~SIERRA~Luckily he was still here, so I asked him those questions, but he didn't give me the answers he wanted.“I'm sorry, Ms. Reid, I'm working on theories; it's still not proven, but...” He didn't finish his sentence, as his attention was now on another picture. I just had to follow his eyes to see what, but it was a person I didn't know. “I have to go,” he said, and then unpinned the picture from the wall and rushed out. I of course followed him and tried to stop him, but he didn't listen.“Is it about my father?” I asked, and he finally turned but shook his head, then picked up his coat from the couch. After dusting it, he put it on and walked to the door, but as he was a few inches away, the door opened and Sam came in.“I should have known,” he sounded like he was complaining. “I was worried,” Sam said, and he just stared at her. “Tom, I'm sorry, you…” Sam tried to touch his face, but he stopped her by raising his hand, and then without waiting for her to finish, he nudged he
~SIERRA~Now I was convinced; with her behavior the other month, I was sure she had something to do with it.“And before you ask me, Sierra, Thomas never told me; I don't know how this is connected to her or what she said to him,” she said, and I nodded. Then my phone started ringing.“I have to pick this,” I said, and she nodded. Then I picked up the call; it was Jane. I forgot to mention that I was passing by somewhere. She greeted me as soon as the call connected and then told me Mr. Fosters had left but had promised to send his son, Alejandro."Okay, I'm on my way,” I said, then disconnected the call before I turned to Sam with apologetic eyes. “I wish I could stay.”“And miss work; don't be silly," she said as she stood up from the bed, her hands in her back pockets. “Thank you for coming, even after how I've been behaving.”“It's okay, Sam; I understand.”"No, it's not okay, Sierra. I was in a bad place, and I took it out on you; I shouldn't have.” She was really sorry, and if t
~SIERRA~ If I wanted to find Carl before, the desire for that had accelerated now. I quickly ended the call with Sam after telling her I was on my way. She tried to stop me, as she said she had everything under control, but I couldn't. I had to see and make sure the detective was really okay. I reached the doorknob and let myself out; all the employees I passed by greeted me but I didn't respond. I was in such a hurry that I almost bumped into someone, and I immediately apologized. “It's my fault, Ms. Reid.” It was one of the cleaners, and I knew she would take the blame. That's why I apologized before she did. “I was actually on my way to your office,” she said, and I cleared my throat and told her now was not the right time. “I will speak to you first thing tomorrow when I get here; just remind me in case I forget,” I kindly responded, and she nodded then walked away after bidding me goodbye. Outside, I found my driver standing by
~SIERRA~Okay, I was not a prayerful person, but at this moment I hoped for him to do a miracle. I couldn't let Lily do what she wanted; I couldn't let Lily get away with murder. Yes, in my eyes, she's the one who murdered Dr. Sanchez since Cassie was forced; Lily was the criminal."Ow, you don't look so happy to see me; you want a cigarette?” She tried to force the cigarette on me, but I moved my face and spit on her hands. “Bitch!” she cursed and threw the cigarette out the window as her driver started the car. “Are you sure he won't talk?” She asked one of her men, who was in the driver's seat.“Yes, two of our men are with him, and we warned him that if he tries something, his family will suffer. That bastard believed us,” the men said, and looking at things, I could tell Lily called the shots.“Good, now back to you.”“What do you want, Lily? Why kidnap me?”“To chat, don't worry; we are just talking, at least for now, as I still need you alive.” She said now, playing with her to
~SIERRA~I didn't know what to say; surely following Lily wasn't an option now as I knew what she was capable of. From what Cassie told me, I knew how dangerous it was, so I shook my head, he opened his mouth to say something but stopped as his phone started to ring.He looked frightened to pick up, but he still did as he shakingly placed the phone on the loudspeaker."Hi, babe, how are you?” It was a woman's voice. He looked at me, clearly too shocked to speak, so I took the phone from his hands and spoke.“Hello, this is Sierra. Who am I speaking to?”"Hi, I mean, hello, Ms. Reid. I've heard so many great things about you. Thank you for giving my husband the two days off. I really missed him.”“Wait,” I said, looking at my driver, who still looked shocked before I turned my attention back to the call. “Are you his wife?” I asked because I didn't know his name; I didn't know most of my guards' names. I mean, they told me once but didn't keep it in mind, but I knew their faces.“Yes,
~SIERRA~“I…I'm…” He broke out of his state. I sensed regret in his tone. "Well, it seems Atlas did a good job,” I said, trying to clear the tension, my eyes were now on the tulips, which looked perfectly watered.“He did,” he agreed, sounding relaxed. Yes, I also want to tell them that he's their father, but until the case is solved. It was not safe.Then we silently watered the flowers before we followed the kids inside. I went straight to my room and took a shower, as the sun was already setting. I couldn't help but think of Lily while applying lotion to my skin and preparing for dinner. How did I not see it? If I didn't believe Cassie before, now I believe her; Lily really set her up. Lily was a terrible person. I had to find a way to end her.After I finished getting ready, I called Jane, and we spoke mainly about the Elite. I had an interview with them this weekend, and the company depended on it. I then changed the topic by asking Jane about Lily. I wanted something that coul
~SIERRA~I was so lost in my thoughts, thinking of the most terrible things. What if it really was Lily, and she was trying to get to me through their mother? I couldn't even imagine them finding out that I was the reason their mother was in that condition.“Ms. Reid?” Lana's voice shook me out of the thoughts, so I turned to her and acted like I wasn't just lost in thoughts moments ago. Then my eyes caught Beatrice's, which were full of tears; she seemed to have been crying as her cheeks were red.“Beatrice...” I got close to her and took her into my arms. Yes, they worked for me, but the way they've helped me, how they've been treating my children, and the five years we spent together made me grow close to them. They were like sisters to me, and their pain touched me, especially because I was the cause of it. “I'm sorry,” I said as I patted her back, which made her just cry even more.After a few minutes, we pulled away, and she cleaned her cheeks. “We were hoping you could give us
~SIERRA~ I had forgotten that I had plates in my hands until I heard the tinkling sound of the glass meeting the sink. I quickly turned and realized the plate was broken. I uncomfortably cleared my throat and tried to take the broken pieces, but Damian was quick enough as he held my hand, stopping me just as I was about to take the first piece. Again, that made us have a moment as our eyes met, his eyes still soft but now with affection. No, what was happening? Damian was my ex-husband. I couldn't keep having these moments with him, so I quickly looked away and again cleared my throat in embarrassment. “It's okay, I…” “I will do it,” he cut me, and I nodded as I wanted to be at a distance from him to catch my breath. I moved away from him to wash the dishes. I pretended to want to wipe them dry, but in reality, I was just pulling myself together. After a few moments, I turned to Damian, who had successfully removed the broken pieces from the sink. “Thank you,” I said, and I walke
FLORIDA, ST. AUGUSTINE 2023~DAMIAN~Ingrid did a good job keeping Sierra out, as it has been over two hours and they haven't returned to the house yet.The sun was setting and everything was perfect; we didn't need to do much, just the colorful lights, as the house was clean already.“Bottle is here,” Nathan excitedly said as he brought the bottle of juice. The bottle was the same as the one for champagne, and since they were too young for alcohol and Sierra was in that condition, we decided to settle for juice.“They are coming,” Atlas, who had been at the window, alerted us, and I quickly stood to my feet and hid the little box."Okay, wish me luck,” I said, and they both nodded, then Atlas switched off the light so that the candles could stand out.“Let us know when she says yes,” they said in unison before they hid behind the sofa.I was nervous. I've never been this nervous, even when I was handling court cases. I never got nervous, but Sierra, God, her reaction scared me.As I
FLORIDA, ST. AUGUSTINE 2023~DAMIAN~Whoever said love was a drug was damn right because I was high on it. Watching someone sleep for over an hour and simply enjoying the view is crazy because for the past week that's all I've been doing—watching Sierra sleep. It somehow gave me peace.After Sierra was released from the hospital, we stayed a week so I could sort everything.Ethan took over the head at the Winters, Sierra, and Thomas caught up as he left the detective work since Sam was not happy with it. Sierra gave them one of her restaurants in Texas, and they moved there—living in Sierra's home while Jane and her family moved into Sierra's mansion, the one in Georgia. Beatrice and Lana took mine as I wanted to express my gratitude for helping Sierra raise my children.After sorting everything, I booked tickets to Florida for a vacation since the holidays were in a month. We were still choosing a place to settle and start a family, as Georgia and Texas held bad memories, so we were
~DAMIAN~The first days we used protection, but after a few, we just couldn't control ourselves as we would get in the moment and only think of protection afterward. I didn't need protection; Sierra was my wife, but she always brought it up.Well, I was just so happy that we were going to have a baby—that Sierra gave me another chance.I walked to her bedside, kneeled, and started apologizing.“I'm sorry, I...”“It's okay; I know you did it to protect me.”“Still I hurt you; I should have told you; I shouldn't have pushed you away like that.”“And I understand; I forgive you; I do.” She was now holding my hands. “Please get up.”“Sierra I…”“Now Damian,” she demanded, and so I was left with no choice but to get up.“I'm really sorry; I promise that was not my intention; I was just trying to protect you and our kids. Ava called me; she threatened me.” She nodded her head in understanding and then squeezed my hand in a comforting manner.“Do you want to feel her heartbeat?” she asked, a
~DAMIAN~ “I was not planning to kill you, but...” Ava said as she walked close to Sierra, the burning matchstick still in between her fingers. My hands were now in the air, pleading with her. “Please… Whatever I have done, please just... Just let Sierra go, punish...punish me.” "Oh, sweet Damian, my cousin is in love,” she mockingly said, “but this is not about you; it's about her, her mother!” she yelled. “Actually,” she calmed herself, “it's about the both of you; your father did my mother dirty and her mother did my mother dirty, and so you are both going to pay.” It was not the Ava I knew; this woman sounded crazy. “Ava…” “Kneel!” I didn't want to argue, as I knew trying to reason would not work, so I kneeled my eyes on Sierra and the matchstick between Ava's fingers. “Good,” she mockingly said and blew to the matchstick so the fire could go as it was below her finger. “Do you want to hear a little story?” She asked as if I had a choice. Then she started talking about h
~DAMIAN~“Speed up!” I yelled, and Thomas agreed with me as he asked the driver to drive faster. Each second we were wasting was ticking as Sierra's life was in danger.When Atlas returned, he told me about the people who kidnapped him and how they told him that I was his father. I knew it wasn't the right time, but I took him upstairs to his siblings and told them the truth—that I was their father and that Sierra and I were once together.I didn't tell them about the contract as I thought it might be complicated for them, and so I told them about making a horrible mistake that made Sierra walk away. They were understanding, as they didn't judge; instead, they were happy that I was their father.I was not in a better mood, so I forced them to eat and helped them get ready for bed before I left Mrs. Woods with them as Jane had to get home to her baby. Sam and Thomas stayed downstairs with the officers, who came to help check for clues, and waited in case the kidnappers called—they thou
~SIERRA~Ava explained planning Damian’s parents' deaths because, as she said, the company and everything the Winters owned belonged to her. She explained how she got Damian on a drug so he would have terrible headaches. “I haven't been giving it to him lately, so he seems to be overcoming it,” she added. Then she explained using Carl to have her revenge on Mr. Reid since Damian’s parents were out of her way now."Oh, and the second man who left my mother couldn't be found. Turns out my so-called father wasn't useless as he took him down, leaving his son and wife in the streets.”“Son?”"Yes, your brother.”“What?!”“Ow, don't tell me the detective hasn't told you that you're his sister; that's why he has been protective over you; it's because you're his little sister.”“What?!” again I asked, as this was too much. How was it possible that Detective Thomas was my brother? Okay, nothing was making sense.“The man your father was cheating with was Thomas’s father.” She said, but I shook
~SIERRA~I haven't seen Ava since forever; she said to be in New York working with patients. How was it that she was here? My eyes roamed the room, and I realized, unlike where Lily took me, this place seemed like a home as I was on a sofa. I was almost relaxed, but when I saw that both my legs and hands were tied, I panicked.“W-what's going on? Why am I here? And…”“This is not the time for questions, Sierra; trust me.” Ava cut me as she picked a glass of wine on the table and took a sip before she placed it down and then stared at me.I still didn't understand what was happening, but something was clear: Ava tied my legs and hands, which meant she was the one who caused that accident; she was the one who kidnapped me.“Ava I…”“I will shut your mouth for you if you don't shut it; it's me to talk, not you.” She calmly said, and I nodded my head. Then she stood up with the glass of wine in her hands and said, "See, years ago, Rosemarie was just an innocent girl who didn't know the w
~SIERRA~I cleaned my cheeks and then walked toward my car. My driver was standing out as he opened the door for me. “To the station,” I told him as he waited for my instruction."Yes, ma’am,” he said and then started the car.Again, I found my hand traveling down to my flat belly. I never planned for this, and now that Damian didn't want the child, I was not going to keep it. I haven't seen myself pregnant for over five years, especially with Damian's child again.Or maybe he knew that I fell pregnant and he was doing the same thing he did years ago, running away. I closed my eyes and tried to focus. No, I couldn't let this distract me; I won't let it get in my way of finally having peace.“Ms. Reid,” the driver's voice shook me out of my thoughts. I then realized we had arrived at the station. “Should I come in with you?” He asked as he opened the door for me. I shook my head and told him to wait for me there; he just worked for me; I didn't need him to mix with my problems.When I
~SIERRA~No, this was not happening; I won't let it happen again. So I banged once more and the door flew open, and Damian, who looked healthy like he was not just in a coma, opened and asked me to come in. I could tell by his facial expression that something was wrong.“Do you want anything?” He asked as I took a seat on the sofa. No, I was calm. I was not the same Sierra from years ago who burst when he started acting like this. I was a mature, respectful woman. I couldn't act on my emotions, so I asked him for a glass of water.He walked away to the kitchen, and my eyes couldn't help but roam the area; it was just the same as I left it, in Cassie's style.“Water,” Damian's voice made me turn to him. I took the glass from his hand and thanked him, then placed it on the table.“Okay,” I cleared my throat as he looked restless like he wanted me to leave. “The doctor called me and told me you left without his consent.”"Yeah, I'm feeling fine; why should he keep me there?” He sounded r