CHAPTER SIXTY:No answer---Tyler slammed the door shut in front of the man who was chasing after them. It feels like his butt was on fire because his moves were very fast. He did not even care when he almost tripped on his way to a couch inside the room. In his hurry, Tyler almost threw Althea's body on the couch as soon as he got there and sprinted to the wardrobe and the bed to get enough clothes to press down on the wound and try stopping the bleeding. When he came back to the couch where he randomly tossed her, he saw her grunting and moving while clutching her bleeding abdomen. Tyler's eyes shone and trembled at the same time. He wasted no time and almost ran to get to her. Then, he kneeled next to the couch and stopped her from sitting."Don't," he said softly. He was trying his best to not anger and agitate her. "Don't waste your energy sitting, I just need you to stay awake. Stay awake for me, okay?"Gently, he guided her body to lay back down and immediately began stacking
CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE: Afterwards --- “Sir,” one of the paramedics stopped his advances. “You’re not allowed to get near to the patient, we’ll take it from here.” Tyler knows that he knows, but for some reason, his words are set to rage in his heart. He glared at the guy and almost pushed him aside. “I’ll accompany you to the hospital. Let me in in the ambulance.” The other looked at him strangely before looking behind him over his shoulder. Out of almost 200 people in the hotel, 3 died- which are the security guards manning the doors and doing patrols- and one injured. The injured lady was escorted by paramedics on a stretcher. Her condition was not looking good since she lost too much blood, and they had to perform a blood transfusion as soon as possible. He looked back at the man who insisted on getting in the ambulance and asked, “How are you related to the patient, sir?” This made Tyler pause and his kind almost lost its function. That’s right, who is he to Althea? How are they
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO:Break off--Both Victoria and Tyler were well known in the circle of the business world. Both are successful—even though Tyler has yet to surpass his parents, his talent for managing his business is remarkable—not to mention Tyler’s father and Victoria’s ex-husband. They have this intimidating air circling them. Many businessmen and women respect them a lot. With the amount of attention and praise they receive; many perceive them as serious and stern people. And, of course, they maintain this front at every business gathering that they attend.But it seems like they forgot how to maintain this image of them right now. April tried her best to not show discomfort on her face. As well as Dave's. Aaron had no issue since he had a stoic face to begin with. Sheryl, on the other hand, showed it for a second before masking it back. The four only have one question in their mind:‘Did she just crack a joke?’Tyler, who had his words backfired on him, did not bother pondering
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE:Mother and Son--ARC SEVEN:Chase—crossesTyler’s steps are fast as he walks toward his car. His car was not parked far from the entrance of the basement, but his strides were ironically long. It was like the distance between them was stretched. The light in the basement was dim, the fluorescent lights were placed at even distances. Every time he crosses a well-lighted area, the hardened expression on his face is shown. Victoria noticed the silence of her son. It wasn’t unusual since she had gotten used to this version of him. Also, her ex-husband is like this, it is like her ex-husband's younger version, so she very well knows how to handle them. With a coy smile plastered on her beautiful face, she walked faster to walk next to him. He was walking fast earlier, so she was a step behind. Her high heels were clacking against the hardened floor, and her legs were long, so she was walking next to him in a matter of seconds. Matching up her son’s pace, she shot hi
CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR;Hospital--The telephone clanked after Melanie placed it back. After that, the noise faded into the background. She and the other two were standing still next to her. The three adults in the room were still processing the information they received as fast as they could they would not scare the little boy that was with them. Kai was sitting on the chain near them. His arms were laying on the table and he was dangling his feet. His structure is small, after all. He still needs support when sitting down or getting off of the chair sometimes. The little boy was silently staring at the back of the adults. His eyes that he got from her mother were still, it was as if he had fallen into deep thought. He heard everything they said on the phone, but his young brain still can't fully understand the conversation at all. But the look on their faces and the emotion laced with worry, hesitation, and disbelief in their voices made him think,'Something bad happened to mother.'
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE:Kai's New Babysitter--"She'll be unconscious for a while for her body to recover. The blood loss was a severe good thing the loss did not pass 40 percent. Oh, and also, the bullet is already removed from her body." Victoria explained in the stead of the doctors. She was sitting on the sofa next to the dozing of Kai. The younger boy is sleepy since it was past his bedtime. His body is not used to staying up late like this. Victoria is rubbing his head affectionately. The boy reminds her of Tyler when he was a kid. Melanie nodded at her. "Thank you for making the arrangements for us. We can take this from here.""You're welcome!" Victoria said enthusiastically. She stood up after giving Kai a last pat on his back. "Since the two of us—" she gave the silent Tyler a short glance. "Three—since the three of us are close, there's no harm in helping a friend, right?"She showed off her best convincing smile. Jack, Melanie, and Becca squinted their eyes to protect them
CHAPTER SIXTY-SIX:RUN--Inside a black van were 5 chaotic men. The rock music coming from the speakers was loud. It was irritating to the ear, but for some reason, the men inside were also shouting along with the music. Their drive is not steady at all since their driver looks drunk and all. They were so noisy that their noise even escaped the van, but it annoyed no passerby or other vehicles. Because there were none in the first place. The black van was driving alone on an abandoned road. The road was rocky and grassy. It looks like it has not been maintained for a long time. Their surroundings were quiet. The only source of sounds was their noise and the rustling of the leaves when birds flew away from the trees or landed to take a rest on the branches. Other than that, the place is oddly dark and silent. They can see nothing but the bumpy, straight road and the tall trees. They were in the middle of a forest. “Hey, hey, hey!” the man in the front seat called out for his noisy c
CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN:He Has a Son?--The corridor of the hospital is cold and silent. The floor is cleaned like they were polishing a diamond, it even reflects the shine of the light coming out from the bulbs embedded in the ceiling. There were sofas and chairs along the way, and the doors of the rooms were closed tightly. Specks of lights are pouring out from the gaps of the door the floor, and the glass window. The hospital looks deserted if not for the group of five people- which consists of adults and a 5-year-old kid- walking and passing the rooms."Uhm," Melanie tried her best to get their attention while whispering. The whole place is so quiet that she felt bad about making noise. What if she wakes up the other patients in the hospital? And since there was nothing but silence surrounding them, the other three caught it. “I’m really sorry about this…”Melanie’s eyes looked at Tyler who was carrying the little Kai in his arms. The boy is comfortably leaning on his shoulder with l
---I did what I was ordered to, and when I finally got to the bottom of it…What the fuck?“I knew things would be interesting if I keep him by my side.” Startled, I looked at my sister who suddenly appeared out of nowhere. She was looking at the photo with interest in her eyes. She looked at me. “Erase every record the police had or anything within Victoria’s reach, we can’t have her figuring out everything before I can have my fun of them destroying each other.”“Hmmm,” I glanced at her. “Isn’t she your friend?”“Friend?” She smiled, appearing innocent. “I don’t have anything like that. Father banned that word to us, brother.”“... If that’s what you say.”“Good!” She turned and stretched her body. “Ahh, I can’t wait to see Sheryl get destroyed by the man she loves. Or maybe, it would be mutual destruct
—“Is that your fiance?” I asked as soon as I sneaked at her back, wanting to scare her.“Stop doing that!” She yelled at me. I laughed at her, telling her sorry. She clicked her tongue before nodding. “He is. Handsome, right?”“Hmm?” I pretended to think about it. “Not really.”She scoffed. “Really.”She turned her back on me and continued her work, facing the paper works that were piled on her table. She was 15.I stood behind her, looking at the man on her table.From the day I knew that all along, she was the leader, I decided to stay and look after her. When I told her about my decision, the pause she had was short but eye-catching. Before I could register the pause and understand the meaning behind it, she answered my words with a smile.‘I will be glad to have you under me.’ Her smile was pretty chilling, more bone-numbing than our father’s s
—I am older than her by 5 years, and I remember her looking at me from behind. Normally, one should feel happy to know that someone was looking at their back, admiring them, but that’s not the case with me.Every time I look back, turn to look at her over my shoulder, every time I caught her eyes, I can’t help but shudder:She feels the same as our father.We were only half-siblings. We have the same father, but that’s not the case with mothers.My mother died when I was four, then our father brought another woman into the house after that. That woman was Charlotte’s mother. She was warm and kind. I remember her talking to me a few times.‘Charles, even though you don’t have my blood, please think of me as your mother too.’ She said one time when I tried avoiding her in fear that she wanted me dead. That was what most people who wanted to seize my father’s power would do if they were in her position
SPECIAL CHAPTER ONE: A Victim of Jealousy (10)“He is so cute…!”Days had passed since the birth of her son. Althea was peeking at him with a glass wall between them. She still has IVs in her hand, and she hasn’t recovered most of her energy yet, but she seems like she was overflowing with one.She had her palms against the glass, Althea feels like looking from where she was is not enough, she wanted to slip through the wall and hold him. But it was still not safe, so she held the urge in.A bracelet on her son, the letters were a little bit incomprehensible, but she can read them. It was the name of her son:Alexander Kai GrahamAlthea felt giddy, she can’t wait to hold him in her arms soon.“He’s your son?”“Yes,” Althea responded without thought. When she realized what she had
SPECIAL CHAPTER ONE: A Victim of Jealousy (09)—Blood was trickling down.Plop, plop, plop.Bead-shaped blood fell from her private area continuously. It seems like someone pressed the pause button of the world; Althea felt everyone in the supermarket stopped moving.‘No.’ She thought to herself as she watched the blood slowly forming into a puddle beneath her feet. She can feel the hot liquid trailing down her legs. ‘This can’t be!’This day is supposedly like the normal days she had. Strolling around and buying things she thinks she wants. But in the middle of it, she just suddenly felt it come down.She’s only six months pregnant.“Oh my god!” A lady came to her, holding her shoulders in worry. Her eyes were on the blood, aghast. “You are bleeding!”
SPECIAL CHAPTER ONE: A Victim of Jealousy (08)—She didn't think of it anymore and immediately set an appointment for the abortion.The next day, she went to the center and waited in line.Althea was all covered up, afraid that someone might recognize her in this hospital. She was pale, she had to deal with the morning sickness alone, and she had no idea what to do the whole time because, in her previous pregnancy, her mother was there.Now she was alone, dealing with everything she doesn’t want to.Althea wants to sob and to get everything over with. She can’t believe she committed a grievous sin to her friend. If only she didn’t get tempted with the money, things would not escalate like this.‘It’s all his fault,’ she galed at the entrance of the hospital where few people were going in and out. ‘He fooled me!’
SPECIAL CHAPTER ONE: A Victim of Jealousy (07)—“A brothel?” Althea asked as soon as she entered the place. Her eyes wandered around and she felt overwhelmed by the red hue of the place. The lights, the atmosphere, the people. Everything here was new to her. She doesn’t know what to feel.“First time here?” The lady in heels asked. She gestured to someone far away by her hand and the other nodded before leaving their sight. “Don’t be nervous, you will only be entertaining guests… Why you don’t want to? It’s money, you know.”Selling myself. If it was her in the past, she would strongly disagree and storms off from here. But now, she has nothing but emptiness, she abandoned her pride and morals. She doesn’t have any desire to live anyway. This much won’t hurt her.“Anything’s fine,” Althea said, her
SPECIAL CHAPTER ONE: A Victim of Jealousy (06)“What happened to you?” Altheaopened her eyes and saw a fuzzy scene. There were heads in front of her peeking at her from above. Althea could not recognize the features of the faces, but she knew they were medical workers because of their uniforms. It was the uniforms that the nurses and the doctors wear that she sees every time she goes to the hospital for check-ups and visits to her father.“You have been stabilized…” She heard muffled voices as if she was submerged in an ocean, waters entering her ear canals. She tried to move, but her body was too heavy like lead. She gave up and remained still, still unable to do anything, not even talk.“The man who found you and sent you here already paid for the medical bills…”‘What are they talking about?’ Althea had no clue. ‘It seems important.
SPECIAL CHAPTER ONE: A Victim of Jealousy (05)“Do you like it?” The man asked Althea who was silent with her head bowed. “Do you like it?”“...” She had no response.His eyebrows twitched. He dislikes being ignored despite ignoring people.He bends down and held her chin to look at him forcefully. “Hey, little mouse, I am asking you a question. Do you like it?”“...” She still had no response.With eyebrows raised, he stood up and stretched his arms. “Sigh! After all, we did to repaint the wall, that blood only amounted to that much. It wasn’t even able to cover one-fourth of the wall. So regrettable! Now, the little fierce rat is not fierce anymore…”He glanced down, his cold eyes looking at the woman who was sitting on the cold ground motionlessly. “She can’t even appreciate our