The drive ended as we pulled up to the company, where a crowd of reporters had already gathered. I let out a small laugh, they were really here, waiting to make me talk. Did they think they could force words out of me? They had to be joking. Whatever they publish about me won’t change my mind. I will deal with Adam until he regrets ever working for this company.As I stepped out of the car, the reporters rushed forward in a blur, bombarding me with questions. Thankfully, Biggy was there, clearing a path for me toward the entrance."Ms. Emily, don’t you think you are taking things too far?" One male reporter with tinted glasses called, as if it was any of his business."Is this some sort of publicity stunt? Are you just trying to trend on social media?" A female reporter added. She must think everyone’s like her, making money off fake news. I don't think she knows her worth, she wouldn't have to spew such statement."You are coming between two friends. Don’t you think you are overreact
It was getting late, so I decided to call it a day and packed a few documents I needed to work on into my bag. I placed my Samsung tablet inside and made my way out.I walked out of the office, heading toward the parking lot. Most of the employees had gone home, leaving the place a bit deserted. My secretary had left a few minutes earlier after waiting for me to finish up.As I reached my car, I settled into the driver’s seat, but then noticed an old man standing behind the car, motioning for me to wait. It was getting darker with each passing second, what would an old man be doing outside at this hour?"Don't get out of the car; I will send him away, " Biggy said, as he stepped out and walked toward him.I watched them exchange words back and forth. Biggy tried to move him along, but the old man wouldn’t budge. Seeing how it was getting even darker, I opened the door and strode over to join them. I don't expect someone as old as him to still be out here.To my surprise, the old man a
It was a beautiful morning. I had a good time with Lisa last night. We both skipped dinner, munching on the snacks she had brought while chatting randomly about guys. She couldn’t stop talking about the man she met at the banquet dinner last time, even though they hadn’t exchanged contact information. Talking about guys made me remember the kiss I had shared with Ryan. It had been wonderful, almost surreal, but I was unable to bring myself to tell her about it. If I told her I had met him, she would just bombard me with questions. Better to keep it to me. I had truly enjoyed our time together, and she ended up spending the night in my room. I woke up just as she was about to leave to get ready for school. I thought it was a bit early and asked her about it, but she said they had new freshmen arriving, and it would be fun to meet them. I still don’t comprehend why she comes home when she could just stay on campus. Driving two hours each way every day is crazy. I got ready for work a
In a few minutes, we arrived at the company, and I made my way into the reception area. A few employees greeted me as they walked past. I reached my office and entered, with my secretary following behind."Good morning, ma'am! Here’s your schedule for today; it’s going to be quite a busy day." She said, setting it on my desk.I set my bag aside and picked up the schedule. So, I would be busy from 10 a.m. until the end of the day—and Biggy wasn’t even at the office."These are the company’s most honored clients, and you will be meeting them in various restaurants and a few at the hotel." She added."It’s going to be a long day. I should grab my coffee before I leave the office." I responded. She nodded and made her way out.I set the schedule down and reached for my laptop when my phone began to ring. It was my father calling. I had just left home a few minutes ago—why was he calling?"Hello, Father. Everything okay?" I asked."Of course! I just heard from Mr. Lincoln that most of the
EthanI drove to the hospital as quickly as I could. When I arrived, the doctors were already attending to him. According to them, he was brought in just in time, any delay, and things could have been much worse. It's a relief few of the security guards were with him.I was in the doctor’s office, waiting for him to return from my father’s room when my phone chirped. Glancing at the screen, I saw Emily’s name."Hey, I just left a few minutes ago. Aren’t you supposed to be in a meeting?" I asked. It hadn’t been long since I left the office, and I knew she had a full schedule."I handled my client quickly; we were on the same page, so it didn’t even take ten minutes. But that’s not why I’m calling. How’s Father? Has he woken up?""Not yet." I replied. "He was brought to the hospital just in time. The doctors and nurses are with him now, and I’m waiting here for an update.""Don’t you think you should be by his bedside?" She asked, sounding worried."Relax, sweetheart. Your father is fin
"Let's watch television." I announced as I walked inside. I grabbed the remote and turned on the screen. Immediately, Emily's face appeared, relaxed on a couch with a drink placed in front of her. When did she decide to have an interview? What’s going on?"Did she discuss this with you?" Mother asked."If she did, you would have found out when we spoke. She called earlier before I came to Father's room, but she didn’t mention anything about an interview."There are three media companies in the country that carry exclusive news, and this is one of them. The one that released the rumor about Mother is the third company."Her schedule today is tight. Isn't she meeting with them?" Father asked."I don’t know how she did it, but…" I trailed off, watching intently as she began to speak."I'm not here to defend my mother's name, and I won't even try. If there’s a rumor about someone, there should be proof" she said, speaking fluently and confidently."What are you getting at, Ms. Fernandez?"
RyanI turned off my screen after the interview ended. Where did she get the boldness to threaten them? They are the third-largest media company in the country. It won’t be easy to make the manager apologize to her mother for the accusations. If they do, they will deserve it, why accuse her of something she didn’t do?I think I would do the same if I were in her shoes. Accusing my mother of murder would be going too far. Fernandez's wife died in a car accident, which I’m sure happened before they even met. But suddenly, after all these years, she’s accused of being the murderer? Fascinating. She didn't just die of from the accident, she was drunk while driving. The police had to cover the part about her being drunk."What was that about? Did she have to tell them she’s moved on without me?" I mumbled, thinking it was unnecessary."If she hadn’t told them that, there might have been rumors about the two of you getting back together.""Of course I will get her back. I don’t care what it
I instructed Jasper to get some KFC chicken and drinks from the restaurant. Let’s take it to him and see if he will eat. He’s been acting stubborn, thinking he’s clever enough to make a deal with me. I need to find out what he knows, who sent him to crash into my car, and whether the gunshot incident is connected to Anderson.If it’s not, then I have one other person in mind. Threatening someone without facing them directly, only a fool would do that. I'm done running or trying to stay distant from her. The closer I get, the more likely he will reveal himself.Emily also mentioned someone following her, but I couldn’t ask her for details because I had to rush off to help my sister. If this has been happening since before we married, then either I was the target from the start, or she was and that made me an enemy to whoever’s after her.The big question on my mind is, did she have someone in her life before she started working for me? This could be connected to her ex-boyfriend, which
EmilyIt's frustrating. I'm beginning to break down, even though I'm doing everything possible to find evidence to bring them down. Ten hours have passed, and I still can't find anything to put them behind bars.I'm slowly losing my sanity in the midst of all this chaos, something I never imagined I would experience in my life. Being wealthy comes with so many troubles.Back then, I was happy with Mother, even though Father didn't come home on some occasions. We always had fun, keeping each other company. But ever since I added "Fernandez" to my name, it hasn't been the same for me.I felt hands on my shoulders. Tilting my head, I came face to face with Lisa. Dressed up, hands on her trolley, ready to leave. She’s supposed to fly out of the country with Father to Atlanta where she runs her fashion company, but because he’s bedridden, she has to go alone."Let me drop you off at the airport." I said, trying to get up, but she pushed me back down and sat on the edge of the couch."Is so
Emily said they were behind his attack. Why did she allow them into the hospital? What if they finish the job there? Something needs to be done.As for the money he requested, did Zara assign him to do that? Now it all makes sense. The allegations against him weren’t false. The money he was accused of stealing? He took it."Boss." I looked at him as he extended his hand, offering me his phone. "Ms. Emily."I took the phone from him and placed it to my ear. "Hey, is everything okay? How's your father?" I asked."Still the same. He hasn't moved or woken up. But that's not why I'm calling. Did you get my messages? I think you should look into it."I sighed. "I did get your message. The mayor's wife told me her husband went to the hospital. Why did you allow them?""I was leaving Alex's residence when Mother sent me a message. By the time I got there, they had already left. I didn’t get the chance to meet them."Someone needs to find out what truly transpired. Why did they attack him? I h
"Just be patient. You heard what your mother said. But she had no right to decide what she thought was good for you." He said, his voice firm yet calm.He sighed, looking away briefly. I could sense the concern in his tone, but as a doctor, he wasn’t supposed to show emotion, especially since this wasn’t about a patient. Doctors are trained to hold back their emotions, reserving their dread for moments when a life is truly lost.He patted my shoulder before standing up from the couch and striding back to his desk.I remained tense, unable to speak since returning from Grace's room. How did I not know she was my cousin? Why would Mother hide this from everyone? Was Amber even aware? She’s nowhere to be found, so I have no idea what she knows.Is she aware Mother hired Zara? Amber and Zara never got along, so it’s possible she knows, and that’s why she despises her. But why would Mother harbor such dislike for her niece and nephew without a good reason?Zara once had a brother, but he p
RyanI urged Jasper to drive faster. I needed to get to the house before mother leaves. She was supposed to be at home, but ever since Amber went missing, she hadn’t ceased visiting her boyfriend. I had called Zara repeatedly, but she wasn’t answering. Now, I wasn’t sure if she was deliberately ignoring me.Was this all part of some plan? How could she tell Emily she was pregnant with my child? Was she trying to destroy what I was still struggling to rebuild with Emily? She said she would change, yet here she was, tormenting her again.Everyone needed to understand their place in my life. I couldn’t let them ruin what I was building, especially after four years of neglecting Emily and finally trying to make things right.When we arrived at the house, I stepped out of the car and headed straight into the living room. Without hesitation, I ascended the stairs, striding purposefully toward her room.At her door, I knocked briefly, and as soon as she responded, I pushed the door open and
I walked into the living room, and there Ryan was, seated on the couch. His gaze met mine, and he smiled. I couldn’t help but smile back, my excitement bubbling over. Seeing him this close after a few days felt surreal."I didn’t expect to meet you here. We could have…" He began, but his words trailed off as he stood and walked toward me. Before I could even drop my bag, he was already pulling me into a hug.I snuggled into him, inhaling his cologne—a sweet mix of strawberry and vanilla. It hadn’t even been a week, but I missed him so much already.I fucking love this man. I’ve always loved him. Nothing has ever changed that. I thought I had moved on, but seeing him now made me realize it was all a lie from the start.Remembering why I was here, I gently pulled away from him. There would be time for this later, but right now, I am needing answers. He had been hiding things from me, and that had to stop.His brows furrowed as I stepped back, the smile on his face fading into a frown"A
I wasn’t sure if I should even be here, but before I knew it, I found myself driving toward her house. I needed an explanation, something to justify what she had done to me. What had I ever done to deserve this? Paying someone else to carry his child, knowing full well he was sick and could barely father one on his own?I could have been patient. I was there for him, ready to wait for as long as it took. I gave up everything, turned my back on my family, my career, my dignity, all for him. What more could I have sacrificed?I stepped out of the car, my heart heavy with anger and hurt, and made my way to the living room. Nothing had really changed here. The memories came rushing back, those years I spent cleaning, cooking, and doing her laundry because the maid was either sick, on her off days, or simply unavailable. A lot of it fell to me, and I endured it all.I marched into the house and was greeted by the maid. She looked up from her task, freezing the moment her eyes met mine. I e
Emily I arrived at the hospital and hurried inside the building, my heart pounding frantically since I’d heard the news. She couldn’t be pregnant for him, there was no possible way. I had suspected he was sleeping with her from the start, but everything seemed to shift when I was called to help him on the day he had the substance in his system. Alex had confirmed that he was given something that caused his intoxication, accompanied by heavy sleep. I knocked on his office door and waited a few seconds for a response, but there was none. Was he outside? Attending to a patient? Either way, I decided I could wait inside. I pushed the door open, but the room was empty. I walked further in and sat down to wait for him. That’s when I heard muffled sounds. Turning my attention to the source, I looked behind the bed. To my surprise, I saw a little child lying there. "Hey, are you sick?" I asked softly, walking up to her. She nodded in response, her small face pale and fragile. "I have
Zara How the hell did this happen? I can’t believe our plans failed, and we lost her. If there’s anyone I should blame, it’s Adams. I don't understand why the hell he had to ask for money. All he needed to do was follow a simple instruction, ask her to come over. But he messed it up completely. I heard a car, and looked out the window to see who’s parking outside. Tiptoeing toward the sliding window, I peered through. It was Adams, parking in the lot. I needed an explanation for why he did what he did. I marched back toward the bed, pacing while I waited for him to come upstairs. Getting him involved in this had been a terrible idea. The money he asked for was something he already had sitting in his bank account. What more did he require it for? He’d stolen enough from Empire Company. So why pull this stunt? The door to the room creaked open, and I knew it was him. I stood still, listening as the door clicked shut. As soon as it did, I turned to face him. He wore a troubled expres
It wasn’t long before I made up my mind to step out of the car. The phone was never going to ring at this point, and I’m not sure if we are in the right address. Jasper had claimed he knew the place and had brought us here, but at this point, I don’t think it has to be this place. We have to leave, go back, and wait for them to call. I pushed the door open, looking around the place to find anything suspicious. Someone could be somewhere watching us without us being aware. If I find anyone here, he’s a suspect, he has something to do with this. The car that just passed is no exception; I have to look into it. Maybe there could be a connection. I continued to look around, but I couldn’t even find where my guard had entered. Too many incomplete buildings, not sure where to follow. "Boss." Jasper called, and as I turned to look behind, in the blink of an eye, something flew past my eyes, landing on the car. "It's a knife." He announced, just in time as I looked at the knife that pierce