Arielle's heart raced as she was led back to her cell by the stern as always female police officer. The harsh fluorescent lights overhead illuminated the grim surroundings of the police station, casting long shadows in the gloomy evening.Arielle thinks to herself that now, they have no use for her anymore since they now have a new lead. She'll probably just be abandoned, be left behind at the cell until something makes them remember her once again.With each step, Arielle's mind churned with a whirlwind of emotions—fear, frustration, and a sudden burning desire for freedom. As they approached her cell, she couldn't help but notice the long corridor leading to the exit, tantalizingly close yet seemingly out of reach. The lights from the hallway that she has become so familiar seemed to shine even brighter in the evening of the day.Suddenly, a very wild idea took hold of her, fueled by desperation and a sudden energy rush. Without a moment's hesitation, Arielle lashed out, her fist co
The arrival in Washington DC mirrored the twilight spectacle Ashton had grown accustomed to in New York. Its a city alive with the energy of its inhabitants as day surrendered to night. Stepping off the plane, he felt a familiar sense of exhilaration mixed with a pang of longing for his wife, Ivy. The sight of the sprawling cityscape, with its gleaming monuments and bustling streets, stirred memories of their plans to travel together.Before Ashton could fully immerse himself in the sights and sounds of the nation's capital, his phone buzzed with a message from Ivy. A photo accompanied by a heartfelt message instantly brought a smile to his face, warming his heart with the reminder of the love awaiting him at home. With renewed determination, he set off towards his first order of business, eager to make the most of his time in the city.Navigating through the many numbers of people, Ashton made his way to his scheduled meeting, the anticipation of reuniting with Ivy lending an extra s
Grant Hall sat alone in his dimly lit office, the soft glow of his computer screen casting shadows across the cluttered desk. Outside, the city buzzed with life even as the night descended, but inside the confines of his office, the atmosphere was one of solitude and silence, just as he loved it.As the hours stretched on, Grant's thoughts were consumed by the case that had consumed his every waking moment—a puzzle with more questions than answers, and stakes higher than he dared to imagine.Just as he resigned himself to another long night of solitary work, a gentle knock at the door shattered the silence. Startled, Grant glanced up to see Wren standing in the doorway, a small bag of food in her hand and a small smile on her face."Wren," Grant greeted her with a weary smile, gesturing for her to come in. "What brings you here at this hour?"Wren stepped into the office, her gaze meeting Grant's with a mixture of unreadable feelings and determination. "I knew you'd be working late to
As Mike and Roger slipped away from the confines of their mansion, a sense of anticipation hung heavy in the air. Tonight, they were determined to satisfy Mike's insatiable urges, to quell the burning desire that threatened to consume him at every turn. With each passing moment, their resolve hardened, driving them forward with a single-minded determination.They are both extremely determined to have Ivy tonight. There is absolutely no better time than when she's asleep, subconscious and her husband is not around to keep her warm. They will make it their own mission to do so for her.Under the cover of darkness, they navigated the silent streets with practiced ease, their destination clear in their minds. Ivy's house loomed on the horizon, a beacon of familiarity in the otherwise deserted night. With a silent understanding, they pressed on, their footsteps muffled by the thick blanket of night. They make it their business to do their works on their tippy toes, ignoring any sound that
Ashton suddenly sits up on his bed.The nightmare had clawed its way into Ashton's consciousness like a specter of dread, tearing him from the depths of sleep with a gasp of terror. His heart hammered against his ribcage, a frantic rhythm that echoed the turmoil within his mind. In a haze of fear and urgency, he threw off the covers and stumbled from his bed, his nightdress billowing around him as he rushed to the waiting plane. He had called them immediately to make the plane ready for takeoff. It's almost one am in the morning and he's still in his pajamas but he does not care. He's just worried about Ivy's safety.The pilots, startled by his abrupt arrival, wasted no time in preparing for takeoff, their movements swift and efficient as they responded to Ashton's urgent commands. With engines roaring to life, the plane surged forward, hurtling into the inky darkness of the night sky.Ashton's mind raced with a sense of foreboding, the nightmare's lingering tendrils weaving through h
Minutes earlier...Mike and Roger broke into the mansion successfully as most of the staff had been sent home to have a day off and the security is not on the side where they take inside.Roger had remotely turned away the CCTV cameras from the entrance they were going to take so even the security watching the camera's would not have seen anything.They scale the fence, carefully avoiding the electric nets on the top and nimbly jumps down."You've turned us into squirrels and birds just because of a woman." Roger half whispers.Mike shushes him. "Shhhh. Don't let anyone hear us, we didn't see anyone here doesn't mean no one will come here to tread quietly."Roger rolls his eyes in the dark. "Fine then. Let's just hurry up and do what we came here for."Mike smirks, the thought of his achievement after everything is over pushes the tiredness he's starting to feel into the lower part of his brain where it's not going to be acknowledged. He moves on nimbly, avoiding a lot of broken twigs
Mike catches his laugh. "Did you just laugh at me? What's so funny? Give me the water so I can drink it and maybe quench it a little bit.""If you are still thinking like that, then you no absolutely nothing about aphrodisiacs. I am experienced in the use of them for stubborn women so I know all about them.""What are you insinuating?"Roger laughs and drops the cup away from them both. "You two are gonna fuck till one dies. The things about aphrodisiacs that no one will tell you is that, if you don't fuck someone before it destroys and melts your inside with heat, you're going to die and if you decide to fuck someone that's on the same powder..." He looks back and forth at them both. "One of you will have to die. So now, we all know this is option two, one of you will have to surrender. And I think I know who..." He looks at Ivy, with an evil smile playing on his face. "You're the worst hit and the weaker one. I know my big brother, to have him stop obsessing over everything about yo
The door suddenly opens behind them and everyone turns around to see the man in informal clothing.Black casual trousers and black denim jacket.Only Arielle knows him amongst everyone and she takes a step back, a look of fear on her face. She stands behind Richard and whispers to him. "He's the detective from the police station. How the hell did he find us?"The detective walks to Grant and Wren. "I am Detective Rand from the police station Ms Arielle was detained before she ran away these past few hours. I recognize you as Ivy Wright's brother right? And you're the woman who was rescued alongside her in that kidnap incident?"Wren and Grant both nod, taking his offered hand in handshake. "How did you find us here?" Grant asks him, not beating around the bush.Rand chuckles, tousling his hair slightly. "I had gone to meet my superior and came back to the news of a jail break. I immediately set out for her. I stopped at her place and about an hour later, you raced past. The light insi
"Calm down, she'll be fine." "How can I be calm when I can hear her screaming her lungs out here!" Ashton half yells at Grant and then composes himself. "Sorry but I can't help feeling like this when her screams seem to be pushing at my heart right now." Grant smiles and puts a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine." In a little bit, the agonizing screams stop and there's calm. Ashton springs to his feet the third time in a minute. A nurse comes out. "She delivered safely. It's a baby girl. She's been dressed now. You can..." She hears her name being called again and goes back inside, not finishing her sentence and the look she gave to Ashton makes him three times more scared. Ivy is in the labour room, her contractions had suddenly started while on a road trip so Ashton had drove like his life depended on it. Well, maybe because his wife's life depended on it and so did his. The baby had come two weeks earlier than the date she's supposed to arrive which has got all of them
She hugs him gently on the bed and presses a blue button above his head.In about a minute, the doctor with his levy of nurses open the door and come inside. Ivy leaves them to it and steps out for the moment. As soon as she steps out, everyone crowds around her."What's wrong?""Why are the doctors rushing in like that?"Ivy smiles and motions them to calm down. "He woke up just now. I called the doctors for their routine check. We may be able to see him after his checkup."They all sigh in relief and some even hug in relief.She waits with them outside and after a little while, the doctors and nurses finally come out of the room."He's fine now. You all can go in to see him."Without waiting for any other confirmation of any sort, they all push past them like the really big family they are portraying and go inside the room, Ivy goes in last but Veronica gives her the chair so she won't stay standing, tired because of the life growing in her belly.At first, there's nothing but then
The next three hours is a flurry of activities as their families begins to troop in, Grant joining them at a point."Where is he?" Judith asks as soon as she arrives, talking Ivy's in his."They just wheeled him out of the surgery room. I was told to wait outside while they set him up or something."Judith nods. "Oh thank goodness. How did you find him?"She glances at Grant who shrugs right back at her. "I had help from a police officer. He helped me locate him.""Don't tell me it was that one on the news?" Veronica chips in as she comes by, coming into the discussion."Yes, it was him. He just wanted Trust Financials as a reward but I knew he was going to betray me anyway so I didn't really give him.""But the news didn't say you were there?" Judith quips this time."Well, I left there with Ashton and came to the hospital so I wasn't really there. Just popped in and out." She smiles, turning slightly red as she covers one lie with another.Grant laughs and then quickly masks it with
"Grant! Watch out!" Ivy yells as she grabs the gun laying closest to her.Grant whips around and stares right into the barrel of a Beretta '94 that had been left behind by one of Mike's own men.Mike chuckles painfully. He glances momentarily at Ivy who's fiddling with the gun in her hand and scoffs. "You can't even handle it, how can you use it?" He takes his eyes off of her and focuses it on Grant. "So you killed my little brother because he raised the gun at you first? Why am I not dead yet?"Grant rolls his eyes. "Is this one of those villain long talks? I'm sick of them, come on. Just drop the gun and accept your fate. Is that so hard? You lost the fight. Well, leave then." Grant mutters disinterestedly even though he's looking right at a loaded gun.Mike shakes his head. "A fight isn't over until it's really over. Do you know why I took that man? Her husband? After she passed out, I was determined to make him a widower who lost his baby by not letting her to go the hospital on t
Recovering from the gunshot and sudden appearance of Grant, Ivy runs for Ashton's who's very weak and his pulse is irregular. She looks around and her eyes land on a bunch of keys on one of Mike's men's trousers.He smirks at her when he sees her eyeing the keys. "Come get them darling."There's a second gunshot and a glaring hole appears right in the middle of his forehead and he falls to the ground. Wordlessly, Ivy runs for his body and removes the key. Mike's men all flee seeing that one dead. They all drop their weapons and run away, leaving Hank and Mike.The fact that her brother just murdered someone doesn't count at in the current circumstances. She loses the chains that he's been tied down with and he falls limply down into her arms. She holds him up with her strength, not letting him hit the ground, the same way he had cushioned her head that night Mike had hit her in the stomach.He moves ever so slightly and his hand come to rest on her legs before he closes his eyes, a ve
True to his words, Hank calls her in thirty minutes. Reminding her that she has thirty minutes to get there. "Where am I meet you?" She asks him on the call."Grey Street Garage..."She immediately springs up from her chair, grabs all the documents from the table and hisses, remembering that place. She had been locked in a warehouse on the same compound for two nights. She inhales sharply and she's sure she's ready to go there.Not like she has a choice anyway.Anita sees her breeze right by but she doesn't say anything, guessing it's about the call that brought back her appetite momentarily. She sighs, wishing her boss well. If everyone in the whole wide world has to go through such thing, she'd never wish it on Ivy. She's basically the best boss she's ever had.The best of the best.Which is why she wishes her luck silently as the elevator doors close with Ivy inside.As soon as she's on the ground floor, she dashes for her car, checking the time every few seconds. It takes about t
The first day went by...So does the second.On the third day, it has Ivy in a bind, pacing in her office.Anita comes in with a plate of vegetable salad and mashed potatoes, and steak in another plate along with another takeout cheeseburger and fries, even chicken nuggets as well, hoping she would eat one of the many dishes.She hardly acknowledges her entrance as she sets all of them down on the table and looks at Ivy as she paces around her table, her eyes not leaving her phone.Even Anita has no idea what she's waiting for but it seems to have so much importance to her so she can't interfere but she can eat while waiting... Right?"Ma'am, you won't eat lunch again? This is the third day you're skipping your breakfast and lunch."Nobody knows about the baby except her family, his family and himself.She looks askance at Anita and then looks away again. "I'm fine. I ate a lot last night.""Really? I was the one who threw the dishes away this morning."Anita has been the one bringing
"Ma'am!" The officer yells as he bangs his palms flatly on the table. "This place is no joking area. There are conclusive evidence against you, all of this interrogations are simply formalities! Do you accept the fact that you did kill Tiara or not?"Yale scoffs. "Technically, Richard killed her not me."In the interrogation room directly upstairs, Richard scoffs. "That bitch said so? She's just trying to shift blames. She was the one who absolutely killed Tiara. As Ivy said in the press conference, I only aided and abetted. I am well aware of that and I am not denying it. But I really didn't kill Tiara."Downstairs. "He aided and abetted? That rat. He was the one who dragged her body to the car and suggested we dump her in the ocean!"Upstairs. "That whore. She said I suggested it? She hit Tiara over the head and make her pass out which I totally witnessed. Then we thought she had died. Thinking of it now, she had not even seemed any scared at all, she just said we should throw the b
A murmur ripples through the whole crowd.Time seems to stand still.The point exactly was that nobody was expecting that was what she had come to say. Nobody, not even Anita who plugs in the flash drive and the presentation begins.Almost soulless and robot-like, Ivy turns around to the projector behind her that has a picture of cars. Not very specific car but a lot of them.Then she begins her presentation, using the laser pointer to point at the things that matter. "We all know Tiara died and her body had been fished out of the sea. Well, she didn't drown, she was murdered so that means she had been carried or somehow transported to where her body had been dumped. There are things called dash cams..." She uses the laser to point just as the image changes into a car's close up view.There is a small device with a blinking red light and she points to it. "That's called a dash cam and not every car has it but every two of five does. Which is why, from the place she had been killed, I