Belonging © NôvelDram/a.Org.

Chapter 10 The Unsettling Villa

About fifteen minutes later, the experts finally finished their pick, but they were all feeling somber. William only took seconds to pick some good stuff, and the pressure was now on them. If they couldn’t pick any better stones, then staying would lose all meaning. Just as Tia predicted, William picked the best out of the pile. The rocks picked by the experts were nothing like the ones William picked. The best of them was only worth about fifteen hundred grand. It was not even one-eighth of William’s pick. The results were clear. Too ashamed to stay, the experts excused themselves, though a few of them gave William mysterious looks before they left. Once they were gone, Tia clapped. “Good show.” “Now do you believe me?” asked William. “I’ve always believed you. Just didn’t know you were this good.” Tia smiled. “How did you do it?” “You know I was imprisoned for two years, right? I ran into a lot of talented people there. They taught me everything.” “Including your fighting moves?” Tia was getting interested in that prison now. They have a lot of talented people there. “You can say so.” William rubbed his nose and changed the subject. “I can make the trip. So, when are we setting off?” Solemnly, Tia said, “That can wait. I’ll call my dad and we’ll go shopping in Stone Gamble Town first. He’s not going to give us any money unless he sees your skills for himself.” Ah, so another trial. Doesn’t matter. As long as she pays, I’m fine with anything. “Sure, I can go anytime. Oh, can you tell me more about Aidan’s situation?” “Sure, but we should take this somewhere else.” She led William to the tea shop on the fifth floor and talked about Aidan’s plight over tea. According to Tia, the Wrights struck gold more than a decade ago, and they began dabbling in real estate. Their first years went well, but then tragedy struck five years ago. The Wrights were multimillionaires back then, and they wanted more. They used three years to prepare for their next project. Eventually, they raised 1.5 billion dollars and started the Prosperity Villa project. Prosperity Villa was a combination of villas and shop lots. First, they invested 1.2 billion dollars to build villas and shop lots. If this project could be completed, the Wrights would become one of the biggest real estate developers around, and their wealth would double. However, weird things started to happen after the buildings were topped off. Four workers died in a single week. The Wrights paid for the damages and covered up the tragedy. They thought it was over. They thought they could finally finish the project, but little did they know that it was the start of their nightmare. A month later, two of the homeowners died after just taking a look at their new houses. Three guards met their doom after that. Nine people died just because of this project alone, and the Wrights could no longer keep it a secret. The whole of Justford claimed that Prosperity Villa was cursed and haunted. All the buyers who paid for their villas requested a refund, and the government ordered an investigation to be carried out against the Wrights. Their family head was sentenced to three years of jail. Since then, not a single unit of this project had been sold. The Wrights’ cash flow ran into trouble. The bank was pressuring them to clear their debt by selling off the villas, but nobody would buy them. Even now, the project was still under the Wrights’ name. William thought that was an incredible tale. “Nine deaths? Why?” Tia shook her head. “No idea. They hired a lot of priests, but none could deal with the matter. Not a single developer would take over the project.” William sighed. “A billion-dollar project, yet they gained nothing from it. Must be a heavy loss.” “You don’t say? The Wrights have stopped all their businesses and are using their money just to pay off the interest.” William pitied Aidan. He used to be a rich man, yet now he had it worse than a regular guy. Hey, my third eye can see things most people can’t. Maybe I should take a look at this project and help them out. A while later, Tia got a call. “I need to go home and settle some stuff, but I’ll call you soon.” “Sure.” William nodded. Tia left, and William called Aidan after some thought. Aidan was in his rental, washing his clothes. Not even all of his family’s money was enough to pay off the interest. They had been saving and scrimping, yet the hole couldn’t be closed. In a mere month, their family would have to apply for bankruptcy. A frown furrowed Aidan’s brow. Just a few years ago, he was the young master of a rich family, but now he had it worse than a regular man. A day ago, his father, who was just released from prison, handed him a card. There was three hundred grand in it. He wanted Aidan to leave Justford and start anew somewhere else. The Wrights were done for, and his parents wanted him to at least live well. They would bear with the bankruptcy themselves. Aidan felt like crying, but he knew it was useless. Nobody would pity the weak. Just then, someone called. William? Aidan wiped his hands dry and held back his frustration. “Where are you, William?” “The hotel. Pick me up. We’re going to Prosperity Villa.” The mention of that project alone hurt Aidan. “She told you, didn’t she?” “Yes. Now take me there. I think I can help you.” “You think you can help me?” Aidan was surprised to hear that. William didn’t explain further. “Do you trust me?” “Of course,” said Aidan without any hesitation. “Then pick me up. I might surprise you.” Aidan gritted his teeth. “Coming right away.” Half an hour later, Aidan was already taking William to the project site in his rickety car. Curious about William’s friendship with Tia, Adan said, “Can’t believe you’re actually friends with someone as famous as Tia.” “Wait, she’s famous?” Interested, William asked, “Are the Lloyds rich?” “She’s one of the prettiest women in Justford. Only four make that list. She’s a graduate of a famous university and a business genius. Rich is an understatement of the Lloyds’ wealth. They dominate the market of antiques, gold, and jewelry in the South and center of the nation. They also dabble in the hotel business, real estate development, culture, tourism, and venture capital. Practically rulers of the Justford, they are.” Whoa. “That’s awesome.” “But the Lloyds have a lot of members. Tia belongs to the second son’s branch. They’re in charge of jewelry and investments. Everything else is controlled by the other members of the family.” He then asked, “William, what are you trying to do with the project?” William smiled. “I learned a bit of geomancy back in prison.” Aidan rolled his eyes. “You can’t master geomancy in two years, bro.” William winked. “This is my first case. Give me some encouragement.” Speechless, Aidan sighed and drove away. Eventually, they arrived at Prosperity Villa. The base of the mountain was filled with shop lots and houses. All of them were topped off, but not a single soul was seen here. An eerie sensation hung in the air. “This is Prosperity Villa. Eight-hundred-and-fifty-thousand-square meters, and that’s the base alone. There are two hundred villas on the top of the mountain. They’d be worth more than three billion, but you know our situation.” There was a look of longing in Aidan’s eyes. “Thought this would be our ticket to glory. Didn’t expect it to shove us into a train that’s on the highway to hell.” William said nothing. He was staring at a particular house in the distance. It was covered in a layer of black smoke. Most people couldn’t see it, but William wasn’t most people. Noticing William staring at something, Aidan asked, “What are you staring at?” William asked, “Has anything weird happened in that particular building before?”