting and accuses him of ruining her life, marriage and impregnating her. It affects his business deals and having no choice, he marries her to calm the public whilst engaged to someone else. But he loathes her and allows his family treats her badly. Hailey who has fallen in love with Jared is broken when she can no longer take the humiliation. She signs the divorce papers and leaves, only to arrive six years later to the country as a self-made, secret billionaire and a mother of twins. Now her two ex-husbands are begging to have her back...
Janice, the long-forgotten legitimate heiress, made her way back to her family, pouring her heart into winning their hearts. Yet, she had to relinquish her very identity, her academic credentials, and her creative works to her foster sister. In return for her sacrifices, she found no warmth, only deeper neglect. Resolute, Janice vowed to cut off all emotional bonds. Transformed, she now stood as a master of martial arts, adept in eight languages, an esteemed medical expert, and a celebrated designer. With newfound resolve, she declared, "From this day forward, no one in this family shall cross me."