~SIERRA~Well, I didn’t expect Ethan to come clean. I thought of visiting him again, but it seemed I didn’t need to do that anymore as he came clean. “I will call you back,” I told the detective and ended the call as I wanted to see what else Ethan would say.“Mr. Winters and my mother were together before he married Damian's mother,” he said, and I turned up the volume. “I grew up with hate. I wanted to punish Mr. Winters for what he made my mother go through, but hearing of his death, I decided to go after Damian instead.”“And Damian is your brother?” the interviewer asked.“Yes,” he cleared his throat. “He is my little brother, and I apologize for what I did; I shouldn't have. I am sure he didn't know about me, and I truly regret it.” He sounded sincere. “I wish I could turn back time; I was blinded by anger that I ended up tricking him into signing a fake contract, and yes, the drug dealer doesn't exist; I made it up and leaked the contract to the media,” Ethan explained everythi
~SIERRA~So, giving Jane a knowing look, I followed Ava, who led me outside. “Did anything happen to Damian? Is he okay?” I asked as soon as we were out.“No, no, he's good. I mean, except from being locked up, he's fine.” She sadly smiled. She really cared for Damian, and that alone relaxed me. At least I knew there were people willing to help Damian, Jane, Ava, and now Ethan, but I still wondered where Lily was. I then remembered how she said that Damian forced her to testify against me. I had to ask Damian about it, but not while he's here. “Well,” Ava said, clearing her throat, and I shook out of my thoughts. I rubbed my arms—not that it was cold, but it felt weird talking to Ava; she never liked me. I mean, now I at least know none of them did because Lily was pretending.“You don't have to tell me if you're not comfortable,” I said as Ava looked hesitant.“No, I have to. I mean, Damian told me he confessed to you, and that made me realise just how much he loves you.”“Ava…”“Don
~SIERRA~And no matter how much it sounded awkward, she was right; Cassie's body needed to be buried. “Um, what about her family?” I asked.“I don't know,” Ava said, shaking her head. “Only Damian will know, and I'm afraid to break the news to him,” she said, wiping imaginary tears. “I just feel so sad seeing my cousin in that state,” she added, and I nodded as I understood her. It's not easy to watch your loved one in pain.“I will talk to Damian about Cassie's body.” It sounded foreign coming from my mouth, like someone alive and healthy not long ago—I spoke to Cassie two days ago, and now she was dead. “Everything will be fine, Ava,” I reassured her, and she forced a smile. I nodded, then walked back in, and rushed straight to the detective's office.“Ms. Reid.” I found him seated in his seat. It's crazy how the guards didn't bother to stop me from coming straight here.“I heard you're going to Carl's location; I'm coming with you,” I said, and he looked at me confused. “I'm not ta
~SIERRA~To say I was not scared would be lying. I had children, and I didn't want them to get involved in any of this. I was about to type when I heard Damian's voice. I didn't even realize I was in front of his cell.“Damian,” I quickly put away the phone and looked at him.“What's the text about? Is it from Carl?”“What? No.” I couldn't tell him about Carl; it would just get him worried.“Are you sure?” Well, his concern was new to me. I don't know why it made me feel safe, and I knew saying words would just give it away. I didn't want him to think I was going to give him a second chance. Sure, I will give him a second chance with his children, but not with me. Damian and I would never get back together. I don't care if he did all that, thinking it was the best, but he did, and his betrayal still caused me so much pain. Just thinking of it made me suffocate.‘Sierra she's back; everything between us ends today.’His words were still fresh in my memory. Maybe there are some things w
~SIERRA~They say one shall never forget their first love, and Damian happened to be mine. I know I've lived the past five years forgetting him, but here I am, ready to kiss him, or will I? I brought myself back to my senses as I opened my eyes, which I didn't realize were closed, then pulled away. No, I couldn't let him do this; I was here for my children, not myself.I don't care if he did it to protect me; he still hurt me, and a normal person would have spoken to me about it. Yes, he saved my life, and that is the only reason I'm giving him a chance with my children.There was silence for a moment. I could feel the tension growing between us. “About Cassie,” I tried to clear the tension.“Hmm...” he hummed and moved backward. I looked up so I could see his face, and I saw a hint of hurt in his eyes. Well, I've never imagined this day—a day where I would reject Damian and he would be hurt. It was always vice versa; Damian was the one to reject me, and I was the one hurt.“Do you kn
~SIERRA~With his facial expression, I could tell he was still surprised, but I could also see the guilt in his eyes. He opened his mouth but ended up mumbling words that didn't make sense. “They've been suspicious of your similarities with Nathan; I'm sure they will be so happy to know that you're their father,” I said, trying to make it seem less awkward. Damian didn't respond with words but a nod. I was about to add more when suddenly the detective joined us and asked if I could speak to him privately. Of course, I decided to go with him without second thoughts; it might be about Carl.“I'm sorry for interrupting,” he apologized as we reached his office, but I shook my head to show that it was okay and then asked about Carl. If the chief changed his mind, I knew it was risky, but I was willing to take the risk. His text said he was coming here for me, but I didn't trust it. I also didn't want him to come here because my children were here, and again, I didn't want them to get invol
~CASSIE~I left Sierra scrolling through the voice notes. I had no idea what they were about. I just told her what Lily told me. I was surprised that she didn't notice how anxious I was. I thought she would notice the earpiece, but she didn't. I mean, how could she when I covered it with my hair? Well, I was glad I did what Lily asked me to. Now it was time for me to leave the country. She promised to help, and even though I didn't completely trust her, I hoped she wouldn't play me.When I reached back to the van, I started talking to Lily. “You said you would have everything ready for me to leave the country, right?”“Of course. You did a good job, and I am going to help you, but first, we need to celebrate,” she said, and I agreed. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I was afraid of Lily; she scared me. I mean, how did she manage to fool Damian and Sierra when she was behind everything? And Carl, who was a Mafia member—how did she get to him? However she did it, Lily was dangerous,
~CASSIE~I didn't want to die. Sure, I killed someone, but I didn't want to kill that doctor. Lily forced me to. I knew if I didn't kill him, she could have killed me, so no, I was not as evil as her, and I didn't deserve death, so I took in a shaky breath before I nodded. Maybe he could save me.Maybe I'll live.“I have a plan,” he said, and my eyes widened to show that I was listening to him. “I'll give you a drug that will make you seem like you're dead, then talk to one of the doctors to declare you dead. That way, you can have enough time to plan your escape,” he said, and I nodded. “And there's an effect; the temporal drug can cause your death, but that's the best I can do.” Again, I nodded without responding; this was better than real death.“Thank you,” I said, and he nodded.“Just pretend like you don't know anything so she can be less suspicious,” he said, and I again nodded. I didn't fully trust him; what if he was faking it? What if this was part of Lily's plan to kill me?