"WHAT?!" Sue stands up from the bed immediately, startled and alarmed as a result of the emergency call she's getting from her mum so late in the afternoon. "What's wrong with grandma? What happened? Are you okay? Where are you?"Holly sighs audibly over the phone. "She suddenly collapsed at the mall today. We're at the hospital now. She managed to mention the name of a doctor when she fell so he's the one we came to meet... I can't handle this alone. When are you coming back home?"As Sue opens her mouth to reply, she hears her mum sniffle over the phone. "Hm?" She asks againSue sighs. "I'm coming back tonight. It's just afternoon, I'll take the fastest flight and be right over. Don't be worried Mum."Holly manages a small smile. "Thank you. I'll be by her side at the hospital so you know where to find me.""Alright Mum, don't be too worried. She'll probably be fine.""I'll be waiting for you. Love you. Have a safe flight love."Sue hangs up and in a matter of ten minutes, she has h
On the ride down to the hospital, Ford's hand is in Sue's, trying to reassure her. Although she doesn't really say much, he knows what's going on, the turmoil she's feeling at that moment.Sadness, anger, pity, longing and many more feelings like that, threatening to burst to the surface at any moment.As she grips his hand tightly, she turns towards him with a beaming smile. "I can't believe you managed to pull that off! A whole plane just for me? I was already contemplating my next move when the intercom buzzed - maybe I would have just bought a ticket for the next flight and waited to see what happened. But this was totally unexpected...in a good way!"Ford's grin widens as he responds, "Why can't my woman use my property?"She gives him a skeptical look, squinting her eyes in disbelief. "Your property? You mean the plane is all yours?"Proudly, Ford sinks into the plush leather chair, trying to appear larger than he actually is. "I have a private plane. Sometimes I need to travel
As soon as the duo step in and closes the door behind them, the door opens once again behind them and a doctor comes in.She looks around at the new visitors and nods politely before walking up to Holly. "Good evening ma'am. I haven't had the chance to meet you for quite a while. Actually, I've known Jean for over six years now...""Six years?""Yes. Six years. Ah, don't mind my manners. I am Doctor Harriet."Holly stands up and shakes her better. "Nice to meet you. She specifically mentioned your name before she passed at the mall."Harriet looked over Holly's shoulders at Jean who's on the bed. "Yes. About that, I'd love to speak to you about that. Can I talk to you alone?"Holly smiles. "It's completely fine to say it here. You'll just be making me repeat it again to them. She..." Holly points at Sue, "is my daughter and Jean's grandchild, and the handsome man beside her is her fiancee and my son in law so they have a right to hear what's going on."Harriet nods and then shrugs. "I
At the funeral, it was made a low-key affair as the family wanted just themselves there and the Mason's.It was not teary, not at all. It was actually sad but at the same time, it was done in a perfect way that no one had to show their sadness. They all laughed and shared jokes and good memories about Jean while she was still alive.To them, Jean was a part of the family, and even when she became no more, she remained a part of them even in her absence.The one who was hit the most about the whole situation is Holly.Although she tried to keep a brave face for everyone around on that day, she still cried when she found herself alone.Jean was her mother, her best friend and a strong mentor all at the same time. Jean really was strong, having to handle the weight of the company all alone and at the same time care for her unconscious daughter, and even when she woke up from her coma, Jean never left her side, making her have the best time, helping her get over the depression over the ye
Eating fruits on the balcony, Ford smiles wholesomely. "Been a while we had a whole place to ourselves.""I wish too but it's not totally this time. Harry's here and so is Jeffrey, and Sarah and the other working staff in this compound.""You didn't need to give me a reality check. I'm quite aware." He rolls his eyes playfully."Sometimes all we need is a reality check to bring us back into what actually matters. Talking of what matters, Tanya and Ashley aren't here yet. Tanya said she was going to come straight home..." Sue scoffs. "I see her hour. I bet they've gone to get some ice cream or visited an amusement park or even better, stopped at a McDonald."Ford laughs. "I wish I knew who your daughter took afternon the McDonalds aspect."Sue shakes her head. "I don't know either. She's always loved them." Sue checks her wristwatch again and tuts. "They're lunches are going to get really cold by the time they return and I won't tell the maids to reheat it as punishment."Ford shakes h
Sue keeps pacing around as she watches Ford make calls to his men, including Marshall."Hello? Can you fucking track them now?!""We are trying sir. We had them about three hours ago and now the signal is jumping. Now it's saying Amsterdam...""Couldn't you have fucking told me when things started to go sideways?!""Well sir... That is my fault. Now the signal is saying India. There's nothing we can do at this point."Angry and frustrated because he's been hearing the same things from the other three men. He dials Marshall. "Hello? Those men are no good. They all said there's no hope at tracking them."Marshall pauses for a minute. "We can't do anything until they call.""So you're also giving up? There's no hope unless we wait for them to call us? Not you too.""That's exactly it." Marshall exclaimsFord facepalms while Sue stands behind him, her hands on his shoulder. "What's wrong?"Ford puts the phone away from his ear for a moment. "Marshall is also giving up, saying that we need
Brian hangs up as soon as he says his piece, and laughs raucously.From the high up platform in the large warehouse, Brian laughs loudly, making sure that Tanya and Ashley hear him very well. "She was so speechless when I was done talking. Ashley dear, I'm not sure you'll leave her soon, don't let Aunty Tanya deceive you into thinking otherwise."Ashley whimpers.Tanya bites her inner lips, not knowing what to do or say, hoping that he won't touch them, might seem selfish of her but she's worried for herself the most ever since she heard clearly what he said to Sue on the phone, moreover he already promised he'll come for her as soon as he finishes making his call... Which he's now done with.Which means she's next.She bites her lips so hard she feels the tangy metallic taste of blood in her mouth.Almost suddenly, the black cloth covering her whole face is yanked off, revealing very bright light in the room, blinding her for the first few seconds, blocking her from seeing anything a
Even though Tanya isn't blood related to Sue, Sue can't help but she'd a few tears."I'm sorry. I'm really sorry for all this. I didn't plan for my past to ruin this moment like this."Ford tries to calm her down. "It's not your fault... Don't blame yourself.""Do you really think that?""... I can't do anything even if you yourself blame yourself. We've gone through this over and over again and I'll still establish the same fact. Nothing that happens on this account is your fault. Losing your dad, Tanya, Ashley... None of it. It's just by those wicked people's displaced judgement."Sue cries and tries to stop it... "I'm trying to stop, really. It just keeps..." She sniffles "coming."Ford smiles and wipes her face for her.Then he calls Marshall. "We're you able to track them? He's the one that called just now.""Sadly, no. The call was quite short. He didn't even take up to ten seconds. If we had gotten up to ten seconds, the gps range would have reduced and maybe by fifteen or twen
* Years later*Sue opens the door, laughing widely and happily."Welcome home guys. I'm happy to be hosting the Christmas Dinner this year. You guys should come on in."Darlene comes in first, Harry behind heTwor and then Tanya, all of whom give her hugs as they enter, all of them beaming."It's been quite a while Mum." Sue remarks as she hugs Darlene.Darlene tips her hat, "what can I say? I've been out traveling the world with my husband. All my children are old enough to take care of themselves so I deserve some respite.""Speaking about that, where's Wade?""I'm guessing he's fighting with the baskets we came with. They are yours by the way and my babies. Where are they?""Inside, with their Dad. He seems to be the only one they take clothes from these days, just like Ashley when she was little. I learnt to adapt." She smiles, her beauty showing no sign of fatigue or fading.Tanya walks around, smiling at the beautiful frames on the wall, saying nothing.Harry is on a call on the c
At the party after the wedding ceremony, everyone puts on their dresses according to the theme as decided by Holly and Darlene.And Egyptian times were known mostly for the gold in their clothes and fine linens so there was a flash of gold coming from everywhere.But when Sue came in, there was no gold that matched hers, none was as luxurious and elegant as her own, along with the modest yet exquisite accessories laid in her hair.And none shone the brightest.It was really giving the Cleopatran vibe as everyone expected.As they will say, Sue ate and left no crumbs.When it comes to the time to throw flowers, every single person was arranged behind Sue, all, or most, eager to catch the flower and decide their future for themselves in marriage.At the back, it included Tara, Raya, Marshall was forced there by Ford against all his own wishes, Tanya and Harry, forced in there by their mum, Darlene and Holly too, giggling like children how they would not mind a man at their age, Ella, Ear
Dignitaries from fear and near, important people from inside and outside the country all attended the wedding.It was tagged that one wedding that will be me remembered for years to come.Holly and Darlene really outdo themselves, making sure that everything is in place and then leaving Sue and Ford to just simply enjoy their day.Very early in the morning, people have started to arrive and upon closer look, they are no ordinary set of people.There was a special guest that threw everyone off the bat.Very early that day, a long black limousine shows up, bearing a ton of gifts and simply a letter with it.At the time, only the residents and family members are around, also the working staff, doing last minute touches to the outdoor wedding venue.Sue receives the flowers and the other gifts and then the letter. She thanks the deliverers and tears open the letter, she reads the letter to the slow widening of her family's eyes and surprise.Even she herself had to gasp."This is signed Sa
It's Ford's turn to facepalm, although there's a hint of hidden laughter on his face. "We'll deal with you two later. Let's attend to the reporters so we can get some rest, what do you think?"Sue nods, agreeing. "Please.""Attention please. Come this way if you have questions. We'll answer them to the best of our abilities."This grabbed all attention towards the couple who stand side by side, Ford's large hands enclosing Sue's in his. "So we heard you have questions for us?""Is a wedding really happening? I mean you're two influential families. Don't you want to give a chance to others?"They all laugh."Well, what can we say when fate drew us to one another? I can't swap her for the world and I'm sure it's a mutual feeling." Ford responds, gently squeezing Sue's hand.Sue nods slowly by his side, her smile infectious."Another question. What will happen to your businesses when you marry? Ms Sue has her own company and you do yours and Ms Sue's family has hers too. It's a lot. Woul
For the next few weeks, all Holly and Darlene saw of their children and grandchild was video calls and posts on their social media accounts.They had tons of fun, not wanting it to end.They visited many states, including Dallas where everyone got to go to a Cowboy festival where they had rodeo drives and roasted pigs and kicked up as many dusts they could on themselves and others while riding horses and when simply running around, having fun.For the first few days after the incident that shook the whole family so much, Ashley was a little sad and scared. Every minute, she would shake without reason, like a sudden gust of wind was blown on her and it worried everyone so much until they went on their vacation where Ashley was always within eyeshot. Everyone had eyes on her and others, ready to make another lesson of anybody who tries to try shit with them as an individual and as a family as a whole.For a whole month, they visited every amusement park, every theme park, every Five Mi
Ford stands with the Chief of the Police Force as they both watch the body get covered and the ambulance leaves with the other.The chief barks out orders to his men and they respond with gusto and then he faces Ford and smiles warily. "What really happened here?""They both had kidnapped my daughter and sister. I wanted to teach them a lesson but I didn't even get to. Brian got his hand shot off by Angela while she fell through that window all on her own. I guess the guilt from shooting her partner was too much but I don't think she'd want to die so the falling must have been an accident." He explains, meeting the Chief's eyes very bravely and squarely."Hm, I see. So that's what happened. We'll get the body to the morgue while the man will be taken to the hospital. I never thought I'd see a severed hand like that, it looked so roughly pulled or torn apart. Do you know about that?"Ford shakes his head. "As soon as Angela fell, I and my assistant both left the room, hoping we could s
Angela backs towards the window while Sue walks forward as well, scalpel in hand.*Hours later, Ashley is asleep with Sue holding her close to her chest, rocking her as she sleeps.She doesn't even notice when Tanya comes into the room, her face wet with tears, tears of mixed feelings.Sadness and Happiness at the same time.Tanya sits beside her and touches Sue's shoulder ever so slightly. "You know it is not your fault right? Those bastards must have known one way or the other that whatever happened was a result of their own choices."Sue tries to smile. "It's not that actually but thanks for being here with me..." Sue glances at Ashley as the girl snuggles closer to her, putting her head on her inner arms. Sue turns to Tanya and smiles appreciatively. "You know, I never had the opportunity to adequately thank you for what you did even after you got beaten while doing it. I really owe you a lot."Tanya smiles widely. "You don't need to thank me. It's what any human would have done,
James picks up Ashley from the ground, trying to calm and stop her from crying and at the same time, noticing the soft bump on the door.The door opens and out comes Marshall, who barks at one of the two men who came up with him. "Call the authorities! Immediately." He goes back in and closes the door behind him again.James tried to peep in through the open crack but he didn't see anything other than Marshall's body blocking the door and the light in the room.Who had been shot?No one knows, all except those inside.*Holly laughs excitedly as she licks off the upper part of the ice cream she's holding, and Darlene cracking jokes jokes beside her."And then I go, oh my goodness, I didn't switch on the electric cooker after putting the water on for over two hours..."Holly only laughs the more. "How did you not know?""Seriously. I felt like an idiot. All after bragging that I can make a world known chef. A world known chef who forgets to switch on the cooker.""Yeah, you're well on
Terribly shaking and nervous as she stares at the dark muzzle of the gun pointing at her head, Angela walks straight for the door after pulling the key out of her chest.Shakingly, she puts the key in the lock and turns it open."Open the door."Angela pulls down the knob and opens the door just as Marshall and two men enter the boutique.All the noise and ruckus has attracted people who weren't there just minutes before and now there were people peeping in through the boutique's glass windows.Angela steps out first, Sue follows behind her and then James.When the crowd sees the gun, there's a collective gasp.Marshall walks to meet her. "Would you like me to handle that?"Sue smiles at him, "Don't worry, I've got this. I'm sure if I don't kill her, I can at least ruin her pretty face." Sue says quite loudly and just as much as she knows people's weak points, she'll bet everything that Angie's weak points is her looks.Her hands still up, Sue nudges her into the other room, she enters