One Man Band System

Meanwhile, at the exact same time, inside the massive house where Eric had lived until he turned 18, "click," Jason opened the door to Martin’s home office. He was carrying his smartphone and a folder, and he wasn’t alone; Vanessa was right there with him. They found Martin sitting at his desk, head buried in his hands, staring down at a mountain of paperwork—mostly bank notices and a formal demand letter from an investor pulling their funds.

Martin looked like he had aged overnight, clearly under immense stress from the documents scattered across his desk. Jason and Vanessa took their seats right in front of him. Even though Martin completely ignored their presence, the two exchanged a quick glance before turning their attention back to him. Jason slid the folder onto the desk, and naturally, Martin’s focus immediately shifted toward it.

"What’s this?" Martin asked Jason.

"It’s the file on Eric from the private investigator I hired, Dad," Jason said, opening the folder.

Inside were printouts of articles from an online financial news site, featuring the headline, "The Man Who Exposed Massive Embezzlement at CJR Real Estate & Construction Corporation Is Also the Corporation’s Second-Largest Shareholder." Although Eric’s name wasn’t explicitly spelled out, the photo accompanying the article clearly showed his face.

Behind that were several surveillance photos of Eric driving a BMW, driving a Maybach, wearing expensive tailored suits, and hanging out with Emma and the other five girls from The Empress. There were pictures of him performing at a piano competition with Emma, walking out of a law firm’s office, and various other snapshots documenting his daily life. Additionally, there were printouts of streaming app comments, videos of Eric, and social media posts from both him and the six girls.

"Just a second ago... he sent me this photo," Jason said, pushing his smartphone toward Martin.

Martin looked at the screen, which showed Eric entering a massive, older but undeniably grand building located right in a bustling downtown shopping and business district. Judging by the timestamp, the photo had been taken just a little while ago. Martin slid the smartphone back and stared at his son.

"So... why are you showing me all of this?" Martin asked.

"Our company is in deep trouble, Dad... especially on the financial side. The banks froze our credit lines and investors are pulling their money out," Jason answered.

"Get straight to the point. What do you want?" Martin snapped.

"What if we ask Eric for help, honey? Jason already filled me in earlier. We were totally in the wrong for just kicking him out like that. What if we go down there ourselves and talk to him face-to-face? I’m sure Eric will find it in his heart to forgive us," Vanessa suggested, reaching her hand across the desk toward Martin.

"Mom is right, Dad. Just look at him, Eric is absolutely loaded now. Why don’t I just head over there first? I already got his address from the private investigator. I’ll talk to him heart-to-heart, brother to brother," Jason added.

Martin was silent for a moment. He looked at his wife, then at his oldest son, and slowly pulled his hand away from his wife’s grasp on the desk. He then closed the folder and pushed it back toward Jason.

"Don’t be ridiculous. There is no way I am ever facing Eric again," Martin said, meaning he felt completely unworthy of speaking to him.

"Oh, come on, Dad, please don’t be so stubborn at a time like this. Our company is on the brink of bankruptcy. Drop your pride and come with us to talk to Eric," Jason said, growing impatient and a bit forceful.

"He’s right, honey. Jason is right. At this point, Eric is the only one who can save us. We can still cover the mortgage on this house for this month, but what about next month?" Vanessa added, piling on the pressure.

"Shut up, both of you! Get out, leave me alone, my head is splitting!" Martin shouted, waving his hand to dismiss them.

Hearing a man who was usually stoic, calm, and never raised his voice now sounding like a stressed-out, cornered animal on the edge of a cliff, Jason and Vanessa flinched. The two exchanged another glance, stayed quiet for a second, and finally stood up to leave Martin’s office. Once the door clicked shut behind them, Martin picked up his smartphone and put in his earplugs. He pulled up the song "Betrayal Enigma," performed by The Empress and written by Eric Reed. Leaning back in his chair, he closed his eyes and let the melody wash over him.

Meanwhile, out in the living room, Jason and Vanessa sank back onto the couch after leaving Martin’s office.

"What now, Mom? Dad won’t budge at all," Jason said, his eyes bloodshot as he looked at his mother.

"Let’s do this—have you gotten Eric’s phone number yet?" Vanessa asked.

"Not yet, the guy told me to be patient. Wait, don’t tell me you’re planning on calling him, Mom?" Jason asked, staring at her.

"At the very least, I want to talk to him... He must know by now that he isn’t your father’s biological son, because he definitely got all this wealth from his real dad. I raised him from the day he was born until he turned 18, didn’t I? I should definitely be able to get a cut of whatever his late father left him," Vanessa replied.

"I should get a piece of it too, right? I’m his older brother. Besides... he has no idea how to manage that kind of money. Not like me. I’ll convince him to hand his funds over so I can run it," Jason said, his jealousy toward Eric bleeding through every word.

"I know, Eric was never smart with money. Of course I want to bring that up too, if only to make sure your future is secure," Vanessa agreed.

"Yeah, Mom. If I can match Eric’s wealth, Vivian will definitely come back to me," Jason said, getting lost in his delusions.

"That’s why I should be the one to call him first. I’m certain I can talk Eric into it. He always listened to his mother," Vanessa said with a smile, patting Jason’s hand.

"Alright, Mom. I’ll leave it to you," Jason said, grinning.

"Didn’t you say you were heading out?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, I’m hitting the club," Jason answered, standing up. "I’m heading out, Mom." Jason took his leave and walked out the front door, leaving Vanessa alone with her thoughts on the couch.

Meanwhile, outside the house, Jason stood in the driveway. He glanced back at the building for a brief moment before walking over to his truck. Once he climbed inside and gripped the steering wheel, his knuckles turned white. His jaw clenched tightly and his eyes shot with blood.

"I’m going to take every single dime your real dad left you, Eric. Just you wait. Once I’m richer than you, then I’ll play nice and act like a brother again, without holding a grudge over what happened with Vivian because of you," Jason thought to himself, completely consumed by resentment and envy.

***

Meanwhile, back at Eric’s building, after the girls headed back downstairs, Eric walked up to the rooftop to meet Jade. According to the six girls, she wanted to talk to him. When he stepped outside, Eric was surprised to see Jade looking completely relaxed. She smiled at him from one of the lounge chairs, and as he sat down right next to her, she looked up at the sky.

"Your place is absolutely incredible... and Emma, Chloe, Monica, Priya, Heidi, and Laura... they’re truly amazing girls. I’m really glad you have them in your life. I hope they stay by your side forever," Jade said.

"Thanks. So, what’s up? Why did you call me up here?" Eric asked, getting straight to the point.

Jade went quiet for a moment. She sat up straight, turned to face Eric, and her expression instantly became dead serious. She pulled out her smartphone and pulled up the family group chat history from right before she moved to the city and left the group, then handed it over to Eric.

Eric read through the messages. It turns out a massive clash had recently erupted between Martin and David. The whole thing started because David had been bragging at the golf club where Martin was a member, loudly proclaiming that Martin had made the right call by kicking Eric out.

But within just a few hours, another club member who knew the truth about Blake’s framing exposed the setup and spread it around. David had immediately looked out for himself, claiming he knew absolutely nothing about it and even turning around to point the finger right back at his own brother.

Ever since then, Martin had been gradually losing face and watching his reputation crumble up until the day Jade left. To make matters worse, David had severed their business partnership, splitting the company down the middle, and now the two were locked in a cold war.

Jade then showed Eric a separate chat with her mother that confirmed the whole ordeal. Eric handed the smartphone back to Jade.

"This doesn’t really have anything to do with me, does it?" Eric said casually.

"It does... people like your dad... my dad... your mom... and Jason... they are absolutely going to come after you using every trick in the book just to get you to open your wallet and save them. I need you to be careful. And I promise you, this time, I’m standing on your side," Jade said.

"Okay... I get it," Eric said. He took her warning seriously, even though he only trusted Jade about 60% of the way right now and wasn’t ready to completely let his guard down like the old days.