Chapter 56: RYDER

"I wish I could be like you." After all of my thinking, that's what I came up with. It wasn't much, but it's a start. I don't mean to come across as weak and rudderless, which I have been for a while, but the reality is I have no role models. No one that I could really look up to and aspire to be like.

The people I thought were my friends and chosen family are, in fact, the orchestrators of my downfall. They never liked me and never wanted what was best for me. Otherwise, they would never have done so much to get rid of Elena. All I ever was to them was money, something to be used for their own gain.

"Oh yeah, how is that?"

"Confident, bold. You seem very self-assured." He was also the type of man who didn't mince words or care who was listening. I've known him for less than twenty-four hours, and I think he opened up to me more than people I've known for more than half my life. He didn't seem at all bothered that his subordinates were listening in on our conversation; in fact, he does