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242|Poisoned Arrow
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56
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Beautiful Disaster 243|All-Out War
"Iris…" Andrei began, but his voice trailed off, and he stared at the ceiling, a myriad of emotions contorting his face like he was grappling with demons only he could see.Releasing a long, deep breath, he sat up and stared at Austin with a pleading look when he spoke, "For all her bravado, in the end, Iris couldn't do it. She couldn't keep the truth from you. She wanted to tell you everything. A few weeks before she died, she called and told us she planned to break the news to you. Her conscience wouldn't allow her to walk down the aisle without laying out all her cards on the table for you."The low hum of Austin's phone buzzing in his pocket put their chat on hold for a bit while he read and replied to Orlando's text. She was having a blast at her art class, learning pottery, and had a lot of festivities planned with Anna and Marybeth for the evening ahead.Relieved his daughter was doing okay despite his absence, Austin put away his phone and refocused his attention on Andrei."Yo
Beautiful Disaster 244|His Last Few Moments
The silence, disturbing in its totality, settled in almost immediately, amplified even more by the rapid pounding of Austin's heart as he sat there, contemplating the last few minutes.He'd done a ton of shit in the past after murdering someone in cold blood. What he'd never done was pick up the phone and confess his crimes.Today, as he pulled out his cell phone, a little dismayed at the spiderweb cracks on the screen, was a first.He breathed a sigh of relief when he unlocked the phone, and it flashed to life, Marybeth and Orlando's faces smiling up at him.He'd give anything to go back to their happy moment at the beach the Sunday before he flew to Rock Castle when he took the photo of his wife and kid frolicking in the sand. He meant to print it out and frame it in his new office when he eventually broke away from the family. But until that moment, it had made a fantastic screen saver, a goof reminder of the perfect life he was bound to lose now that he'd given in to his demons."B
Beautiful Disaster 245|Dead To Me
"Leave!" Austin said, lowering his gun. "I don't ever want to see your face again. From now on, you are dead to me."Raw hurt flickered in Andrei's eyes as he placed his hand over his chest as if stilling himself from heartbreak. "You are my brother!""ти си ми ништа," Austin said in his native tongue."ты всегда будешь моим братом," Andrei replied in Russian before walking away, his tattered appearance akin to that of a man who'd been to hell and back and lived to tell the tale.A knock sounded on the door, and without a doubt, Austin knew it was the front desk clerk again. He'd been waiting for her since his battle with Andrei began.Brushing past his former friend, Austin got the door, his smile ready to disarm Rachel Haywood.But she wasn't easily fooled and looked mad as hell."Mr Hawthorne, could you step aside, please?" she said, trying to storm her way in. Austin was too quick for her, though. He blocked her path, scowling at the security guards she'd brought earlier.""What is
Beautiful Disaster 246|Bigger Than You And Me
"Who killed her?" Austin asked when he'd gotten over his shock, his voice ringing hollow in his ears. "Who killed Iris?""You're determined to get us killed, aren't you?""Who pulled the fucking trigger, Drei?""Austin," Andrei said, rising from his seat. "This thing is bigger than you and me. You can't take down The Corporation. Please, just walk away. Why do you think I left?""Ivanov!" Austin rasped, gritting his teeth, his hands balled tightly on his lap."It's not just your father, mine or Vishal. This thing is bigger than The Corporation. It goes all the way to parliament. I'm deeply sorry Orlando lost her mom. But there was no way they would have let go. There was a lot at stake. Too many political careers would have been destroyed if word got out—""I don't care, Drei! Tell me who pulled the fucking trigger."Andrei took a long, deep breath and released it in a gushing swoosh, his shoulders slumped as he shattered Austin to pieces again and put him back together with his revela
Beautiful Disaster 247|All About Perspective
Andrei had barely left when a knock sounded on his door again. Ready to shoot Rachel Haywood dead, Austin stormed to the door, growling angrily as he threw it wide open, "What the fuck do you want now?""That's not how you greet a friend," said Levi, pushing his way into the room."I thought you weren't planning to take over from your father, so what are you doing here?""I saw Drei leave and came to assess the damage. Be glad it's me and not my father. He would have thrown you out." Levi smiled cheekily as he picked up items that could still be salvaged and placed them in their places. Turning back to Austin, he asked, "Are you okay?"Touched by his sincerity, Austin could only nod. He'd thrashed Levi's property, but he was still kind enough to check up on him."Are you sure?" Levi pressed."Dead sure," Austin said quickly, forcing himself to dig up a smile."Look," Levi said as he sat on the edge of the bed. "Drei can be an asshole at times. I lost track of how many times I wanted to
Beautiful Disaster 248|Like Brad Pitt In Fight Club—Part 1
Rock Castle awakened to a grey, gloomy Friday, with dark, heavy rains and gale-force winds thrashing the city. Happy to be heading home to his wife and kid in a few hours, Austin refused to allow the bleak weather to dampen his mood. So, while his lawyers wrapped up the shit show at Crush, he went about his morning with his assistant, checking out a few private schools in the area. The first four—'all-girls schools'—were nothing to write home about, and they spent just under twenty minutes at each one.Green Meadows, a co-ed private school at the heart of Green Point and the last on their list, was an entirely different story. They spent over an hour there, with Elizabeth doing most of the talking and asking all the right questions, from the curriculum to the teaching methods and techniques used. The headmistress—a Mrs Vermeulen—with over thirty years of experience in the business of shaping young minds, was happy to address his assistant's concerns, completely ignoring Austin as she
Beautiful Disaster 249|Like Brad Pitt In Fight Club—Part 2|
Seth made Austin's day when he informed him his guy had just landed in the Bay with Sloane in tow."I'll get my guys to handle it from here," Austin announced, making a mental note to give Seth and his guy a hefty bonus for their quick turnaround time.As soon as he hung up from Seth, he jumped into the group chat with his handlers, firing instructions at Arno and Benji to grab Sloane and transport him to the welcome ball venue.'Are you serious right now?' Arno texted, his disbelief palpable in his message.'Like a heart attack,' replied Austin. 'Get this shit done. Chat with Estelle about overnight accommodation for Sloane, and get two of your best guys to stay with him. I don't want any fuckups!'As soon as his handlers read his text, Arno called, demanding to know exactly what Austin planned to do with Sloane."кум, I beg you, please, reconsider. You can't deal with Sloane at the welcome ball—""Why the hell not?" Austin fired back as he paced back and forth in front of the window
Beautiful Disaster 250|Not A Good Candidate
Since it was the last day of school, Marybeth finished work early on Friday. By 10:30 am, she was in Dr Khan's rooms, even though she didn't have an appointment.Anette, the receptionist, fussed as soon as she saw her, thinking something was wrong with the baby. But after a quick reassurance from Marybeth that she and the baby were doing okay, Anette returned to her workstation and asked her to wait a bit; the good doctor was on a call with a patient. Thankfully, the call didn't take long, and moments later, Dr Khan invited Marybeth into his office. They spent a minute or two chatting about her pregnancy, and when Marybeth had nothing more meaningful to add to the conversation, she changed the subject, stating the real reason for her visit.The whole time she pleaded with Dr Khan to add her father to the transplant waiting list, the man wore a thoroughly unimpressed look. The tight frown lodged between his eyebrows and his thickish lips pressed in a thin line were enough to scare of
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Beautiful Disaster 300|Beautiful Disaster
Rock Castle was a breath of fresh air in many ways for Austin and Marybeth. Once they'd put down their roots, they embraced their new life, immersing themselves in the community and the social scene.When they were not entertaining or attending various social events, Austin focused all his energy on growing Stardust Inc. while fulfilling his duties as a board member of De Jager Inc. and Orlando's proxy.Marybeth, too, kept herself busy with various home improvement projects, including setting up the baby's nursery. She also joined the PTA at Green Meadows Primary, championing a few fundraisers. As if she wasn't already busy enough, Lukas low-key began sending her Foundation documents to review, mostly company policies and NPO funding applications. Never mind that she'd had zero orientation since she was only supposed to start the following year.She was so busy embracing her new life as a stay-at-home mom and the Foundation's silent CEO she didn't have time to miss her old job. And tim
Beautiful Disaster 299|Loved And Wanted
Austin left Clifton Bay under a heavy cloud of complex family dynamics, his departure shrouded in controversy. But Rock Castle welcomed him with open arms. The people close to him didn't care at all about the drama and scandals he'd been embroiled in over the past few months. They were just happy to have him in the same city with them, and it didn't take long at all for Eden and Natalie to reach out to Marybeth and take her under their wing, acting as her free tour guides, pregnancy encyclopedias or sounding boards.Completely sold by their raving reviews of Dr Emily Waylon, they set up an appointment, immediately falling in love with her bedside manner on their first check-up. She was attentive, not to mention patient, answering their endless questions with a comforting calmness.Orlando and Adeline couldn't contain their joy when they broke the news about the baby that evening. Marybeth's tummy had gotten so big they could no longer hold off on telling them."Is it a boy or a girl?"
Beautiful Disaster 298|A Fresh Start
The whole time Austin scoffed down his food, he noticed Marybeth wasn't eating, absently toying with her salad. His heart shattered all over again because he knew he was responsible for her lack of appetite and dramatic weight loss."Mr Hawthorne, can we talk, please?" Elizabeth appeared beside him, stealing his attention away from his wife."Sure, let's chat inside," he replied, leading her into his study."Long time no see," he said with a smile as he sat on the edge of his desk. "You look happy and younger, too.""Traveling will do that to you," she replied, flashing a brief smile that Austin found a tad unsettling because it was so unlike her. She was always stoic."So that's what you've been up to since I left the Group?"She nodded. "The place wasn't the same without you, so I left. And that's why I'm here. I want my old job back. If you'll have me, that is.""You'll have to take a pay cut," Austin said. "I'm starting from scratch, Elizabeth, so I don't have a ton of cash flow—"
Beautiful Disaster 297|Family
Barry De Villiers was at Sea Point Police Station at 9:00 AM for Austin's release, and after completing a ton of paperwork, they were finally out of there by 11:00 AM.Austin didn't talk much on their way to Pelican Surf, lost in thought and the scenery. It was like he was seeing everything for the first time. The sun on his skin, the wind in his hair, the light glaring in his eyes…it all felt different, somehow."So, what's the first thing you'll do when you get home?" Barry asked."Hug my wife and kids until they get annoyed with me," Austin replied with the biggest smile. "Maybe eat a nice home-cooked meal...Don't get me wrong, I appreciate all the takeaways you got me, but nothing beats my wife's cooking!"Barry guffawed, throwing his head back. "Okay. What else?""Mhh, I think a nice long shower is in order, too," Austin said, sniffing himself, making sure he didn't smell like something out of a garbage can."You don't stink," Barry assured him."I know," Austin chuckled. "Just ma
Beautiful Disaster 296|Bargaining Chip
Austin's altercation with another prisoner was the last straw for Marybeth, the thing that pushed her beyond her limit and sent her over the cliff.He'd asked her to hang in there for a few more days, but the thought of him getting into another fight or possibly getting killed terrified her. The stalemate with his father would only get deadlier the longer he remained in custody. Something had to be done to bring him home, and it had to be done fast. So she called Lukas, begging him to end all the madness. But, he wasn't interested in hearing her out, telling her coldly that he was too busy picking up Austin's slack—running the family and The Corporation—to worry about her fears.Marybeth's desperation got so bad that she reached out to the one person she swore she'd never ask for help. Her mom.They met at a sleepy coffee shop in Virginia after Anna and Willem's joint funeral.As usual, Vivienne was dressed to the nines, dripping head to toe in designer labels despite the sombre occasi
Beautiful Disaster 295|The Folly Of Youth
That night, Austin couldn't bring himself to eat the takeaway Barry had brought him. How could he when his heart was in pieces?A thousand kilometres away, Willem Dejager had no appetite issues. In fact, after Maryke's death and his fallout with The Corporation, his appetite had improved, and the insomnia that had plagued him for years since Iris died had miraculously vanished. If he'd known revenge would cure all his ailments, he would have joined forces with Austin much sooner.He was still furious with him for going back on his word on Maryke. But seeing Lukas so broken, now that he didn't have an heir, more than made up for Austin's betrayal.Yes, things had gotten messy over the past few weeks, but they would only get even more chaotic once he sent the ledger to the cops. He just hadn't found someone he could trust yet. His old contact at the station—the man who'd finally given him the unredacted file on his daughter—had been recently placed on administrative leave, and Willem was
Beautiful Disaster 294|Special Kind Of A Hate
Swarms of reporters were waiting outside Sea Point's police station when Austin was dragged out of Gordon and Peterson's car. They mobbed him as soon as they saw him, pushing their cameras and microphones in his face, screaming for answers. The whole thing reeked of a badly organised PR stunt, and when Gordon and Peterson made no attempt to protect Austin from the crowd, even though it was their job, he began to think one or both of them had tipped the media off. Why wouldn't they, when they had finally taken down a member of the Hawthorne crime family? Never mind that Austin didn't belong to said crime family anymore. Never mind that they didn't have evidence to back up their charges. But who needed evidence? As far as they were concerned, this was huge, and if they miraculously managed to get the charges to stick, sending him away for twenty-five to life would be a huge career move for both of them. So parading him in front of the vultures was totally in their best interest, walking
Beautiful Disaster 293|Long Arm Of The Law
"I'm fine. Vivienne was just leaving," Marybeth nodded, grateful for the interruption; she couldn't handle any more threats from her mom."Yep, I'm on my way out," Vivienne affirmed, spinning around and making her grand exit. She turned back, calling over her shoulder, "Beautiful service, by the way. But I'm not sure if Lionel was worthy of it!""You!" Marybeth shook her fist at her, ready to go after her, but Austin pulled her back by her waist, reminding her people were watching."She's not worth your energy," he said, rubbing her back to soothe her. "What did she want anyway?""To see if there's anything she could do for me," Marybeth replied, shooting daggers at Vivienne's back as she vanished into the crowd of mourners. "And to warn you.""Warn me?" Austin asked, massaging her nape. "What for?""She said to tell you to 'wake the fuck up and fix things with your father'; her words, not mine. Apparently, there's chatter.""What kind of chatter?""I don't know," Marybeth admitted. "B
Beautiful Disaster 292|A Rare Gift
Nothing good ever happens after 1:00 AM.And no one ever calls with good news after 1:00 AM.But it was her father. Marybeth couldn't ignore him. So she hit answer and braced herself for the worst."Sweet Pea," he said, sounding awfully cheerful, considering how late it was."Daddy, what's going on?""I know it's late," he said, pausing briefly before he got to the heart of his call. "And I know we planned a road trip to Still Bay in a few weeks. But is there a way we can move it forward?""Forward?" Marybeth asked, confused by the proposal."Yeah, can we go today? I suddenly have this urge to see the sunrise. And you know how beautiful Still Bay's sunrises are."Understanding what her heart refused to accept, Marybeth's mind made all the decisions for her from that moment onward."Of course, Daddy. Let me grab a few things, and I'll be there in an hour," she told him before hanging up.She shot out of bed like a lightning bolt, threw on a lightweight tracksuit and sneakers, grabbed a
