OUR UNFORTUNATE BONDS

2... Smart?

A woman, petite but with a presence that seemed to fill the entire room, approached us. She was about 5'8" tall, with dark hair and eyes that seemed to pierce through me. She was flanked by three porters, who stood behind her like sentinels.

"The Joseph family?" she questioned, her voice stern but not unkind.

I nodded, swallowing hard. "Yes, that's us." "Good afternoon, Mr. Viktor Joseph," she said, her voice still formal but now more welcoming. "Your mansion is ready and waiting for you. Your half-payment has been received. The other half will be due upon your arrival."

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. I didn't know what to expect, but I knew we had to move forward. I turned to Isabelle and Alma, who were staring at the woman in awe.

"Shall we?" I asked, holding out my hand Isabelle and Alma took my hands, and we followed the woman through the bustling airport, the porters trailing behind us. We walked through the terminal, the noise of the crowd fading into the background as we made our way to the private jet lounge. The woman held the door open for us, and we stepped inside.

The lounge was luxurious, with comfortable chairs and couches, a well-stocked bar, and a large flat-screen TV. I felt like we had entered another world, far away from the reality of our situation.

The woman spoke again, breaking the silence. "Welcome to the Joseph family's private jet lounge. Please make yourselves at home while we wait for the jet to be prepared for departure. May I offer you something to drink?"

I glanced at Isabelle and Alma, who both shook their heads. I turned back to the woman. "No, thank you. We're fine."

She nodded, and for a moment, the room was silent. But then, a low rumble began to shake the floor, and I knew the jet was being prepared for our flight.

The woman gave us a small smile. "We will be ready to depart shortly. In the meantime, please relax and make yourselves comfortable I called her to a round table on the flight and asked her how much was the balance of our new home and what payment mode the collected and my documents "Please, take a seat," I said, gesturing to the round table. The woman joined us, and I asked her how much the balance of our new home was, and what payment method they had collected. I also asked about the documents I needed to sign.

She pulled out a folder from her briefcase and placed it on the table. "The balance for your new home is 400,000,000," she said. "We have already received half of that amount, and the other half is due upon your arrival at your new home. As for the documents, you will need to sign a contract and a I took 2 of the 6 briefcases containing the half the amount each and placed it on the table and gestured for the woman to open it The woman's eyes widened as I placed one of the briefcases on the table. She took a deep breath and opened it, revealing stacks of cash, perfectly arranged and neatly banded. "Is this... is this all?" she stammered, her voice barely a whisper.

"It is," I said, my voice steady. "It's the remaining balance for our new home."

The woman looked at me, her eyes shining with tears. "I don't know what to say," she said. "I have never seen so much money in one place before." The woman took a deep breath and recovered her composure, handing me the documents. I signed them and then gestured for my sisters to sign as well, as my next of kin. As they did so, I couldn't help but think about how much our lives had changed in the past few weeks. It was almost too much to take in.

Once the documents were signed, the woman gathered them up and placed them back in her briefcase. "Everything is in order," she said. "All that remains is for us to get to your new home and enjoy your lives as top class residents of hilltop area of Hillers city "We'll be flying on a Gulfstream G650ER," the woman continued. "It's a very comfortable aircraft, with plenty of room for you and your family. And, it has a range of up to 7,500 nautical miles, so it can easily take us to your new home."