Justin felt a stabbing pain in his head. He tried to open his eyes as he regained consciousness, but was unable to see anything. He was plunged into darkness. He could only hear his own moans and the sound of someone smoking a cigarette.

The memories settled into his mind almost immediately. He let out a small wry chuckle.

"Did you wake up, Sleeping Beauty?" he heard John utter. "Since you seem to like fairy tales too much, why don't I tell you a story?"

"Fuck you," he said before twisting due to an unfamiliar pain in his side.

"All right. Let's get started. The story is called Little Anne and the Stupid Biebers."

"Don't you have anything better to do?"

The man ignored him. "A few years ago I met Jeremy Bieber in a bar. The man was broke and almost as lost as I was. We both had 2 jobs and our wives were on pregnant. We had enough money to buy a single beer and then we had to go home to rest before our next shift started," the man paused for a few seconds getting completely lost in the memories of his twisted mind.

Justin held on, knowing that none of his attempts would get him out of there and provoking John right at that moment was not very ideal. He had only one hope and, for that, he had to let the man continue.

"Did your parents ever teach you what a family is? My Rose always talked about how important it was to bond with our children," he laughed and took a puff of his cigarette. "Your father told me about this place where he worked that was going out of business. He had gotten the contacts of several suppliers and, with a good investment, we could make our business come up in less than 1 month. The construction labor would be on us, of course, and that would mean more work than we were already doing. But it was a golden opportunity we couldn't give up so easily," he took a last drag on his cigarette and the brunette listened as he put it out with the sole of his shoe. "The problem was that our savings were not enough for the initial investment. The bank refused to give us a loan because we had nothing to put up as collateral, so we ended up in George's hands. Your father feared that, if we asked him for money, our debt would grow to the sky, so he negotiated a slightly more encouraging plan: we would lend the business for a certain period of time so that George could mobilize his cash and he would give us the money we needed. Simple," the man's footsteps echoed in the darkness making Justin tense up. A hand grabbed his hair, pulling his head back. "I lost everything I had to your asshole father. My family, my house, my money. Because of his selfishness and ambition."

"You lost everything because of your ambition. It was you who asked George for more capital, not him."

"If we had let him use the business as a cover, none of that would have happened. Instead, what did he do? He took away my fair share, everything I'd worked for."

"Of course he didn't. You withdrew your investment to open a new business along with George," a fist landed in his abdomen taking his breath away.

"What do you know! You were just a mere brat! You couldn't see anything beyond your mommy's skirts!"

A wry laugh escaped the boy's lips. "What's next in your story? How you abandoned Anne on the outskirts of town and told her to walk to my house?" a new punch landed on his face.

"Your parents were supposed to go after her! They were supposed to protect her and take care of her while I was gone! They left her at the mercy of that bitter idiot who wouldn't let me visit her!"

"Come to your senses once and for all! It was you who kept her locked up! It was you who snatched her from my mother's arms! You took her to that old shack and kept her there until the police rescued her!"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!"

"You're so angry with yourself that you can't accept the damage you did to her! This is all solely your fault and your ineptitude to put the past behind you!"

The light came on abruptly leaving Justin stunned for a few seconds. John stood in front of him pointing a gun, laughing. "You are such a funny little brat. I don't understand how my daughter could like you."

"Maybe because I was there for her."

"And were you there for your son too? No, of course you weren't. You abandoned him the same way your parents abandoned her. I cannot allow my grandson to suffer the same. Make your choice: jail or die," he unlatched the safety on the gun before continuing. "You're still a murderer."

Justin laughs. "I won't be the one to choose. Do you think I'd be as much of an idiot as you? The events of 1 year ago, that have your head spiraling so much, were an opportunity for me. They always have been. Do you know why?" John's jaw was so tense, the boy decided to continue. "Because the only one who has ever drowned in this story is you.

"Enough games!" he said and pressed the gun against the brunette's forehead. "I think I'll be the one to make the decision," Justin smiled.

"Don't be so quick to claim victory, old man," an unfamiliar voice spoke as a gun touched the skin on the back of John's neck. "I can assure you that my gun skills are a thousand times better than yours. This bullet will go through your skull before yours goes through his, so let's avoid the bloodbath and drop the gun."

The boy sighed feeling a huge weight lift off his shoulders. He watched a detective remove the gun from John's hands as his father reached over to untie him.

"You!", Jeremy ignored him and continued with his task. The realization hit John like a bucket of cold water. "YOU!", he tried to wriggle out of Detective Clarke's arms, but Clarke acted fast and cuffed him.

Justin got up from the chair he was tied in and smiled. "Did you really think the game was in your favor?" he said and walked out of the room leaning on his father's shoulder.

"I'm proud of you," Jeremy said once they were out of the place. "You little rascal," he ruffled his hair and they both laughed.

"Now I just need to get my family back."