CHAPTER 121Something was wrong with Katherine. It wasn't just the dull cramps that had been plaguing her all day, nor the strange, twisting discomfort that made her insides feel like they were being scraped raw with a thousand scalpels. It was like a bad omen and it sent a feeling of dread down her spine. She ached everywhere— her shoulders, her backs, her legs. It was like she wanted to tell and sit and cry and lay down at the same time.She had forced herself to sit at the dining table, her fingers trembling as she lifted the fork to her mouth. The moment she chewed, nausea engulfed her and her stomach clenched in protest. The potato tasted like paste on her tongue, and for a second, she thought she might choke.She swallowed hard as she struggled to keep her breathing even. She pushed her fork into the potato on her plate, lifting it for a second bite.Across the table, Asher’s gaze flickered to her again. He had been watching her for the past ten minutes with concern in his eye
CHAPTER 122Amanda stepped out of Katherine’s room, shutting the door behind her quietly. She barely moved before the muffled cries from inside reached her ears. Katherine’s ragged, pain-laced sobs echoed through the hallway.Her stomach twisted.“We've got a problem,” she announced, her voice heavy with worry. The two men rushed to her. They could still hear Katherine’s muffled cries.“What's going on?” Asher demanded, his chest rising and falling with anger, with his fists clenched tightly at his sides. His eyes flickered to the door where the wail was coming from. “And why the hell did you leave her alone? You know she's in pain don't you?”Amanda sighed, lifting her hands in utmost exasperation. “Shut up for goodness’ sake, Asher! I said we have a problem.”“What kind of problem?” Ethan asked.“She's—” Amanda swallowed, forcing the words out. “She's having a baby.”Asher’s mouth parted slightly. “What?”“That's not possible,” Ethan muttered, breaking into cold sweat. He shook his
CHAPTER 123“Enough!” Amanda said when she finally tore them apart. “Can't you see She's in pain? Have you both lost your sanity?”Asher panted as he wiped his blood stained mouth on his arm. “Yes I can see. What she needs is a hospital.”“We can't take her to the hospital,” Ethan countered. “Yes I agree,” Amanda said as fear crept into her voice. “Because of what you all did, yeah? Now you're letting your mistake rub off on someone else,” Asher mocked. “Nothing better happens to her.”“We can't expose her to the public,” Ethan said, rubbing his hands together. “They'll ask questions at the hospital and we haven't got that kind of money on us.”“You're just scared you'll get caught and get arrested by the cops.”“Shut up!” Amanda screamed. “I'll do it. I've seen a lot of videos online.”“You're not about to experiment with someone's baby are you?” “I'm going to push,” Katherine screamed. “God…”Ethan held Amanda by the shoulder. “Babe, you can't do it.”“I can,” she said, slipping
CHAPTER 124(Six months later)Lucifer sat in the corner of his office with a pipe in his mouth and shade on his face. He skimmed through the document before him before picking up his pen to sign.Antonio stood across from him, his arms folded as he watched. “You really want to do this? That’s a hell of a lot of money, even for you.”Lucifer didn’t look up, rather he turned his head to the side and puffed, tapping the pen against the paper before pressing it to the page. “It’s just money,” he muttered, signing with a slow stroke. “I can always make more.”“But—”“No buts,” Lucifer murmured. “He already kept his end of his bargain. I have to keep mine.”Antonio sighed and watched as his master closed the document. “All done. I'll need you to send a Copy to him as soon as you can.”“How about the Cassius?”Lucifer shrugged, smoking hard from his pipe. “They are in foster care and getting good treatment. I guess we're done with that phase.”Antonio nodded and took the document with a bow.
CHAPTER 125“Okay I think I'm a bit jealous of your newfound relationship,” Katherine muttered as she sauntered in with the warm milk bottle.Asher was seated by the bean bag, cooing at the baby in his arms. Noah giggled, showing off his newly attained milk teeth. “I always knew I was going to be one of his favourite person's,” Asher bragged.Katherine sulked. “That's not fair. I carried him in my stomach for nine months and this is how he pays me back.”Asher took the milk bottle from Katherine’s hands and placed the nipple into the boy's mouth. Katherine watched in joy and silent pride.“You see,” he started, gazing down at the boy lovingly. “Boys can't help but be really close to the male gender. Someone they see as their dad.”“Now, that's a very untrue theory,” Katherine pointed out. “They tend to be close to their mothers. The girls always chose their dads.”“Or, that is how you convince yourself?” He teased.Katherine sulked. “It's a very popular discourse.”“And it's not exac
CHAPTER 126Lucifer had waited for days. He knew someday the couples were going to use his card again. And they did. Every damn day after that.Almost every day after that day. They kept making purchases, payments and withdrawals like they had all the money in the world. His money.Lucifer clenched his jaw, his fingers tightening around the phone as he checked the latest transactions. These two were comfortable. Too comfortable.And that pissed him off.Two things nagged at him; one, where the hell was Katherine? Two, how did those nobodies get their hands on her card? Did they kidnap Katherine? That seems impossible. They don't seem like people that would pull a job like that. He had considered bringing the police into this but that was a waste of time. This wasn’t their problem.It was his.And he wouldn't want to scare them, they were his only lead to Katherine and he had to follow it up with kid's gloves. He dialed a contacts number. “Hello. Now is time, Find everything on them
CHAPTER 127Katherine’s legs wobbled like jelly. Every part of her trembled like her bones had dismantled beneath her skin. Her hand flew to the wall, looking for support. She was supposed to leave, to go far but her body betrayed her. Her mind blanked as the new truth hit her. Everything suddenly made sense, so much sense it felt like she had been adorned in stupidity all the while.She pulled herself back from the door, her chest rising fast, just as it flung open.She froze as the couple appeared. Ethan stood there, glaring at her with that cruel eyes and smug face. And Amanda, she looked like shit. Tears streaked her face and her eyeliner was ruined. Her lips trembled like she wanted to speak but was scared to do so.Katherine smiled. So bright it reached her eyes and lifted her face.“Hi!” she said in a chirpy voice.Her eyes flicked to Amanda again and dimmed for half a second but she looked away. “Oh dear,” she said.Ethan narrowed his eyes. “What are you doing here?”She tilt
CHAPTER 128R circled Giovanni’s table with a frown. “We've got nothing. There's no thrill. None of what we did could bring him down. What do you want the underworld to say? That he's tougher than you?”Giovanni shrugged and leaned back against his chair, with his tobacco in the corner of his lips. “He's stubborn headed. That's the problem with Lucifer.”R scoffed, with her arms crossed on her chest. “And stubborn headed people always win.”“He settled his debts.”“So what?” R chimed In coldly. “Anyone can do that. Listen. We need something more fascinating. Very thrilling.”“And what do you think?”She grinned as she leaned in closely. “I've got something. I wasn't going to say because it didn't matter to us but oufff…a girl can't stay so long without being busy.”Giovanni turned to look at her with amusement and confusion swirling in his eyes. “What do you mean?”R leaned forward and dropped her voice to a whisper. Her lips moved silently against his ears and by the time she had pul
CHAPTER 138Katherine stepped out of the Landan house looking weary. She had no idea how long she was going to walk before she could get into town. Asher had given her a small map but she had seemed to forget how to use those things. It was a bit tricky but she had thanked him for his kind gesture. And she had to be quick else this was the time that the Landans usually returned and if they saw her on the road that could lead to other complications.The goodbye with the girls, the way Asher pressed that card into her hand, she couldn't stop thinking of it all. she held Noah tightly to her chest. She had no idea how heavy he had become. He was a big baby, warm but really had enough healthy weight.She draped the blanket over her shoulders tightly. Her back ached and her shoulders but she needed to get away from there first.She hadn't even gone a distance until a black van pulled up behind her. She paused in her tracks looking around for where to dash into but it was too late.She drop
CHAPTER 137Katherine’s fingers trembled as she folded the last piece of clothing into the worn, faded bag. Her vision blurred, hot tears clouded the shapes of everything in the room.She sniffled, biting her lip hard enough to hurt. Why did he have to show up? He shouldn't have even tried to. She was fine without him, was figuring life out by herself.A soft knock came at the door, and before she could answer, tiny feet padded in. Adelaide and Madelaine with their eyes round and curious, stood in the doorway. When they saw the tears streaming down Katherine’s face, they didn’t ask what was wrong rather they simply moved to her. The two little girls wrapped their arms around her legs, holding her tight.Katherine dropped to her knees and gathered them into her arms, pressing their heads against her shoulders as the sobs came harder.“Will I ever see you again?” Madelaine asked, her voice shaky and her eyes glossy with tears.Adelaide clung to her tighter. “I don’t want you to go…”Ka
CHAPTER 136Asher sat with Noah resting quietly in his arms, the child’s tiny face pressed against his chest. His little hands clutched at Asher’s shirt without even knowing why. Asher glanced down at him and for the first time really looked. Although both parents Dna had contributed to the boy, his eyes… they were just like his father’s,Lucifer Cain.The ruthless, famous man whose reputation made even hardened men lower their heads. So this was the person Katherine had been running from all this time. The deadly Mafia.He wanted to know how she ended up with him. He had called her wife, asked for his son, showed possession and Katherine was vulnerbale. So vulnerbale and broken. Even after he left, she was still sitting in silence and trembling.Asher swallowed hard as he tried to put his messy thoughts together. The first time he heard of Lucifer, he had wanted to look for a way to harm Ethan. To set him up and fuck him up. But he couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand them. They wer
CHAPTER 135The house was quiet, except for the soft sound of the old ceiling fan and the gentle scratch of a cloth as Katherine wiped down the table. The scent of cleaning solution hung in the air. She hummed as she cleaned, trying to relish the moment and clear her head, before the doorbell rang.Her hand froze mid-wipe, cloth pressed against the wood. The sound came again, persistently, like it needed attention.It was just her and Asher home. And no one came here.No one should.Her chest tightened. She didn't want to do this. Not again.Day after day, boxes arrived. Packages filled with things she never asked for — diapers, clothes, money and various self care she could never afford. She wanted to throw them out, burn them, scream at the sky, but she didn’t.Instead, she let them pile up in Asher’s room, turning his space into a cramped storeroom of her trash. The Landans’ patience had run thin and she couldn't blame them. Kind people had their limits.The bell rang again, caus
CHAPTER 134“Where is she?” he demanded coldly as he burst into the house in rage. Katherine glued herself to the wall of her room as Ethan approached her like a mad dog. He had a scowl on his face. “What the fuck came for you today?”“I…I don't know ow what you're talking about,” she stuttered in fear. “Show me or you'll hate it if I have to force it from you, myself.”“What did I say about treating women, Erhan?” Asher said in anger as he strutted into the room. “show her what it is to force a woman and I'll show you what it is to train a man.”Ethan lunged for his son but he dodged. “Are you blind? Can't you see what she's doing? No one has ever tried to find us for years. But ever since she came things have been happening.”“And shouldn't that be a good thing? Or did you do something wrong? Something that you're scared of someone else discovering,” Asher taunted and smirked at them. Ethan stepped back panting heavily while Katherine leaned farther away with fear as he neared he
CHAPTER 133There was a gentle knock on the mahogany door. The deep voice from within called to enter, before the guards pushed the door apart.“You need to get those thugs you call securitymen arrested,” the dark man said in annoyance. “If they ever lay a hand on me again, I will ensure their body is laid in the ground.“Any news?” The second man said in boredom.“A never disappointing one,” the dark man said and dumped the carton of files on the table before taking his seat.“What did you find?” The second man asked before placing his cigar on the tray. “Hold on friend. I've got to step out of this or I swear my toes would get eaten by this monsters,” the man said as he quickly unfasten the laces of his boots. “These commanders got to tell me how they do it.”“Enough!” the other man said and slammed his hand on the table. “What did you fucking find?”“I found the house and exactly according to my tracking, it's situated at the end of nowhere. Belongs to some family. Who builds thei
CHAPTER 132When it's a coincidence, it doesn't repeat itself, does it?Amanda sat at the rocking chair, cooing at noah who was in her arms. The baby giggled and threw his little arms in the air playfully. The girls were at her feet playing dolls and fir the first time, she felt at peace.There was a relief. Maybe because her creep of a husband wasn't around. Noah let out a little but loud fact and the stench was abominable.“Mom!” Adelaide shrieked. “His poop is leaking out.”“Oh dear,” Amanda exclaimed in panic. “This dress costs two hundred dollars!”Katherine came rushing in at that moment from the laundry room. She picked up noah in fright. “Oh Amanda I'm so sorry…Maddy love, please fetch mom the wet tissues.”“You owe me,” Amanda said as she snatched the pack of wet wipes from her daughter.Katherine smiled painfully before hurrying away.“Let me deal with this diarrhea before it explodes everywhere….arghhh noah you stink of shit…I mean it's shit….but you stink for goodness sake!
CHAPTER 131The smell of sizzling bacon mixed with the earthy aroma of coffee filled the breakfast table as Katherine took a bite of her scrambled eggs.Ethan Landan wasn't helping either. He stirred the coffee pot beside her a little too loudly with the spoon clicking on every corner. It was so loud it drowned out the pounding in her head. She stole a glance at Asher who was sitting across from her. Nothing seemed out of place for him except the rage behind his eyes. He wasn’t meeting her gaze, rather his focus was firmly on the eggs on his plate. He knew. She knew. Amanda and Ethan were silent as well but their eyes flickered between Katherine and Asher from time to time as if they were trying to read minds or pick out anything odd.Katherine’s hand trembled slightly as she reached for her coffee mug. The sound of the cup clinking against the saucer was too loud. She quickly lowered the mug, staring down at her plate and trying to ignore the sick feeling churning in her stomach.“
CHAPTER 130“I'm sorry you had to go through all that,” Katherine whispered softly. “Opening up was really brave.”“Don't sound like you didn't make me do it,” he said jokingly.“Thank you,” she said, pressing his hand to her chest. “For trusting me.”“You know, you would make a huge sum of money if you consider therapy. Stop freaking kidding me.”Katherine pouted, trying to ease the situation. “Right? Don't you think you owe me?”“Maybe I would have,” he said, smiling wryly. “But you pushed me into talking by making me help you. More like reverse psychology.”Katherine's chest tightened. She already had all she needed. But it wasn't enough. She wanted more. “So, what do we do?”“This is the part where you act like you know nothing if you want to live long.”“Have you ever considered revenge?” Katherine asked out of the blues.“Lots of times,” he pointed out. “But God, I'm not like them.”“They have guns, don't they?”Asher scoffed. “Guns? No they don't use that here. They use surgic