Sydney

Aiden had left early, and I was still basking in the warmth of the night before. Until Mike phoned to ask about the money. He appeared desperate, but he refused to say why he needed it. What had gone wrong? Perhaps I could have taken a more proactive approach and pressured him to reveal why he required so much money? What if he spent the money on something he shouldn't have? But he wasn't that kind of person. He wasn't even capable of harming a fly!
I wasn't concerned about how long it would take him to return it. It didn't matter to me; all I cared about was making sure he was safe and out of trouble.
After racking my brain for several hours, I realised that Aiden's Grandpa would be the only person who could lend me money. I had no idea how I was going to persuade him to grant me the loan and also keep it a secret from Aiden.

I sighed despondently at my predicament. I dressed up and made my way over to the freaky zone. Senior Mr Reiner dubbed the east wing such. Mr Reiner seemed unduly harsh on Fiona and William at times. Perhaps if he had shown his second daughter-in-law love and acceptance. Will might have turned out differently, more responsible like Aiden.
I hadn't seen William since I kicked him in his groins.
I occasionally ran across Fiona, who would scowl at me but never say anything. I did hear Martha or other house staff gossiping about them. It was a large manor, and no matter how quiet things were, the staff were destined to gossip.
Will had developed an interest in business, and he was frequently seen in the office, doing whatever he was doing.

I discovered Mr Rainer in his study, playing poker with Wendy, the nurse. When he saw me, the old man's face brightened instantly.

"Hello there! It's been a long time. Come on, join the game," exclaimed the old man.
Then he added victoriously, "Miss. Wendy here has been losing steadily. I am afraid she will have to work for free soon, to repay her gambling debt."

"Oh dear, I am afraid he is right," lamented Wendy, looking at me for support.

"That's because he cheats !" I said, laughing.
"I suggest shaking off his sleeves and clothes before you start playing with him" I added, laughing.

"Awww, Sydney. I am anything but a cheat. How about we have a game ?" He challenged, his blue eyes twinkled mischievously.
I thought for a minute, "Why not, but with real money?"

"Now that's what I'm talking about, bring it on." Mr. Rainer was animated and appeared to be many years younger. He was a huge poker fan.

"Now, that's a real game, bring it on." Mr Rainer looked excited and suddenly several years younger. He loved playing poker.
Two hours later, I had lost my entire week's allowance. I rubbed my temples as grandpa grinned gleefully.
"Damm, you are good. How do you even do that?" I lamented in frustration.
"You are not that bad yourself, but it's not easy defeating a world champ." He primmed to himself proudly.
"A world champ?" I asked, puzzled.
"I won the poker world championship in 1970, the year after it was started. Crandell Addington, the first winner, is a good friend of mine," he said wistfully.
I was a bumpkin who had no idea that there was something like a poker championship. I could just gasp in surprise.
"Wow! I didn't know you were so talented. No wonder you are so hard to defeat. "
He laughed.
"I play poker primarily for fun. The game is more about personal challenge." Grandpa went on explaining his games, strategies. How he enjoyed playing with his friends. Talking about poker wasn't as boring as I had expected, it was rather fascinating.
"Well, it appears that I owe you my entire allowance," I sighed.
He laughed and said, "It's okay, you don't have to pay me."
I paused for a moment before speaking tentatively.
"I need to talk to you about something."
The elderly gentleman simply stared at me, waiting for me to continue.
"I need some money, it's not for me. It's for a friend-a very close friend. I think he is in some kind of trouble. He has requested help, and he needs it urgently. I could borrow from Aiden but he doesn't like Mike, who is my friend...he has promised me that he would return. Well, even if he doesn't, I will make sure that I return it to you...." I rambled on.

"How much do you require?" asked the elderly gentleman quietly.

"Half a million dollars," I mumbled under my breath. I was curious as to what he was thinking.

"That's not much," he said as he walked over to his desk and went for the second drawer. He took out a chequebook, wrote down the amount, and handed it to me.
I stared at the cheque with my mouth open.
"You don't want to know who my friend is? What am I going to do with the money? What if I run away with the money?"
He laughed, "You can't run far, Aiden would dig you out from any corner of this Earth. "
I knew he was joking, yet those words sent a shiver down my spine. Reiners were too powerful to mess with.

"Thank you for putting your faith in me, " I answered graciously.

"I do trust you, dear. I am 90. At this age, I am experienced enough to be a good judge of a character. You want to help your friend. I can see that. Now run along, and please call Wendy for me. I will cheat out some more money from her." He winked. I kissed grandpa on the cheek and left the study happily.
I dashed to my room and checked the time; it was 1 p.m. I had plenty of time to submit it to the bank if I skipped lunch. The check was written out for me. As a result, I was unable to give it to Mark. I'd have to cash it myself before handing it over to Mark.
I called Mark, but he went by voice mail. I left him a message asking him to meet me at the bank on Monday, where I would give him the money after cashing. I didn't want to get around carrying half a million dollars anyway. Satisfied with the plan, I left the Manor for the bank.