HAZEL'S POV: Every day Marius is growing more and more distant from us. And it’s making me scared and frustrated. I can’t take away from him his desperation to protect us from another danger. But, I don’t think him becoming so powerful and wealthy is the key to protecting us. Carter, Pierce, and Adriano are extremely wealthy and powerful, but look what happened to them. We all outsmarted them. “Marius, I’m gonna head to the office for the launch of my new cosmetic products. Can you play with Sammy and Archie while I’m gone?” I ask in an attempt to separate him from his online business meetings, which have been going on since this morning. He nods, but his attention is still glued to whoever he’s talking to in his laptop. He doesn’t even make an effort to pause to kiss me goodbye. “I love you,” I whisper. He glances at me and smiles, but without whispering back, “I love you too.” I'm being very patient and understanding. But, I know this can’t last forever. So somehow, Marius
My head throbs, my eyes swell, and my heart aches. Marius and I have never really stepped away from living in a land mimes. Every wrong move… boom! It’s either we’ll lose something and now, someone very significant to us. Mourners attend papa’s funeral, but I don’t have the strength to face any of them. They offer words of comfort, but none of them feels anything to me, since they can’t undo what happened. I’m sitting at a corner, gazing at papa’s coffin, when Marius and the detective approach me. “Based on our initial investigation, the sniper positioned himself at the rooftop of Zitan Hotel, which is about three kilometers from Mr. Albert Montgomery’s mansion,” the detective says. “The hotel’s CCTV recordings show that the sniper uses the fire exit stairs to get to the rooftop. He’s around six feet with a great physique, but his face is concealed with a mask.” “Is there any information that an Italian man named Adriano Giordanno is now in this country?” I ask. “None so far,”
No amount of safety precautions and preparations can tear down an evil soul. That’s why the best option to save my innocent sons is to bend down against Adriano’s will.The thought of dirtying my hands with my own husband’s blood makes my heart shatter. But, the thought of my sons dying in the hands of a brutal man is just way more unbearable and unacceptable. I find Marius in our bedroom, dabbing a soaked cotton onto the cuts and bruises on his face. As much as I don’t wanna show I’m affected by what I did to him earlier, I can’t help but to take the cotton from his hand and clean his face with it myself. “No apologies?” he teases, trying to lighten up the atmosphere. With a heavy heart, I reply, “I’ll do something worse than this. You don’t have to forgive me, but I hope that you’ll understand.” Marius looks at me with sadness, but doesn’t say a word. “I must kill you, Marius. Then I must give up my freedom to Adriano. In that way, he won’t dare touch our sons,” I add, burst
MARIUS’ POV: I can’t believe that this will all come to this. After surviving many near-death experiences, I’ll end up easily surrendering my life in the hands of my own wife. This has got to be the most brutal decision the both of us have to endure. But as parents, this is the length of the sacrifice we’re prepared to go through for our children’s safety. I put on a suit, while Hazel opts for just a simple shirt and trousers. I hold her hand and kiss the back of it, reminding her that I have no ill-will against her about what’s gonna happen tonight. She plasters on a sad smile, then leans onto my arm as we head our way to the front gates where our cars and bodyguards are waiting. We arrive at a high-end Japanese restaurant that offers private dining rooms for their VIP customers. Hazel has booked the largest one. Five minutes later, her former adoptive family arrives. They’re sneering and glaring at her, but she greets them with a smile. As the three of them excitedly loo
Imelda and Fredie are tied up and locked up inside the windowless basement of papa’s mansion, with ten bodyguards taking turns outside its door. Though it’s not my plan to be sympathetic to them, I end up instructing the house staff to always give them food and water on time, with a nurse at a stand by just in case they may need medical assistance. Michael confirms that he already told Adriano about Marius’ death. Still, Adriano calls to hear it straight from me. -[“When can I see the news of your husband’s death on TV?”]- His voice brims with derision, while I try to make mine sound devastated. “You won’t. I don’t wanna be questioned, let alone investigated on why or how he died so suddenly. I’ll keep this a secret for as long as possible.” -[“Any proof that Marius is really dead?”]- “Why make Michael your witness when you’re not trusting him? You should’ve come yourself instead of him,” I counter. Adriano is silent for a moment, before finding his voice again. -[“I expect
When I open my eyes, my heart beats with ease. Adriano’s eyes are still closed as he enjoys our awful kiss, which means he’s still not aware of what I’m about to do to him. But, as if fate is still denying his death, a knock on the door echoes. Quickly, I fix my dress to hide the gun. “What the f.uck is that?!” Adriano hisses. He opens the door as I wipe his saliva off my mouth with the back of my hand. The armed man on the door hands him a cellphone, “It’s your mother.” Adriano’s shoulders tense up as he grabs the phone and steps outside. I shake the nagging thought that something bad may be happening to Giulia. She’s been very nice to me when we’re together, but she’s not my priority. So I shouldn’t be thinking about her. I pull out my phone and send Marius a text message: -[I’m here in Adriano’s hideout already, and still figuring out its exact location. There are only around fifty armed men and women. I also haven’t seen either Vincent or Pierce.]- Afterwards, I delete
My heart aches with remorse as I gaze at Mei Zhou’s lifeless body.I’m now a k.iller, and there’s no way to undo that.“Take her body away from here. And don’t you dare try to betray me again or I’ll kill you too,” I say. Michael nods in fear as he scrambles to his feet. He unties Mei Zhou’s body, then slips it into a suitcase that he finds nearby. Once he moves out of the basement with the suitcase, I check the floor and the walls for any splatter of Mei Zhou’s blood. There’s none, but I don’t find any relief at all. The moment of me shooting Mei Zhou keeps replaying in my head as I trudge my way up the stairs. When I’m in my room, I lock the door and let my hidden emotions pour out. Sobs and tears escape me as I look at my trembling hands. I thought I’ll be able to handle it. But I’m still too soft! I crawl my way to the bathroom, undress myself and sink into the tub. Suddenly, I receive a phone call from Marius. I try to control my sobs, but it doesn’t work. Marius easily
MARIUS’ POV: I understand Hazel’s instructions well, but I can’t shake off the nagging desire to see her and confirm she’s okay, especially after our phone conversation last night. With the help of prosthetic makeup, I disguise myself again. Dressing in a business suit, I drive towards the SMW Corporations. I remember Hazel’s schedule for today. She’ll be having a meeting in the main conference room in five minutes. Just right outside the conference room, there are five figures with stoic faces and vigilant auras. And one of them is Vincent. I clench my teeth in frustration. He doesn’t deserve any form of freedom, so I must send him back to jail soon. I then relax my expression as I pass by them. But, Vincent grunts the instant I’m directly in front of him. When I glance at him, he’s glaring at me. Suddenly, my confidence about my disguise wavers. Did he recognize me? But that’s impossible, coz I look so different! I continue to walk, pretending I don’t care about him or a