It was late Sunday morning, and Mathew was back at the Hospital, resting in a private ward.
He spent the entire day yesterday making sure that everything was finished within the time Keith gave them, and to his relief, the transfers went smoothly.
His heart had bled when he lost everything under his name, but it was all his fault. However, it did not stop him from hating Keith and promising himself that he would one day make him lose everything too.
It was something that even sounded silly to him when his mind cleared a little, but he was soon lamenting his actions again, feeling more helpless than hopeful about his future.
Only when he received a call from his grandfather that he was back home, he closed his eyes to get some sleep. It never came to him.
The old man was not pleased with him. Not at all. He told him to take a rest and that they would talk in the morning. And Mathew knew that he was going to get punished by his Grandfather.
And to alleviate his mind from the disturbing thoughts and the feeling of helplessness and regret, he finally asked the nurse to give him some sedatives that would help him sleep.
She did not want to do it, but he forced her, and she caved in.
It did help him sleep, but now that he opened his eyes, he felt groggy.
His mind cleared a little when he found a pretty young lady sitting inside his ward, and he smiled as she rushed over to him, somewhat relieved that he had woken up.
"Mathew..."
However, seeing her misty eyes, his smile froze when he caught the pain in her voice, which was followed by a hollowness in his own heart.
Something was not right, and this gut feeling suffocated him.
"What happened?" He asked, but it was not Julia who answered him.
[Ding! The Quest to Conquer Penelope Jones has failed!]
[Failure Penalty: The rewards from your first successful quest would be halved.]
"Mathew... your..."
"What?!" He screamed, and Julia jumped back, startled at his sudden outburst. "I am sorry." He immediately apologised to the girl and took a deep breath.
He did not mean to shout at her. His outburst was in response to the prompt he heard from the System.
"What happened?" He asked both her and the System.
"Y-your father has been arrested..." She nervously spoke. "He... raped his student..."
[Penelope Jones is no longer a Virgin. The System deems it a failure in conquering her.]
All of a sudden, Mathew felt numb all over his body. His mind was dizzy as he tried to process those words.
"How..."
"Mathew." Julia worriedly looked at his pale face and approached him, sitting on the bed and holding his hand. "You must keep the faith. The investigation is still going on. Perhaps, it is a misunderstanding..." She tried to console him, though she did not even believe her own words. Given everything that had already come to light, it was pretty clear that Jacob Frost was the culprit.
And she shuddered when she heard his next words.
"Leave."
"Mathew..."
"I want to be left alone right now." He sternly said, and the poor girl could only try to hold back her tears as she nodded her head and obediently left the ward. "Did my father really do it?" He solemnly asked.
[The system does not know, Host. It only knows that Penelope Jones was deprived of her innocence at 7:47 am.]
"How do you not know?!"
[If you meet your father, the System can make a guess.]
"Guess?"
[Host, the System is only meant to assist you and keep tabs on people whom it gives a Quest for. It can not read or necessarily know something about anyone else.]
"You are useless!!!" He shouted and then frowned as the door of his ward opened. "You could have warned me!!!"
"Who are you talking to?" It was the old man of the Oscar Family who entered the ward with Albert, and his face had an ugly expression on it.
For the first time in his life, Mathew saw disdain for him in those aged eyes, and his heart constricted.
"I am sorry, Grandfather..."
There was a pregnant silence in the ward, and finally, the old man moved forward and sat on the seat, staring at his grandson.
He now regretted a little why he had arranged for a girl to comfort him that night. Who would have known that merrily sleeping with a girl would awaken the lustful beast hidden behind his grandson's pretty face?
It saddened him that he held some expectations from his grandson. But now he was gaining clarity that this young man was going to be the doom of his family.
Mathew's mind was just focused on girls, and look where it had brought them and what price it had made them pay.
"I am sending you and your little lover to the US. You will spend the next three years there as you complete your Master's and she finishes her bachelor's."
"Grandfather..."
"You can not remain here and do another stupid thing, instigating someone we can not afford. And after what has happened this morning, with your pathetic father, you should stay out of the limelight until things calm down."
"Father... he..."
"He was caught in the act, Mathew." The old man narrowed his eyes. "And he confessed to his crime half an hour ago. There's a video and DNA evidence too."
The words shocked the young man to the core and he looked at his old man in disbelief.
"The Jones are out for blood. You need to leave before you are dragged into the mess. I would even suggest you drop the name Frost."
"Grandfather..."
"Get some rest." It was all the old man of the Oscar Family said before he stood up and walked out of the room. "Make sure he stays here today."
Mathew heard him instruct Albert, and he painfully closed his eyes.
Why was nothing going right for him?
He asked himself and felt utterly helpless.
At another place in the Mystich City, a young man was sitting in his study, looking at the footage of what he had conspired.
"Good job." He said to the black man who was sitting in front of him.
"It was my pleasure, Master." Zor smiled.
"I can see that." Keith leaned back in his chair and met his slave's eyes. "You will leave for Iraq in the evening. There, someone will pick you up, and for the next two months, you will assist him in gathering intel and doing some other tasks."
"Iraq?" Zor frowned.
"Yes." He smiled. "And be careful. The missions concern Nergal and the World's Third most powerful Mercenary Organisation."
"I will be careful." Zor nodded, accepting his command.
"Go."
"Yes, Master." He stood up and bowed before he left the room.
Keith briefly closed his eyes and then opened them, staring at the screen where Penelope Jones was being raped by Jacob Frost.
Zor had indeed been perfect, except for one liberty that he took when he decided to enjoy Penelope first, but Keith had allowed him to do as he pleased, so it was fine.
The Esper had disguised himself as Jacob, transforming his body into his shape, and worked in his voice too. All he needed was to wear a mask as his skin was still dark, but that was not an issue. It was very easy with the resources and technology at their disposal.
As expected, Penelope arrived at the location an hour before the class, just as Zor had asked her. And then he drugged her, taking her to the room where he finished the deed.
After that, he put the real Jacob on the bed with her, administering an aphrodisiac that Iseul handed to him a couple of days ago.
Jacob had lost his mind when woke up and proceeded to rape the girl lying next to him, and only after his third orgasm, he regained clarity.
Penelope had woken up too by then, and she had started screaming, which was when her bodyguards rushed upstairs and caught Jacob in the act.
A camera was set up in the room too and after reviewing the footage on it, which was in fact of Zor disguising himself as Jacob and assaulting the girl, the Police concluded that Jacob planned on using the footage to blackmail Penelope and keep her quiet.
The Baker was so dazed and confused at what was happening, but he also knew that he had just committed a grave crime. After all, when he regained clarity, he was indeed balls deep inside of her.
But he had never held such thoughts for her, and he had never made any plans. He did not understand what was happening.
When he claimed that he was being framed, the Police showed him all the evidence they had against him. Even the footage of him raping Penelope.
Against all the evidence, even he questioned if he had done all of this. The last straw was the DNA test, which matched him, and there was no room left for him to proclaim his innocence.
After an interrogation session, which brought him immense psychological pain and guilt, he admitted to the deed on impulse and showed remorse over committing such a heinous crime.
However, that impulsive confession sealed his fate. Nothing could save him now from what was about to come his way.
Keith smiled when he heard two prompts in his mind.
[Ding! Due to Host's ministrations, Mathew Frost has failed his Quest and suffered a System Penalty. Reward: 200 Fate Value. 800 System Points.]
[Ding! Mathew Frost is being forced to leave the country, and he feels helpless about it. He has lost his confidence and the trust of the Oscar Family. Reward: 150 Fate Value. 750 System Points.]
Within 24 hours, Keith had managed to deprive Mathew of over 500 Fate Value. He was quite pleased with the results, but this was all just the beginning.
Picking up his phone, he dialled Zoey's number.
"Keith!" The girl was elated to see him call her. "Did you receive the invitation?"
"Yes. I will come to the party tonight." He promised her, which she was very happy about.
Her older brother was throwing a party tonight, and Keith received an invitation for it in the morning.
Tonight, he planned to make Mathew lose two more of his System Quests.
