Her nerves hummed with tension, stretching to their limits as if on the brink of snapping. It was obvious that Hunter had strategically exploited the situation to place her in a difficult position. Did she have the capacity to refuse and cause her son disappointment? Of course, she didn't. If she declined, what kind of mother would she be, to knowingly inflict pain on her child? Yet, if she accepted, she would be compromising, and one compromise invariably led to another in her experience. Ethan’s large, innocent eyes widened until they seemed to take over his face, his complexion turning an anxious pale white as he eagerly anticipated her response. “Mommy? Will you come with us?” His eyes glowed with innocence and hope, striking a chord in her heart. “Just this time,” she declared with a strain of effort to maintain her composure, shooting another glare at Hunter, who conveniently pretended not to notice. He would certainly get an earful from her later, she mentally noted with st
In a spa boasting opulent decor, Elenora was receiving a massage within the confines of the VIP room. However, tension ran rampant through her body, a clear indicator of the stress weighing heavy on her mind. Her nerves, poor things, bore the brunt of her internal turmoil. Her mind was a whirlwind of potential solutions, yet none seemed satisfactory. The root of the issue? Her thoughts were clouded by Christine's success, while she herself was scrambling to keep her company afloat. After spending what felt like an eternity indulging in various VIP services, clarity finally struck. There was only one solution: Christine must disappear. That was the harsh reality. Her stepdaughter, audacious enough to thrive instead of wallowing in misery as a single mother, was causing trouble once again. If Martha lost the financial support that Hunter provided, it would spell disaster for both mother and daughter. They would be utterly ruined. Elenora reached for her phone and began scrolling throu
Within the opulent confines of the Smart Home where Hunter resided, Elenora was giving instructions to the servants to fetch her a bottle of the loftiest and most expensive champagne. She decided that today was an occasion worth celebrating, a day that marked the final chapter of having Christine in her life. FOREVER. "Mommy, what's got you in such a good mood?" Martha inquired, her face etched with confusion. In Martha's perspective, there wasn't anything to celebrate. Quite the opposite, in fact. Their company was on the brink of declaring bankruptcy, and Hunter was seemingly infatuated with Christine. Martha could even risk losing her alimony. So, what on earth was there to celebrate? 'Is Mommy going crazy? She is surely acting this way,' Martha pondered, observing her mother's seemingly inexplicable joy. Elenora, however, continued to bask in her own secretive triumph, ignoring her daughter's bemusement. Even though she was essentially exploiting Martha for her own gains, she w
Ethan was desperate to find his mother, but with her phone turned off, he was at a loss. His brain raced, searching for an alternative solution. Then it struck him. 'Of course! If that malicious woman did something bad to my Mommy, she must have left some kind of trail on her phone!' Emboldened by this newfound idea, Ethan swiftly hacked into Elenora's phone, uncovering a series of chilling text messages between her and a man named 'Markus'. As he scrolled through the incriminating messages, all color drained from his face. The information confirmed the grim possibility that his beloved mother was in danger. 'Mommy, I can't live without her. Please, God, let her be safe, I beg you. I promise I'll be a good boy, and I'll never ask you for anything else again!' A wave of sheer terror washed over him, obscuring his thoughts as he imagined the worst possible scenarios. His blood ran cold, his body trembling, tears streaming down his young cheeks. His mother was his world, the thought o
For Elenora, the waiting morphed into a torment of the worst kind, testing her patience with each ticking minute. How much longer was it going to take to receive the much-anticipated update from Markus? Surely, he should have wrapped up the task by this time. Elenora had battled her share of struggles throughout life, and it was about time the gods bestowed her with a favor. Eliminating Christine from her life was something she had contemplated over many restless nights, and perhaps, she should have acted upon it years ago. Her misguided kindness had only brought her grief, and she was now at the mercy of her defiant stepdaughter's threats. Her nerves felt like they were straining against their bindings, ready to snap any moment. Why wasn’t the much-awaited good news from Markus gracing her phone screen? The nagging doubt wormed its way into her thoughts, 'Could something have gone wrong? Surely not?' Martha's voice, cutting through her internal monologue, startled her. “Why are you
Ethan was patiently waiting for his mother's return home. He had cleverly tracked her phone to the police station, so he was reassured of her safety, but he yearned to see her with his own eyes. His mother was his world, the most precious treasure he had, his only one. His love for her was unparalleled, incomparable to any other affection he could ever feel. "Mommy, I was waiting for you! What took you so long?" He rushed to her side, nearly desperate, the moment she stepped through the front door. Eagerly, he wrapped his small, but firm hands around her legs, clinging tightly to her, resting his head against them, and remained that way for a seemingly eternal moment. The heavy burden in Christine's heart felt even heavier. The longing to see her son after the harrowing incident was intense. She had been counting the seconds until she could return home to him. "I lost track of time while at the gym, my darling. I'm sorry!" She responded, masking the truth with a believable excuse.
Adorned in an alluring summer dress of olive hue, a belt accentuating her slender waist, Martha appeared both comfortable and chic. The fashionable outfit cast an air of confidence on its wearer. It was regrettable, however, that she was too insecure to acknowledge it. Many of her issues could have been mitigated, or perhaps would not have arisen at all, if she could only recognize her own value. Christine had always acknowledged Martha’s beauty, yet her own mother had infiltrated her thoughts so deeply, manipulating her as if she were a puppet. The stepsisters shared fleeting moments in the distant past when they got along rather well. They could have been friends, if not for the poisonous influence of a covetous, spiteful woman named Elenora who disrupted what might have become a genuine bond. Hunter started to feel agitated; he understood the importance Ethan placed on his classmates believing he was the boy’s father. Was Martha doing this intentionally? No, he couldn’t accept
Martha felt a lump forming in her throat as she fixed her gaze on the tablet’s screen. She had long accepted that her mother was without any sort of principles, but orchestrating such an act was well beyond anything she could have ever anticipated. Despite her mother's disgraceful actions, Martha's deep-seated animosity towards her stepsister remained strong. Thus, for the moment, her annoyance was aimed at the hitman who, for reasons she couldn't fathom, had failed. Had he not been promised a million dollars for his service? And where had her mother managed to procure such a sum? ‘Could this be why mother was celebrating the other day? But why would she have reveled prematurely, without knowing for certain that the hitman had accomplished his task?’ "Miss Martha, who is this charming little boy?" A reporter, a woman in her mid-thirties with a bob haircut, asked with an intrigued smile on her face. "You two seem quite close, is he a part of your family?" Chimed in another journalis