Ashley took her hand and squeezed it. “Mother I am even more confused about what you are saying to me now. You distanced yourself from me, you showed no concern for me when I was hurting, and all you ever asked from me was money, every day and every night. That was all you did...” Her chest heaved. “We had screaming matches from time to time, my friend was terrified of you, putting up with you made me sad and miserable...” she sighed. “At first I explained it away. I told myself you were still struggling with losing a father and you needed time but I lost him too, I lost him too and the one thing I needed at that time was a mother, nothing more, nothing less...” Vera shook her head. “I was hurting but I would never want to push you away on purpose. I...I...admit I didn’t know how to deal with all I was going through. I promise you I wanted to tell you everything. We were in a fix, a bad one. We needed the money...” Ashley raked her fingers through her hair. “What was happening, mothe
Henry sat in the living room with Asher watching cartoons when his phone rang. He was all smiles when he saw the caller ID. He had refrained from calling her since he got back but he was glad that she did. “Did you miss me, babe?” “Henry Allen...” Henry shot up immediately at the sound of the voice on the other end, startling Asher. “What a prize our dear little Ashley has won” “Who are you?” Henry barked. “Let’s save ourselves the theatrics. I do not have the time. I haven’t bothered with a voice concealer so later you can do the homework or probably see me when you come...” “What do you want?” “Twenty million dollars. A drop of water in your ocean. I need you to bring it alone without all your goons or the police. A very simple task, if I notice anything suspicious your woman will be bleeding out the carpet floors in a second. So you might want to make only the right decisions...” There was a brief pause. Then a message entered his phone. It was a picture of Ashley, terror i
Ashley’s chest heaved as she stared at the scene before her. The men were finally leaving, she would have let out a breath of relief if Mason did not have his gun pointed at Henry a few yards away and Adrian pointing the gun at Mason. The tensions had not lessened. She didn’t know what to do. The men who had attacked them had taken all their phones with them so they couldn’t call the police. Just as they were about to leave, the big man who had held her in place, obstructed Adrian’s view. “You should count yourself lucky...” his voice was hoarse. Ashley turned back to look at Henry who still had a gun pointed at him. Then she saw it, Mason moving his hands, everyone else oblivious to it. It had happened too quickly and they were all focused on Adrian. The gun had been fired. She saw more than she felt her body move forward as fast as her legs could carry her to get to him, her hands outstretched in front of her, she shoved Henry out of the way. It took a lot of her strength to push hi
The doors to the mansion open and Henry wheeled in a recovering Ashley into the house. Asher squealed in excitement as he ran towards her. Adam and all the other members of the house are beaming with smiles as they enter. A banner was draped on the entrance with the words welcome home Ashley written on it. “Welcome home” they all chorused. Adam squeezed her hands. Ashley managed a small smile as she kissed Asher on the forehead. “Thank you, sir Adam, thank you, everyone”. The road to recovery had been a tough one. She had spent three months in the hospital, there were a lot of complications. Henry was just glad that she was okay because in those three months, he had lost his sanity, and no one had remained the same. She turned around to peer at him, it was straining but it was worth it when he smiled at her. “Where are we going?” He smiled. “You will find out when we get there” She smiled. He was wheeling her to an unfamiliar area of the house. He punched in some keys when they g
“Doctor! Doctor! I think something is wrong with her." The machine by the bedside continued to beep loudly. Henry was conflicted; he couldn’t figure out if he wanted to stay by her side or go call the doctor. Beads of sweat etched on his forehead trickled down his face, although the room was perfectly ventilated. Henry hit the alarm button so hard that it broke in two, but not before the loud noise filled the hallway; he could hear it from inside. He stared into Ashley’s terrified face. Her blue eyes were motionless orbs as they bore into his, and her eye sockets were deep, baggy, dark circles around her eyes. Her stare was cold as death; it made his skin crawl. She clutched on to him so tightly that if she wasn’t so frail and weak, his bones would have snapped. He would have been terrified of her if he wasn't so in love with her. Her whole frame shook violently. She was merely held back by the tubes put in place by the doctors. Henry glanced at the door frantically; no one had come th
Leonard tidied his table, his mind preoccupied with his thoughts. He picked up his coat and case before exiting the office. “Hey Kristen?” “Hey Leo, “Are you going home already?” He nodded and managed a small smile. “Remember that date I told you I had?” She smiled a knowing smile. “Yes, of course I do.” She pointed at him. “I am rooting for you, you know that. You deserve it.” He nodded with a huge smile on his face. “Thank you. I know; we have planned this for so long now.” Kristen walked up to him and straightened his collar. “Don’t overthink it at all. I think she is going to like you. What’s there not to like?” He dramatically cleared his throat. “I hope Caleb doesn’t find out.” Caleb appeared from behind. “Find out what?” Kristen turned around. “Hello, babe,” she said with a smile on her face. Leonard waved at them before walking off. “Hey man! Find out what?” Caleb yelled out at him. Kristen laughed at him. “Leonard is going on a date with Anna.” “About time!” “Take
Eric was unable to sit still in his chair, and no, it wasn’t because he had locomotive problems. He was worried, as anyone would be if they had a meeting to talk to their lawyer about the chances of their freedom. Things weren’t looking good for him. He stared at the pristine white walls of the small conference room.Beads of sweat formed on his forehead, although the room was ventilated. He loosened his tie and knotted it again. His nerves were all over his face, he couldn’t even think. He was beginning to run out of options. There was a rapt knock on the door, and he jumped to his feet almost immediately. He crossed the length of the room and extended a hand. "Good day, Mr. Pratt.""Good day, Mr. Allen."Eric showed him a seat.Mr. Pratt was the best crooked lawyer that was willing to defend him. Henry had gotten on the side of the public; no lawyer wanted to wade into that kind of murky water, but with the right amount of money, any man could be bought."Any good news?" Eric delved
Mason Blackwood was spotting an overgrown stubble on his chin. Save for his lankiness and dull skin, he looked fairly the same. He was spending more time out of prison. Although it was in a courtroom, it was more than he could ask for. He lay on a thin mattress, his hands behind his head, as he stared up at the ceiling. The cell was dark save for the streaks of light from the hall that reflected in the room. The prison was uncharacteristically silent. It would have been complete stillness if his roommate did not snore so loud.Mason loved the early hours of the morning. It was the only time when the guards and wardens were not shouting out orders, the inmates were not issuing threats, laughing loudly, or doing whatever they liked. He liked to think it helped him think clearly, but if he was honest with himself, there was nothing on his mind.At first there was, he was dealing with lots of emotions at once. Anger, hope, regret, and sadness. He was angry at Henry, and Eric for landing hi