“Stay away from her,” he said, giving Micheal a threatening look. Micheal scoffed and pushed him back.“Stop being a dick, Dude” he muttered as the frown on his face deepened. “Dude? Seriously, Dude” he chuckled softly as his fist tightened the more and then he pushed him again.“Hey, what's going on here?” Lucas, who had arrived at the scene just in time, asked. He stood in their middle, holding Brandon back.“I'm only letting this slide because of how much I respect Arianna” Micheal muttered as he wiped the blood on his mouth. Lucas turned to Micheal and then looked away. “Let's get out of here, Brandon” Lucas said and then walked outside the hospital with Brandon trailing behind him.“What was that all about, Brandon?” Lucas asked, wondering why they were both fighting. “You should ask that son of a bitch what he's doing with Mom” Brandon gritted his teeth and Lucas stared at him confused wondering what he was talking about. “He's mom's right-hand man, what else? Is there some
“We ran a test on Mr Daniel and found out he has a heart disease” “What?…” “We would run more tests on him and give him the necessary treatment needed. He needs to be taken care of properly because it seems he hasn't been taken care of himself. And there are some certain foods he should stop eating. I would write them down for you. That would be all” the doctor said and Arianna nodded in response and with that the doctor walked away. Arianna then turned to Micheal.This was the reason he said Hannah should forgive him before he died. He knew he was sick. Arianna thought and then sighed. “Are you okay?” Micheal asked and he nodded. Just then he heard his phone ring. It was a call from work.“I'll be on my way now, I'll stop by your place later in the day,” he said and Arianna nodded in response, and with that, he walked away and answered the phone call.She stared at him till he was out of sight before going back to the ward.Meanwhile, Hannah who had walked out of the hospital bu
Meanwhile, Arianna who is seen sitting beside Daniel watched him sleep peacefully. She studied his facial appearance. Daniel was looking so different from before. He had gray hairs and wrinkle lines all over his face and neck. That was a long time ago, she doesn’t expect him to look the same. There was one thing that never changed about him, his handsomeness. He was still looking so handsome even in old age. If he wasn’t such an asshole, they would have had one happy family together. She sighed softly and then stood up from the bed. She needed fresh air, she thought as she then walked out of the ward. The moment she walked out of the ward, she saw Lucas sitting on a chair by the door.“Lucas” she called and he raised her head and turned to her. “What are you doing here?” She asked as she sat beside him. “I thought maybe you needed someone to keep you company,” Lucas said and Arianna smiled. “Thank you, son…” Lucas nodded. There was a great silence between them but then Lucas s
“Mom” Jessica who is seen climbing down the stairs called.“Jessica, Brandon We need to talk,” Arianna said and Jessica and Brandon both stared at each other wondering what was so serious that Arianna wanted to talk about. They all went upstairs to Brandon’s study room.“If it’s about Daniel, I just wanted to ask why you brought him home. I don’t think Hannah would be happy..” “Daniel is just going to stay here for a few days. He’s sick, he needs to be taken care of properly. Then he would return home” Arianna said and Brandon nodded. There was a silence that followed.“I know you guys have a lot of questions in mind. I’m willing to…..”“Hannah and I are related right?” Jessica asked, cutting off her speech. Arianna paused for some seconds as she stared at Brandon who had no expression on his face and then she finally spoke.“No, I’m not your biological mother…” Arianna said and Jessica laughed but then the laugh in her face suddenly disappeared when she saw the look on Arianna’s fa
“There’s something else you need to know, Hannah,” Arianna muttered. “Is it about me and Brandon?. I haven’t even thought about that…”“No, you guys are not siblings. I’m not the biological mother of Brandon…” she said in reply and Hannah heaved a sigh of relief.“Does Brandon know the truth already?” “Yeah, they all do but that’s not what I want to talk about…” Hannah raised her eyebrows.“It’s about your father…”“Mom, please. Don’t ask me to forgive him, he’s a monster” she muttered as she pulled her hands away from her and stood up from the bed.“Hannah, your father is sick. He has a heart disease. He’s dying, Hannah. He’s been sick for some time and refused to take care of himself or treat himself…”Hannah paused and turned to her, with a look of horror on her face.“A heart disease?” She asked, looking worried.Arianna stood up and nodded in response.“Where is he now?… is he still at the hospital?”“He’s been discharged. The doctor has given him some medication that can impr
After breakfast was ready, Hannah and Arianna set the dining table and called everyone downstairs for breakfast. Everyone came down except Jessica who was still locked up in her room. “Where’s Jessica? “ Lisa asked as she sat on the dining chair. “I’ll go talk to her….”“No, I’ll go talk to her” Brandon who was yet to sit down responded cutting off Arianna’s speech. Arianna nodded in response. He went upstairs and planted a soft knock on the door but no response. He tried opening the door but turns out it was locked from the inside. “Jessica, open the door…”“Leave me alone Brandon. I want to be alone” Jessica’s voice echoed from the other side of the door.“Jessica, open the door now,” he said but there was no response from her.“Jessi…..” he paused when the door opened revealing Jessica whose eyes were swollen from the cries.Brandon felt his heart break into pieces as he saw tears in her eyes.“Jessica, you….” Brandon’s speech was cut off when Jessica hugged him and started
It felt like her heart was about to pull out of her body, she knew it was finally going to happen. They were going to have sex.But just then the door burst open revealing Lucas. “Oh my goodness!” Hannah yelled as they quickly covered themselves with the duvet.Lucas quickly looked away.“I didn’t see anything,” he said while looking away. Brandon gritted his teeth. He had forgotten to lock the door. He felt a sensation of anger run through him as he stared at Lucas.How could he interrupt him then when they were about to do something important?Brandon kept giving Lucas a dagger glare, at that moment in time, if he got a hold of him, he could kill him.“What do you want?” He asked as he clenched his fist.“I’m sorry I barged in. I swear I didn’t see anything. Liam called that you were needed urgently in the company. He’s been trying to reach you but your number isn’t going through…” Lucas said and Brandon sighed as he stood up, picked up his cloth from the ground, and put it on.He
“Humphrey “ she called out surprised. She wondered if he was following her.“Hey, Jessica, what are you doing here?” He asked.“I came here to chill, how about u?” Jessica asked in response.“I came here with some friends,” he said as he stared at his friends who were sitting while waiting for him. Jessica turned and saw his friends and they waved at her. Oh thank goodness, I thought he was stalking me, she muttered in her head. The bartender brought the glass of drinks and Jessica took hers and gulped it all down. She turned to Humphery who kept staring at her. She looked away from him and then ordered another glass of alcohol.Meanwhile, Brandon’s car came to a stop in front of the site. Brandon and Lucas both alighted the car and they saw Jeff arguing with the engineers. “Jeff” Brandon called and Jeff turned to him at once. “Just the person I’m looking for. This site is mine, Brandon, if you know what is good for you, you would tell the engineers to leave the site” Jeff mutter
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