2025-10-16 04:00:58BACK TO THE PRESENT: BEFORE THE GALA
As the bus stops at every road andstreet Jones's gaze never shifted. Frustration filled his eyes. He had mixed emotions. He lost his job and has no idea on what to do next with his life without a job. The job was his only surviving option, though the pay is low but it fits the bills and covers his mom's health insurance. The company was going bankrupt, possibly due to financial instability or because they crossed the wrong person. The release of a tape featuring Kai Won, a renowned artist, accusing him of counterfeit painting, all in the name of telling the "truth". The unemployment rate in New York city was higher than the employment rate. Youths are miserable, pushing them to commit crimes which also increases the crime rate of the country. The rich are getting richer while the poor are getting poorer. Jones slammed his head hard against the window in anger. He felt a sharp pain, but it can't be quantified with the pain he's feeling about being a failure. "Why me?", he muttered to himself, throwing his head against the window. Everything has to be a struggle for him. The phone rang, drawing him out of his thoughts, he pulled it out of his pocket. The caller ID showed no name, "Hello, am I speaking with Jones Walterson?", the other end asked. For some crazy reason, Jones wished it was a job opportunity. "Yes, you're",he said, "We need you at the hospital, your mother Sarah Walterson was just admitted." "Shit", he mutters. "Hello, hello!!", the caller said, all Jones could respond to her was pure silence. He ended the call without asking for the hospital name, because he knows there's only one that's a bit affordable in his hometown for people around the neighborhood. "Stop! Stop.. stop the bus", he yelled to the chauffeur drawing attention to himself. He jumped off the bus with his bag and coat to the hospital like a criminal escaping his greatest prison. Breathing heavily, he stumbled to the nurse desk, scaring the young lady. " Hey I'm Jones I got a call that my mom was admitted. Where's she", he asked panting. "Over there sir, the third room by your left". Jones fled immediately. He slowed his pace when he saw his mother lying on the bed with oxygen support. He wiped the tears streaming down his eyes. A hand held him back from going into the room, he turned his gaze from the knob to the doctor standing in front of him. It was Dr.Julian, he's been treating his mother for years, he respects him so much for his help. "Hey man, come with me ", Julian says drawing him out of his mother's view to a corner. "Her heart is failing and she needs the surgery immediately..... before her heart stops", Julian said with concerned looks. "I can't afford it. Is there any medication or treatment you can offer?......l-l...like the last one", he says stuttering, tears streaming down his eyes. "No, there isn't. It's either the surgery or she won't survive", Julian said facing the ground. Jones felt like all hope was lost. "I lost my job today. What am I suppose to do?", Jones said laughing out his pain with tears. He walks out of Julian, to take a seat before meeting his mom. Julian eyes lingered all over Jones with pity. "Doctor Julian, your attention is needed", a nurse on blue uniform said, Julian withdrew his eyes from Jones and followed the nurse. When he got inside room, it scent of lavender, he could only hear the beeping of the machine in the beside his mom. Her short brown chestnut hair was spread on the pillow, her strands of her bangs covering her eyes, her white glowing skin looks paler than in the morning."Hey mom, it's me", Jones whispered. His mom's face lit up with a warm smile mixed with pain she doesn't want me to be aware of, but I know. "Are you okay?, how you feeling?", he asked in hesitation. "I'm fine, how you doing?, don't lie to me". Yeah she knows, I'll definitely lie about how I'm feeling. "I lost my job today, but nothing to worry about, I'll get another", I told her the truth, yet I know getting another job will be difficult. "I know you will, this is just a bump in the road. You get passed it", she said holding tight to my hands, the world would see your light and talent", he giggled along with her. The room echoes with conversations of mother and son bonding.
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CHAPTER 32
“Don’t—” he said. I looked at him blankly. “Don’t think about it,” he continued. “Whatever that old woman said—dump it. Don’t let it root itself in your head. We’ve got a case now. That’s what matters.” I nodded, though my chest still felt tight.“Aren’t you going to ask what happened?” He didn’t look at me. “I shouldn’t have to ask. You should be telling.” I hesitated. “Spill,” he said. “Barry—the site contractor—was murdered last night. And—” I told him everything. When I finished, the car was no longer moving. I hadn’t noticed when he pulled over. He stared ahead for a long moment before exhaling slowly. Then he turned to me. “Why didn’t you call me?” “I—I tried to talk to Michael—” “Michael isn’t me.” I dropped my gaze. “I was scared. I didn’t want to drag you into my mess.” His voice softened. “It wasn’t your mess. You didn’t do anything. Guilt won’t save you—solutions will.” I nodded. “So what now?” “First, I need to know you’ve told me ever
CHAPTER 31
Johnny slowed as the iron gates of the Walters’ estate rose into view—towering, ornate, unapologetically hostile. He barely had time to kill the engine before armed men stepped out from the hedges, weapons lowered but ready, eyes scanning him like a threat that had wandered too close.He rolled down the window, calm practiced into his bones.“Detective Johnny,” he said evenly. “I’m expected.”No one answered. Minutes stretched. Radios crackled. Then, finally, a nod. The gates parted with a slow, deliberate groan.Inside, the estate unfolded like a private kingdom—manicured lawns, marble paths, silence too expensive to disturb. A butler met him at the steps, crisp and unreadable, and guided him past the house toward the golf garden.Laughter carried on the breeze.Lucien stood with a club in hand, Old Walter beside him, while little Jason chased a rolling ball, giggling as it escaped his reach. The scene was almost disarming—warm, familial, deceptively normal.Old Walter spoke without
CHAPTER 30
The ride to my place was a graveyard of words. Nothing but silence and the weight of everything I couldn’t tell her. She kept glancing my way; I kept pretending not to notice. My head was already drowning in the mess at the site, and the fight at the gala still burned through my veins.The second we stepped in, I pushed the door open too hard and walked straight through the living room. Marie rushed in behind me, breath unsteady.“Jones—stop!” Her hand gripped my arm.I turned, jaw tight, pulse still punching through my throat. I could feel the leftover rage in my eyes, hot and unruly.“You’ve still not given me an answer,” she said. “What was that? And where were you all night? You disappeared for hours—No calls, no text—and then you show up starting a fight?”I exhaled sharply, the memory flashing through my mind. “I didn’t start a fight,” I said, voice low and rough. “He tried to—he tried to touch you and I can’t let that happen. You know me better.… I don’t let anyone touch what’s
CHAPTER 29
‐‐~ Jones ~‐‐Jones forced his shaking hands to grab his phone. The emergency operator picked up immediately, and he gave the location, told them someone was badly hurt, and that they needed to arrive fast.He didn’t stay longer than that.The moment the call ended, he ran through the rain toward Michael’s car. His heart was beating too fast, his thoughts scrambled. He didn’t understand what he saw, or what really happened, or why someone would target Barry of all people.He just knew he needed to get away before he completely fell apart.The tires screeched against the wet road as he sped back toward the event.The closer he got to the exhibition, the more his phone vibrated nonstop in his pocket—but he didn’t check it. He couldn’t. Not yet. His mind was still at the construction site, still seeing Barry drop past the elevator, still seeing the shadowed figure running away.When he finally reached the gallery, he parked carelessly—crooked and half over the line—and rushed toward the
CHAPTER 28
Continuation of chapter one.Kai — Arrival at the GalaThe ride to the Gala was silent, save for the low hum of the engine and the occasional vibration from my iPad. City lights streaked across the window—gold, white, violet—blurring together like an unfinished painting.I scrolled through the final catalog Clara had sent an hour ago: placement charts, lighting corrections, security grids, predicted turnout. My collections glowed on the screen—oil pieces, charcoal sketches, shattered-glass abstracts, fractured portraits. All bound to the theme of the exhibition:Past lives.Reincarnation.Echoes.Memories that didn’t belong to this lifetime.And threaded through nearly every work—subtle, half-hidden, sometimes only suggested in a shadow—was one recurring figure. The same silhouette. The same haunting outline.I still didn’t know who he was. Or why he kept appearing. Or why my hand seemed compelled to paint him, again and again.The thought gnawed at me, but tonight wasn’t for doubt. T
CHAPTER 27
AUTHOR’S NOTE:If you’ve read this far, congratulations — you’re officially one of the mystical art lovers, lol. I hope you’re enjoying this book. I’m truly sorry for the late and delayed update; please accept my sincere apology, guys.AUTHOR’S WARNING:Alright, listen up — things are about to get messy. Like really messy. These last few chapters dive straight into the characters’ past right before the Gala, and trust me, they’re all about to lose their minds in their own special ways.From this point onward, the story shifts. These next chapters will pull you beneath the surface and into the past — to the moments right before the Gala, where everything truly began. The characters you’ve been following will reveal themselves in ways you didn’t expect.Secrets will rot their way to the surface.Identities will crack open.Boundaries will be crossed without hesitation.And the truth behind Kai’s art and Jones’ life will grow darker, sharper, and far more dangerous.These scenes will exp
