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John Walters had built his empire from the scratch. His business now stood on a solid foundation, from a small technical business in Florida, through his hard work and resilience he turned it into a billion-dollar multinational company. His wife, Cindy, was no different from her husband as she was a very hard working woman. She ran one of the biggest stores in Florida. The couple were a paragon of success. They lived in a luxurious mansion and drove the best cars in town.
But there was an issue at hand, they had no time for their kids.
Their children, David 17 and Rebecca 15, grew up in the care of nannies and private teachers. They never had parental guidance all their existence.
One evening, Cindy stepped into the house after a stressful day at work, when she noticed something quite odd. The house was unusually quiet.
"Where are my children?" She asked Kate, the house maid, with a stern expression on her face.
"David did not return home last night and Rebecca has refused to come out of her room all day." Kate replied.
Just then, John walked in, dropping his briefcase on the table.
"What's going on?" He asked, noticing the tense atmosphere.
"David went out all night without our consent." Cindy replied with a tone of anger in her voice.
"Honey don't let that bother you, we did the same when we were much younger. He will surely come back, now let's have dinner." John said, while putting a hand over her shoulders.
Two weeks later, around 3am, Cindy received a phone call which she answered, half-awake.
"Hello, Am I speaking to Mrs Walters?"
"Yes you are, who's this?" Cindy replied.
"This is officer Ray, calling from the LAPD, your son David has been arrested for being in possession of hard drugs, alongside Rebecca who was with him."
"God!" Cindy exclaimed.
"What is it?" John asked, as he woke up from his sleep, alarmed.
"David and Rebecca have been arrested." She replied, with her head bowed down.
They got up and rushed to the station. Upon their arrival, they saw David looking high as the white in his eyes now turned red, and Rebecca looking tattered with her jacket torn.
"What the hell is going on here." John asked, demanding answers.
"Dad, we were just gonna have some fun, that's all."
"Fun?! Have you both lost it?" Cindy snapped at them.
Officer Ray walked in, "Mr and Mrs Walters your children were caught at an illegal party, and your son here was found in possession of weed and cocaine. While your daughter was found drunk on hard drinks."
Tears flowed freely from Cindy's cheeks "oh no!" She exclaimed.
"If not for your status in the society, they would be looking at serious jail terms here as this is no small offence against the law." Officer Ray said.
"I've called my lawyer." John chipped in.
"They would be released without any charges but an undertaking would have to be signed." Officer Ray said.
After they arrived home from the station, an argument ensued.
"How could you both be so reckless? Do you want to rub our family name into the mud?" Cindy asked them.
"You are only angry because you are scared your image will get tarnished." David scoffed.
"Yes that's right, you don't really care about us." Rebecca chipped in.
John's face turned into a frown. "You lie! We gave you everything, money, a good house and the best schools. What more do you want?"
"Here we go again, it's all about money all the time. You never showed us real parental care, you were never around us, it's always your work." David said.
"Don't worry we will make arrangements for you both to go to the best rehab center and get good therapy." Cindy spoke as tears welled up in her eyes.
"No mum, it's already too late for that David said.
A month after the incident, David was found again in possession of cocaine. He was charged to court, found guilty of drug trafficking and sentenced to 24 years imprisonment. His parents couldn't save him this time around.
David's arrest became publicized to the media, as it was everywhere on the headlines-"The Walters family Scandal."
The news spread like wildfire and this cost the Walters a lot. John's Company began to crash as major investors pulled out, likewise Cindy, people stopped patronizing her store.
One cool evening as the couple sat on the couch, Cindy said to her husband, "was it worth all the sacrifice afterall."
"No it wasn't, I wish I could turn back the hands of time." John said with a voice full of regret.
With their name soiled, everything they had built from the scratch. shattered.
