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CHAPTER 14
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CRUZ CHAPTER 15
Dana Hamilton, The woman in iron was her nickname when she was in Italy. She had previously lived in California with her family before moving to Italy and now, she was back. She and her husband sat down at the arrivals lounge waiting for Clara. She was a woman of high prestige and a mouth that spat out words like someone drawing a sharp sword from a sheath. She was also a woman of beauty, with her pronounced brown eyes, her orange lips, and dark hair. She was in her fifties but she looked so much younger than other women who were in their fifties. The fact that she had a husband made many men stay away from her.Her husband, Harriot Hamilton was a man in his late fifties, looking so much older than his original age. His illness had drawn a line on him, he was indeed a quiet man with a quiet nature compared to his wife who was a woman of words and action. "Why did you decide to bring us back here?" He said in a quiet and weak tone. He was frail but not frail enough to speak."We are h
CRUZ CHAPTER 16
Philip listened to Clara as she spoke out faster than he could hear, she was very nervous and he wanted to know why but she wasn't making any sense, at all. "So...you are trying to tell me that you volunteered to do the project?" He only asked what he understood from what she had been saying."No... that's not what I said," she said anxiously, "You weren't listening to me." "I...I was... it's just that you weren't making any sense." That was the truth."Well, I said that your mother gave me a project to handle...and she has reduced the number of days I have to finish it and I have a long way to go!" "So?" "So, I need your help.""How exactly do you want me to help you, Clara?" Philip asked. He wasn't sure about Clara's decision for his help. Clara sighed and tried to control the tears forming in her eyes. She had gone through a lot during the past weeks. Standing in his studio, she looked at the different paintings in attempt the prevent Philip from seeing her tears. "I just have
CRUZ CHAPTER 17
Philip sat down on his chair and took his brush, getting ready to finish the painting of the unknown woman. He dipped his brush into the blue paint and began the magic.As he painted the nose and hair of the woman, he also remembered to paint her eye color, brown. He had seen those eyes before. They were not Clara's nor were they his mother's, those brown eyes, belonged to someone he had seen when he was a child. Someone who had assaulted him when he was still young. He could never forget those eyes. He went over to her lips and painted them, orange. The woman always applied an orange color of lip-gloss that he could never forget. Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door and when he looked above the painting, he saw Clara standing there, holding her work. "Come in," He said and he concentrated on his painting, not watching her walk toward him. "You came quite early today." "It was my choice..." She said while looking at the painting. She couldn't believe that he was almost through wit
CRUZ CHAPTER 18
Dr. Mathew saw Clara at work the next morning, and he could not stop staring at her. He couldn't quite forget Philip's face the last they met. Now, Dr. Mathew was the one to warn Clara about Philip. He had seen the consequences of Philip's anger or withheld bitterness towards a person and the damage he does was beyond repair. Even if that person was close to him, he wouldn't care. Seeing the painting of that woman that day, sent shivers down his spine and he realized that he couldn't do anything to stop Philip's madness but to warn Clara or maybe take Clara away from Philip and Maria. Henry could be the best person to protect Clara because he wasn't like Philip but even with those ideas, Dr. Mathew still wasn't sure or satisfied.He feared that Philip would add Clara to the drama and endanger her life. "Clara." He called, approaching her. "Oh, uncle... good morning." She greeted with a smile. Dr. Mathew was afraid that the smile on her face would disappear forever when she learned m
CRUZ CHAPTER 19
Philip guessed that it was either Gabriel sent him the wrong picture or there was something wrong with his own eyes. Without wasting time, Philip stood up and left the house. Clara sat down on her sofa after the ride from Philip's house. She tried to lie to herself that Henry's touch was much better than Philip's but she couldn't. Philip was definitely romantic in a way but he wasn't too seductive like Henry. She knew that this relationship with Philip was what she wanted. She wanted to give up her desire for sleeping with men and get in touch with someone who could care for her and change her for good and Philip was the right person she could think of. He was the only one that could change her and she was sure of it."What happened? Why do you look worried?" Ella asked sitting down beside her. Ella had been very busy in the past few days and she hadn't gotten enough time to discuss or talk with Clara."I just realized, that I love him." Clara declared looking at Ella, "I love Philip
CRUZ CHAPTER 20
Clara laid down on her bed, thinking of what would happen to her if Maria eventually found out about her real identity. She didn't know why her mother chose to visit Philip's mother but she guessed that the outcome of her visit would result in nothing but trouble in the end. Her mind slowly drifted to Philip, he was the reason why she didn't want anyone to find out about her family. The thought of her kissing him again, ran through her mind because she couldn't bear to lose the feeling of his touch and more importantly, his kindness towards her. She remembered the last time that they met in his studio. He didn't sound very annoyed over the fact that she missed their appointment making him lose his client, but she knew that deep down, he was disappointed. He just lacked the courage to tell her how he really felt. Her buzzing phone drove her out of her dreamland and she picked it up to answer. "Mom, I don't want to talk to you right now," she complained."Well, Clara I want to see you
CRUZ Chapter 21
Philip closed the curtains of his room and sat down on the bed with his laptop. He had to find out who was responsible for the unjustified accusations against the CRUZ company. The company had suffered a further decrease in profit by seventy percent over the last few weeks. He understood that it was easier to fall from a ladder than to get back up and he didn't want it to happen to the CRUZ company. Philip searched the various enterprises affiliated with his company and he found that one of them was the Safari company. He had totally forgotten that his mother said something to him about Henry accepting a partnership with the Safari company. He didn't suspect the company but he avoided them as much as he could during his time in the CEO seat. They were crafty when it came to partnership and they were also competitive, so the fact is that they could do anything to get recognized. Anything.He had previously investigated the reports made by other affiliates concerning the CRUZ company
CRUZ chapter 22
Dana and Clara stepped out of the car with the paparazzi rushing after them to take clear pictures. Dana was a key figure in the Hamiltons' legacy and it was a great honor for them to see her with her beautiful daughter.She and Clara ignored the paparazzi and walked into the party hall where they met other important figures too. She was happy to see that there were people like her in the hall. They all treated her warmly and welcomed her into their league. Clara on the other hand wasn't very interested in the fame but she tried her best to smile at them as they shook her hands. Her mother introduced her to them as the only daughter whom she loved. They smiled in agreement because Clara looked like Dana's doppelganger.She excused herself and walked away from her mother's saturated presence. She didn't want to be among the 'famous and wealthy'. She was tired of that lifestyle and identity. It was better for her to face the real world in front of her.Looking back, she saw Maria step
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CRUZ Chapter 31
"You never told me that he was an obsessed psychopath!" Ella exclaimed covering her mouth with her hand. After this time, it was hard to believe that Philip was planning Clara's downfall when they thought that he was a good guy."He is not a psychopath," Clara said. From the look of it, Ella considered Clara to be either crazy or blind."He's a dangerous person, Clara. You shouldn't even be working in that company.""He won't do anything to hurt me.""Why are you so blind?""He won't hurt me because he cared enough not to let me rot in jail.""Maybe that's part of another plan of his.""I don't care about that, Ella. I don't want him to think of me as someone foolish enough to give up and not endure," Clara said. "I want to continue working there until he decides to throw me out."Ella did not doubt Clara's pig-headedness. All she wanted was for Clara to be safe along with her parents."Have...have you tried apologizing for what you did to him that day?" Ella asked, looking into Clara
CRUZ Chapter 30
"I had to do it," Philip said looking at his brother. The shock on Henry's face was something that told Philip to take it easy with his words."You gave grandmother the name of their company to buy over?" Henry asked in a bewildered state."That was the first name I thought of, so I had to write it down. It's not like we are going to take over the company. We are just buying it." "Buying automatically means that you become the owner," Henry said. He turned to look at his mother who was listening to them. The three of them were the only ones in the hall, it wouldn't have been a good idea if someone else was there overhearing their arguments. "What are your plans against Clara and her family, Mom?" He asked sharply."So you think that because your brother decided to buy the company, then we have plans against her?" Maria asked. Sometimes, Philip thought so much about his mother's gift of being a hypocrite. She had the potential of being a good actress as well."I don't know what you gu
CRUZ Chapter 29
When Philip met with his mother, he hid the fact that he visited Clara so as to avoid her suspicious questions.She might begin to think that he was slowly backing out of the scheme.She sat down on the sofa opposite the one he was sitting on. There was a table between them, "¿Adónde fuiste hoy?" "I went out for a meeting with someone. It was very important." He replied, sharply."I tried calling you but your phone was switched off. I am sure that you must have charmed Carmen because she refused to give me your location." Philip smiled within him. Carmen was the only person that he could entrust a secret to and she would keep it away from everyone even from his mother. Even if that secret would cost her life, she knew better than to spill it. "She is my secretary, you didn't need to interrogate her about my whereabouts.""Tú eres mi Hijo. How could I not question her?""What did you want to see me for?""I called for a meeting today concerning the Safari company." She said. "It's t
CRUZ Chapter 28
Henry visited Clara after hearing that the officer who interrogated her was dead. He wanted to make sure she was alright because he didn't understand what was happening. Nobody did.He sat down with her and held her hands softly, "Are you alright?" He asked but he knew the answer to the question."I can handle the stress. I am going to be fine. No need to worry about me." She replied."Your father had an arrest...""What?""He is going to be fine," he said. She didn't need to know that her father was partially paralyzed."I wish I was with him.""Don't worry about him now. Worry about yourself." He squeezed her hands softly. "I would like to speak to your brother...will he agree to see me?" She asked, hopefully expecting a positive answer."Why do you want to speak to him? You know he won't help you, no matter what you say.""I don't care about that. All I want to do is to speak to him. I want to look him in the eye and know if he believes what Mr. Ayomide accused me of.""Are you su
CRUZ Chapter 27
Mr. Mathew was shaken to the bones when he heard of Clara's arrest. She had been accused of plagiarism before and he knew that she was innocent of that. He also knew that she was not guilty of what she was accused of.It wasn't clear who made such allegations about her but on getting to the police station, he saw the evidence right before his eyes. Dana was also there trying to plead for her daughter who was accused wrongly. The plagiarized paintings were the same as the real paintings presented by Mr. Ayomide who had ordered her arrest. Mr. Ayomide was so mad when he heard from Gabriel about Clara's crime of plagiarism but he wanted evidence. Gabriel transported it to him and the paintings were the same as his original paintings. It was so absurd and annoying.Mr. Mathew looked at the so-called plagiarized painting, they were all unique in their styles and it didn't take time for her to see that it was someone's handiwork. Those pieces of detailed work were done by someone skillful
CRUZ Chapter 26
Clara sat down in her office and sighed. She didn't care about her attitude toward Maria until Philip came in and he must have been disappointed with her behavior. Things were not going too well for her at that moment. Her best friend had left her, Philip was about to become an enemy even though he wasn't showing it and Maria was going to see her as a rude young bitch. She didn't know what Maria was going to tell Philip about her but she was sure that Maria would report her behavior. Her rude attitude. Clara bowed her head on the desk and closed her eyes in utter frustration. She couldn't take the stress anymore so she had to act that way toward Maria. The thought of Philip holding a grudge against her mother for an unknown reason, was more than enough for her to get agitated and stressed out.However, she calmed herself, with the thoughts of peace. Knowing that there was going to be no peace for her in the CRUZ company after her attitude to Maria. **********Philip
CRUZ Chapter 25
"My childhood," Philip said with his eyes, fixed on Clara. "Why would you want to know that?" He made sure not to use any tone that may make the others think he was annoyed with the question."Is it wrong if I know your childhood history?" She asked and Philip kept quiet before speaking up again.He lowered his face and picked up the fork, "My childhood...it isn't an experience to talk about." He could feel his mother's eyes on him."I want to know," Clara said."I...and my mother were chased out of a house because of a false accusation and wrong intention." He said. "Is that enough?""Who accused you?" She asked, not satisfied and a little sober. She feared that it might have been her mother or father who chased them out of the house. Her thoughts were running around her head. Thoughts that weren't supposed to come to her."Someone...it was a long time ago." He said with a painful sigh. "I don't want to talk about it." Clara looked at him for some time and resumed eating. She guess
CRUZ Chapter 24
Clara wasn't surprised when Ella left the house the next day. She tried all she could to stop her but Ella's mind was made up. It became a huge loss to Clara because she had lost her only best friend who was the only person she could confide in comfortably. All her useless lies and secrets had eventually ended their friendship.Clara sat down and covered her face with her hands, the pain of loss and failure made her cry. She had lost Philip and Ella, the most important people in her life all because of her selfish behavior. She wanted to fix everything but it was too much burden to bear. ~~~~~~~~~~~The news spread everywhere that Safari company was the source of the false accusation of the CRUZ company. It was on the news headlines and every artist talked about it. The CEO of the Safari company was blamed for his stupid action but he came out to defend himself and said that the CRUZ company was definitely doing illegal things.He made it look like the CEO of the CRUZ company
CRUZ Chapter 23
"Who is it?" Philip asked."It's not a single person, it's the Safari company. I traced the bad report that they released to the public. The information agencies didn't know who sent them that information about us. They called it an unknown source." Gabriel said, "So I got in contact with one of the information agents and made a deal with him, then he sent me the real report. When I tracked it, I found that the Safari company was behind everything.""Alright," Philip said. "Thanks, I appreciate your help.""My pleasure, make sure you deal with them like old times," Gabriel said. They both knew what Philip could do."I will," Philip said and hung up. Now he was very sure of his suspicion about Safari company. At least now, it was proven. He approached his mother and whispered something into her ears."Is everything alright?" Dana asked, noticing the awkward silence between Philip and Maria."Oh, yes. He just has some work to do at the office," Maria said."It's nice to meet you again,
