After taking out his frustrations on Kendra, James felt a little bit better but he still had a problem to deal with. He left Kendra who was passed out on his bed. She had red welts on her back and on her butt from where James flogged her with his belt and his handprints were all over her body. James put on his clothes and walked down the hall to his home office. He sat down behind his desk, trying to come up with his next course of action, he had to do something, he couldn't let Dylan win. He logged on to the dark web and texted his guy. “About what we talked about, I need to move up the timeline.” James wrote and he waited for the guy to reply. “When?” The guy asked James. “Next week.” James told the guy. “Do you know the target location?” The guy asked. “London,” James replied him. “That's going to be tricky, but it can be done.” The guy told James. “I want to be there when it happens.” James typed out, he was ti
The next day, after having breakfast with Anna and Emma, Dylan went to work after he promised Emma that he would be home on time to have dinner and put her to bed. Anna was quiet throughout breakfast, Dylan didn't know if it was because she was hungover or because their conversation the previous night was heavy. So he didn't bother her or say anything about it. Dylan walked into his office and as usual, Lucas was there waiting for him. “Good morning Lucas.” Dylan greeted as he took his seat behind his desk. “Good morning sir. It’s good to finally have you back.” Lucas greeted back and then took his seat. “It's good to be back, so what's on the schedule for today?” Dylan asked. “As you instructed, you have a meeting with Hugh, Luke and Kingston in thirty minutes and then after that, it's your meeting with the investors and the board,” Lucas told Dylan. “Ok, thank you Lucas. What of the other thing that we talked about, have there been any developme
After Dylan left for the office, Anna let out a huge breath of relief. She felt so awkward around him knowing that he now knew her deepest fear and she just needed some space from him so that she could recalibrate. She made sure Emma ate all her food and then she also made sure that she took her drugs. Emma was taking a nap and Anna decided to call her mother back, she had been calling ever since they left for London and Anna had been ignoring her calls, but after her conversation with Dylan last night, she decided to call her back. She dialled her mum's number and waited for her to pick up the call. Just when she thought she would be getting her voicemail, he mother picked up. “Hello, hello, Anastasia is that you?” Her mother asked and hearing her mother's voice after all these years made Anna sob. “Yes mother, it's me.” Anna told her. “Oh my baby, it's so good to hear your voice.” Anna's mum said and all of a sudden Anna started to get angry.
A day earlier. After James's father left his office, he immediately booked the next flight out of New York to London. The ultimatum that his father gave him motivated him even more, his father wasn't someone who laid down ultimatums like it was nothing and whenever he did, he always followed through. James texted his guy on the dark web and told him that the timeline had been moved up and he and his team were to meet him in London today, he would text him the address when he arrived. After he sent the message, he packed up his laptop and every other thing that he would need from his office and then he went to his room. “James baby please…” Kendra tried pleading with him but James didn't want to hear any of it, he was pissed. He slapped her so hard that she fell to the ground. “You bitch, how many times have I told you to not come into my office. I want you out of this house now and don't come back.” James shouted at her. Kendra held her hand to her bruis
“James, what are you doing here?” Anna asked him and then she backed away slowly away from him. James walked up to her and dragged her back by her hands. He held her with her back against his chest. “No, you're not going anywhere, and don't even bother calling for help, your bodyguard is currently occupied,” James whispered in her ears, and then Anna felt something hard poking her at her back, she realized that it was a gun and she became even more scared. “Now I'm going to let you go, and you're going to keep quiet. Nod your head if you understand me.” James told her and Anna nodded her head and he let go of her hand. She turned around and faced him, he was still pointing the gun at her. “What are you doing here James?” Anna asked him, her voice cracking. “Well Anna, did you think that I would let you get away from me,” James said, and then he ran his fingers down her face and Anna recoiled in disgust. “I'm with Dylan now, me and you are done,
After Anna had settled down, Dylan took her hand and they both walked towards the detectives in charge of the case. “Gentlemen, what do we know?” Dylan asked them. “Not much Mr. Knight, your security guard was hit from behind so he didn't see who attacked him. We've questioned everyone that was at the park and they didn't see anything either.” The detectives said. “How is that possible? A little girl was taken and no one saw anything?” Dylan asked them, he was pissed. “It's possible that she just walked away with them.” The detective said. “No, she knows not to go anywhere with strangers, she was taken.” Anna finally spoke up. “Are you ready to give your statement Mrs. Knight?” The detective asked Anna as he brought out his pen and notepad. Dylan squeezed Anna's hand in support and comfort. “We came to the park and Emma ran off to play with the other kids and her bodyguard Josh was with her. I set up under the tree over there whe
They drove back to the house with their security team tailing behind them, Anna hated that the only thing she could do for her daughter was to wait. She wanted to be out there looking for her but where would she start from? Dylan parked the car in front of the house, Anna didn't even wait for him to turn off the engine, she opened the door and got out. She was so angry, angry that she had let James distract her, angry that she couldn't protect her little angry and also angry at Dylan because he promised to protect her and Emma and it looked like he had something to do with why Emma was taken. Anna walked into the house and towards the living room and she could hear Dylan's footsteps following closely behind her. When she entered the living room she turned around to face him. Dylan could see the pain in her eyes but also the anger which he was sure was meant for him. “You should sit down Anastasia.” He spoke to her calmly. “No, I don't want to sit Dylan, expla
A few minutes later, Marcus and the rest of Dylan's security team gathered in the dining room, Dylan was seated at the head of the table while they all stood and Lucas was by his side. Dylan didn't say anything, he let them sit in silence and he looked at all of them one after the other, he wanted to see which one of them that was nervous and would shake, but he couldn't catch any, yes they were nervous but it could also be because they knew they fucked up big time because Emma was taken. After a few minutes, Dylan stood up and walked to the front of them. “Marcus and Josh, step forward.” Dylan said and the two men immediately shuffled forward, their heads bowed. “Raise your heads, I want you to look me in the eyes when you tell me how exactly it was that you fucked up so bad that my daughter was taken.” Dylan snarled at them. “Marcus you go first.” Dylan told him. “We arrived at the park and Josh went off with Emma while I stayed with Mrs. Knight.
EPILOGUE. SEVEN MONTHS LATER. A lot had happened in the past seven months since Dylan ran to the airport to stop Anna from leaving. Now, it wasn't smooth sailing between them; they both put in the work by going to therapy and working on their relationship, and they were good now, only choosing to go to therapy twice a month. Dylan stuck to his word, and he was the best husband; the night they came back home, he told her everything about her life, from the moment he was taken away to London, he told her everything, not leaving out any detail. He had also waited on her, hand and foot, since he found out she was pregnant, not letting her do any strenuous activities; he was the perfect husband and father. In those seven months, something else also took place, the cases were tried in court and her father and Mr. Smith were both sentenced for murder and Mr. Smith was first murder and attempted murder. Her father was sentenced to thirty years and Mr. Smith was
Anna and Emma arrived at the airport about forty minutes later, they didn't have much, just two suitcases, one for Anna and one for Emma. Anna paid the driver, and she and Emma got out of the car. She held Emma's hand and used her other hand to wheel in the suitcases. They were about an hour early for their flight. They walked into the airport, and she checked in her bags, and their tickets were scanned. The attendant told her that they would announce when the flight started to board. Anna thanked her, and then she and Emma walked over to some chairs to sit down. Emma had been quiet throughout the journey, and Anna knew it was because she missed her dad; she hated that she was feeling that way; it was all her fault. She was the one that brought Dylan into their lives. “Hey, sweetie, do you want to watch some cartoons on my phone while we wait?” Anna asked Emma. “Sure, I guess.” Emma said as she shrugged. Anna put on Bluey for her and gave Emma t
After Anna was discharged, she spent two days on bed rest by order of Caroline; she didn't complain, though; it gave her enough time to think of her next plan. Just like she thought, Dylan had not come to look for her, and she didn't blame him; in the end, they weren't meant to be together; there were too many secrets and lies between them, but it still didn't change the fact that she loved him. Emma has been asking for him constantly, and Anna has had to lie that he was away on a business trip, but she knew that lie wouldn't last forever. So she had to plan, she knew one thing for sure, and that was she couldn't stay in New York, and if she was settling down in another place, it couldn't be London. So after two days of planning she decided that she and Emma would move to Australia, there was a hotel there that had been trying to poach her for months, so she called them and asked if the job was still available, they said yes and she accepted it. The job came with a
Anna blinked her eyes open and she was hit with a blinding light that she had to close her eyes and groan in pain. “Anna, are you awake?” She heard Caroline ask. She opened her eyes slowly so she could get used to the light, and when they were fully opened, she saw Caroline standing by her side. “Oh, thank God you're awake; you gave me quite a scare, Anna. I'll be right back, let me go and get the nurse.” Caroline said and then she left the hospital room. Anna was confused. How did she get here? The last thing she remembered was watching the press conference with Caroline and Emma was sleeping. Emma? Where is Emma? Anna frantically sat up on her bed as he looked around the room but there was no sign of Emma. Caroline walked back into the room with a nurse. “Welcome back Mrs. Knight.” The nurse said. “Caroline, where's Emma?” Anna asked, her voice was scratchy because her throat was dry. “They have a daycare here; I didn't think that you'd wan
After Dylan saw Anna's car drive off, every atom in his body wanted to go after her but he couldn't. He had to attend the press conference and he wasn't worried because Marcus was with her. Fucking Kate, it was like she planned it or something. He had to come in through the back and go up to his office because everyone thought that he was dead and then a few minutes after he walked into his office, Kate walked in. Her eyes were red and it was clear that she had been crying. When she saw him she hugged him so tight saying that she knew he wasn't dead, Dylan asked her why she was in his office and she said she was there to beg for her life and that Dylan should spare her, she confessed that she was working with James but only to get him away from Anna and they she had nothing to do with the plane crash. Dylan wasn't shocked to hear that she was working with James; I mean, it would explain the pictures they were sent to Anna; someone had to take them. While s
“Let's go to the living room so I'll be able to keep an eye on Emma.” Anna told Caroline. “Why do you need to keep an eye on Emma? Anna, what's going on?” Caroline asked again. “I'll tell you everything, let's just go sit down.” Anna told her and then they both went into the living room and sat on the couch facing the TV and opposite where Emma was sleeping so Anna was able to keep an eye on her. “You better start explaining yourself, Anastasia George, or is it Knight now?” Caroline asked her. Anna released a huge breath and then she proceeded to tell Caroline everything. How she met Dylan at the hotel, how she got into a contract marriage with him and in exchange, he agreed to protect her from James and bring him down. How they went to London, Emma's kidnapping, and her heart condition. She told her how they slowly but surely fell in love and admitted their feelings to each other. How everything was so good and then it all went so bad, from the th
Anna ran as fast as she could, she could hear Dylan call out her name behind her but she didn't stop to look back. It was all too much, he had lied to her about everything. She got into the elevator and frantically tapped on the button for the down floor. She could see Dylan getting closer, but the doors closed just in time. She wasn't free just yet, and she knew it; she wouldn't be until she got as far away from Dylan Knight as possible. The elevator doors opened, and she stepped out; she knew Dylan wasn't far behind, probably opting to use the stairs. She ran out of the lobby. She knew she was drawing attention to herself, but she didn't care. She stepped outside, and thankfully, Marcus listened to her and the car was still parked outside the office. She ran to the car and opened the door. “Drive Marcus now.” Anna told him with urgency. “What's going on Mrs. Knight?” Marcus asked her. “Just drive Marcus.” Anna told him as she looked back at t
Anna slowly brought out the folder that had her name on it. She opened it up and on the first page was her basic information, her name, date of birth, house address, place of work, things like that and then she flipped to the second page and she saw her pictures, pictures from when she was picking Emma up from school, going to work and coming back from work. Did Dylan have her followed? She continued flipping through the pages, and she could see that this folder was like a dossier on her life; everything about her was in that file: her marriage to James and her parents. Anna didn't understand why Dylan had this. It was when she flipped to the next page that her heart dropped to her stomach. They were pictures, and she recognised the place, it was the club, and she was more sure of it because, at the top of that page, it was written in block letters: ANNA SIX YEARS AGO. She looked at the pictures, and the more she flipped through them, the memories from that night
By the time Dylan was done with his call and he went up to their bedroom, Anna was asleep. His talking to her would have to wait till tomorrow, but he had to do it before the arrests were made because once they were made public, she would surely put two and two together. Especially since Lucas informed him that she wanted to find him, something happened when she went to see her parents, that had to be the only reason why she wanted to find him urgently. But what could've happened? Could she have found out the truth? No, that couldn't be it, whatever it was, he would ask her about it tomorrow morning after he told her the truth, that's if she was still talking to him after. He took off his shirt and trousers, left only his briefs on and then he got into bed with Anna and wrapped his arms around her, even in her sleep, Anna turned around, seeking his warmth. ************ The next day, Dylan woke up expecting to have Anna by his side, but when he opened his eyes