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
“Come on, let’s go to bed,” he said and she nodded, just as they were about to leave, the front door opened revealing Arianna.“Mom” Lucas called and she smiled at him. She raised her eyebrows when she saw Lisa. She recognized her, the bitch who came between her sons, she’s back.“Mom, this is….”“Lisa,” Arianna said, cutting off his speech.“Hi, ma'am, “ Lisa muttered with a smile on her face. This was the first time she was meeting Lucas’s mom in person. Arianna forced herself to smile at her and with that, she walked away. She didn’t like Lisa, and she wouldn’t pretend she liked her, she thought to herself. “What’s wrong?” Lisa asked. “She’s probably had a stressful day,” Lucas said and Lisa nodded in response. A lot of people do not like me here, staying here won’t be as easy as I thought, Lisa said to herself as they walked towards Lucas’s room, he opened the door, and walked in. Meanwhile, Hannah, who had put the kids to sleep, was about to walk out of the kid's room when
Meanwhile, Matthew and Jessica who had left the house had just arrived at the hotel where they would be spending the night. They climbed out of the car they had parked at the parking lot. They walked inside the hotel and paid for a room for the night and the receptionist gave them the key to the room.“Thank you” Matthew muttered and they both walked down the hallway trying to locate the room. When suddenly they saw Jeff walk out of a room in the hotel.“Jeez, I left home so I could avoid the devil mistress and now I met the devil’s incarnate here. Can this day get better?” Jessica muttered the moment she saw Jeff.Jeff paused and raised his eyebrows when he saw Jessica.“You!” He muttered as he tightened his fist. He felt anger rush down his veins the moment he saw her. He remembered how she had ruined his life with that deceitful marriage and used him.He tried moving towards her but then Matthew stood in front of her blocking his way.“Back off man, we don’t want trouble,” Matthe
“Mom, it’s fine. You should take the food to the kids” Hannah said and Arianna nodded before walking away. Lisa rolled her eyes.Hannah stared at her and looked away. She needed to go to the office since mom would be taking care of the kids.She noticed she had left her phone in the room. She decided to go get it. So, she left the file and her handbag she was holding on the dining table and went upstairs to get her phone.Meanwhile, the moment Hannah left, Lisa stood up and went to check the file that she had kept on the table.She took the file up and opened it, she saw Hannah’s signature and her name, Cinderella Mackenzie, and beside it was written COO. “What? COO?” Lisa muttered angrily as she dropped the file on the table. This was the position she wanted Brandon to give her when they were still together but he never for once considered giving it to her and he gave it to this woman in a heartbeat. Who is this woman, and what is it about her, Lisa muttered as she gritted her tee
“Has anyone told you this? I love you so much, Hannah. You are the best thing that happened to this family” Jessica said and everyone glared at her.“What?” She questioned.“Come let’s go inside. That’s enough” Brandon said but Hannah just wouldn’t listen. He sighed softly and then carried her in his arms and walked inside the house.“Put me down Brandon, put me down” Hannah yelled as Brandon carried her inside the house and then asked the maid to bring a towel which a maid did.He put her down and Arianna took the towel and covered her with it.“What the hell is wrong with you?” Brandon asked, looking confused and wondering what had happened.Hannah scoffed.“Me? What the hell is wrong with me? You should ask the ex-fiancée you brought into this house. She fucking spilled coffee on the file I needed to give a client today and you are asking me what is wrong with me?” Hannah yelled and Brandon stared at the file on the dining table which was soaked.He sighed looking speechless, not
Lucas on the other hand stared at Lisa who was staring at Hannah till she was out of sight.“Did you spill coffee on her work file?” He asked and Lisa signed.“Are you doubting me? I would never do that Lucas. I know the stress and all she might have used in drafting it out. I didn’t do it. Besides, isn't she the COO, she could ask anyone to help her redraft” Lisa said and Lucas stared at her.“But Hannah is not the kind of person who would lie to anyone. She doesn’t lie” Lucas said and Lisa stared at him surprised.Wow, so he knows her this much and is defending her, is he trying to call me a liar? Lisa thought with a surprised look on her face.“You should go fix your hair, it’s ruined. I have to be somewhere” He said and then stood up before going upstairs to his room. Lisa rolled her eyes and stood up. She didn’t plan on visiting the saloon any time soon but now because of what Hannah had done to her hair she would have to visit one and also get a new phone, she thought angrily.
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