"What!"
Roy's voice faltered as Taylor's words hit him like a sledgehammer.
Archie had been grappling with a silent enemy - cancer. He had kept his diagnosis a secret, not even confiding in the prison guards. The symptoms had led him to the grim conclusion. But the revelation that his cancer was a consequence of their actions ignited a fury within Roy.
"You bastards!"
His fist clenched tight, his body trembling with rage.
"Feeling alright?"
Taylor's voice, a mere whisper in his ear, was the final straw.
In a fit of rage, Roy lunged at Taylor, his hands reaching for his throat. But his frail arms lacked the strength to maintain a firm grip. With ease, Taylor pried Roy's hands off and pushed him back into his chair, taunting,
"Again, Roy. Don't do something that will reduce your lifespan."
Blood smeared Taylor's neck from Roy's desperate grasp, but he merely smirked, dismissing Roy's struggle as a futile effort.
Taylor's security detail rushed to his side, offering a towel to clean the blood. As they tended to him, Roy's icy stare met Taylor's smug grin.
Justin reveled in the spectacle. The sight of Reyman's son crumbling brought him a perverse sense of joy.
Once his security detail had cleaned his neck and retreated to their posts by the entrance, Taylor reclaimed his seat. A triumphant grin spread across his face as he picked up the snow globe that Roy had previously hurled. Then, he dropped the bombshell,
"Roy, you are not being released today."
"What did you say!"
Roy's voice echoed in the room, followed by a fit of bloody coughs. His hands were stained with blood again. Each cough felt like a fire in his throat, a stabbing pain in his chest.
Taylor continued to unravel the harsh truths as Roy's body succumbed to despair and anger.
Taylor traced his neck, the ghost of Roy's touch still lingering. His expression hardened as he delivered the final blow,
"For the malware incident 27 years ago, for murdering your own father, and for your absence at the trial, you are sentenced to death today. You were brought here to fulfill a dying man's last wish."
A sinister grin stretched across Taylor's face as he declared,
"Now that you know the truth, die. May you forever dwell in agony, haunted by your failures."
Laughter erupted from James and Taylor, their cruel mirth echoing through the room. Roy could only bow his head, feeling utterly defeated.
"Take this useless man out of my son's company."
James casually ordered his security guard to escort Roy back to prison.
Roy was silent, a wave of exhaustion washing over him.
The security team escorted him to the car.
As the car pulled away from the building, Roy rested his head against the window, his heart heavy with despair.
Outside, the world was shrouded in darkness. His mind was a blank canvas, save for a faint golden light guiding his gaze. A towering statue of his father came into view, a book titled "A Wild Sheep Chase" clutched in his hand.
Relief washed over him, knowing his father's name had been cleared. But the agony of his impending death and the realization of his defeat weighed heavily on him. A single tear trickled down his cheek as he closed his eyes.
The car pulled up at the prison. The security guard opened the door and announced,
"We're here, dead man. Time to wake up."
But Roy didn't respond. His eyes remained closed, his face serene. The guard checked his pulse, then dialed Taylor's number.
"Sir. Roy... he died."
---
In the abyss where existence was a mere concept,
Roy found himself slowly awakening, surfacing into an infinite void of absolute nothingness.
The silence was so profound it was almost tangible, and the emptiness seemed to stretch into eternity, devoid of any form or substance. As he floated in this boundless void, his mind began to wander, thoughts drifting like leaves in the wind.
"I've let you down, Father. You probably kept me away from company affairs for this very reason. You knew I would be the downfall of our company, no, our family."
Memories, questions, and fragments of emotions swirled together, each one fleeting and insubstantial, like smoke rings in the void.
"I've failed you, Father. I've failed you as a son."
Roy pondered his existence, his purpose, and the meaning of it all, but in this place of nothingness, even his thoughts seemed to dissolve into the darkness.
"No, you haven't, Roy. Open your eyes."
A voice, strange yet familiar, echoed through the darkness. He tried to open his eyes.
Roy's eyes fluttered open, and he was immediately captivated by the sight before him. A vast expanse of land stretched out in every direction, filled with vibrant purple flowers that swayed gently in the breeze. The sunlight bathed the scene in a warm, golden glow, while soft clouds drifted lazily across the sky.
Butterflies danced among the flowers, their delicate wings adding splashes of color to the already breathtaking landscape. For the first time in what felt like forever, Roy felt an overwhelming sense of peace, as if he had finally found his sanctuary.
"Roy!"
A voice, as familiar as a lullaby, echoed through the void. He turned to his right and saw a figure standing amidst a sea of flowers.
The man bore a striking resemblance to Roy, with a small beard, jet-black hair, and brown eyes. He was clad in an old white coat. Roy sprinted towards him, shouting,
"Father! Father!"
Roy threw his arms around his father, tears streaming down his face. His father reciprocated the embrace, and the warmth of that hug stirred a whirlwind of emotions within Roy, who had been bottling up his feelings for far too long. The tears flowed like a river, washing away all the pain and uncertainty he had been harboring.
Reyman, Roy's father, looked troubled. Tears streamed down his face as he confessed,
"I've missed you too, Roy. What happened to you? Why do you look so emaciated?"
Roy managed a chuckle and made a jest about his appearance,
"Sorry, it's just the outfit. It makes me look slim."
Reyman joined in the laughter, and they shared a moment of bonding. Yet, Roy looked at his father in disbelief, feeling as if he was in a dream. He queried,
"Father, why are you here? Am I dead? Is this heaven? Are we both in heaven?"
"Roy, calm down. I will explain everything."
Reyman's cheerful voice stirred memories of Roy's childhood. Roy was overwhelmed with emotions and had a flurry of questions in his mind.
To answer all of his questions, Reyman revealed,
"Roy, if you are here, it means you fell into James and his family's scheme just like me and died."
Roy suddenly felt a wave of sadness and anger. He looked down, unable to meet his father's gaze.
"Roy, it's not your fault. Because of me, you died. I should have seen that coming from James. I thought he was my comrade; I didn't think he'd betray me."
Reyman's words made Roy look down in despair. He felt a huge burden and anger welling up within him.
Reyman tried to lighten the mood,
"Let me tell you what this place is. This is your subconscious."
Roy looked around the flower field, bewildered,
"My subconscious! What are you talking about, Father?"
"Roy, after you turned ten, you had an accident. You remember, right?"
Roy was taken aback as it brought back painful memories. He stuttered while responding,
"Yes, I remember. That's the accident Mom died in."
Reyman's voice faltered as he responded,
"It was a serious injury. You went into a coma for 2 weeks. I did something when you went into a coma."
Reyman paused for a moment to let Roy brace himself for what he was about to reveal,
"I didn't want to lose you. So…I implanted a Bio Nano chip in your head to deliver a mild shock and restart your brain activity."
"You're joking, right! This can't be real."
Roy couldn't believe what his father was saying, but the only possible explanation for everything happening was to believe him.
Reyman averted his eyes and scratched his head as he continued his explanation,
"Well, in the end, the bio chip worked, and more than just worked. It increased your brain activity speed 2X than humans."