What’s the plan here

The morning light met Zane sleeping on the hard, dirty floor of the mansion's front porch, hugging onto his body to keep warm.

Suddenly, he felt someone kick his legs lightly once and then harder the next time, causing a sharp pain to run through his bone and he instantly jumped from his sleep, his face turning white.

As soon as he woke up fully, he looked up and met with one of the mansion cleaners, Paul, and he earned a scowl from him.

“You can't sleep here. You need to get up and go somewhere else.” Paul commanded, pointing at Zane with his broom in his hand, and he glared at him when he refused to budge even an inch. “Did the cold air lock your ear?! Move!”

Frowning, Zane forced his aching body to stand up, wincing in pain as he put weight on the wrong foot while limping toward the front door.

When he grabbed the doorknob and turned it, it was locked, and he turned to look at Paul, but the guard disregarded his stare and started sweeping.

‘If you think this is going to make me give up without finding out the truth and return to Houghton, you  are wrong.’ Zane thought determinedly, leaping away from the door as Paul started sweeping the dusk and dirt on him.

Without a care in his expression, Paul continued sweeping, ignoring how badly Zane was hurt due to the freezing temperature he suffered, and he didn't stop sweeping dust his way until Zane leaped down the stairs.

Finally, after standing in the morning air for a couple of hours, the mansion's front door opened and Zane leaped back up the stairs, only to get stopped by the head servant.

“You are not allowed to enter the house yet until Master Damion gives the go-ahead, so stay out!”  The head servant ordered sternly.

With a huff, Zane turned around to the shut gate and then said, “Can one of you get Dicken to open the gate for me to leave then because I think he's deaf to my voice.” 

Without saying a word, the head servant walked back into the mansion and Paul continued his sweeping, acting like he hadn't heard what Zane had said.

The chill Zane felt began to intensify and he was slowly beginning to feel very hungry too. However, despite that, he leaped on his stiff leg back down the stairs.

After a couple more hours, Zane finally saw the head servant return, glared at him, and said, “Your father has given the go-ahead for you to come in.”

Frowning slightly, Zane tried to muster up the strength to push his aching body forward, and even though he was in pain, he still managed to climb the stairs, heading straight into the mansion and to his room.

After taking a hot shower, Zane returned to the kitchen, hoping to grab a snack, but only to get a slight shove in the chest by the chef, halting him in his steps.

“What do you think you are doing?” The Chef asked sternly, looking up at him.

“I'm hungry... Can I get something to eat please?” Zane asked, keeping his gaze fixed downward as the other man stood beneath him, his face hard and his lips pressed together into a line.

“No. These dishes are for the madam, Mister, and his children-”

“I am his child too-”

“You are nothing but a bastard! It's not the same! Now get out.”

Frustrated, Zane stomped out of the kitchen, searching around until he found his father in the study, and he bashed inside, closing the door behind him.

“What’s the plan here, dad... Imprison and starve me to death, huh? Are you going to treat me like an animal now?” Zane calmly uttered.

“Go back to Houghton to stay with Doctor Ben.” Mr. Briggs said, not looking away from his document. “There is nothing here for you.”

“Nothing?”

“Your mother is dead. What more do you think you have here, huh?” 

Silence settled between both men as Zane glared at his father until Mr. Briggs felt his intense gaze burning holes through him, making him look up from the document and stared back right at him.

“Go back. There's no place for you by my side.” Mr. Briggs's calm, yet cold voice said. 

“Then make space because I am not leaving.”

A faint scoff escaped the older man’s mouth before he sighed and looked back at his documents and said, “Suit yourself.” 

For a moment, Zane glared at his father, and then he turned to leave, stopping in his steps when he heard his dad say, “We need extra hands at the company today, so you are coming along.”

Shutting his eyes, Zane took a deep breath before he turned around again and looked his father directly in the eyes, and told him with a serious tone, “Okay,”

The building of NewEra Co. was a huge blue skyscraper, and when the vehicle finally came to a stop in the parking lot, Zane eyed his father in the front passenger seat before turning off the engine.

Even though Zane knew going in there was going to be him caging himself in another misery, he was prepared to face it because he could do anything to find out the truth.

A moment later, the second they walked into the lobby of the building, eyes started falling on Zane, everyone knowing of the son Mr. Briggs kept a secret for years.

But Zane kept his focus straight as he followed Mr. Briggs, Jason, Austin, Leon, Theo, and Sophia walking ahead of him, toward the elevator.

When they got to the top floor, Mr. Briggs led Zane to a telephone on the wall, saying, “This is your station. Your job is to stand by this telephone and answer whenever it rings and do what would be requested of you. Do you have any questions?!”

“No,” Zane said, and suddenly his stomach rumbled, causing both his dad and him to look down at his shirt.

Then Mr. Briggs snorted faintly before walking off, shouting back, “Do not leave your post until twelve. That's lunch break.”

As the sound of his office door opening got Damion's attention from the document on his desk, he stared at Jason walking through the doorway and then shutting the door behind him.

“It’s been weeks now. That boy should be gone from here.” Jason stated as he approached Damion's desk. “Why are you playing with fire by keeping him around?”

“That bastard is stubborn and unruly. I can not use intense force to move him because people may see me ugly for doing so. All I can do now is push him to the edge until he leaves on his own.” Mr. Briggs explained, leaning back in his chair, and folding his arms.

“Then push him a bit harder. The quicker he leaves, the safer it is for all of us.” 

“I know.”

A yawn left Zane’s lips as he tried to keep awake, but sleeping on the ground all night, in the cold air, and not having any breakfast this morning was making him sleepy. 

His eyes were blurry as his head got heavier, and he just wanted to go home, but he wouldn't dare leave, so he sat down on the floor, resting his back against the wall.

When sleep finally started to pull him under and he began feeling drowsy, the phone rang loudly, startling him awake once again. 

Groaning, Zane stood upright, trying to wipe his drooping eyelids with the back of his hand before reaching out for the phone.

“Hello?” He questioned groggily into the phone. “Yes father, this is Zane.”

“We are about to start a conference. You need to buy coffee for twelve people with snacks. Now go to each office to ask for their orders.” Mr. Briggs's voice echoed in his ear.

“Can they just text their orders to me,”

“If you can’t handle something as simple as collecting people's orders. Then maybe you should leave!”

“Fine,”

“You are leaving?”

There was a brief pause as Zane  listened to his father's breathing, then he replied, “Yes, I am leaving to go get the orders as you have requested.”

The call abruptly ended in Zane's ear, and he smirked, mumbling, “You are not getting rid of me that easily.”

The walk from NewEra to the nearest coffee shop left Zane feeling even more  tired, but somehow he managed to reach his destination without collapsing and walked toward the counter, and said, “Excuse me.”

“How may we help you today sir?” The lady behind the register asked politely.

“I want to purchase Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino, Apple Crisp Frappuccino, Chocolate Cookie Crumble Crème Frappuccino, Caramel Ribbon Crunch Crème Frappuccino, Chocolate Almond Milk Shaken Espresso, Iced Chocolate Almondmilk Shaken Espresso, Iced White Chocolate Mocha, Cold Brew Coffee, Iced Blonde Caffè Americano, Iced Caramel Macchiato, Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew, and Caffé Americano with Doughnuts, Apple pie, Chocolate brownie Cake, Cheesecake, Baklava, Tiramisu, Apple crisp, Banana pudding, Black Forest cake, Carrot cake, Chocolate cake…” 

“Please have a seat, sir. We will have your order  shortly.”

After nodding, Zane turned to walk off when his nose started feeling itchy, and before he could hold it in, he sneezed loudly into his elbow.

But as soon as Zane brought his hand down, he got smacked hard in the face, and for a moment everything was confusing as he listened to the sound of people grasping around him.

Finally, his gaze settled on the two ladies, suddenly the one in the yellow summer dress bowed slightly, and cried hastily, “I am sorry Mr. for what my cousin just did to you! Please forgive her.”

“Emma, you are embarrassing me, and stop apologizing already!! He should be the one who should beg for a pardon here!!” The cousin said, and then she glared at Zane, commanding, “Now, apologize for trying to get me sick with whatever disease you breathed out in the same space as me!!!”

Noticing how many people's eyes were on him, Zane's brows furrowed slightly, and he drew a breath before quietly walking past the cousin, but she suddenly yelled, “Where is the manager of this establishment?!”

Immediately, Zane stopped in his steps, turning to stare at her in disbelief, wondering where he went wrong. 

“Ava, stop, you are creating a scene over nothing,” Emma whispered, meeting Zane's eyes for a second, “Let's just leave please.”

When she grabbed her cousin's arm, Ava yanked her hand out of Emma’s grip, pushing her off her, and she lost her balance, falling back.

Instantly, Zane reacted and rushed for Emma, grabbing her arm, and pulling her toward him a bit harder than he intended and her head banged into his nose.

“Fuck!” Zane shouted, dropping her arm and putting his hand onto his nostril, blood rushing through his veins.

“I am so sorry!” Emma cried, worriedly rubbing her arm while staring wide-eyed at him. “Are you okay?!”

Suddenly, a guy came from the back of the shop, asking, “What’s going on here?”

Rolling her eyes at her cousin and Zane, Emma scoffed, shaking her head, and then she faced the man, asking, “Are you the manager?”

It took him a second, but the moment he recognized her face, he immediately bowed, saying, “ Yes, Miss Taylor. Is there anything I can-”

“How can you allow a disease-infested thing to walk among normal humans?! Are you trying to get us all infected?!” Emma demanded.

The manager opened his mouth, probably to answer her question, but instead, he shut his mouth as his eyes wandered around the room, his body visibly tensing, afraid to say the wrong thing that would offend her more.

Seeing how uneasy the manager had become under her cousin's glare, Emma softly smiled at him and said, “It’s nothing serious-“

“Shut up, Emma!” Ava snapped, causing Zane to turn around and stare at them both. “If you are not going to have my back, then just don’t talk.”

Knowing the power that her cousin held in the family and not wanting Zane to get in trouble over a sneeze, Emma tried to reason with her cousin, saying, “You know that I have your back, Ava, but-“

“Shut it!” Ava shouted, glaring at Emma before scowling at Zane.