Tessa's eyes opened widely, she was lying comfortably on a mini bed. She was inside a room that looked small, the room only contained her bed and a single desk which was beside the bed .
Tessa stood to her upper body, she looked around the room strangely. It wasn't her room, and the room was small. It was like a room meant for prisoners. She had never seen this room structure before.
Her eyes moved to the desk which was beside the bed, she wondered why her father brought her here, perhaps he didn't want to see her face.
Tessa came out of bed, she sighted the cup of hot tea on the desk, the scent awakened her stomach, it was her grandfather's stylish tea, she would never forget the scent and the taste.
She hurriedly took the cup from the desk and took a sip from it.
Her cheeks raised to her eyes, grandfather tea was and would always be the best tea in the world.
Tessa finished the tea after some minutes, she dropped the cup on the desk, the tea meant that grandfather survived his strange ailment, she couldn't wait to see him, he would definitely be angry, she would just kneel and apologize sincerely. No way grandfather would be mad afterward.
Tessa looked around the room once more, only then did she notice the mirror on the other side of the room, she noticed that she wasn't wearing any bandages, and her injuries had somehow healed.
She must've been sleeping for some days now, her father and her grandfather must be waiting for her.
Tessa came out of the room, she found herself in an open corridor, the walls of the corridor were the same as her family manor, which meant she was in the compound, but she wasn't in the main house.
Why was she brought here?
Tessa was lost in thought when a voice sounded from behind.
"Good morning, Lady Tessa"
Tessa's eyebrows raised when she heard the familiar voice, it was her best friend, Jeremy.
She turned to face him, but she was immediately stunned to see his build-up, he had gotten taller and muscular, and he wasn't the old Jeremy she knew three years ago.
Jeremy was one year older than her, now it seemed he was five or six years older, he didn't have the friendly face Tessa used to know, he was more mature, more manly than before. Certainly, better than David.
"Why was I brought here, and where is my father, and my grandfather"
Although Jeremy was her best friend, they weren't the type that talked too much nor did things together, she only regarded Jeremy as her best friend because he was the only person she talks to in the house, aside from her grandfather and her father.
Jeremy bowed his head low.
"Your grandfather is dead. He died the day you left. That tea was made by your father"
Tessa's heart pounded heavily, she tried to process the words properly, but she couldn't. According to the doctors, her grandfather was unlikely going to survive, but she thought he would because he was a strong man. He was still able to move around despite his condition.
She left that day because David had just proposed to her, and she didn't say no, she didn't want anybody to stop her that was why she ran away.
She saw it as a golden opportunity, to escape from everything, that was why she mustered the courage and left without saying goodbye to her grandfather or leaving a message behind.
Never did she imagine that would be her grandfather's last day, now she wished she had stayed, she would've held his hands until the end.
She hoped he didn't call her name at the end, she hoped he wasn't worried about her disappearance, what if she was the reason he died.
"I need to see my father"
Tessa wanted to walk away when Jeremy sounded.
"I am afraid that won't be possible, Tessa"
He walked to block Tessa's view.
"Your freedom has been restricted. you are not allowed to walk around this premises, and you might go hungry for some days, you won't be given a proper feeding calendar. You are now a hostage here. You can gain your freedom back if you choose to join the Wood family"
Jeremy's expression darkened.
"Currently, you are nothing more than an outsider"
Tessa was dumbfounded, she finally understood what this was all about, her father had disowned her, and she was pretty much a nobody here, and that was why she was brought here, where the normal people stay.
She understood her father, he probably hated her, and she would have to prove herself worthy.
"I choose to join the Wood family. My family"
Jeremy's eyebrows pushed to each other, he shook his head forward to Tessa.
"Think about your choice carefully. The process might kill you. You can walk away now, leave, and never come back, because once you start the process there is no going back, until you die or you succeed"
Tessa didn't hesitated before she sounded.
"When do we start"
Before she made the call, she had already made up her mind, she knew there was no going back on it. she was here already, she would have to accept anything that comes her way.
It only pains her that her grandfather was dead, and her disappearance might've played a role in it.
Jeremy's cheeks moved a little, his brown eyes were somewhat threatening, but not to Tessa. Her expression was more threatening than his existence.
"Very well then. We would start now"
Jeremy straightened up and faced the field direction.
"Can I see my father now"
"Nope, not until you complete the drilling process"
Jeremy walked to the field ahead of them. Tessa followed him from behind, she wanted to ask about her grandfather's death, but it seemed her father didn't want to see her until she passed the drilling process, and she will.
They arrived at the designed area in the field, there was a long table ahead of them. three pistols were placed on top of the table.
There were five wooden figures ahead of the table, and they were moving rapidly, making it impossible to pinpoint their exact spot.
The wooden figures were stationed close to the walls in the field.
Jeremy stopped close to the table, he picked up one of the pistols and handed it to Tessa who was behind him.
"If you can hit all the targets from here, then you have passed the first stage"
Tessa stared at the moving figures for a while before she approached Jeremy.
'My family is not like any other family in the country. Power, wealth, and connections, we have them all'
She accepted the gun from Jeremy's hands, and aimed at the moving figures.
'My family is the number one mafia family in the country. The Wood family'