“Where’s Monica, Leo?” I asked the moment he finished changing Arianna’s diaper that morning.Speaking of diapers, Leo was becoming more like a mum when it comes to that.His hands moved with practiced ease, yet I noticed a slight tremor as he lifted her from the changing table. He carried her to the crib, rocking her gently until her eyes fluttered closed. Then, with a quiet sigh, he turned to sit beside me.“Since Arianna’s birth… I haven’t wanted to stain my hands with blood. At least, not now,” he murmured, rubbing his palms together.I sat up, my curiosity piqued. “What do you mean?”His jaw tensed slightly before he answered. “I sent her to the family's mine in East Africa.”I blinked. “East Africa?” My heart skipped a beat. “Leo, that’s no different from a death sentence.”“I didn’t kill her,” he said, his voice firmer now.“You could have just arrested her, or…”“Kimberly.” His tone darkened. “You know the world we live in. There’s no real justice here. If I let her go, she’d
Kimberly POV "What do you mean you work for him?" My voice trembled as I spoke, my body already shaking.Ian's lips parted as if to explain, but I didn't let him."What the hell!" I screamed, unable to hold it in any longer.My chest heaved as I turned to him, disbelief crashing over me. "You've been working for Leonardo all this time?" The words tasted bitter in my mouth. "How? You've been in college, right?""Sis…""No! Don't call me that, Lan! Answer me!" I shoved his broad shoulder, but he barely moved. My hands curled into fists. "You can't be serious."This had to be a prank. A cruel, ridiculous joke. Ian wouldn’t, he couldn’t, have been a part of Leonardo’s world all this time."If this is a joke, stop it now." My voice wavered as I searched his face for any sign of teasing.But the man seated beside me stayed quiet, saying nothing and not ready to say anything either.The car came to a halt, and I could hardly wait for the engine to die before storming into the mansion.I met
Kimberly POV "I would like to call Emily for dinner," Leonardo said while I was struggling to feed Arianna. Helen was supposed to do it, but I had avoided going downstairs for fear of bumping into Leonardo or worse.But here he was, my worst fear, standing right in front of me."Dinner?" I repeated."Yeah, I booked a nice restaurant. It’ll be a great get-together," he coaxed."Get-together, my foot." I remained silent afterward, making it clear that I disagreed."See you at six," Leonardo said before leaving."I'm so frustrated!" I groaned at my baby. "How can your daddy be so clueless? Doesn’t he know I’m mad at him?" I asked Arianna again, but she only stared at me with wide eyes, babbling in her own little language."Let’s just sleep," I muttered."Who the hell goes to dinner at six?" I grumbled to myself while wiping Arianna's body with a fluffy baby towel.I carefully slipped the pink dress over her head, the one I had picked earlier. Since we weren’t going out yet, I spared her
Kimberly POV Arianna’s laughter filled the air. Lan was busy performing his "big uncle duties," playing with her.I still refused to speak to him, and I was definitely not going to make this easy."Hey, sis," Lan called the moment he saw me. Arianna babbled as well, stretching her arms toward me."My baby..." I said, lifting her into the air, making her burst into a fit of laughter."Helen, come play with Ari," I called."But..." Lan started to object but fell silent upon second thought."I want to hear it all, how you met him, how you asked for help. Just everything," I said, taking a seat beside him, my face blank, unreadable.Lan sighed, then gave me a warm smile before he began."After I was sent to the Academy, everything was going smoothly. I was bright, and I soon overshadowed my seniors.Then one day, Dad called me, saying he owed some loan sharks and had decided to send me abroad. He didn't want to burden you since you were already footing the bills back home. He asked if I
"So everything was planned, and you knew Dad was going to die anyway?" I asked."Kim...""Give me a hug, come here." I chuckled, unable to swallow the lump nestled in my throat.My little brother had gone through so much things I never could have imagined, all because of me."I'm sorry," I sobbed into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry." My cries grew louder."It's not your fault. I'm sorry things had to turn out this way too.""No... it's my fault," I struggled to say."I borrowed the money in the first place because of me, remember?" Ian said, gently wiping away my tears."I've missed my Kimberly," he whispered before pulling me into a tighter hug.Oh my. A reunion couldn’t be more emotional than ours.---"You didn’t tell Ian you killed his dad, right?" I asked Leonardo late at night after we'd both retired to bed.Leonardo shifted, reaching to turn on the lights."Don’t," I stopped him. "I don’t want to see your face."With a resigned sigh, he lay back down."...I didn’t kill your father
Kimberly POV “I would love to go for a drive outside and maybe shop for a few things,” I said to Leo while adjusting my clothes in front of the mirror.“A drive? That’s unusual,” Leo replied, giving me a kiss.That was true, I’ve never been someone who loved going out, let alone taking a drive.Leo had a point, but I felt so stuck up here that I couldn't help it. When I reached the car park, I found Enzo waiting to drive me.“Never mind, Enzo. I’d like to go alone,” I said.“But, madam…” he started to object, when Lan appeared.“Let me drive you, sis,” Ian offered, stretching out his hand for the keys.“I’m just driving around the neighborhood, Ian. I want to be alone!” I said exasperatedly, my voice firmer than I intended.I didn’t mean to sound harsh, but if that was what it took to get out alone, then so be it.I hopped into the car and started the engine. From the mirror, I caught sight of Ian’s offended expression, which only made me laugh. He had grown so much that he felt more
Kimberly's POV"Ashley?" I called, my head throbbing terribly. The floor beneath me was hard and cold concrete."Ashley!" I called again, but there was no reply. Fear began to creep in.Had they hurt her because she was with me?I struggled against the restraints and quickly realized they had used locks. Wow. Experts.Footsteps echoed behind me. I tried to turn, but the restraints were too tight.When the owner of those footsteps finally stepped forward, my blood ran cold."Ashley?" I whispered, my voice trembling. "What's happening?"Her expression was unreadable."It's high time you knew," she said before landing a heavy blow on my cheek. Pain exploded across my face as I fell backward with a loud thud.---Leonardo's POV"Her number has stopped going through," Enzo said after calling Kimberly for what felt like the thousandth time."Fuck," I cursed under my breath. "I shouldn’t have let her leave without security."At first, I hadn’t been too worried. I figured she might have neede
Kimberley pov.My jaw fell slack, my eyes bulged out in shock as I stared at Lara. How didn't I notice her before? Why didn't her look ring a bell all these while?"Seems like you remembered something. Care to share?" Lara cackled like a madwoman and I felt fear slithering into my veins. I didn't know what to do, I was tied up in some unknown basement. "Lara... Ashley..." I didn't even know what to call her at this point, "Calm down okay? Let's talk." It was the only solution I could come up with. Talk, while buying my husband time to come get me. I know I left without telling him but I was certain he would have started looking for me. Where the hell is this place even?!Lara sat back down on the chair and something glinted in my peripheral vision, she was with a scissors. And it wasn't just any scissors, it was surgical scissors. Fuck my life."You really want to talk? Talk about what, Kimberley?!" She all but shouts and I flinched.Common Kimberley! Think, Kimberley! It wasn't l
Kimberley's Pov My heart leapt into my throat. There, in flesh and blood, with a gun clutched in one hand and his eyes locked onto me. My man. He was all I ever could have hoped for. But Lara wasn’t through yet. Not even her doom is glaring. Without hesitation, she moved for me, her fingers closing around my neck and jerking me backward roughly. My knife was still clutched in my fingers, but Lara moved first, her grip tightening around my throat in an unrelenting grasp. “No, no, no, Leonardo,” she sneered, her breath coming in jerky puffs. “You have played your move too soon. I will be the one to conclude it.” She yanked me toward her, using my body as a shield. I struggled to breathe, my chest rising and falling desperately against the tightening grip. My vision blurred, and I felt the sting of tears at the edge of my eyes, not from pain, not yet, at least, but from fear. Leonardo’s gun remained leveled. His eyes glinted, trained on both of us, a deadly tranquility in his
Kimberly’s POVMy heart slammed against my ribs. There he was, my Leonardo standing in the dimly lit warehouse, a gun clutched in his hand, his dark eyes locked onto mine. My man. My savior. My only hope.But Lara wasn’t done. Not even with her downfall staring her in the face.Before I could react, she yanked me backward, her fingers closing around my throat in a vice-like grip. The force sent a sharp jolt of pain down my spine, my breath choking off in my throat. My knife was still in my hand, but she moved too fast, her hold tightening with brutal force.“No, no, no, Leonardo.” She sneered, her breath ragged with fury. “You played your move too soon. I will be the one to finish this.”She jerked me against her, using my body as a human shield.I struggled, my chest rising and falling in desperate gasps. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision, my body fighting the suffocating grip. I wasn’t just afraid, I was terrified.Leonardo’s gun never wavered. His face was unreadable, bu
Kimberley's POV.Pain radiated from my wrists, where the ropes had chafed my skin. The moldy, wet environment in the warehouse blistered in my lungs when I struggled to draw a steady breath. The knife was still at my throat, the cold steel pressing hard enough to sting.Lara’s grip about the handle was strong, but it seemed off. She was unbalanced, trembling, and unsteady.She’s unraveling.I’d spent long enough witnessing humans manipulate, deceive, and distort reality to know when an individual was about to lose it. Lara was losing it completely, her sanity, her power, her sense of victory.I just had to push her a little deeper.“You don’t have to do this,” I whispered, putting a tremble in my voice. I had to sound vulnerable. Needed to make Lara believe I'm afraid, because I was, but fear wasn’t the only thing keeping me alive right now. My baby was.Lara let out a faint, humorless laugh. "Sweetie, I don't have to, but I'd prefer to."I swallowed, feeling the press of the knife ag
Leonardo's POV.The moment I stepped out into the cold night, I could sense the weight of it all bearing down upon me. My heart beat in erratic pulses, my blood afire with anger and with fright. This was not just another job; it was about Kimberley—my wife, the mother of my daughter, the woman I loved more than anything.She was out somewhere, in agony, and at the mercy of a lunatic with no qualms about ruining everything I cherished.My team was already in motion, but the distance between us and the abandoned warehouse district felt like an eternity. My mind raced, calculating, strategizing. I had to move quickly, but every second felt like a lifetime.The pounding in my head matched the thudding of my heart."Boss," Enzo interrupted, shaking me out of my trance state. “We’ve got the location. We’re almost there. We’ll storm the place, get in and get her out.”I barely acknowledged him. I kept my eyes trained in one direction and my hands holding onto the wheel even tighter."I’ll ta
Kimberley's POV My nerves weren’t soothed by the faint, fading light above my head. The adrenaline coursing through my veins made my pulse race, and the sweat trickling down my back only added to my sense of urgency. I wasn’t going to give up, not now that there was still a chance to escape. I had to give it my all.The only thing standing between me and freedom was Royce, who stood quietly in the corner, his body stiff and guarded. Lara had gone off to do whatever twisted thing she had planned, leaving me alone with the man who had been both my captor and maybe, just maybe my saviour.Royce’s eyes darted nervously around the room as he sat on a crate a few feet from me. He was a man lost in thought, pondering his next move, uncertainty written all over him.I recognized it. The hesitation. The anxiety. I had to use it. I needed to take this moment, to push him further.With a quiet resolve, I began, my voice gentle but steady. “Royce, I know you don’t want to be here. Your eyes show
Leonardo's POV There was no sound in the safe house. It was silent. Too silent. Seated in my office, my knuckles turned white as I gripped the whiskey in the crystal tumbler. The amber liquid, which had yet to be touched, reflected the faint light from the enormous chandelier above. My thoughts were elsewhere, obviously not in this house or this room. They were with her. Kimberley. My wife. Missing. In danger. Kimberly's parent has called a while ago, doing everything within their power to bring back their daughter. But nothing was coming forth. Well what do I expect when dealing with a psychopath? Nancy had been beating and blaming herself and it's driving me crazier.And now this.I gazed at the plain envelope on my desk, my fingers quivering slightly. Just a simple manila envelope. No address. No labels.I sat there as if my world hadn't just been shattered. Lan had brought it. It was found outside the main gates. The delivery had not been captured on camera. There were no footpr
Kimberley's POV It was cold in the room. Not only from the absence of heat but also from the overwhelming presence of insanity that hung thick in the air. My wrists were raw from the restraints, my body sore from the struggle earlier. But none of that mattered. What mattered was survival. I had to get inside Royce’s head. He looked like he is doing all of these by order and not will.I needed to make him question, doubt, and eventually turn against Lara. Because she wasn’t just unhinged, she was unpredictable. And unpredictable people were the most dangerous.Humming under her breath, Lara sat in the corner, flipping through her sick little scrapbook. I got chills from the sound. She was engrossed in a world she had created for herself in which I was the barrier she had to remove, and Leonardo was hers. After a while, she fell asleep.I needed to act quickly.With his arms folded and his face unreadable, Royce stood close to the door. He was built like a soldier, broad shoulders, a
Leonardo's POV.Sweat, alcohol, and sex filled the underground den. The gloomy shadows on the dirty walls were created by the dim red lights that flickered above. Cigarette smoke thickened the air, and the faint sounds of illegal transactions buzzed around the room.Men such as myself hardly ever entered such a place without making a scene.And I was going to do just that.Closely followed by my men, I forced my way through the heavy steel door. Suspicious eyes darted toward us, and the room’s noise level instantly decreased. Since they were already aware of who I was, I didn’t need to introduce myself.Enzo moved forward first, looking around the throng. Then he barked, “Where’s Aldo?”A couple of customers shifted uneasily and looked toward the rear area. In situations like this, fear outweighed loyalty—even though nobody wanted to be the one to sell out their own.I didn't have patience for games. I strode forward, yanking the nearest man out of his seat. With a yelp, he spilled hi
Kimberley’s POV A dull ache pulsed at the back of my head, pulling me from unconsciousness. My limbs felt sluggish, and my body felt heavy as I forced my eyes open. The tiny, windowless room was filled with unsettling shadows as the faint light above flickered.Panic weighed heavily on my chest. The last thing I could recall was kicking, struggling, and tasting fear as I fought Lara before I was grabbed from behind. Right now, I am in a new and worse place. The air was cold, with a hint of mildew and a hint of metal.This time, my wrists were bound in front of me rather than behind me as I lay on a firm mattress. Even though my ankles were still tied, there was more space than before.And then I heard a sound…light footsteps.I tensed as I looked up suddenly. The light flickered as Lara stood in the doorway. But she was different in some way. She was no longer the smug, controlled woman I had previously met.This was a more dangerous Lara, with her hair disheveled, her pupils blown w