"Stop where you are!"

Jasmine stood there frozen, as she found herself staring into the barrel of a rifle. She held up the manila envelope so the side with the address could be plainly seen.

"I was sent here to deliver this."

"Hand it over," said the guard.

"I was instructed to deliver this personally, though. It's from Lauren Lockhart."

The guard raised his rifle. "Come forward."

She did as she was told and the guard patted her down. Jasmine looked up and saw more armed men in various places surrounding the house, and even on the roof.

"Follow me," said the guard once he finished.

He led her through the front door. The house was dark and cold, nearly barren, as if nobody lived there.

The guard lifted his walkie-talkie and muttered into it, "Mr. Morris, you've got a messenger sent by Lauren Lockhart."

A sudden terror took hold of Jasmine as she stood there behind the guard, and it left her wondering if she should've just left the envelope with him. She was in his father's house; the man that Caleb hated more than anyone. The man who refused to pay for his ex-wife's cancer treatment. The man who orchestrated a fatal ambush on his own son. She was standing in his house.

An even worse thought crept inside of her mind and took root like a weed, winding and entrenching itself in every deep wrinkle until it had infected her thoughts entirely. The envelope. What was in the envelope? Was it something about Caleb? What if she was delivering something that would hurt Caleb? Why didn't she open it and check?

It was too late. Jasmine felt completely helpless standing there by the door like a mouse that was just tossed into a viper pit. She jumped as a voice came from the shadows.

"Hello. You have something for me?"

A man in a dark t-shirt and long pants appeared at the top of the stairs. He wore black-rimmed glasses and his long black hair was tied back in a small ponytail. His boxy-jawline was peppered with stubble. In that moment, Jasmine could definitely see the resemblance. As he descended the steps and approached her, there was a familiar warmness in his expression that Jasmine thought was comforting.

"I appreciate you taking the trouble," he said with a smile. It revealed the wrinkles and bags beneath his weary eyes.

"If your business is done, I'll escort you—"

"No, leave us," John cut him off. He didn't take his eyes off Jasmine, and in return, she could not take her eyes off him. He exuded a commanding presence due to his long stature, without being forceful, inviting her to obey.

"Yes, sir," said the guard, before marching away.

"It's okay, Mr. Morris. I really just came to—"

"Please stay for a bit. You came all this way." As he turned his back, as if an invisible thread connected the two at the waist, she discovered her feet moving on their own behind his.

The Morris estate was truly a palace, she thought as she marveled in silence. They reached a wing with hallways lined with glass, and just beyond it, a perfect view of the sea. He led her to the inner courtyard, where gardeners were maintaining an elaborate garden filled with color. At the center of the garden, there stood an enclosure formed from laurel trees. Emerging from above the trees was a statue of a man wielding a bow as he aimed it to the sky. Jasmine stood behind him, quietly observing John as he contemplated to himself in front of it.

His aura had an overwhelming magnetism. It exerted an immense sadness, and a nostalgia for the things that no longer were present in this world. Now, all that remained were the remnants of the past, as they drifted before his eyes like ghosts.

"Have you heard the story of Apollo and Daphne, the river nymph?" He continued without waiting for an answer. "As punishment for his mocking remarks against Eros, the God of love, Eros struck Apollo with an arrow of gold, which caused him to fall madly in love with Daphne. But conversely, Eros struck Daphne with an arrow of lead, causing the river nymph to be repulsed by Apollo. The two become destined to go on for eternity in a never-ending chase, until finally, Apollo catches up to her. But just before he has her, Daphne prays to be buried in the earth or transformed so Apollo can never find her. Her wish is granted and she is transformed into a laurel tree. Despite this, Apollo grants her immortality and honors her by wearing the evergreen leaves of the laurel tree as a crown.

"This story resonated with me as a scientist in a never-ending pursuit of a knowledge of the things that man was never meant to know. My insistence on reaching for things that man was never meant to attain. And I choose to honor my hubris by surrounding myself with the things that serve only to remind me...

"That I will never have what I desire."

"I've never heard the story interrupted that way," Jasmine said.

"Why did she save me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Why did she choose to save my life at that party, and not the life of her father?"

"How did she do that?"

"She drugged me with a kiss. I don't know why she did it. But it's the only reason why I'm alive now."

"Lauren doesn't tell me a lot of things. But obviously it's because you're important to her."

"I see. Even so, I guess it won't make much of a difference anymore."

"Why is that?"

"I doubt I'll be around for much longer. I've made a lot of enemies in my years, but I know exactly who it was that tried to kill me last night. And I know that this person won't stop until I'm dead. There's a long history there."

Jasmine scanned the tranquil garden. The two were alone amongst the few gardeners here and there, continuing on with their work. Her brain began to itch with curiosity, and she felt her nosiness starting to override her instinct to leave the Morris estate and never come back. She wrestled with it in her mind for another ten seconds, then offered a tiny, polite smile and said,

"I've got time, Mr. Morris."