William’s POV:Ever since my nasty argument with Sophia, she outright refused to contact me for several days. Was she actually angry with me? I wanted to go and be with my darling, but dealing with Caroline’s illness and her stubbornness had made that difficult.A pleasant surprise overtook me when Sophia called me while I was with Caroline. Hearing the pain in her voice as the lamented missing George sent a sting of sympathy in my gut. Despite the irritation I felt with Caroline still in the room, I tried my best to speak gently to my love.My heart ached for her, but something didn’t feel right about my girlfriend. She’d mysteriously disappeared for several days without a drop of explanation, and she hadn’t even taken little George with her. Instead, she coldly dropped him off at my parents’ house without even telling me, running off to some unknown location. Now she was pleading for him back?Her strange behavior bothered me, and I’d tirelessly tried to contact Sophia for some sort
Caroline’s POV:My gaze, steeped in suspicion, remained locked on William’s Caller ID. Was it really William who tried to kill my father? If so, what could I even do? He was rich and powerful and got everything he wanted with just a snap of his fingers. In the eyes of the media, I was just a pathetic ex-wife.If William really was capable of coldly murdering my father, why did he choose today of all days? He fully knew I was eager to see my dad as soon as possible. Maybe this brutal attempt on my dad’s life was retribution for the “lies” he claimed I was feeding him. It seemed unreal to blame my ex-husband for my father’s frighteningly close death, but it was the only logical explanation that appeared in my mind. William was the only suspect who knew the secret of my father’s private location, after all.I couldn’t stand my own swirling thoughts anymore. I needed answers or else I would have another breakdown. Without a second thought, I hurriedly punched in William’s number.After t
William’s POV:When I was told that Thomas West had nearly died under my care, I felt an anger rise from my sunken stomach. Who would dare do it on my own grounds? Did they even know who I was? No one dared to cross me and got away with it.I had no choice but to punish my assistant. He obviously failed to choose the right people to watch Caroline’s vegetative father, and I abhorred such grand mistakes. Sloppy work like that didn’t deserve to be rewarded, so I dropped the bonus I was planning on giving James at the end of the month. Following that note to myself, I called the sanatorium with my hands clenched in frustration. The moment someone picked up, I demanded, “There better be a good explanation for what happened.”The worker on the other end fumbled and stuttered his answer. “We’re deeply sorry, sir. The surveillance system we used seems to have been hacked into. We can’t get a clear picture of the culprit’s face.”A growl in frustration slipped between clenched teeth. Why wer
Caroline’s POV:While I was thrilled to finally have my dad back in my care, I was tragically stuck with the question of who had tried to hurt him in the first place. The obvious answer was William, but during our heated encounters, he seemed just as clueless as I was at times. At this point, I could do nothing but clear him of the charge. If not him, then who? Everything was such a mess and I was so tired of this wild goose chase.In the end, not a single person popped in my mind who I thought could take my father’s life. If I wanted to solve this perplexing mystery, I was going to need some more help from a friend.Picking up my phone, I found Martin’s number and hovered my thumb over the call button, hesitating. He was the only soul I could think of who could save me in my time of need, but when I actually thought about pleading for him to help, I felt guilty.It was selfish of me to keep coming back to him again and again for help. The only thing he had ever asked for in return w
Caroline’s POV:In an instant, the clues added up before my eyes. The strange texts, the false medical reports, the doctor recommended by Sophia, the attempted murder of my father, the strange man in the video — it all linked together and led back to Sophia. I now had the culprit, but how was I supposed to approach her about it? The only way to save my dad’s life was to confront her directly. Thankfully Martin’s friend was easily able to dig up her phone number, and once it was in my grasp, I made a call to the witch who was tormenting my life.When Sophia answered the phone, she sounded sickly sweet as always. “This is Mrs. Anderson! How can I help you?”I almost gagged at the title. She wanted to be married to William so badly, didn’t she? It would almost be pathetic if she wasn’t so dangerous. “Hello, Sophia.”Immediately, Sophia changed her tune. “Oh. It’s you,” she sneered. “What do you want?”“I know you’re the one who tried to kill my father,” I said outright, not beating arou
William’s POV:I should have been elated to see Sophia again, but my thoughts constantly returned to that strange image I saw of Sophia, smiling girlishly beside a man I didn’t recognize. Caroline’s words still rung in my mind, and in my gut, I felt like something was off. Trying my best to ignore it, as I casually strutted into the villa and was greeted by the sight of my beautiful future wife.Sophia was curled up on the sofa, innocent and silent, not even looking up at me when I came in.“Sophia,” I called, walking over with a wide smile. “How’s my love doing?”She glanced up at me with a face full of surprise, as though she’d never heard me come in. “Oh,” was all she said at first, taking my kiss on the cheek with little reaction. When she spoke, her sultry voice sounded distracted. “William, you’re home.”“I am,” I hummed, giving her a quick peck on the lips. I noticed right away that she had a weary look to her, appearing completely lost in thought. “Is… is everything alright?”
Caroline’s POV:I woke up with a pounding headache and pains littering my arms and legs. Opening my bleary eyes, I myself trapped in a dark room, forced upright in a chair. I tried to groan in pain, only to realize that my mouth was duct taped shut. Panic overwhelmed me and I attempted to get the tape off of my face, only to find that my hands were tied behind the chair painfully tight, unable to move. I tried to get out of my binds, but the knot was firm, and the only thing I was accomplishing was giving myself rope burn.I screamed into the tape, trying to get the attention of any passerby I could, but after twenty minutes, my throat gave out and I knew it was pointless. I was no doubt in some secure location, locked away from the rest of humanity.My heart stopped when the door knob rattled and heavy footsteps entered the room. The perpetrator flicked on a lightswitch, activating a lamp dangling just above me. The light revealed that I was in what seemed to be a small storage area
Caroline’s POV:“Don’t move!” yelled a member of SWAT as an entire team armed to the teeth stormed in, all with their guns trained on the perpetrator. The man who had been preparing to carve me up like a turkey held up his hands in shock, fear plastered over his face. “I-it’s not what it looks like!” he pleaded, but he was fiercely knocked to the ground by one of the officers. The cop who had roughly thrown him down sneered at him with contempt. “Disgusting,” he scowled, before speaking to his fellow officers in a commanding tone. “The hostage is our main priority.” He glanced over at the figure looming in the doorway, the same one who had stormed in, bravely shot my attacker, and called out my name. “You did good in leading us here, sir. You saved her life just in the nick of time.”I looked up in amazement to see who had saved me and I could hardly believe my eyes: it was William! My lips parted in shock and I wanted to speak, but I couldn’t find the words. William had actually le