Is this destiny?

~ Nearby Houston, an estate belonging to Marcus White ~

7:42 PM

Marcus woke up with a pain in his neck and lower back. It took him few seconds to realize that he is on the sofa, in his study. No wonder his neck and back are hurting, he slept off in an awkward position.

He does not remember coming on the sofa to sleep, but lately his mind is a mess.

Last few weeks are a huge disappointment. Failure after a failure. He knew that being on the top is strenuous and lonely, but he didn\'t know that he will be this worn out before he reached there. It\'s like he is trying to climb a slippery vertical wall while the ground below him is crumbling.

Exhausted is a mild word for how he feels.

From betrayal of Jasmine and his son, to his useless daughter, his partners not returning his calls, his men mysteriously disappearing, all his attempts to strike Jeff\'s reputation failed… nothing is going right. How is that possible?

Marcus was aware that it will not be easy to take the position of the Master of the White family, that is why he had so many plans and backup plans ready, and he can\'t believe that all of them FAILED!

No matter how he looks at it, it only points to one thing: traitors. Everyone around him is a traitor!

All those people who came to him, asking for money and benefits in exchange to support him as the next Master are liars! When they agreed that Jeff is not the right choice, that he is young and inexperienced, they lied!

Did Oscar send them? Or Jeff? Or maybe it all started from his father, Donald. It was never a secret that Donald preferred Oscar over Marcus. So, it should not come as a surprise that Donald takes measurements to prevent Marcus from taking what is rightfully his!

They managed to get even the people closest to him. Jessica, woman stayed by his side for more than ten years… was she working for Oscar from the beginning?

After he found out about Jessica, Marcus made sure she does not know about his next plans, but… he still failed to do anything to Jeff. No matter with whom he spoke about his next steps, Jeff was always ready for him. How is that possible if it\'s not for traitors?!

A rough cough sounded from Marcus\' right, startling him out of his thoughts.

"Who is there?", he asked before snapping into that direction and holding his breath. "Dad…?"

Marcus\' eyes were wide open when he saw his father, Donald, sitting in the sofa chair. Why is his father here?

Donald sighed heavily before speaking: "I knew you are incompetent, but I didn\'t know that you will plot against you own blood."

Marcus\' shock instantly was replaced by rage. He knew that his father does not like him very much because of all the previous quarrels and issues that Marcus caused, but he never insulted him like this. "Incompetent?! Is that the way to speak to your son?!"

Donald\'s disappointment was apparent. "I will speak how you deserve it. And you are not my son… Not anymore…"

Marcus bolted to his feet. "What do you mean…?!!" Marcus was stupefied that he is talking to an empty sofa chair. Just what is going on? Is he losing his mind?

…

Up on the roof…

Sarah is smirking proudly while looking at the results of her latest hologram project. The voice modifier which Felix created is synchronizing perfectly with the hologram, making it appear like the old man is talking himself. And Eve is controlling facial expressions and movements… it\'s perfect.

JoAnna and Aiden are next to Sarah, looking at the screen in awe. This is amazing!

Sophia and Felix are watching as well from the comfort of their Tuscan villa.

Jeff is downstairs, in the living room, watching the feed from his phone and waiting for his cue to join the show.

Sarah, Aiden, JoAnna and Jeff arrived earlier that evening with few dozens of Jeff\'s men and used drones armed with JoAnna\'s concoctions to knock out everyone in the villa.

Jeff\'s men dragged Marcus\' security out while Sarah and Aiden set up devices needed for this dandy hologram-show which has a goal to mess with Marcus.

They all know that Marcus is paranoid and sleep deprived. It will not take much to push him over the edge.

…

In the study room…

Marcus is glancing around the room cautiously while trying to figure out where Donald disappeared. People don\'t just vanish into thin air! There must be some explanation.

"Dad?", he called.

Marcus halted at the thought: what if his father died, and this was his spirit? Damned old man! Even after his death he will have the time to come and scold him!

A snort came from behind Marcus, and a familiar voice made him freeze: "He said you are not his son. Why are you addressing him so affectionately?"

Marcus turned slowly to see Oscar sitting on Marcus\' office chair.

"How did you get here?", Marcus asked under his breath.

Oscar shook his head. "You should ask yourself: how did YOU get here? What made you so bitter to go after my son? If you have what it takes, come after me. But you will not, because you are a coward. You always were…"

Marcus saw red from rage. "COWARD!? You…!!!"

Marcus widened his eyes in horror when he realized that his index finger is pointing angrily at the empty office chair.

Large TV mounted on the wall turned on and started showing a video of a rest stop and a gunfight. Marcus read the information shown on the lower left: location and time, and held his breath when he realized that he is watching the scene of his men attacking the truck convoy. That is one of the first attacks he launched. After thirty seconds of gunfight, the video showed his men being dragged into the forest… The video ended and another one started. This one showed a warehouse…

Marcus thought that he will pass out. He was surprised that his PC screen and laptop are also on, playing videos of various missions. People are handling his men like chickens, and he can guess based on black outfits and precision which matches the rumors: that is the army of Chaos. But in other videos it seems there are other groups as well. Just what is going on?

All screens shimmered before Oscar was shown on each of them. He looked straight at Marcus mockingly. "You are not only a coward, but a failure as well…"

"YOU!", Marcus raged. He reached to grab the laptop, with an intention to flung it toward the TV and he was surprised when his hands went straight through it, like it does not exist, like it\'s air, like… what is going on?

Marcus was on a verge of hyperventilating when suddenly he paused and exhaled in relief. A laugh escaped him when he found a logical explanation for everything that is going on.

Of course, this is a dream!

How else would his father and his brother show up here? All other strange occurrences can be explained with that: he is dreaming. It\'s a bad dream due to all the stress but still, it\'s just a dream. He will go back on the sofa and stop panicking and when he wakes up, he will probably be in his bed. Who knows, maybe when he wakes up it\'s still day one and his first round of attacks is not launched yet?

Marcus yawned lazily and went back on the sofa.

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