Sylvia’s tense body relaxed as she breathed a sigh of relief and cursed her own nerves.She had seen everything with her own eyes, how could there be anything fishy going on? What a big man. Did he really have such a difficult time admitting what he had done? Moreover, she had not even tried to blame him. All she had said was that she wanted him to release Thomas. Thankfully, by locking her out on the balcony, at least she would not have to sleep with him. With that thought in mind, Sylvia curled herself up and leaned against the wall to sleep. The night breeze was a bit chilly during this season but it was not bone-chillingly cold. The breeze blowing lightly on her was actually quite comfortable. After a while, Sylvia fell asleep. Seconds turned into minutes. The man stood in front of the window in the study room next door as he smoked. The wind came in from the opened window and carried the smoke away. His gloomy expression slowly eased, until he reached the last
Sylvia’s face was cold as she said, “What if I insist on bringing it in?” The man sneered. “Then don’t blame us for being rough.” After that, each man in the group then revealed a small axe from behind their backs. Sylvia was stunned. She had hidden two pieces of bread in her pockets, so even if she could not take the whole breakfast set inside, it would not be too much of a problem. She just had to go inside and check on Thomas. After thinking about it, she placed the breakfast on the ground. The men stepped back and granted her access to the villa. Sylvia ran into the villa. After she went inside, the man who had threatened her pulled out his phone and texted someone. Meanwhile inside the villa, Thomas was sitting by the window in his room. He stared outside blankly, allowing the sun to shed its brilliance on him. He had on a white shirt and the combination with the brilliance of the sun on his pale skin made him look a little ghostly.All of a sudden, the phone be
His cold face instantly became gloomy. Walking up to her, he looked at her and said, “Yes, I’m beating him up. What are you going to do about it?” “I…I…” Sylvia stuttered. Then, she threw herself into his arms and tried to constrict his arms by wrapping her arms around him. She looked up to him and said, “Odell, I won’t let you hit him!” Odell stood still, allowing her to hold him tightly. His lips and eyes curled as he chuckled, “Just you alone?” Sylvia increased her strength. She refused to surrender and shouted defiantly, “Yes, me alone! As long as I’m breathing, I won’t let you hit him!” The moment the words fell, both her arms were wrenched away with a greater force. Sylvia was shocked. She tried to grab him again but the man caught her by the waist. She found herself being lifted up and pinned under the man’s arm. She was then carried closer to Thomas and forced to watch him land a kick on Thomas with his foot that was encased in a leather shoe. Thomas curled
When the car stopped in front of her place, Sylvia unfastened her seat belt and moved to leave the car. “Don’t let me catch you there again, or I will really destroy him,” he said as he shot a gloomy gaze at her. Sylvia’s eyes shifted slightly before she got out of the car and ran into her house. …That night, Sylvia could not sleep at all. She rolled around on her bed as she struggled to sleep. It was not until midnight that she finally received a text back from Sherry. “Syl, I found out that Thomas was admitted into a private hospital in the suburbs. He’s a little weakened, dehydrated and has some superficial injuries, but nothing serious. He was discharged this evening.” Sylvia breathed a sigh of relief. However, the thought of Thomas being imprisoned again made her heart sink. She had to come up with a way to save him and take him away from Westchester. After another hour of struggling to sleep, she got up to approach the window and had a peek at Odell’s house.
Sylvia came out from behind the curtains and went to his side. She grabbed his hand again and said seriously, “Thomas, please leave with me now. Believe me, I can get you out of here.” Calmly, he stared into her eyes and asked, “Then after that, what next?” “I’ll take you away from Westchester. As long as you leave the city, Odell won’t be able to lay his hands on you anymore.” “What about you? Will you be leaving with me?” Sylvia was stunned. She began to avoid his scorching gaze and said in a small voice, “I can’t leave. I have to be here to take care of Isabel and Liam.” “Then leaving does not mean anything to me,” Thomas said with a chuckle. “I’d rather be locked up here by Odell. At least I’d still be able to see you.” “No! Odell is unpredictable, he might break your legs tomorrow or beat you up the day after.” “As long as I can see you, I don’t mind being crippled,” he said to her with a gentle smile. Sylvia felt a sinking feeling in her heart. Him trying to c
The window was the same as it had been when Sylvia had climbed in. She popped her head to look both ways before she climbed out. Then, she turned around and reached out to Thomas, saying, “Thomas, come on. I’ve got you.” Thomas’ eyes shifted for a bit before he said, “Okay.” Clasping her hand, he stepped onto the window sill before he pushed himself out of the window in one movement. Sylvia immediately pulled him along by the hand as she led him back to where she had come from. Just as she was about to lead Thomas into some shady bushes, a bright light suddenly came on.The strong light blinded Sylvia for a moment. By the time her eyes had adapted to the light, she noticed a group of men ahead of her in the bushes. More than a dozen bodyguards in uniforms stood in front of her, forming a barricade. Before them was Odell, sitting elegantly on a dark leather chair. The lights were bright enough for Sylvia to spot the frosty look on Odell’s face with just one glance.
Even the clear sound of bones breaking could be heard.Thomas screamed in pain, until even the veins on his face bulged out.Sylvia’s eyes widened in shock. Her leg had been intentionally broken before, so she knew how it felt as the bone broke. He had to be in excruciating pain. On top of that, Thomas was a pianist. The blow on his hand would not only hurt him physically, it would also hurt his future. However, that was not the end as the bodyguard raised the bat again and aimed for the right hand. Sylvia’s eyes turned red as she continued to scream, “Odell! Stop! Please make them stop, or I’ll die in front of you!” Her shout caused the bodyguards to stop again and they looked to Odell for further instructions. Odell’s gaze clouded over, but after a moment of silence, he said, “Continue.” The bodyguard raised the bat once more. Suddenly, there was a scream of pain. Sylvia had bitten the arm of the bodyguard who had been holding on to her. The pain forced him to r
He was feeling utterly helpless. Not only did the woman not love him any more, she had even tried to kill herself because of another man. He wondered if she was truly so in love with this man that she was willing to abandon her children!“Sylvia, you’ve really done it this time,” Odell said with a deep chuckle as a gleam flashed in his eyes before he released her face. He stood up and said to his bodyguards, “Release him and move out. There’s no need for all of you to come to this place anymore.” The bodyguards were shocked by his order and responded with a loud, “Yes, sir!”Sylvia breathed a sigh of relief, but she felt her chest seize up with panic, as if her heart was experiencing a cramp. The further Odell walked away, the stronger the cramp became. She believed that it must have been the water that was interfering with her breathing. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the thought aside. After the bodyguards and Odell left, she got up and ran over to Thomas. Thomas wa
She was her usual self in every aspect. She put her heart into her job and never started trouble so long as nobody tried to start trouble with her. The crew cycled through their locations during their shoot. The constant travel made her skin break out slightly, but there were no other concerns otherwise. The shoot progressed very smoothly and within three months, they managed to wrap up everything at the mountainous region previously mentioned. It was nearly evening when they wrapped up the shoot. Holding a bouquet in hand, she took a group picture with the crew and celebrated with everyone. After that, she planned to hitch a ride with another crew member and leave for home. To their demise, some men in uniform who claimed to be the road maintenance technicians showed up to break the bad news to them. They mentioned that they had to repair some of the roads urgently and so the way home was temporarily obstructed. The director took his phone and called the city hotline fo
He remembered his first meeting with Isabel. She was sitting all by herself on the floor, in the middle of nowhere. Her vulnerable expression only made her more endearing. So, he managed to get her to go to his place and installed her in his home. He fell for her and paid careful attention to all her needs. It did not take long before Isabel caught feelings for him as well. The two of them got together in no time. Their days were plain and ordinary, but also very fulfilling, that was until he met Clarice. With the help of his father, his power struggle with Roland had reached a tipping point. It was at that opportune moment when Clarice’s father saw something in Roland and planned to wed his daughter Clarice to him to join up their families, which was a cause for alarm for Decker. He stressed over it for an entire night before approaching Clarice himself the very next day. Clarice quickly caught feelings for him as well. Furthermore, Roland had been foolish enough to reject
Decker was smiling quite earnestly at Isabel. Isabel threw a deeply suspicious look at him, then she glanced at the stack of documents laid out on top of the table in front of her. “Transferal of Shares.” She was dumbfounded. "I've gone through the contract, it’s safe to sign so go ahead.” Roland picked up a pen and handed it to her. "Roland, I..." "Sign it first, I’ll explain when we get home.” Isabel frowned and tried to protest. "I—" "Don't make me have to beg." Isabel did not know how to respond. Fine. She briefly scanned through the contract. The contract stated Decker’s agreement to transfer the remaining forty percent of his shares in Rockwell Corporation to her. Roland must have talked to the shareholders of Rockwell Corporation about this as well. They all regarded Isabel with polite smiles. Isabel had flipped through the final page of the document. She signed her name on one of the marked-out sections. She proceeded to sign all thr
They ended the call shortly after that. Isabel glanced at Martha and was hesitating if she should break the news right away. Martha seemed to have sensed her staring and suddenly turned to her with a flash of concern. "Isabel, what's wrong?" Isabel took a deep breath and broke the news. "Auntie, Master Rockwell just passed away." Martha's eyes widened. After a lengthy silence that lasted more than ten seconds, she started to break out in tears. She covered her face with her hands and expressed amid bouts of tears mixed with laughter, “Wonderful! About time! I hope he enjoys life in the underworld. God knows that someone like him will never deserve a spot in heaven!” Isabel did not know whether she should celebrate with Martha or console her. Soon, Martha began to collect herself. She briefly wiped away her tears and joyfully took Isabel's hand. "Isabel, let’s go shopping! I’m in such a good mood today, I’m going to go on a shopping spree!” "Okay. But Roland w
Isabel held onto Roland's hand firmly during the entire drive home after leaving the hospital. It was because Roland’s hands were cold and rigid. Isabel sat with him and tirelessly rubbed his hand to keep them warm. After one hand was warm, she would shift her attention to the other. By the time she managed to warm the other hand, the original hand would turn cold again. She decided it was easier to take both of his hands and caress them with the warmth of her palms. Roland looked at her with a gentle glow deep within his eyes. “Thank you, Isabel,” he said softly. Thank you for loving him, and for sticking by his side all this time despite circumstances. Isabel smiled. “I’m just warming your hands, it's no big deal. Still, you’re welcome." Roland smiled faintly and left it at that. Soon, his hands began to warm up off of the heat of Isabel’s palms. When Isabel felt that his hands were no longer freezing, she prepared to pull her hand away. That was when
Decker looked nothing like his usual self. The pompous, arrogant man who held himself far above others and who expected everyone around him to kiss up to him because he was superior to them all. It was as if he had been plunged not only to Earth but a pile of swamp. He had completely lost his usual grace. Isabel said crossly, "Decker, have you gone mental? Is everything going on too much for you?” “Yeah, could you help me?” he said with a coy smile, “Just one hug should be enough to take care of it all.” Isabel rolled her eyes. Without warning, he suddenly braced himself and lunged right at Isabel, stepping past Brandon who was caught off guard by this sudden attack. Isabel barely had time to react. Just when it seemed like his hand was about to graze Isabel, a long pair of arms seized Isabel from behind and jerked her backward. It was swiftly followed by a long, muscular leg shooting outward right next to Isabel. Thump! Decker was kicked to the ground.
"How did you and Roland meet?" Decker suddenly asked. Isabel turned away, fully intent on ignoring him. "Did you meet each other at Carter Corporation? Or did you meet him outside of work and gradually fell in love with him, then you decided to set him up with a position at Carter Corporation?” What did he mean by that? Was he insinuating that Roland was relying on her to snake his way into Carter Corporation? She threw a sideways, belittling look at him. "Do you think Roland is anything like you? He wouldn’t latch on another woman to further his goals.” Decker was not upset by this as he continued with a smug smile. "Oh? Then how did he get into Carter Corporation?" “He proved his worth.” Isabel realized that she had been roped in by Decker again. Nevertheless, she continued, “He passed the interviews himself. I was one of the interviewers and initially planned to dismiss him, but he managed to leave a very good impression on my father and the rest was history.” "
"I never meant to kill him! Roland, you have to believe me. Why would I still try to deceive you when I’m in this state?” “In that case, you can go ahead and explain things to him in the afterlife.” Master Rockwell was taken aback by this, his demeanor tightened. "You...you..." Roland looked at him calmly. "Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you. It was Grandma and my parents who raised me. They instilled morals and virtue into me and made sure I’d grow into a decent man.” Master Rockwell was briefly relieved to hear this, but before he could rid himself of his trepidation, Roland continued in a dark voice, "But I won’t forget about you and Decker bribing all those media outlets to defame Isabel. I know you manipulated the stock prices to try to kick me out of the corporation. I’ll make sure to settle our score through the legal system.” If convicted guilty, they would have to rot in prison. “Roland… listen to me, Roland. Decker is your uncle. If you want revenge, you can come
Master Rockwell must have heard their shifting movements and opened his eyes. When he recognized the faces of Roland and Isabel, there was a brief glow in his murky eyes. He motioned to the nurse to have her help him sit up from the bed. After he managed to position himself seated up against the head of the bed, he asked the nurse to leave. Then he cast a loving, tender smile on Roland and Isabel. “Roland, Isabel, please have a seat.” Roland said disinterestedly, "We have things to get to, just hurry up and tell us what you have to say." Isabel stayed silent. A look flashed in Master Rockwell's eyes. Then, he turned to Isabel and expressed regretfully, "Isabel, I’m a foolish old man, it was me who told Decker to leak pictures of you two. He had no choice because I forced him to do so. If you have to blame someone, blame me!” Isabel frowned. She was somewhat impressed by how smoothly the old man switched his mask from one to another. From a forlorn and sad state t