Detective Cortez stared at the body in front of him and watched as the forensic team took pictures of it while collecting samples of evidence.It was another suicide. Another victim of drugs. A young woman, barely in her twenties. But unlike the previous victims, she didn’t kill herself because of the drugs. No. She killed herself because she couldn’t take the family pressure anymore. She couldn’t take the society pressure anymore. She couldn’t take the peer pressure anymore. She was sick and tired of everything. And the only way she saw herself out of that mess was by killing herself.It was written in her suicide note.He sighed heavily, rubbing his temple tiredly.He hated cases like this. Cases involving minors, teens, students—people who were struggling to survive in society. These were the worst kind of cases. These were the ones that made him question his profession. Made him question his purpose in life.Did he really have the power to save these people? Did he really have the
Elena closed the door of the car and looked out of the window, watching as the streets of New York passed by. She had just come out of the police station, after being called for questioning by Detective Cortez, who wanted to know about her relationship with Cecelia McDowell. Elena told him the truth. She hardly knew Cecelia. She had no connection whatsoever to the girl. And she definitely didn’t have anything to do with her disappearance.But, somehow, Detective Cortez seemed to think otherwise.Probably because of her own stupid mistake. But was it really a mistake?If she had admitted to the fact that the night she caught Richard and Cecelia in the hotel she did more than just threaten the two—she had hit Richard so hard in the head, that he lost consciousness and was admitted to the hospital—she had a feeling the detective wou
Elena watched Richard’s car leaving the mansion from the window of her room, frowning to herself.Why did he come here? What did he think would happen if he showed up unannounced like that? But most importantly, how did he find out about her? The fact that she lived here? Did that mean he knew now that she wasn’t just any Matthews but the daughter of one of the richest industrialists in the country?This sudden disappearance of Cecelia sure ruined her plans ever so gracefully.She sighed into her chest, running a hand through her hair.She needed to be more careful now. Needed to stay away from Richard and his toxic family. And maybe focus on her brother now. He was the only one who mattered. Josh and Caleb. That’s it. No one else.Elena returned to her bed and sat down, taking off her heels, one by one. She was tired. Exhausted even. Just wanted to rest. Sleep. And forget about the world for a few hours. Maybe when she woke up next time, things would be better.But she knew that wasn
“What do you even want to hear?” Melinda shouted, as she glared at Richard with teary eyes. “Your sister is missing, dammit! And you want to know why that bitchy wife of yours left? What the hell is wrong with you?”Richard looked away, unable to understand why was it so hard for this woman just to answer one damn question. All he wanted to know was why Elena left that night. What happened that night? Was the media right to accuse him of having an affair with his step-sister? Why couldn’t he fucking remember anything from that night? Why was it all fucking blank?“Just give me an answer, Mom. I’m not asking for too much, am I?” He tried again, hoping maybe if he lowered his tone, she would be more reasonable and would not take an offence, again.“But why the hell does it matter?” Melinda shook her head, still glaring. “She left you when you needed her the most? She left you without a fucking word. And you still can’t stop chasing after her? Where the hell is your dignity? Are you even
“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” Elena asked her six-year-old nephew, hoping she could still convince him not go to camping with the school.She knew school was safe and the teachers and staff would do anything to keep their students out of trouble, but she was still worried. What if Caleb got hurt? Or worse, got sick? What if he accidentally poisoned himself? What if there was a bear in the forest they were going to be camping in? The thought of Caleb being in danger was enough to make Elena’s heart skip a beat and her palms get sweaty. She couldn’t lose another member of her family. She was too terrified. The only reason she even signed the permission letter in the first place was because Caleb had been excited. He had been looking forward to camping since the day he heard about it and she didn’t want to ruin it for him by asking him not to go.“I’ll be fine, Aunt Elena,” Caleb reassured her, his cute dimples showing. “Don’t worry.”Elena nodded reluctantly, forcing a smile
“Ma’am, you can’t go inside like that!” the woman outside Richard’s office tried to stop Elena, standing between her and the door.Elena frowned, shooting daggers at the poor woman’s already panicked eyes. “I need to see your boss.” She gritted out, not in the mood to take anyone’s shit. She wanted to see that crazy ex-husband of hers. She wanted to knock some sense into his bloody head, right fucking now.“And you will,” the woman said calmly. “But first, you need to calm down.”There was a sense of familiarity in her posture as if she knew who exactly Elena was.Good. That meant she wouldn’t have to waste time introducing herself. Not that she had any plans to. She just wanted to get rid of this fucking bastard who couldn’t mind his own fucking business?What was his problem anyway? Why couldn’t he just leave her alone? Sure, by exposing him and his affair with Cecelia she might have invited his attention back onto her but did he really need to make her life hell every single second
Elena stormed out of McDowell’s office building and slipped into her car.The woman was beyond furious. What the hell did Richard think of himself? How could he be so arrogant? So egotistical? Did he really think she would fall for his bullshit again? Did he really think he could control her?Elena had no doubt that Richard had hired that PI to spy on her. The PI had admitted that himself. Her guards were highly skilled professionals who knew how to get information without anyone knowing that they were doing it, and yet he had somehow managed to follow them without raising any suspicions whatsoever. Either her guards were incompetent or that PI was very good at his job. Either way, it pissed Elena off to no end.She gripped the phone in her hand tightly and tried to calm herself down before asking the driver to take her to her office. She needed to cool off before making any decisions. She needed to think this through without letting her emotions cloud her judgment. She had accepted h
Simon sat in the conference room and listened quietly as one of his employees talked on and on about some stupid idea he had come up with. He stared blankly ahead while thinking about something else entirely.It wasn’t normal for Simon to be distracted so easily. He was a man of focus and determination. When he put his mind to something, he gave it one hundred per cent of himself. But right now, he couldn’t concentrate on anything except the woman who had haunted his dreams for the last few years.There was something about Elena Matthews he couldn’t shake off. Something that drew him towards her despite the fact that she hated his guts. This was the exact reason he kept his identity hidden for so long. He knew, if she came to realize who he was, and how he was related to Richard and his family, she would have never given in to him. That one-night stand between them wouldn’t have happened and she definitely wouldn’t have agreed to carry on their casual affair beyond its expiration date
Hey lovely readers,First of all, I would like to say a huge thank you if you’ve made it to the end. It wasn’t an easy journey, I know, but you stayed, and that means everything to me. :)Secondly, let me get straight to what I said I would be talking about in this note.I know a lot of you (probably all of you) must be wondering what happens with Josh next, and what about Angelina, Betty, Caleb, and the other kids.No worries—the reason I decided not to continue their stories here is that I’ll be exploring that story arc in a new book. It will probably be published soon (I’ll do my best, I promise). I realized that Josh’s story needed its own space because there was so much I wanted to write for him, and that couldn’t happen alongside Simon and Elena, who were obviously nearing their happy ending.But yes, it’s impossible to write about Josh without Elena, so Elena and Simon will be making appearances in the new book as well. Maybe sometimes more than I intend, because God knows I lov
After their little party was over and everyone went back to the guest rooms to rest, Elena laid their sleeping daughter in her crib and tucked her nicely.A pair of warm hands slid around her waist from behind, a kiss landed on her shoulder. “Thank you for today. How long have you been planning all this? And how the hell did you manage to invite Josh? I didn’t take him for a party person. Not these days.” He whispered into her ear, making her skin tingle.“You have to ask me how I got your brother to attend? I have my ways of making people do what I want.” She grinned as she turned in his arms and looped hers around his neck.He grinned as well. “Is that right? Do those ways include threatening? Do I want to know the details?” He said jokingly, knowing how Elena is, and she was very much the kind of person who’d go out of her way to make the things that were important to her, happen.“Oh, I think you don’t really want to know. But, I just had to do it for you.”She gave him a light kis
Simon woke up in the middle of the night, his heart racing.He looked around himself, patting his hand around in search of the person he was hoping to find. But to his dismay, there was no one else on the bed with him.“Elena?” he said out loud, frowning at the darkness.His hand patted the sheets and pillow again, trying to feel for her body, but he found nothing. Where was she? Where did she go?“Elena?”No response.He was starting to worry now. Where was she? He could feel a sense of dread slowly filling up inside him. He needed to find her. He needed to know if she was okay.Suddenly, he heard footsteps coming from outside his room. He quickly got out of bed, put on his sweatpants and a t-shirt and opened the door.There was no one in the hallway. It was eerily quiet.He frowned, he could swear he heard someone walk by just now.“Elena, are you here? Please say something, darling. It’s me.” He said as he walked slowly to the end of the hallway, bare feet.Just when he thought he
Elena stood outside the doors, clutching the bouquet tightly in her hands. She was shaking, and she knew that anyone who could see her right now would notice, including her brother, Josh.“You’re not a very confident bride, are you?” he teased.She rolled her eyes, wanting to punch him but refraining from causing any casualties at her wedding.“I’m just nervous, that’s all.”“Understandable,” he said, taking a deep breath. “Trust me, you’re not the only one.”She looked up at him, unsure of what he meant. “What do you mean?”“Simon probably feels way worse. I mean, did you see him before he went into that room with his friends? He was sweating bullets.”She shook her head. “You’re making that up.”“I’m not, I swear!” He chuckled. “He’s just as scared as you are, if not more. And that’s a sight I never thought I’d see in my life.”She smiled a little. “I guess you’re right. He is pretty intimidating.”“Exactly. So you have nothing to worry about.” He patted her shoulder. “You’ve got thi
Richard whistled, and Danika watched as Greg, standing outside the room, appeared and uncuffed him.“What the fuck?” Danika was shocked. “How did you… How did you do that?” She turned to face Greg. “You… you work for me, not him! Cuff him back to the door, you giant imbecile!”“Sorry, miss,” Greg said in a deep voice, “I don’t think I will. Mr. McDowell here paid me a lot more money than you to change sides.”“What?!”“That’s right.” Richard stood up, rubbing his wrists. “This is over for you, Danika. Let’s just end this before anyone gets hurt.”Shocked and now furious, Danika was not someone who would give up so easily. Her fingers tightened around the scalpel in her hand. She would fight. She would not go down without a fight.“You think you can win, Richard? You think you’re so smart, don’t you? Well, you’re wrong. I’m not going anywhere. If I can’t have Elena, then no one can.”Without warning, she lunged at Elena, swinging the scalpel towards her throat. But before she could eve
“Is everything set up?” the first man who carried the unconscious bride asked.“Yes,” Greg, who stood outside the operating theater, nodded. “The room is ready. All the equipment is working fine. Just leave her inside, and that woman will handle the rest.”“Sounds good to me,” the other man said, wiping the sweat off his forehead.“Yeah, me too. I just want to get this over with as soon as possible. I don’t want to be here for too long. My wife and daughter have been going on and on about this wedding, and if they come to know I was part of it, they’ll never let me hear the end of it,” the first one said.“Don’t worry. You’ll be paid handsomely,” Greg assured, opening the door for them. “I’ll make sure of that. We just need to do our jobs and get out of here. Simple as that.”“Fine,” the two men said in unison.Danika was waiting for them next to the table, a smile on her face. “Ah, there you are. Any trouble?”“No. Everything’s fine.”“Excellent. Place her on the table, please.”They
Danika was so damn ready for the final stage of her revenge.She had planned everything meticulously, and now all her efforts were coming to fruition. She was smiling to herself when the phone rang, and she picked it up, already aware of what she was about to hear.“We got her,” the man with the deep voice said. “On our way now. Will be there in twenty.”“Perfect. See you then.”She hung up, unable to stop the grin from forming on her face. Everything was going according to plan. And it was just getting started.She looked around. She was standing right in the middle of an abandoned hospital, the perfect place to host her little celebration. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Simon’s face once he realized his bride was gone. And this time, for good. He would be devastated, broken, destroyed. The thought alone was enough to make her laugh.“What’s so funny?” Richard asked as he walked into what looked like an operating theatre.“Just imagining Simon’s face once he realizes I’ve taken
Simon was pacing outside the bridal suite, restless and nervous. One of the servers had informed him that Elena wasn’t feeling well, and he had dropped everything he was doing to rush over and see if she was okay, or if they needed to cancel the wedding. Because he totally could. Nothing was more important to him than his soon-to-be wife’s well-being.“Come on, open the fucking door! Let me in. Just once. I swear, I won’t even say a word.”“Not yet, Simon,” came the familiar voice of Diana. “We talked about this. You can’t see the bride before the wedding.”“Fuck that. This is a fucking emergency. She’s not answering the phone. What if something’s wrong?”“Relax. She’s fine. She just needs a few minutes alone. The excitement is getting to her. But she’ll be out soon. Don’t worry.”“Diana, I swear to God, if you don’t open the door right now, I’m breaking it down. I don’t care if I have to chop the entire thing down.”“Go away, Simon. Or I’m going to tell Elena what you did the other da
And while celebrations and laughter were being shared in one part of the world, in another corner, a different kind of gathering was being planned—a more sinister, dark, and twisted celebration.“I knew I’d find you here,” a familiar voice whispered in his ear. Richard glanced over his shoulder, frowning at the face he hadn’t seen in a while. But there was no mistaking it. The woman was actually here, and the first thing he wanted to do upon recognizing her was to wrap his fingers around her throat and squeeze until she stopped breathing.“What do you want?” he growled, turning back to his drink as he sat at the bar of one of the elite clubs.“Why? No welcome? Where are your manners, Richie?”He hated it when she called him that.“What are you doing here, Danika? I thought I made it clear you were not to contact me again.”“And I thought I made it clear that I have no intention of backing off until you realize that we both have the same enemy. Until you agree to work with me.”“You are