100 From The Top


    ~Sylvester~


    Liam looked very afraid, staring at me from the table. His tears flowed freely, and I did not know how


    to make himfortable.


    Looking at him now, I could see his father''s features. I cleared my throat and asked that they bring


    him some juice.


    "Have they been feeding you?" I asked him, and he nodded reluctantly.


    I figured he might not have been eating. I felt sorry for him.


    I could not be as cruel as I intended to be, knowing his age and the fact that he might be misguided.


    "How about we start from the top," I told him and narrowed my eyes, looking at him.


    "I know little of the back story and how you pretended to be kidnapped so your father would do their


    bidding. I know everything, so I would advise you to be honest. The offence you havemitted is


    treason, and I am sure you are a smart young man to know the repercussions of your crime. If you


    tell me the truth and it yields something, I will waive the death penalty and life imprisonment. You


    are too young for it. Do not let this matter escte beyond this room. I will quietly send you home to


    your father if you tell me the truth, young man. Today some people threatened my mate, so I am not


    feeling kind," I told him. He nodded quickly and swallowed.


    Someone brought the juice, and they helped Liam take a sip. I could see some relief in his eyes


    which meant they were not feeding him. Knowing he was a minor made me feel bad, and I asked


    Theodore to look into the prisoners'' feeding.


    It was wrong to starve them. Anyone in the estate''s dungeons is awaiting trial and is just a suspect.


    It was wrong to treat them as convicted criminals.


    "I am listening," I said, giving Liam to the floor, and he nodded immediately.


    "About two years ago, I started chatting online with a girl called ine. I received an email one day


    inviting me to d******d an app called Friendzone and make new friends. It wasn''t in my spam box. It


    was in my inbox, and I wondered who must have sent it because it did not look like an ad. Being a


    lonely child eager to make friends, I ignored all the warning signs and d******ded this app. It was


    called Friendzone. I wouldter find out that the app was private and it belonged to an organisation.


    After d******ding the app, I was asked to register my real name and upload my ID to start making


    friends. As eager as I was, I wasn''t stupid, so I joined in as a guest with just my first name and


    nothing more.


    I received a lot of friend requests, and I was excited.


    Unfortunately, I could only ept the request to interact with them if I was fully registered. So I went


    against my better judgement and registered fully on the app.


    Uploading all that was required of me. My full name, ID, phone number, age, address, everything.


    They asked for everything, and I foolishly gave it.


    True to the conditions, I was verified and allowed to ept the requests; I did so and messaged


    everyone that sent me a friend request. There were about twenty-three altogether," He said and


    looked at me with shame.


    "I felt I had hit the jackpot for someone that did not have any friends to having twenty-three potential


    friends. I felt like I wasn''t a weirdo anymore, and maybe I had finally found amunity that I could


    belong to," he said and bowed his head to show remorse.


    "None responded except for ine. She was pretty, and she was about a year older than me. You


    needed to see her Alpha, she was gorgeous, and I could not believe my luck. We finally talked, and


    she told me all I needed to know about her. She was an orphan who lived alone in Gad and worked


    in a bakery. She wasn''t financially buoyant, but she was getting by. I must admit I had a crush on


    her," he said and looked to the side.


    I could see that he was relieving his experience, and I could also see that he slowly realised what


    might have happened to him. He was catfished.


    "We got talking, and six monthster, she said she had feelings for me. I did not need to overthink it.


    She was a huge upgrade, and I did not want to lose her. She asked and pleaded for me to find a


    way so we could be together and soon decided I would go to Gad," He said and chuckled painfully.


    "All this while I thought I came up with the idea alone, but now I realise she put it there," he said,


    and I nodded.


    "My father did not want me to go to Gad. He said the west wasn''t safe for someone like me. You


    had just conquered what was left of it; they were yet to fully ept the direct rule.


    He said if it was anyone else, it would be okay, but as the son of the head Alpha of the north, I might


    be in danger.


    Content bel0ngs to N?vel(D)r/a/ma.Org.


    I thought he was being unfair, and I threw some tantrums. I told him I had gotten admission to study


    there, and that was where I would go to further my education.


    My mother did not oppose me; she encouraged it and fought my father for it.


    Eventually, he caved, and I was off to Gad.


    Still, ine and I could not be together because my father had ced me in a hostel where they


    were required to put me under strict watch.


    The living condition there wasn''t really great, and ine and I would often hang out.


    While we hung out, she would tell me the people''s history in Gad and how your father ruined the


    west.


    She also told me you were the reason she was orphaned because of the war you fought to conquer


    the rest of the west. I believed her, and soon I started following her to strange meetings.


    She said it was a ce people affected by the war went to heal. It was also a ce for a selected


    few. I felt it was weired because people in Gad spoke highly of you and loved you dearly. She made


    me believe it was a pretence out of fear.


    In this group, they had a leader called Moses. He had nost name, just Moses, and he was an


    eloquent speaker.


    He spoke of the evils of Monarchy and how it had gued our world. I was made to believe that


    other than the north, the rest of the regions lived in fear of being conquered.


    I was made to believe people lost their homes, families and lives because of the monarchy.


    We were made to believe that an ountable leader was what we needed to ensure the safety of


    our people and four regions.


    They made us believe a lot of things. I honestly saw them as a hate group, but ine did not seem


    hateful.


    She just seemed like someone from whom everything had been taken, and she was looking for a


    ce to belong.


    There was no crime, so soon, I opened myself up for it.


    I would tell my mother what I had learned, and she would tell me not to tell my father as it could lead


    to trouble. I wonder why she was protecting me.


    ine spoke to me about asking for my father''s help. They somehow had a notion that the only


    thing that was protecting them from your wrath was the council.


    They had copies of sanctions and orders you signed, which resulted in huge suffering in other


    regions.


    Thetest they had was that of the east.


    You took the eastern leader''s mate for yourself, and they told me you could do the same to my


    mother.


    They said it wasmon practice, and every region had suffered that form of injustice.


    They had documents with your signature authorising war and killings simply because people


    refused to agree to your requests. They made you seem like a monster, and the truth was, soon, I


    wasn''t torn about it anymore; I believed them.


    It started looking more like our world would be better if you and your officers were no longer in


    power and the council was the one in charge, and I felt it would be a great prospect.


    One day I took a leap of faith and asked them how I could help. They said being the future heir of


    my family, I was already helping.


    They made me feel like a child, and I wanted to prove myself badly. Moses teased me about living


    in a hostel under my father''s watch, and they could not trust me with specific responsibilities.


    Even ine started treating me like a child, so I decided to prove myself to her.


    I called my mother and demanded that I was sixteen, and ording to thews in Gad, I was


    allowed to own my own ce.


    She did not argue with me, but my father kicked against it.


    We were at it for a bit, and my mother came to Gad to see who I would share the apartment with.


    She liked ine immediately, and finding out she was an orphan made my mother feel sorry for her.


    Soon my mother was able to help me move in with ine.


    Other than kissing and watching television, we never did anything. I respected her, and she


    respected me too.


    Soon they started giving me small responsibilities.


    I would follow Moses to receive wire transfers and other stuff.


    Knowing that I would be charged with that responsibility one day, Moses said I should request a


    false Id iming that I would feel safe if I wasn''t bearing my surname. I did as he told me, which


    was when my father drew the line.


    I needed a parent''s consent that came with my family seal for any agent to create a false Id for me


    because I was a minor, so my mother secretly consented, and that was how I became Liam Bricks.


    One day Moses got agitated in the meeting and said you were onto the organisation, and you were


    coming to kill what was left of us.


    I did not want anything to happen to ine and all her friends in the organisation, so I asked them


    to brainstorm and see how we could help. Moses now came up with the n to make my father


    raise a petition to take you and your officers out of the office and ce the council in charge. That


    way, you won''t have the power to attack us, and everyone will be safe.


    It was a good idea, except for the fact that my father had no reason to do so; unable toe up


    with a good cause, ine said we should pretend that I had been kidnapped. They should threaten


    to kill me ande for his family if he didn''t do it.


    She said if my father loved me truly, he would do it to save my life. I did not feel great about it, but I


    did not want to say no to ine. So we made a video of me in captivity begging my father to do


    whatever they asked if he wanted me toe home.


    It was a believable video, and it was sent to my father.


    My father responded and promised to do as they asked as long as they showed him proof of life


    every day. They agreed, and he went to work.


    One day I returned home, and ine told me Moses was ill and that I should help receive a money


    transfer and wire it to a specific ount.


    She said the task was given to her, but she did not feel too good and needed to rest.


    Wanting to please her, I did it and used my fake ID to receive the money. No one told me I wasn''t to


    use it; in fact, Moses had implied I needed the Id for that very purpose.


    I had already used it when a clerk at the bank said they usually used secret words to ept the


    transfer from the client.


    I did not think much of it.


    I wired it to the anonymous ount that ine asked me to wire it to.


    I returned home that day, only to find that she had left the apartment," he said, and his tears fell


    freely. He felt used, and he knew exactly what had happened to him.