The moment that I opened my eyes once more, I was confused to recognize that I was no longer inside the bathroom. Everything around me was blinding me with brightness of white. The four corners of the room eventually registered to me in that instance.A hospital?It made me rise from my bed, and the second I did, I was surprised that Aunt Lou was already helping me to get up.“Aunt Lou? How did we end up being here?” I had the urged to ask her right away.And she was just smiling back at me. We had to go and bring you here right away. “Why?” I was pretty much bewildered by what was going on around me. I really don’t know how I ended up being here.For some reason, I found myself having some kind of a gap within my memories. It was giving me the discomfort knowing I could not be able to recall what had happened to me at all.And to make things worst, Aunt Lou was not doing anything to help me ease the burden I was having at the moment. She remained silent as though refusing to tell m
“Nooooooo!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.I was sure it was too loud that my voice must have echoed even across the other rooms from where I was confined.Yes, I found myself waking up from what seemed to be a horrifying nightmare. It was just like that dream I had before but this time, it was truly a horrifying nightmare that I don’t wish to see again.I even had to pinch my face right away the moment I woke up just to make sure I was already in my reality. The pain I felt was surely enough to convince me that I was already up in the reality.It wasn’t even that long when Aunt Lou came rushing back inside to see me. “Marga? Child, are you alright? What’s the matter? We heard you screaming from outside.” She urgently stated the moment she was able to walk towards my side.Aunt Lou quickly held my hand and it was the right kind of warmth I was yearning to feel ever since I woke up from that horrible dream. The moment compelled me to feel the urgency to hug her right away. Aunt L
I was still trying to absorb everything that Aunt Lou had just said. I couldn’t possibly bear the thought that the dream I was fearing actually came true.“But how?” I said as my head continued to slowly sway from left to right, still not trying to accept the nightmare that now turned out to be real.Aunt Lou held my hand together as she still wept in sorrow. “When I found you inside the comfort room, you were already unconscious and your thighs were covered in blood. I tried my best to bring you here as quickly as I could to save the baby but it was too late.”And as soon as Aunt Lou said that to me, I immediately felt like the whole room was slowly shrinking and squeezing between. It was as if everything around me was making me suffocate that I could not really breathe normally at all.I could very well see Aunt lou talking to me, her mouth continuously moves and I could not even hear anything she says. It was echoing but was too unclear for me to hear. Her words almost sounded like
Aunt Lou’s head shook slight as reaction depicts how she knew that Regina would really have the capability of doing that against me.“That bitch did that to you?” She asked.And I was able to muster up the energy to reply, “From what I could remember, we had crossed paths when I used the bathroom. I didn’t knew she was there until I got out of the cubicle. I really didn’t want to argue with her but she triggered to, and it ended up in violent way where she slammed me quite hard against the wall. The impact was so hard that my belly got hit so intense and even my head was badly hurt, making me instantly felt dizzy. And before I could even fully lost my consciousness, I heard her screaming blood.”“That must have really caused a great impact on you miscarriage but I think what made you lost the baby was because no help was extended to you. You said that that bitch Regina screamed blood before you lost your consciousness, isn’t that right? Then, if she knew that you are bleeding, she wou
More days passed that I lost track that it had already been over weeks now since I lost my child through a miscarriage. And yet, for some reason the pain was still here and won’t fade away. It hurts the most when you know that you could no longer be able to see your baby that you had been praying to have for so long. I had wished for that baby to come for so long, and now I won’t be able to have the chance to hug him ever.I was still in the middle of my thoughts when all of a sudden, Aunt Lou came from behind me. She was carrying a tray with two cups of coffee. “I see you woke up quite early today.” Aunt Lou swiftly told me the moment that she was able to get a comfy sitting position. Aunt Lou was usually wearing her bubbly face once more and I knew that she would try her best to cheer me up today. We usually do this around in the morning before she prepares to head out for her daily appointments.There are days when I feel like a burden for my aunt knowing that she was already bu
I have pondered that perhaps Aunt Lou could really be right after all. Choosing to stay her would only make me suffer more and recall about the incident of my miscarriage. It was something that still haunted me now in my everyday life. Which was why, I somehow wish to believe that what Aunt Lou told me would really help me in a way.“Could my decision about moving to Vancouver wait?” I abruptly said that caused Aunt Lou to abruptly draw back a bit with a little taken aback face. “May I know why?” she inquired.At first, I was uncertain about telling her all about it. Especially after what happened, I knew that she would only be upset that it was for this reason why I want to delay the plan to move to Vancouver.However, I knew that I must secure putting the connection between me and ex-husband into a closure. Aside from that, I wanted to make sure that I get all the terms that I asked of Justin.It was for that reason I still prefer to be left behind so that I could work on it. This
I am filled with an overwhelming wave of anger, surpassing mere surprise. It is truly disheartening to witness the Montefalcos' insatiable greed, going so far as to strip my late parents of their beloved medical center. "Those heartless individuals will stop at nothing until they have taken everything you hold dear." Aunt Lou expressed her frustration. Learning about the news must have truly ignited her anger. "The medical center is now under our management, and it is unbelievable that anyone would even attempt to claim it from us," she exclaimed with a mix of frustration and disbelief. I sensed that her anger surpassed my own. It came as no surprise that her reaction was as expected, considering Aunt Lou and her husband had taken charge of everything at the medical facility after my parents passed away.Naturally, they have every reason to be furious about the Montefalcos' desires. “We can’t let them get away with this. Do you happen to know a reliable lawyer we could consult for
“It’s you?!” I exclaimed, seeing that it was just none other than the same man, that perverted man, whom I encountered when I disguised as a nurse at the medical facility.He was able to stand up straight as though he had not been severely wounded before. I guess he must have recovered from that wound. I kind of envy him, the wound he had has already healed, whereas mine would probably take a long time, probably never at all, to heal."Oh, look who it is. The nurse who took care of me. What are you doing here all by yourself?” He asked. And just like he did before, he was acting to casual with me again. Still seething with anger from the near collision, I could not help but feel the urge to confront him. "Do not you dare divert the issue here," I said, unable to contain my frustration. You nearly got me killed just now! I vented at him.The man eventually raised his hands before his chest, as though indicating that he surrendered. “Okay, okay, I’m sorry but I was in a bit of a hurry
The weight of the file in my hands was suffocating. The words blurred together, but the truth was undeniable—my father hadn’t just been a scientist. He had been a test subject. And Elise’s father had orchestrated it all.Leon took the file from me carefully, his jaw tight as he read through the documents. “This wasn’t just research. They were experimenting on people.”Dorian exhaled sharply. “And your father was one of them.”I clenched my fists. “But why? What were they trying to do?”Leon flipped to the last page, scanning the details. His eyes darkened. “Something about genetic resilience. Accelerated healing. They were looking for ways to manipulate biological responses to trauma.”My stomach churned. “You mean… like making people stronger?”“Stronger, faster, immune to certain injuries.” Leon met my gaze, his voice heavy. “Margarette, they weren’t just studying human endurance. They were creating something.”A chill ran down my spine. “Creating what?”Dorian shifted uncomfortably
The room felt heavier now, as if the ghosts of the past had never truly left. My father’s study had once been a place of quiet authority, filled with the scent of polished wood and old books. Now, it was chaos—a graveyard of secrets waiting to be unearthed.Leon and Dorian moved swiftly, sifting through papers, searching for anything that might explain my father’s connection to Elise’s father. But my hands trembled as I flipped through the documents.My father’s handwriting stared back at me in sharp, deliberate strokes.Project Haven—Initiated 20 years agoI frowned. “Project Haven?”Leon peered over my shoulder. “That name mean anything to you?”I shook my head, but something about it felt... familiar. Like a memory I had brushed against in passing but never grasped fully.Dorian pulled a dust-covered filing box from beneath the desk. “We’ve got more.” He popped the latch and revealed stacks of old documents, some stamped with red ink.CONFIDENTIAL.I swallowed hard as I pulled out
The weight of the locket in my palm was heavier than I remembered. The last time I had seen it, I was a child—too young to understand the depth of what had been stolen from me. And now, years later, it had resurfaced in the hands of a man who had every reason to use it against me.Leon’s grip on my knees tightened. “We need to figure out why he has this.”I nodded, but my thoughts were elsewhere, tangled in memories I had buried long ago. My parents. Their deaths. The accident—or what I had been told was an accident.I took a shaky breath. “This locket... it was my mother’s. She gave it to me the day before she died.” My voice wavered. “When they found me after the accident, it was gone.”Leon’s eyes darkened. “Someone took it.”“Not just someone,” I whispered. “Elise’s father.”Dorian entered the room, his usual calm demeanor slightly frayed. “I just got word. Elise’s father left town hours ago. Whatever game he’s playing, he planned this move in advance.”Leon cursed under his breat
The moment we arrived at Leon’s safe house, a heavy silence settled between us. The tension in the air was suffocating, thick with unspoken fears and the weight of what we had just learned. Alexa was gone. And Elise's father—the man who had been a phantom in the shadows of our problems—had finally made his move.I paced the length of the dimly lit living room, arms crossed over my chest. My mind raced, trying to piece together the possibilities of where Alexa could be and what they might be doing to her. Dorian stood near the window, his sharp eyes scanning the darkness beyond, while Leon leaned against the wall, his jaw locked tight.“We need to move,” I said, breaking the silence. My voice came out steadier than I expected, but my hands were trembling. “Every second we waste, Alexa could be—” I cut myself off before finishing the thought. I refused to let fear paralyze me.Leon pushed off the wall, his expression unreadable. “Dorian already has our people searching the perimeter of
The city swallowed us whole the moment we stepped out of the car. Anacortes was the same—steel and stone, sharp edges and dark alleys—but I felt it in my bones. Something had changed. Or maybe it was just me.I wasn’t the same woman who had left this place behind. I wasn’t the same woman who had fallen in love in this city, built a life here, and thought she could outrun the ghosts waiting in the shadows. I had returned, but not as a victim. Not as the woman Elise’s father had once underestimated. No, this time, I was ready for war.Leon moved beside me, his presence solid, his energy coiled like a predator waiting to strike. He was on edge too. We all were.“Dorian.” Leon’s voice was low, sharp. “What do we know about Elise’s father’s movements?”Dorian’s fingers danced over his phone screen, his brow furrowing. “He’s been careful, but not careful enough. There’s been an increase in high-profile meetings in the city—business moguls, politicians, even a few well-dressed criminals. He’
The moment we stepped into the house, I could feel the tension in the air. Every shadow felt like a threat, every silence too loud. Leon locked the door behind us, and Dorian immediately pulled the curtains shut, moving with a precision that told me he’d done this before. I was no stranger to fear, but tonight, it pressed against my skin like a second layer.Elise’s father was behind this. I could feel it in my bones. And that terrified me more than anything.Leon paced near the fireplace, his face locked in a storm of controlled fury. Dorian sat at the table, his fingers moving across the keyboard of his laptop, eyes scanning for any digital trace of Alexa. I stood in the center of the room, my mind spinning with a thousand possibilities.“She’s out there somewhere,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper. “And we’re running out of time.”Leon exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “We need to figure out what Elise’s father wants. What’s his endgame?”Dorian didn’t look u
The moment we stepped into the safe house, the air felt different. Heavy. Charged with something unspoken but undeniable. The low hum of tension sat thick between us, each of us knowing that Alexa’s disappearance wasn’t a coincidence. It was a move—a calculated strike from Victor Langford, a man whose power was as dangerous as his reach.I couldn’t stop my hands from trembling as I reached for the envelope Leon had just read aloud. You should have stayed away. The words were scrawled in sharp, deliberate handwriting. I imagined Victor writing them with a smirk, knowing exactly what this message would do to us.Leon exhaled sharply, crushing the paper in his fist. “We need to move fast.”Dorian nodded. “I’ll put our guys on the streets. If they moved Alexa within city limits, someone saw something.”I swallowed, forcing my voice to steady. “We can’t just wait for information. We need to hit back.”Leon’s gaze snapped to mine, a flicker of something unreadable in his expression. “What a
The night felt heavier than before, the air thick with unspoken tension as we pieced together what Elise’s father’s return truly meant. My mind raced through the implications—if he had found her, it meant he wasn’t working alone. It meant he had resources, people willing to do his bidding, and most of all, it meant we weren’t prepared for what was coming.Elise hadn’t moved from her place on the couch, her fingers white-knuckling the phone. She wasn’t the same woman I had met before—there was something fragile about her now, something shattered. I understood that feeling far too well.Leon and Dorian were standing near the kitchen island, speaking in hushed voices, but I caught fragments of their conversation.“We need to move her somewhere else,” Dorian said, arms crossed. “If he got to her once, he can do it again.”Leon ran a hand through his hair, his jaw tight. “Moving her won’t change anything if he has the means to track her.”“Then what do you suggest? We wait for him to knock
The tension still lingered, like static in the air, even after we had ensured Elise’s safety and returned to the penthouse. The night had been long, exhausting, and I was running on nothing but adrenaline and borrowed time.Leon stood at the kitchen counter, pouring himself a glass of whiskey. The amber liquid swirled in the crystal tumbler as he took a slow sip, his eyes trained on me. He didn’t have to say anything—I could feel the weight of his gaze."You’re shaking," he murmured.I exhaled sharply, glancing down at my hands. He was right. I hadn’t even realized it.Leon set his glass down and crossed the space between us in two strides. His hands, warm and steady, caught mine, stilling them. "Come here."I let him pull me into his arms, the exhaustion catching up to me all at once. I buried my face against his chest, breathing him in—woodsy cologne, something faintly smoky, something undeniably him."You always act like you have to carry the weight of everything on your own," he m