An Eye For An Eye: The Rise Of Cassius Lucas

I Was Never Lucas Ross

"My parents are dead," Lucas said, lifting his right leg a little higher.” That’s what you told me, Master.”

The old man, Lucas's master,stood a few feet behind him, his hands shaking.

“Let me explain everything to you, Lucas,” he begged. “I know you’ve lost trust in the people.. I know everything feels hopeless right now. But please… Please don’t do this. There’s something important you need to know.”

“Say it from there,” Lucas muttered, his voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t know why I’m still alive. I don’t know why people are so cruel and wicked. Why does it feel like pain is the only thing waiting for me every day? Why can’t I just end it all?”

The old man took a step forward. “Don’t,” he pleaded “You deserve the truth, Lucas. About your father, your mother and everything you’ve believed. It's not the whole story.”

“I’m sorry,” Lucas whispered, a tear rolled down his cheek. “I know you tried your best. You took me in when no one else did and you raised me like your own son. I’m grateful for that, Master… I truly am. But I’m tired. I’m so tired. I'm tired of waking up to pain and sleeping with regret. Maybe… maybe life isn’t just for me.”

"Lucas, please!" the old man cried out, his voice breaking as he pointed his trembling hand to Lucas.

“Your parents left you something,” the old man continued, stepping forward slowly. “Something invaluable and I need to show it to you before I die.”

“What is it?” Lucas asked, turning his head to the old man.” I know you’re only saying all this because you want to stop me from ending it all. But I’m sorry, Master. I’ve made up my mind and I don’t think I can keep living in this world anymore.”

“I taught you everything I know,” the old man said, stammering. “ I taught you how to fight, how to survive, how to heal with medicine and much more. You’ve become a master of many arts, Lucas. With those skills, you could do great things in life.”

Lucas let out a mocking laugh.

“Great things?” he asked rhetorically. .. “When? When exactly will I become great in life?”

He turned around fully , facing the old man. “What will I gain from fighting battles that aren’t mine? From healing people who won’t even look me in the eye because they know my past?”

He took a step closer to the edge of the five story building. “Master, do you think people will respect someone like me?” he asked. “An ex-convict?”

“You need to stay calm, Lucas,” the old man pleaded. “I know the world has been cruel to you. But you are more than your past.”

“Stay calm?” Lucas repeated, a faint smile crisping on his lips. “Do you really think it’s that easy?”

“I was framed for something I didn’t do,” Lucas confessed, stammering.” I was thrown behind bars like an animal and I was treated like a monster. I lost my name, my future, and my freedom.”

“And just when I thought things couldn’t get worse, I found out my best friend, the one I trusted the most, sleeping with the girl I loved. Did you know the hell I faced inside the prison?”.

The old man took a step closer. “At least… at least let me tell you the truth about your parents, about you and about me.”

“The truth?” Lucas asked rhetorically. “And what’s that supposed to change? Will the truth bring them back or Will it erase everything that’s happened? Will the truth fix the law degree I just lost or will it fix back my reputation?”

“Just listen,” the old man pleaded. “That’s all I ask, Lucas. Move away from the edge and llisten to me for a moment. Please.”

Lucas stared at him.

“Master…” He whispered, moving his left leg closer to the edge of the building while his right leg still hung over the air.

“I know what you’re trying to do,” Lucas said, his voice trembling. “You’re trying to convince me that this world still has something to offer. But I don’t feel anything anymore. Nothing, other than pain”.

The old man stepped forward slowly until he was just a few feet away from Lucas.

“Don’t,” Lucas warned, raising his hand and pointing at the old man. “Master, don’t come any closer. Not even one step. If you do, I’ll jump.”

The old man froze, his hands staying at his sides.

“Please, Lucas,” he begged.“Don’t do this, Lucas. I will tell you the truth.”

Lucas shook his head slowly.

“What truth do you even want to tell me?” he asked. “You keep saying you have something to say, but what could possibly matter now?”

“I’ll tell you everything,” the old man responded. “But only if you take a few steps back.”.

“That will never happen,” Lucas muttered, smiling faintly.

The old man’s eyes filled with tears and his voice cracked as he spoke again.

“You were an heir,” the old man confessed, his eyes filled with tears. “You were the rightful heir to the CEO of the largest oil company in this city.”

"An heir?"

“So... if I stop myself from jumping,” Lucas muttered, his lips curling into a faint smile. “Will I suddenly become an heir again?”

“I’ll tell you everything,” the old man promised. “The real truth about you, about your parents… and how they truly died.”

Lucas blinked twice, looking at the old man again.

“The truth?” he asked “And what good will it do for me now? How should I even feel, knowing I was once the heir to the CEO of the biggest oil company in this city… and I'm now like a slave, or even less?”

“I was your father’s retired secretary,” the old man confessed, taking another step toward Lucas. “I was very close to your father when he was alive. I knew his habits, his plans, and even his fears.”

“What happened to him?” Lucas asked, stammering.“Why was he killed?”

The old man hesitated, then took a deep breath.

“He was murdered by his competitor.”

Lucas’s eyebrows furrowed. “Who? Who was his competitor?”

“Ryker Wales.”

Lucas repeated the name like it was foreign.

“Ryker Wales?” he said again, looking confused. “Why? Why would Ryker kill my father?”

“Ryker was jealous,” the old man explained. “Your father's oil company was the first in the oil industry and Ryker wanted what your father had. So he approached your father for a collaboration but your father turned him down”.

The old man slowly reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a hard drive.

“This,” he said, raising up the hard drive. “Contains everything”.

Lucas stared at the drive drive, nodding his head in rejection.

“No,” he said. “None of this will stop me. Do you think showing me a hard drive will take away the pain I’ve carried all these years?”

He turned his head, looking down.

“I’ve already lost everything.”

“Maybe,” the old man said..“ Perhaps after watching what’s on this drive, you’ll change your mind”.

“Ryker Wales doesn’t know you’re still alive,” the old man revealed, slipping the hard drive back into his coat pocket. “That’s why this is the best time you can avenge your parents’ death.”

“And what if everything you’re telling me,” Lucas muttered, “Is just another trick to stop me from jumping?”

“I’m not lying to you,” the old man confessed.

He moved forward, stretching out his hand to Lucas . “Bring your hand, Lucas, and let’s talk like we used to.”

. “How was my father killed?”..

The old man closed his eyes for a moment, and slowly opened them back.

“Ryker Wales planted a spy within your father’s security team,” he confessed, stammering. “This man fed Ryker information about every move your father made, including his travel plans. Ryker waited for the right moment and he chose your father's birthday.”

Lucas’s eyes widened.

“He made it look like a plane crash,” the old man confessed. “ And your father had no idea until it was too late. It was after he stepped into the plane, that’s when he discovered the spy.”

“Your father tried to fight,” the old man said, his voice beginning to tremble. “But by then, it was too late. The bomb had already been activated. And before it exploded, the spy stabbed both your father and mother.”

The old man’s voice broke down, and tears began to fall from his eyes. He wiped them quickly.

“Your father was bleeding but he still thought of you.. He strapped a parachute to you and pushed you out of the plane a few moments before the bomb explosion.”

“I rescued you after you landed. I saved you, raised you and changed your name from Lucas Cassius to Lucas Ross”.

" He died," Lucas muttered, sobbing. “ My father died trying to save me".

“I should’ve told you earlier,” the old man confessed, standing beside Lucas..“But I was afraid Ryker would find you. And I wasn’t ready to lose you too.”

“I will kill him,” Lucas vowed.“I’ll ruin him, destroy his company and take everything from him, just like he took everything from me.”

The old man placed both hands gently on Lucas’s shoulders.

“You will,” he said. “But not with rage. Ryker doesn’t know you’re alive, and that gives you the greatest time to plan and that, is what matters most.”

“It’s time to fight, time to kill and time to make every single person who wronged you answer for what they did. I warned you for years not to reveal your true powers but this world doesn’t deserve your silence anymore”.

" I will,”Lucas vowed, his lips crisping into a faint smile.." But I will start revenge on the people who framed me, got me expelled, betrayed me and sent me to prison”.

" I will start with Sophia, my ex-girlfriend and Adam, my ex-best friend. I will make them regret their actions, Master”.

" Lucas,” the old man muttered. " Go ahead with anything you feel like doing. I got your back, Lucas Cassius”.