CHAPTER 18: CHAPTER 18 IN HANDCUFFS

Caden was panicked.

He shouldn’t have agreed to that damn bet.

If only Jacob had listened to him!

He shook his head. No! This was all his fault.

He should have been honest with his friends. He shouldn’t have continued making them believe that the bet was still on.

But if he had been honest, would that have stopped Jacob from releasing those photoshopped pictures.

Jacob was a pro at photoshopping pictures.

Everyone at school knew so Caden and his friends had earlier approached him and told him what he needed to do.

He was to release those pictures anytime Caden gave the order. But the order never came.

After dating Alora was six months, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Even if they were fake pictures, most people would believe they were real.

He sighed as he leaned against the seat on the jet. He should’ve just told Jacob to delete those pictures and that he wasn’t interested in that.

But he didn’t. He just kept telling Jacob not to release it yet but Jacob eventually went against him. Seeing those pictures had sent Caden into a devious rage that he had never experienced before.

He had to admit that he had never beaten up anyone like that before.

Now, they were saying Jacob was in a coma.

He sighed but he tried to stay positive.

This was all his fault.

Maybe he just needed to apologize to his family, properly.

But once Caden landed in Florida, he realized that an apology might not be enough to save him.

Jacob had been declared brain dead and he passed few hours ago, the police had already been contacted.

Just as he landed, Caden saw some policemen walking up to him.

“Caden Steele, you’re hereby arrested for the murder of Jacob Macaulay. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used against you in...”

Caden zoned out of them.

Jacob was dead?

He stared at his feet.

Admittedly, he had really beaten the hell out of him.

But he didn’t think it’d be enough to kill him.

Just as he was processing things, the handcuffs locked around his wrists.

Caden Steele was taken into custody.

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

Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Alora had gone shopping with her mother.

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay without me?”

Alora smiled.

Her mom had a popular supermarket in the states, she couldn’t just uproot it and start all over again here.

For these past few months, she had tried managing it from London, she had wanted to be with Alora and held her adjust to life in this country.

So far, Alora felt she had adjusted well enough.

“Mom, I’m not a child anymore, I’ll be fine.” Alora assured.

She reached for a decorative vase to add to their cart, but as her fingers touched the cool ceramic, it slipped and fell...shattering into pieces.

“Are you okay?” Her mom asked with surprise. “This isn’t like you. You’re usually so careful.”

Alora stood in shock as she stared down at the broken pieces.

An inexplicable sense of dread washed over her, a cold premonition that something terribly had happened.

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

The case against Caden was ironclad.

First degree murder with multiple witnesses.

Plus with Jacob’s uncle, Richard’s influence, he was making sure the case wouldn’t be swept under the rug.

Jacob’s family were equally devastated by the loss. He was their only son. They needed justice to make them face this harsh reality of the lost of Jacob.

While Caden’s father, Albert tried everything he could to silence the case.

But it didn’t work.

His companies were also affected by the scandal, when he started losing stock, that was when he knew that burying this case meant becoming a bad eye to the public.

He had to let his son face the consequences of what had happened.

The only thing he felt he could do now was to try to lessen his sentence.

He was genuinely pissed at Caden that he could do something like this. That family’s reputation meant everything to Albert Steele.

Albert decided to pay his final visit to his son in jail.

Father and son sat opposite each other, separated by a glass wall.

They were quiet for a while.

Eventually, Albert spoke, coldly. "You really are a fool."

Caden’s eye twitched, but he responded quietly, "I know, I messed up."

He was well aware of the scandal and trouble his actions had brought to the family.

"That’s not what I mean," his father retorted sharply. "I had our people investigate. Those photos he posted were fake. So why did you even bother to beat him up like that? Your friends told me you knew very well that they were fake pictures. Even if they were real, why would you do that because of a girl?!”

Caden’s head snapped up. His father looked at him with disgust and disappointment.

“Real or not, those pictures had ruined her reputation in school. It was wrong.”

“Wrong to the point of killing him?”

“I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

His father was so angry he could barely speak.

“But it happened anyway.”

His father stared at him, speechless with fury at his son’s actions.

“I don’t know how I raised such a disappointment," he finally said coldly. “You’re nothing compared to your brother."

Caden’s expression changed instantly.

Everyone believed he was the only Steele child, the sole heir to the family fortune. But Caden knew the truth, his father had a mistress and another son.

This half-brother, a few years younger than Jason, was already enrolled in a prestigious university abroad, excelling academically and socially.

Until now, since Caden was the legitimate son, his half-brother couldn’t inherit anything regardless of his achievements.

But circumstances had changed dramatically.

“I was prepared to make you the sole heir out of respect for your mother," his father continued coldly. "But the Steele name cannot be represented by a murderer. I also owe the Macaulay family answers."

“I’ve decided to legally recognize your brother and name him as the Steele family heir."

Caden’s face went pale.

He understood immediately, he was being cast aside.

His father looked at him and finally sighed.

"You’re still my son. I’ll establish a trust fund to ensure you never want for basic necessities. But don’t expect anything beyond that."

With those parting words, his father left without looking back.

Caden was then sentenced to ten years in jail.

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

In London, Alora’s life settled into a comfortable routine.

She soon noticed that Caden had stopped coming to see her.

This didn’t surprise her too much.

He had always been a playboy, in her estimation. His pursuit of her had likely been the novelty of being rejected, the challenge of winning back someone who had left him.

Once the novelty wore off, or he found a new target, he naturally lost interest in pursuing her.

Alora felt nothing about this development.

She focused on her studies, graduated with distinction from the Royal Acting School, and surprised everyone by accepting an offer to return to the United States.

And settled down in LA and began her acting career. As someone who now had both the London and American accent, fluent in Spanish, Italian, French and many other languages. Plus, having extraordinary acting skills, it didn’t take long for her to make it big in Hollywood.