"What do you mean by they're getting married?" Zac asked with a bemused expression.
The first thing he did after being released, was hug Thomas, and ask why he and Hannah were the ones picking him up instead of his girlfriend, Gaby, and best friend, Justin. Thomas' response left him in shock.
"Zac, please just come with us for now so you can get cleaned up. We'll answer all your questions later so you can put this prison behind you and move on with your life." Hannah said as she got close to the two of them.
"No, Hannah. You just told me that my woman is getting married to my best friend, and you expect me to just follow you like all is well? I haven't even seen Gaby in all the time I was stuck here. I was going to marry her, so don't I deserve a better explanation? Especially since her new groom is Justin. It sounds like a bad soap opera." Zac said with a scowl.
"There's nothing you can do about it, Zac. It's just a coincidence that their wedding is on the same day that you got released. Just forget about them, they're not worth it."
"No, Gaby is mine. You must be lying. How can she leave me? No, that's not possible. There must be a mistake somewhere. I'll find out the truth by myself." Zac said as he began to walk away from them.
He was obviously crashing emotionally. Deep down, he knew something must have gone wrong. It was just too weird that his girlfriend never bothered to visit him. He tried to make excuses to himself, that maybe she was just too sensitive to see him in prison, but Justin was supposed to be his best friend. What excuse could there be.
As he moved, he paused. Leon shook his head as he realised that he was reacting too strongly to the emotions of his new body. How was that possible? Zachary's real soul had already left this body. Was it the memories that were almost complete that triggered this? Or maybe it was the fact that he could understand betrayal after his family killed him, and the injustice of it all was making him confused?
"Zac, wait!" Hannah said as she and Thomas moved to follow Zac.
"Be more reasonable, man. Where do you think you're going? I doubt you still remember your way around the city after being incarcerated for so long. and you have no money on you, no means of identification or communication. Don't be stupid. You'll just get lost, or worse, arrested for trespassing. And with your criminal record, the situation will just escalate. Come with us, we'll explain more on the way. We'll show you the proof you need to believe that we're really telling you the truth." Thomas said and Zac stopped walking.
He sighed and turned to face the two of them because he knew that Thomas was right, he needed to be more rational. He had no money, or even any plan. Even with the memories from his new body, how would he even find the offenders and how could he make them pay? Wasn't it wiser to even forget about it all? Was there any need to fight a battle that wasn't his? He already had his head full, trying to figure out how he would get back at the Hansen family for his death. He joined them in the car,
"Thank you for your help. For all the visits, and for picking me up because I have no one else." He said quietly.
It was ironic, because among his group of friends before going to jail, he wasn't really close to Thomas or Hannah. Yet they were the ones who stepped up to help Zachary when he needed it. He was glad they had no child yet, else he would have felt even worse for intruding on their lives. They just celebrated their one year anniversary two months ago, and should be enjoying their time together.
"The guest bedroom has already been prepared for you so you can take a shower and rest for a while. Except if you're hungry, then you can eat first before you sleep. We'll go shopping later so you can get clothes and other things you need. You're much bigger and muscular than when you went into prison, so my clothes won't fit you." Thomas said to him.
"I have enough money in my bank accounts. I promise, when I'm more settled and have access to my accounts, I'll make sure to repay every dime you both spend on me." Zac said and the couple exchanged a look.
The look that passed between them filled Zac with a sense of foreboding.
"What 's the problem? What's with the look? You don't believe that I'll repay you? Is that it? You know that I always keep my word." Zac said to them and Thomas sighed.
"We don't need you to repay us anything, Zac. We're your friends." Thomas said.
"I can feel that something is wrong, Thomas. Tell me." Zac said.
"Go in and get settled first, Zac. You've received enough bad news for one day." Hannah said and that was when Zac realised what the problem was.
"The company rights were transferred to Justin after my sentence." Zac said with an ashen face. "I never worried because I was sure it was safe in his hands, especially after the whole tax investigation. But…"
"Yes, Zac. As of right now, you have nothing to your name. All you had belongs to Justin now. The company you founded was restructured. The name changed, even your executives were removed so no one could argue over Justin's claim. After you were sentenced to prison, the tax investigation ended in Justin's favour with you out of the picture." Thomas said with a sigh. "I don't know how they did it, but your company is his now. The change was finalised late last year. There was nothing I could do about it, and I didn't want to tell you because you would only be worried but even you wouldn't have been able to stop it from happening." Thomas said.
"Why would he do this to me? His parents are wealthy. He's their only heir and they already have so many companies under them. My company was all I had, and I built it myself with years of dedication and hard work. My blood, my sweat, everything is gone just like that? Why would he take my small slice of cake when he had a whole bakery?" Zac said with a disbelieving look.
"I wish I could answer that, Zac. But I'm just as confused as you are. After you went to prison, Justin cut himself off from the rest of us. Next thing I know, he's dating Gabi. I did some digging and what I found is even more shocking. The man that sent you to jail is a family friend of Justin, so…"
"What happened that night wasn't a coincidence. It was all planned." Zac said with widened eyes as he began to realise the depth of betrayal by the man he called his best friend for years.
"Yes. Everything was planned. From the club incident, to the shooting, to the arrest, to the court sentence. It all made sense when I started investigating. If you can remember, it was Justin who called the police, and they arrived too soon, like they were just waiting for his call. The investigation and court trial all happened within the space of a week. That's not proper, but we didn't realise that because the lawyer that was supposed to guide us better was making it all seem hopeless, like there was no other choice but for you to go to jail."
Thomas kept talking but Zac wasn't really listening. All that was ringing in his head was the fact that he had gone to jail for nothing, that almost two years of his life had been wasted for nothing, that he was now penniless and he had been betrayed in the worst possible way by the people he trusted.
"Where the fuck is Justin now?" He growled angrily.