Sebastian sliced through the afternoon traffic and pulled up in front of the school. There were police cars, a small crowd, and people clustered on the sidewalk. There was a sudden tight, wrong feeling in his chest. He instinctively knew something was wrong. He climbed from the SUV and walked toward the commotion. The principal, pale and shaking, saw him and hurried over.“Mr. Sebastian,” she said, voice thin with fear.He kept his voice steady. “What happened here?”A uniformed officer stepped forward. “Are you Daisy and Debby’s guardian?”Sebastian looked at the officer with a calm expression on his face. “Yes. Where are my girls?”The officer explained as best he could. “I’m sorry, sir. There was an incident. The girls were abducted by two armed men. They shot a security guard and a teacher. We’re doing everything we can. We’ve already put out an APB and are reviewing street cameras.” Most people would have freaked out. But not Sebastian. Sebastian did not show any sign of pani

Senator Branson stared, his mind reeling. "Judgement? What judgement?""This is how it works," Sebastian explained, his voice calm and horribly reasonable. "You will be given two choices. The decision you make will shape the rest of your existence. Choose wisely."Branson swallowed. His hands trembled by his sides. “Two choices?” he repeated, as if asking to buy more time."Option one," Sebastian began. "Your firstborn son dies tonight, peacefully in their sleep. You will live the rest of your life with that guilt, but at least your other kids would be hale and alive."Branson's blood ran cold. "My firstborn son? No! I can't. I can't choose that!""Option two," Sebastian continued, as if he hadn't spoken. "You will live the rest of your life on this earth, healthy and whole, but completely and permanently stripped of your manhood."Branson felt a chill crawl down his spine. Even Harold was shaken by the second option."That's not fair!" Branson wailed, his voice cracking. "Those are i

Sebastian stepped over Senator Branson, who was curled in a ball on the floor sobbing like a child, and walked to the corner where the girls were huddled. They were still obeying his command, their eyes squeezed tightly shut."Good job, ladies," he said, his grave voice now returned to its familiar, calm tone. "You can open your eyes now."Daisy kept her eyes shut. "Sebastian? Is that really you? You're not hurt, are you?" Her voice was small and worried.A soft smile touched Sebastian's lips. "No, young mistress, I am perfectly fine. Now, open your eyes. Everything is alright."Slowly, Daisy and then Debby opened their eyes. They saw Sebastian standing before them, not a single hair out of place. There was no sign of a struggle. He seem perfectly fine and the bad men were gone. Letting out cries of relief, they rushed forward and threw their arms around him, burying their faces in his jacket. They didn't know how he did it but they were glad to be rescued by him."I knew you'd come

Ken Griffin snorted out of pure contempt. "You seem to have the balls to challenge me. I'll have you know that I am Ken, son of Bernard Griffin."Veronica folded her arms, her mind quickly scanning her vast knowledge of the world's wealthiest men that she knew of. She came up blank. The name sounded foreign to her. "Strange," she said, her tone unimpressed. "I've never heard of anyone called Bernard Griffin."Ken's face flushed. "You ignorant woman! My father is the world's most powerful man! He will crush you both to powder! Do not test me!"Barry felt instantly amused. He had spent a lifetime building an empire so vast that he was universally acknowledged as the world's most powerful man. Hearing this spoiled brat claim the title for his father felt entertaining; like a child bragging that his father's a celebrity."Like I said," Barry repeated calmly, "we are not leaving. And you can't make us, regardless of how powerful your so-called father is."Seeing that his threats were ha

Bernard Griffin leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers as he studied the couple before him with a rising spark of interest. "You two don't seem to understand your situation, do you?" He asked. "Oh, we understand perfectly," Veronica replied, her voice cool as she gestured calmly towards the armed men. "You have two guards with guns. At your command, they could shoot us. We are on an isolated island in international waters. There is no law here but your own. You could have us killed and buried without a trace, and no one would ever know."Bernard was visibly startled by her blunt assessment, but he quickly masked it with a condescending smile. "It's odd," he mused. "You know all this, and yet you show no sign of fear.""Yeah," Barry said with a casual shrug. "We folks are all shades of stubborn. We don't get intimidated that easily."Bernard let out a dark, low chuckle. "I'm grateful for that. It clarifies what I must do. You see, I thrive on fear. It nourishes me. The more