There were different pictures of Humphery and Linda together from when he was a baby to his teenage years. But then she paused and opened her eyes wide with the next picture she saw. “Oh my goodness!” She muttered the moment she picked up the picture. It was a picture of Lucas Linda and Humphrey together.She checked the date on the picture, it was a picture from just last month. She took another picture of them and stared at the date, it was from the last three weeks.“Lucas knew all this while, he knew about her, he knew about Humphery too when he came to our house but then pretended to hate him. He knew everything”, Jessica thought as she put the pictures in her bag. She felt so hurt that Lucas had lied to them. She walked out of the room and saw Humphery was still in the kitchen.“Uhm, I’ll be on my way now, humphrey” Jessica muttered and then walked out of the house. She hopped inside her car and zoomed off.Before Humphery could run out of the kitchen to say a proper goodbye
“Where’s that useless woman called Linda, where is she?” She yelled as she walked inside the house. “Jessica, what’s come over yo…-.” Lucas's speech was interrupted with a dirty slap on his face. Jessica had slapped him.Everyone opened their eyes wide in shock. “What was that for?” He asked, still in shock, at what had happened.“You psychotic liar!” She yelled and threw the pictures at him and then turned to Hannah.“Where’s Linda?” She asked.“She’s outside, I think” Hannah muttered and Jessica bounced out of the house angrily to go find Linda.Hannah stared at Lucas, whose face was red from the slap. He placed his hands on his cheeks while he held the picture in his hands, staring at it.Hannah picked up one of the pictures from the ground and stared at it and then turned to Lucas.Brandon, who had just witnessed what happened, walked towards Hannah and stared at the picture. He was surprised. “You’ve been seeing Mom for a long time now?” He asked as he raised his head and sta
Meanwhile, it was evening and the whole house was now calm. Jessica left the house angrily as she didn't want to set her eyes on Linda again. She wasn't planning on returning home anytime soon.The octuplets were back from school and were playing around. Arianna had gone to spend some time with Micheal.Hannah and Brandon had just returned from the office. They spent some time with the kids, made sure they had dinner, and after which they had gone to their room.After the kids left the dining room, Hannah and Brandon are seen at the dining room discussing. “Do you think you would be able to manage your dad’s company?” Brandon asked as he drank from the glass of water on the table. Hannah’s father had passed his company to Hannah before he died. He had written it in his will.“Yeah, But we are going to be linking both companies together, I think it would be easier to operate that way” Hannah muttered, Nranfon nodded and then beckoned for her to come to sit on his leg and she did.“I'
“What did you think you were doing Brandon? You can’t just let this woman tell you what to do” Linda yelled but Brandon paid no attention to her as he walked away with Hannah. “I told you;” Hannah whispered to Linda who was about to explode in anger. “Alexander, you can’t throw my things out” Linda yelled looking so furious but Alex who had brought out her luggage also escorted her out of the mansion. “Alex, you can’t do this,” Linda said as the look on his face changed into a sad one. “I’m sorry ma’am, I’m only following orders,” Alex muttered with a straight face. “You’ve always known me, Alex. You worked for me and my husband too and I’m ordering you to take my things back inside,” Linda muttered and Alex sighed. “I’m sorry ma’am, I can’t lose my job. I have a daughter and Brandon is the one paying for everything about her,” Alex muttered and Linda gritted her teeth. She was going to make Hannah pay for this dearly. She was going to pay for making Brandon throw her out.She
Meanwhile, Jessica who had left home is seen sitting close to a river, watching people fish from the river.She sighed softly. She had been sitting here since noon time and now it was night. She had wanted to go to the club but she didn’t want to go. She just needed a quiet place to calm her head down and the sound waves from the river were already doing the job of calming her down.She had no intention of going back to that house. She hated Linda so much and didn’t even want to stay under the same roof under her.She’s nothing but a manipulative liar. She thought angrily. She was going to look for a way to throw her out and nothing was going to stop her, she thought.Now, she wished Matthew was still here. She missed him so much. She remembers any time she was going through some crisis and needed to go away from home, he would always come with her and make sure she was okay.He lied about his identity and it was something she would never forget about.She checked the time on her pho
It was a new day and Hannah had woken up feeling extremely tired. She checked the side of the bed and Brandon was gone.She yawned deeply and stood up from the bed. Her eyes drifted to the wall clock, and she gasped. She didn't realize it was past ten and she hadn't gotten the kids dressed for school. She quickly rushed to the bathroom and brushed her teeth, after which she ran to the kid's room, and to her surprise they weren't there.She decided to check downstairs but they weren't there either. But she saw Brandon in the dining room wearing an apron.“Brandon, where's the kids?” she asked as she moved towards him.“Mom had taken them to school,” he smiled as he walked towards Hannah. Hannah heaved a deep sigh of relief. She thought the kids were going to be late for school today.“Thank goodness. You didn't wake me up. I need to go get dressed for work, I have a client to meet today,” She was about to leave but Brandon held her hands.“Are you just gonna pretend you don't see the
Hannah’s pleas felt like a catalyst, it fueled the feelings in his making it rise to his peak. He felt his dick hardened the more.“What are you doing to me?” Brandon suddenly crashed his lips on her again. His hands held her head in place while he assaulted the inside of her mouth with his tongue.He pulled away from the kiss with both of them breathing heavily, their lips wet and plump from the intense kiss. He helped her remove her shirt and her trousers leaving her naked. He stood by admiring her body.This was the first time he had seen her fully naked, although he had seen her a few times he never got the chance to admire her.He then saw a scar at the side of her tummy, it seemed like it was stitched but it had healed.Hannah quickly used her hands to cover it but he gently pulled her hands away.“I got it from childbirth,” she said and Brandon smiled as he ran his fingers through the scar. “You are beautiful regardless and I love you,” he said and Hannah smiled. He sat on th
Jessica had just returned home from the hotel where she had spent the night. She had decided to come back home after a lot of thought. She wasn't going to leave because of Linda. Linda should be the one to leave instead, she thought as she pushed the front door open and everywhere was as silent as a graveyard.No single soul was seen in the house. She wondered where everyone had gone.She looked at the dining room and saw it was decorated with flowers and candles and there were lots of food in it.She moved towards the table and took a piece of strawberry and put it in her mouth. She wondered who prepared the food on the table. She shrugged and decided to go back to her room when she saw Lisa climbing down the stairs, dragging a luggage.“I thought you were not going to return home. Everywhere was peaceful when you left, although I would not lie, I missed you,” Lisa muttered as she dragged her luggage downstairs.Jessica rolled her eyes.“And I never thought you would leave. Well, it
Lucas had left the room to make some calls, leaving Hannah and Teresa alone in the dimly lit space. The air between them was thick with unspoken thoughts, with grief and frustration too heavy to voice.Teresa watched Hannah closely. She looked hollow—her eyes distant, her shoulders sagging under a weight no one could carry for her.“You okay?” Teresa finally asked.Hannah blinked and turned her head, forcing a weak smile. “Yeah.”Teresa hummed in response, clearly unconvinced. She reached into her pocket, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it with a practiced ease. Smoke curled in the air between them.“Do you smoke?” she asked, offering one toward Hannah.Hannah shook her head. “No. I never have.”Teresa chuckled, taking a long drag before exhaling. “Figures.”Silence stretched between them, but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was the silence of two women who understood each other—different, yet bound by shared pain.“My mother-in-law used to hate me too,” Teresa murmured suddenly, he
Teresa sat in the back of a dimly lit bar, the scent of cigarette smoke and aged whiskey thick in the air. The place was quiet, the kind of underground haunt where no one asked questions, where secrets were currency, and where a person could disappear if they weren’t careful.She checked the time on her phone. Her contact was late.Across the table, Hannah fidgeted with the glass of water in front of her, her expression distant, lost in thoughts she wasn’t ready to speak out loud. Lucas sat beside her, his gaze locked on the entrance, his tension palpable.When the door finally creaked open, Teresa’s eyes narrowed as a tall, wiry man entered, his leather jacket scuffed and his face shadowed with stubble. He scanned the room before spotting her and sauntering over.“You’re late, Marco,” Teresa said, her voice edged with impatience.The man—Marco Ruiz—grinned as he slid into the seat across from her. “Good to see you too, Provenzano. You know how it is—hard to stay alive in this busines
Hannah stood in the dimly lit warehouse, her fingers clenched into fists at her sides. The stale scent of dust and oil filled the air, mingling with the cold fear settling deep in her stomach. The warehouse was one of many they had searched in the last twenty-four hours, but this one felt different. The moment she stepped inside, a weird sensation crawled over her skin, like a presence lingering just out of sight.Lucas moved beside her, scanning the rows of crates stacked high against the walls. His jaw was tight, his frustration barely concealed beneath his calm exterior. Teresa stood a few steps ahead, gun in hand, her eyes sharp as she surveyed their surroundings. They had all hoped—desperately—that this search would yield something more than dead ends and half-truths. But as the minutes ticked by, that hope was slipping.Brandon had vanished without a trace.Every lead they had followed led to nothing. Every whisper, every clue, every trail had been a carefully crafted illus
The night was thick with silence, the kind that felt like a living, breathing thing, pressing in on them as they stood at the edge of the abandoned docks. The stench of salt and rust filled the air, mixing with something darker—the unmistakable scent of blood.Teresa’s fingers curled around the handle of her gun as she scanned the area, her pulse drumming hard against her ribs. Her father was dead. That chapter of her life was over. But this? This wasn’t over. Not until she had him.Not until she had Brandon and brought him back to his family.“We should’ve heard something by now,” Hannah whispered, her voice tight with restrained panic.Teresa didn’t answer. She was thinking the same thing.The lead had been solid. Brandon had been held here—multiple sources confirmed it. The docks had been his prison. But as they stood here, surrounded by crates and shadows, the truth settled like ice in her veins.Brandon wasn’t here.And the blood on the floor was still fresh.Teresa crouched do
Teresa barely had a second to react before the door to her office swung open. The moment her eyes landed on the man standing there, a cold shiver ran down her spine. Her father.Bernardo Provenzano. The man she had once idolized. The man she had spent her entire life trying to please.And now, the man she had just betrayed.He stepped inside with a slow, deliberate pace, shutting the door behind him. The soft click of the lock sent her heart into overdrive.“Oh, my little princess,” he murmured, his voice filled with mock tenderness. But his eyes… they were filled with nothing but hatred.Teresa’s hands gripped the arms of her chair, knuckles turning white. Fear slithered through her veins, but she refused to let it show.“How disappointing,” he continued, shaking his head as if she were a child who had misbehaved. “I thought you were different. Better. Not like your mother.”Teresa inhaled sharply.His mother.For years, she had believed the lie—that her mother had been killed by a r
The beeping of machines was the only sound filling the hospital room. Jessica lay on the hospital bed, her skin deathly pale, her chest barely rising under the weight of the oxygen mask secured over her face. Wires and tubes connected her to the machines, keeping her alive, but just barely.Hannah stood frozen in the doorway, unable to move. The doctor’s words still rang in her ears, cutting deeper than any wound ever could.“She has a five percent chance of survival,” the doctor had said, his voice clinical, detached. “She lost too much blood, and the delay in medical care worsened her condition. We’re doing everything we can, but you need to prepare for the worst.”The worst.Hannah clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms. This was her fault. If she hadn’t suggested they escape… if she had just listened, just stayed put, Jessica wouldn’t be lying here, fighting for her life.And Brandon…A fresh wave of pain hit her. He was gone. Taken. She had watched him surrender himsel
The river had given them a chance, but it hadn’t given them freedom.Brandon collapsed onto the muddy shore, gasping for air. His limbs ached from the relentless current, but he didn’t have time to recover. Jessica.Lucas dragged her up the embankment, his breathing ragged. She was completely unconscious now, her body limp in his arms. The river had sapped whatever strength she had left. Her wound was bad—too bad. If they didn’t get her help soon…No. He couldn’t think like that.“Teresa,” Brandon barked, snapping back into survival mode. “Where’s the nearest hospital?”Teresa, still soaking wet, flipped open her laptop with shaking hands. Water dripped onto the screen, but she didn’t stop. “There’s one about six miles south,” she said breathlessly. “But there’s a problem.”Brandon exhaled sharply. “There’s always a problem.”Teresa gave him a grim look. “Bernardo’s men will have every major road blocked. They’re already watching the airspace. If we head to that hospital, they’ll find
The cave was damp and cold, the scent of moss and river water clinging to the air. Shadows stretched across the rocky walls, their flickering shapes cast by the distant glow of searchlights cutting through the trees outside. They had barely made it out alive.But they weren’t safe.Brandon pressed his back against the jagged rock, listening. Boots crunched against gravel just beyond the entrance. The soldiers were closing in. They had minutes—maybe seconds—before the cave was compromised.Lucas sat against the far wall, pressing his hand against Jessica’s wound. She was slipping fast, her skin pale, her lips trembling.“I can stop the bleeding, but not for long,” Teresa said, her voice tight with urgency. “But she needs real help, Brandon.”Brandon looked at Jessica’s barely conscious form, then at Hannah, who was up beside Teresa, shaking from the cold,she looked so pale. He had promised to protect her. He had promised to protect all of them.He clenched his fists. Promises meant not
The night was supposed to be theirs. They had escaped, survived impossible odds, and left Bernardo bleeding on the cold ground. But fate had other plans.They wondered how come he was alive. They had witnessed him go on his knees, blood all over him.The deafening roar of helicopter blades grew louder, sending shockwaves through Brandon’s chest. The floodlights cut through the dense trees, slicing through the shadows that had once been their cover. The tracker beneath the seat blinked like a taunting heartbeat—steady, unrelenting, and damning.Teresa’s fingers flew over her laptop, her breath ragged. “I need time,” she muttered, panic lacing her voice.“We don’t have time,” Lucas growled, yanking a rifle from the back. “They’re here.”Jessica shifted, barely conscious, her breathing uneven. Hannah took a deep breathe while having a second thoughts.Maybe she should just surrender herself to Bernardo and all this would be over. But Brandon here would rather die than watch her go back