MEI’S POV: Nice try to bring me down, Hazel Thorne. Only that, I won’t fall.The news that are against what I desire keep circulating online. Even the ones I’ve paid to take them down are failing to do their job. My eyebrow arches in irritation at the video of Marius and Hazel kissing right after Hazel filed for their divorce. Then, my jaw clenches in anger when I swipe to the video of Hazel humiliating me last night at my cosmetic business event. The popularity of my cosmetic business from when it’s launched has significantly plummeted. I don’t mind, I can squander as much money as I want to keep it going. But what I mind is Hazel’s cosmetic business gaining momentum out of the public's pity on her. Funny, how consumers can just switch sides and forget the past in just a snap of a finger. I can use that kind of behavior to my advantage too with the help of Reve Whitlock. I call him through my phone. -[“What can I do for you, Mei?”]- “Come here in my penthouse. I’ll discuss so
Betty Thorne and Elmyra Whitlock, the mothers who have lost their beloved sons to Hazel. And I’m gonna use their hatred towards her to get what I want. In the study room of my penthouse, I welcome both Betty and Elmyra warmly. Betty somewhat has a change of demeanor towards me. She has probably liked my extremely expensive gift to her. Elmyra is obviously excited. She has probably heard good things about me from Reve. “Thank you for coming here, ladies,” I say very casually. Then I motion for my secretary to hand them each a box with a bar of pure gold inside: a tradition I do to avoid rejection in my demand. Betty doesn’t react much when she flips the lid of the box open, but Emyra grins with excitement. “What do you want from me?” Betty asks. “If you want Marius, as I heard from the news, I can’t help you. He’s blindly in love with Hazel.” I smile. “No. I call the two of you today coz we have one thing in common: we all despise Hazel.” “I’ll crush Hazel’s financial status,
HAZEL’S POV: My babies are k.idnapped?! An agonizing scream tears at my throat as I’m informed of the appalling incident through a phone call! I bolt out of my store, and jump into my car. Oh God, please… I hope this is just a bad prank!. Fearful thoughts after fearful thoughts make my entire body tremble, and my tears gush from my eyes. When I arrive at the park, there are barrier tapes around the bloodstains on the grass. One of the police officers asks, “Do you know anyone who could’ve done this to your children?” Even without an actual proof, I drop names whom I thought have the ability to do this; Reve Whitlock and Pierce Thorne. The police furrows her brow in confusion. “But Mr. Pierce Thorne is currently in jail.” “He is, but he may have ordered someone to kidnap my sons,” I reply, desperation in my voice. Betty could be that someone, but I don’t think she has the guts to be as evil as her husband. Marius finally arrives. He’s as horrified as I am. We rush into ea
MARIUS’POV: Thank goodness! The DNA shows that the burned bodies aren’t Sammy’s or Archie’s. However, it’s still chilling and infuriating that someone has the stomach to dig up and burn week-old corpses just to scare us! The police continue their search for Sammy and Archie. But until now, our only leads are the very same people they interviewed a few days back. There are times that I find myself staring blankly at a distance with tears falling from my eyes. I’ve never been this petrified my whole life, and it makes me just wanna end my life! And it’s just my missing children that’s making me petrify, it’s Hazel’s condition too. She keeps on refusing to eat, let alone drink water. She barely sleeps and when she does, she’d wake up immediately from a nightmare. “I want my babies back,” she’d cry, while clutching me desperately. No matter how much I desire to appear strong for her, I can’t. I’d always end up crying with her. Dad pays us a visit every day to not only help us find o
Mom cups my face with her hands. And for the first time since the k.idnapping incident, she expresses some semblance of concern. “Please don’t do that,” she says. “T-To show you I’m really innocent, I’ll even hire private investigators.” “You should’ve done that the moment you found out that your grandson is missing.” I remove her hands from my face with aggression, then stand up. “Before I commit s.uicide, I’ll make sure to kill you and Pierce first,” I add coldly through my clenched teeth. Mom trembles in fear at my threat. But that doesn’t give me any satisfaction at all. She and Pierce keep on ruining my life to the point that they even involve my sons! I must find evidence against them before I commit another crime once again! I head to Pierce’s study and start searching through his cabinets and bookshelves. The staff beg me to stop, but I ignore them. Then, the bodyguards come in to stop me. The instant one of them touches me, I punch him in the face, causing him to r
I ring the doorbell of Mei Zhou’s penthouse, and a woman in business attire opens the door. She jolts in surprise when she sees me, and even attempts to stop me from entering. But I enter anyway, and head straight to where the familiar voices are echoing from - a small library. The police officers are seated around the table, each of them has a wooden box in front of them.Mei Zhou’s shoulders stiffen when she sees me. “I didn’t expect you to come here, Marius. But I’m glad you did. So you’ll hear my innocence firsthand.”When one of the police is about to touch the wooden box, Mei Zhou stops him.“There’s a mistake, these are for my friends,” she says nervously. She then motions for the woman in suit to take away all the boxes. “Please give the officers and Marius a can of China’s black tea as my gift.”Gift?Instinctively, I snatch one of the wooden boxes from the table. When the woman tries to snatch it from me too, we accidentally drop it to the floor, and rolling out of it is a
As soon as Hazel slides down the balustrade, I bolt towards her, and manage to grab her hand. Fear threshes through her features, her feet suspended almost three feet above a paved ground. “Hold on tightly,” I hiss in pain. But then, Hazel’s hand slips from mine, that I have to jump off the balustrade to catch her again. Luckily, I’m fast enough to grab the ledge. Now, both of us are hanging unsafely and on the brink of breaking our bones or possibly worse than that. “Marius, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have attempted to kill myself,” Hazel cries. “Just promise me not to do this again,” I say. Hazel nods and clutches me even tighter. Soon enough the bodyguards notice us and come to our rescue. Some prepare a mattress below us, while others dart to the balcony. The ones on the balcony pull Hazel first. A wave of relief washes over me when Hazel’s bare feet connect onto the balcony floor. However, before I can be pulled up too, my numbing hand gives up its grip and slips off the
Back in Archie’s bedroom, I tuck him into my arms, careful not to wake him up. And then, as noiselessly as I can, I make my way out of the farmhouse. Once I drive far enough from the farmhouse, I pull up my car to take a moment to calm down my emotions and to process the new information I got. Mom, Mei Zhou and now Elmyra. Reve and Pierce are still suspects in my list. I won’t let the police know what I found out since I can’t fully trust them anymore. But, I will reveal all the evidence I’ve collected so far and will be collecting in the next few days to bring down these people in front of the entire country, in front of the entire world! The thought that Sammy is still not with me crushes my heart. But when Archie stirs from sleep, his wide gold eyes blinking at me, the hope that I’ll also save his brother fills me. I scoop Archie up, and embrace him gently but with enough firmness. My tears of joy welling up again. “I miss you so much, buddy,” I whisper. He coos, as if un