Chapter one

“Alexander! Where are you? Enough of this hide-and-seek game. It's time for dinner. Alexander!”

"Mom! Dad! I'm here,” little Alexander called out, his tone shaking. 

Alexander’s parents walked to the backyard, and to their greatest surprise, a gun was pointed at their crying little boy’s head.

The men covered their faces with masks, and despite their actions, they didn't come to play. They forced Mr. and Mrs. Hunter into their sitting room.

The hunters kneeled, pleading for the men in black to spare their lives. 

“Here’s the Almighty President of the Hunter’s Empire, the richest man in the country. No! No!! They sarcastically said, "In the world."

However, all the hunters did was cry and beg for their lives.

“The President of the Hunters Empire begged. That's interesting and fun to watch. It was indeed an honour to have you kneel before me and beg. But the fun part is that you will be killed,” one of the killers stated.

“Please kill me and spare my family; they are innocent. I’ll do anything. How much do you want? Please name your price." On his knees, Williams begged for their lives.

Victoria Hunter, who was also kneeling beside her husband, joined in, beseeching the men who had come to kill them. 

“I beg you, we will do anything you ask. Please spare our lives; please don't kill us.”. 

“Unfortunately, your enemies wanted your family dead. You are a good man, but we came to do our jobs. I'm sorry, President Williams Hunter”. 

Williams knows this business too well, and he knows they're going to die. He let out a loud sigh. But then he has one last request: to hug his son before his death. 

Three-year-old Alexander ran to his father and hugged him, crying. Just before the killers dragged little Alexander out of his father's embrace, Williams removed his golden ring and slipped it into Alexander’s side pocket.

President Williams and his wife kneeled in front of their son, and within a twinkle of an eye, the murderers shot them in their heads, making sure that they were dead.

"Goodbye, President Williams; it was nice meeting you."

Seeing the blood gushing out of his parents' heads, Alexander cried. They shook their bleeding heads. Daddy! Mommy! 

Their sender didn't say anything about the hunter's young son, so they just hit Alexander hard in the head, causing him to pass out.

******

The news spread like wildfire across the United States. An unknown killer murdered President Williams' family in their New York home.

No one knew who was behind the attack or whether little Alexander lived.

Six years later, after waking up from a coma, Alexander found himself in their home, but not as exquisite as the one he used to have.

When Alexander was getting used to his environment, Jack Callen, his guardian, took him to the orphanage for protection. 

The Homer family adopted Caleb. The Homer family was struggling to climb the social ladder in the business world. They had only a female child, "Zoey,” but they wanted a male who could take up the family name and bring them good fortune.

Despite being adopted by a family, Williams felt most worried about the ring on his finger and the intentions of the Homer family.

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

It had been a long day for Jason as he walked on the bustling streets of New York looking for a good job. He had searched through every financial firm he could think of, but he was being declined.

He needed this job to boost his importance in the Garrison family. Working as a waiter and earning such a low salary has made Jason an object of ridicule.

"Fuck!" He cursed, as he was too frustrated to think. He had a very good résumé, but he still wasn't considered. Jason was starting to think it wasn't something coincidental. Maybe it was his poor outfit or the Garrison family name. 

He halted and then turned to look around for a cab, but he could see no cab in sight. It wasn't so easy to get a cab in high-rise residential areas. Because everyone rides their luxurious cars.

Jason walked home; it was long, but he had no choice but to walk. When he got home, nobody was there to throw curses and insults at him. Jason quietly made his way to the basement, where he slept to relax. He knew that if all the members of the Garrison family came back, his life would be in chaos. 

Jason slept for a very long time, and when he was finally awake, it was already midnight. Jason stood beside the window, hungry and deep in thought.

Even though he was hungry, he wouldn't dare complain or go to the kitchen. It was a stern instruction from the lady of the garrison family, Mr. Kim. 

After spending a few minutes thinking about his life, Jason decided to go back to sleep. It would be another way to stop hearing his stomach roar. As he was about to return to bed, he heard a loud noise coming from the living room. Jason got curious, he sighed and walked downstairs to check what was causing the noises. 

He got downstairs, and he was surprised to see Mr. Lucas Garrison, his adopted father, watching a movie. Jason mentally groaned and was about to run off, but was called back. 

"What are you doing here?" Lucas inquired, staring sternly at Jason. 

"I, um.." Jason trailed off, not sure of what to say; he didn't want to say something that'd annoy his father.

"I just asked you a question; don't let me repeat myself, "Lucas warned.

His father was looking for an excuse to belittle him again.

"Well, I heard a noise, and I just came to check what the cause was and to know if everyone was asleep, so I'll lock the doors," Jason said.

"That's all you know how to do, right? You can't even get a decent job and help your family. I picked you up from the orphanage and gave you all you wanted, but what did I get? Failure from you. You can't even handle important businesses. Shame on you. You're such a useless boy. Get out of my sight now! "My house is more protected than your life would ever be," Lucas remarked with so much hatred in his voice.

Jason hesitated, wondering what he had done wrong to warrant such an insult. 

"I said get lost!" Lucas barked, glaring at Jason.

Jason dried the tears that had gathered in his eyes, and he ran away back to his room, as though someone were chafing him.

Jason got to his room, and he sat on the bed with a deep scowl on his face. He felt humiliated, heartbroken, and insulted, but what could he do? Nothing. He believed life was unfair to him.

He sighed, and his mind flashed back to how everything happened—literally, he had been fooled; perhaps he was the fool himself. He was just a little boy with no say in his adoption. They adopted him for their selfish interests, not because they loved and cared about him.

With a heavy heart, Jason lay back on his small bed. He began to toss for some minutes, and then he finally drifted off to sleep.

*Next morning*

Jason was still sleeping when he felt cold, chilled water being poured on his body.

"Shit!" Jason exclaimed sleepily in fright, and he made to stand up when two resounding slaps hit him hard across his face, which sent him flying back to the bed.

The sleep in his eyes immediately vanished, and he quickly opened his eyes only to see his so-called adopted mother glaring at him maniacally.

Jason immediately held his cheek, trying to nullify the pain. "You moron, how dare you sleep by this time? Don't you have work to do?" Mrs. Kim stated:

"Mum!" Jason called, but she glared at him, and he immediately corrected himself.

"Ma'am, today’s my day off, and I'm very weak. I wanted to regain my strength before doing my chores. I haven't forgotten. I’ll handle everything, I promise," Jason tried to explain, but Zoey immediately rushed to the room and added more light to the flame. I didn't know why she drove so much joy into hurting me.

"Mum, Jason is such a lazy idiot; I'm such that he was even planning on forcing me to do the cleaning when you must’ve gone out," Zoey said, and Jason's eyes

widened.

"Is that what he usually does to you?" Kim, my adopted woman, asked. Zoey nodded her head with a mischievous grin on her lips.

"Yes, Mom. He even said he hates us all and that we're making his life miserable," Zoey stated.

Jason’s heart skipped three beats. He knew there was no use in denying anything because that would only worsen things for him because nobody was going to believe him.

"You dare to say such things about me and my family? They picked you up from the gutters and gave you a name." Kim asked while she pushed Jason.

Jason fell to the floor, and he winced in pain. "It's not true, ma'am," he said as he stood up. Although it won't make any difference if he denies the accusations, he still wants to say something. Someone must hear him.

"And you think we'll believe you? You think I'll take your damn words over my daughter's? You must be joking and definitely out of your mind." She spat.

"He should get punished for this, Mom," Zoey smirked. Jason's gaze met hers, and his blood boiled with rage. If looks were a gun, Zoey, he'd probably have been shot. However, on seeing the smirk on Zoey’s face, Jason knew that he had to face his mother’s tongue. Zoey has done this on purpose.

"Loser." She mouthed and smiled.