Chapter 227“Girlfriend?” Hannah muttered surprised.“Yeah, I met her at the banquet party Last night,” he said and Hannah smiled at Susan. Lucas had met Susan at the banquet party last night after he had fought with Jeff. He went outside and stood by his car looking so angry when Susan approached him and asked him if he was okay. Then they had a few conversations and exchanged contact.They met yesterday and today they are dating? Weird!, she thought.“Welcome susan, make yourself comfortable,” she said as she moved towards her and hugged her.She pulled away from the hug and smiled at them before going back to the dining. “She's so nice, why did you tell her I was your girlfriend?” Susan asked.“To avoid questions, we both know you aren’t, that’s what matters,” he said and Susan smiled.“Come, let's go upstairs to my room, “ he said and held her hands and they both went upstairs to his room.The moment they got to his room, Susan smiled while admiring how big and well-decorated t
Chapter 228What is going on here?” They heard Lucas’ voice from behind.“You should ask the play thing you brought to the house what happened,” Jessica said and Lucas frowned.“She's not a plaything, Jessica, be nice” Lucas responded looking angry.“Really? Then why is she wearing a short dress, in our kitchen” Jessica said and Lucas signed and turned to Susan who had tears in her eyes.“I'm sorry when I woke up you weren't in the room and I was hungry, I decided to locate the kitchen myself and find food,” Susan said as the tears in her eyes streamed down her cheeks.Jessica became a bit calm the moment she saw her crying.“I'll leave now,” she said and rushed upstairs to change her clothes before leaving. Lucas stared at Jessica without saying a word and with that, he went after Susan.“What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you do such to the girl?” Matthew asked wondering what had come over Jessica. The Jessica he knows is not this way.“No, I should be asking you what is wr
Chapter 229“I thought all rich people are not nice, but you proved me wrong, you are nice,” Susan said, breaking the silence between them.“I'm not nice Susan, I'm mean and evil, you just haven't seen that side of me yet,” Lucas said in response and she giggled. Lucas stared at her. He didn't know why but something deep down was telling him someone sent Susan to him. But then he quickly waved off the thoughts, he was probably over thinking.“I was one of the waitresses at Mr Thomas's banquet party last night. I didn’t want to approach you last night. I was scared at first.I was on my way home when I saw you standing by your car looking sad and angry, I don’t know but something inside of me told me to approach you which I did” She paused and Lucas stared at her without saying a word.He remembered her approaching him and asking him if he was okay. He had told her he was okay but she insisted he wasn’t, that he could talk to her, it might make him feel better. So, Lucas had told her
Chapter 230Hannah, who had gone to open the door, opened the front door and then saw a lady smiling at her. The lady was wearing a blue shirt and jeans. She had a black, long curly hair. “You must be Hannah,” she said and Hannah nodded in response. “Yeah, who are you?” she asked looking confused wondering how the lady knew her name. “Hi, We haven’t met, I’m Lisa,” she said as she brought her hands for a handshake with a smile on her face and Hannah blinked twice as she stared at Lisa.She stared at her hands which were hanging in the air and then stared at her face.“You shouldn't leave a girl’s hand hanging” she said as she rolled her eyes.Lucas on the other hand glared at Brandon who was answering a phone call. He sighed and then wondered why Hannah was taking so long at the door. He decided to go check her out.“Hannah, who's at the door?” Lucas asked as he walked towards the door. He paused the moment he saw who was at the door. “Lisa” he called and she smiled.“I heard y
Lucas was still in shock to see Lisa. He was short of words, as he felt happiness run through him. All he wanted to do right now was hug and kiss her, but then he held himself back, there was a lot of answers he needed to get from her. He just needed to hear the truth from her.“Brandon, it’s been a while,” Lisa said as she moved away from Lucas and moved towards Brandon and then kissed him on his cheeks.Hannah stared at her with jealousy in her eyes the moment she kissed Brandon on his cheeks, but then she finally spoke.“I will leave you guys alone to talk” She gave Lisa one last glance and was about to leave when Lisa spoke, making her stop right on her track and turn to her.“Yeah, you should leave, Mrs Hannah” Lisa smiled and Hannah sighed before walking away: she wasn’t in for dramas. The moment Hannah walked away, Brandon also walked away, leaving Lisa and Lucas all alone.“Lucas, I missed you so much,” Lisa said and pulled him into a hug. She closed her eyes briefly and hu
This was supposed to be her, Brandon, and Mellisa. This was the kind of family she had wanted to have with Brandon but then Lucas ruined it, she thought angrily.“Lisa, Lisa are you with me?” Lucas jolted her out of her thoughts and she smiled and turned to him.“Yeah,” she muttered. Meanwhile, after Hannah and Brandon were done cooking, with the help of the kids, they arranged the food on the food on the table. “Wow,” the kids muttered at once. They felt so proud of what they’ve done. They looked so happy, extremely happy.Hannah then turned to the maid who was standing behind her and asked her to call everyone downstairs for dinner. “What about grandma?” Jayden asked.“She left for some work, she would be back late” Hannah said in response.Hannah and Brandon helped the kids sit on their chairs and served them. Just then Lucas and Lisa walked towards the table and sat on it. The kids stared at Lisa, wondering who she was but as they saw her with Lucas, they thought maybe she was
“Leaving, who said anything about leaving? I’m here to stay,” she said and Brandon and Hannah gazed at each other.Hannah hummed. Lisa then smiled at Brandon before she stood up and walked away. “Dinner ruined” Hannah sighed and also stood up and asked the maid to clear the dining table before leaving.Meanwhile, Lucas is seen in his room sitting on his bed looking angry, sad, and hurt with lots of thoughts going through his mind.Just then the door burst revealing Lisa. “Wow, still no changes after so many years,” she said and Lucas turned towards her. When she saw the look on his face she paused and then sat beside him.“What were those things you were saying at the dining, about how you and Brandon had sex? How the both of you were together and how nice he was” Lucas said angrily and Lisa tried touching him but then he stood up.“I didn’t mean those words and I only said it to get back at Hannah. She was mocking me, I had to say what I said. Everyone was hating me at the dinnin
Meanwhile, Lisa and Lucas are seen lying on the bed naked, with Lucas asleep and Lisa pretending to be asleep.She stood up from the bed and put on a simple dress, before walking out of the room leaving Lucas all alone.She then walked past Brandon’s study room and saw the door was opened. She decided to go in and see if Brandon was inside the study room.And luckily, he was in the study room answering his phone calls. The moment he saw Lisa walk in, he ended the call immediately.“What do you want Lisa?” Brandon asked as he placed his phone on the table and Lisa smiled.“Come on Brandon, I know you missed me, I get it, you are trying to hide it from your wife but we are here all alone, you can show me how much you missed me,” Lisa said and Brandon stared at her disgustedly.She moved towards him and was about to touch him on his chest when he held her hands and pushed her to the ground.“Rude” she muttered as she stood up from the ground and straightened her dress. “You should leave
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