Chapter 86Chapter 86- Previous Chapter -"You'll be fine. I'll make sure you're safe."But suddenly, Rose jumped up and hugged Antonio, making him gasp. The woman buried her face in Antonio's chest."What's wrong, Rose? You don't have to worry. Ssh! Ssh! I'm here," Antonio said soothingly. "I'll ask Nathan to look after you too. So you-""Don't leave me, Antonio," Rose cut in.And Antonio was instantly silent. For the first time in his life, Antonio heard words of pleading that touched him deeply. Even when Sydney found out she was pregnant with Antonio's child, she never begged. Instead, Sydney blamed Antonio and aborted their child. The child Antonio had hoped for from the woman he had loved so deeply."I have no one and everything is hard when I'm alone."Rosepun's cries were heard in Antonio's ears. He finally knew how Rose felt when she set foot in the house again. The parting words he had spoken a few days back must have frightened her. Antonio had intended to end their relati
Chapter 1The sound of gunshots heard from outside the building startled everyone. They scattered, searching for alternative exits, while the tall iron door was being forcefully breached by the special police unit. Most of the new members chose to hide in the place and resign themselves, as they had no prior experience in this field.However, Matt was different. He was one of the most alert individuals, running towards the boss, Antonio, and standing behind him."I will protect you," he said as he pulled out his pistol.Antonio nodded in agreement and immediately ran to another corner of the building, where he had already prepared an escape route in case unexpected events like this occurred. It was truly unfortunate that this incident happened so abruptly.Matt continued to trail behind Antonio as they finally managed to open the main gate. The commotion could be heard from behind them. And, of course, some of the special police units deliberately targeted Antonio as their primary tar
Chapter 2Human life is not always smooth sailing, and the same goes for Rose's life. As the first child of Jasmine Miles and Arnold Pennington, Rose Pennington was forced to endure a difficult life at the age of twenty-five.Arnold Pennington passed away due to chronic meningitis at the age of forty-two. The doctor said his condition was already severe and problematic. Unfortunately, Rose couldn't do anything to keep him alive. The savings she had after working at Aunt Liliane's small restaurant, her mother's friend, for a few months, couldn't help much either. The wise man closed his eyes in Rose's embrace.But her suffering didn't stop there. In the following years, her mother was also diagnosed with the same illness. Her condition wasn't as severe as Arnold's initially, but gradually, everything became worse.Jasmine could only lie in her place. Occasionally, she would go out just to check on her condition, which showed no signs of improvement.Before enduring this tormenting illn
CHAPTER 3Antonio slipped his small-caliber pistol into the pocket of his jacket after loading it with several bullets without hesitation. His long wait had paid off, as Nathan had finally discovered the whereabouts of the traitor, Elliot, thanks to the organized help of some informants he had deployed.For months, Antonio had waited and investigated tirelessly. The 40-year-old man didn't hesitate to send his subordinates far and wide, even outside the city, just to locate Elliot and seek revenge. It turned out that Elliot was hiding in a densely populated suburban area of New York."He rented a modest house in the midst of cheap hotels," Nathan informed him.The man in the long black shirt then took out his phone from his pants pocket and appeared busy manipulating something on the screen."I went through the trouble of searching for him in distant places, but that filthy rat was hiding right near us. Just like before, he positions himself close enough to his own enemy.""I've shared
Chapter 4The Previous Evening.Antonio observed the petite and agile woman lying in front of him with her eyes closed. His purpose in coming here was to trap Elliot and kill him as revenge for Matt's death. However, when Antonio set foot here, he unexpectedly encountered Rose wearing a low-cut nightgown that accentuated her curves. To be honest, he couldn't consider this girl in front of him as unattractive. He was still a normal man with a burning desire. The firm and challenging pair of breasts caught Antonio's attention from the moment he saw Rose in this room.Nevertheless, above all, Antonio's common sense and logic still functioned as usual. Because nothing was more suspicious than a woman placed as bait against a mortal enemy. He immediately reached for his phone and called someone."Nath, have you gone mad, huh?" Antonio became instantly emotional as soon as their call connected and he heard Nathan's voice."What? Is there something wrong, Boss? Do you have a problem?" Nathan
Chapter 5Antonio gazed at the woman he had brought last night. She was wearing a red dress, with a seductive and arousing figure, but Antonio suspected her to be one of the traps left by Elliot.Meanwhile, Antonio and Nath had no other choice but to search for any traces of that damn fraudster. Both men had thoroughly searched every place Jean had been, even within a five-meter radius, yet neither Antonio nor Nathan found Elliot.At first glance, what they had discovered seemed impossible. How could someone under surveillance suddenly vanish and leave behind a beautiful woman in a tempting red dress? Nathan himself had been the one looking for and trapping him. The information was not invalidated because Nathan was certain that Elliot had been there before. Jean's words also confirmed it."Are you sure you didn't do anything to me?"Antonio sighed, perplexed by this woman's thought process, blaming and accusing him of doing something wrong. It should be him feeling anxious and worrie
Chapter 6From any angle Nathan looked at it, he truly admired Rose. Never before had he seen a woman as bold as Rose who could stare at Antonio with such seductive facial expressions. Marquez Antonio was a mafia boss, the owner of the largest drug cartel trade that was feared by those who lived in the underworld. Of course, the man was feared and respected even by civil authorities since the exposure of the drug cartel network due to Elliot's carelessness.However, behind all of that, Nathan had to admit that every woman in New York who saw Antonio would automatically fall in love with him with just one blink and one smile. At first, he thought it was an exaggeration to describe a man's charm, until Nathan saw it with his own eyes. Yes, perhaps Rose was an exception because she was naturally not one of those naughty women who chased after sex for mere satisfaction or pleasure."You're enthusiastic, that's good," Antonio extinguished his cigarette and gazed at Rose intently. "Let's se
Chapter 7Rose saw a chat message about that one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, and she was ecstatic. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. The dark-skinned man she met earlier was nowhere near as attractive as he looked now, with a lascivious expression in Rose's eyes. What is this all about? Does Rose look a certain way? Like a cheap woman? She snorted and couldn't believe what was happening. Did a few hours in Jean's place turn her into the most desired prostitute? To the point that this crazy man wanted to buy her for a private contract? Madness! Rose hadn't fully accepted the fact that she had been sold by Elliot and had to serve the man who paid for her through Jean. Good Lord, why did this have to happen to Rose? What was her sin, oh God?"Why?" Antonio smiled smugly, then looked at Rose, who quietly clenched her fists and gritted her teeth. "Is this amount not enough for you, or are you surprised that your price turned out to be so high?"Rose remained silent. Hon
Chapter 86Chapter 86- Previous Chapter -"You'll be fine. I'll make sure you're safe."But suddenly, Rose jumped up and hugged Antonio, making him gasp. The woman buried her face in Antonio's chest."What's wrong, Rose? You don't have to worry. Ssh! Ssh! I'm here," Antonio said soothingly. "I'll ask Nathan to look after you too. So you-""Don't leave me, Antonio," Rose cut in.And Antonio was instantly silent. For the first time in his life, Antonio heard words of pleading that touched him deeply. Even when Sydney found out she was pregnant with Antonio's child, she never begged. Instead, Sydney blamed Antonio and aborted their child. The child Antonio had hoped for from the woman he had loved so deeply."I have no one and everything is hard when I'm alone."Rosepun's cries were heard in Antonio's ears. He finally knew how Rose felt when she set foot in the house again. The parting words he had spoken a few days back must have frightened her. Antonio had intended to end their relati
Chapter 85- Previous Chapter -"They'll be closed until the investigation is complete," Nathan guessed.But Antonio shook his head. He took out a cigarette from his pants pocket, as well as a lighter from the other pocket, and lit it. He took a long drag from the cigarette and the smoke evaporated into the air."And of course that would take forever!""Or...,"Nathan's brow furrowed deeply. "Or what?""Or Jean has secretly got another business."Nathan could no longer contain his shock at the opinion Antonio mentioned. His mouth gaped open, probably enough to fit a loaf of bread with a full meat filling. He swallowed saliva with difficulty afterwards. "Other bi-businesses? Does he have other businesses? She looks so rich with that prostitution business!""A woman like Jean wouldn't be satisfied with one source of currency. She must be hiding somewhere." Antonio brought his face closer to Nathan's. "Can you investigate? Try traveling around the north, or just send one of your men. I w
Chapter 84- Previous chapter -Antonio smiled slightly and leaned closer. "Are you sorry, Rose?"But Rose denied it. She shook her head and said, "No.""Are you sad that you got pregnant when I had just ended our relationship?"It took a while before Rose finally looked Antonio straight in the eye and said yes to his question. Her blue eyes glazed over again. There were so many things she wanted to say. Rose missed the man who was now standing there looking at her curiously, but it was all held back at the tip of her pale lips. She occasionally bit her lower lip because she couldn't say anything else.And Antonio was quite sensitive to the situation in front of him. He moved forward and immediately pulled Rose into his warm embrace. Then, Rose's tears completely broke out there. She cried as she hid her face into Antonio's broad chest, then hugged him back. While Antonio used his hands to gently rub the back of the woman who was now in his arms.If he could cry, Antonio probably woul
Chapter 83Putting a smile on his thick lips, Elliot walked into the hospital that was dominated by white and golden colors. It was not real gold, but without bothering to put gold on their walls, Golden Hospital was famous for their first-rate service. It's been years since the hospital was built and its reputation has always been good. As for the few problems and complaints received from the patients, they were responded well, so the hospital's reputation remained at the top until this moment.At first, Elliot was confused as to why Jasmine, who was technically still his wife, could be admitted and treated at a hospital as big as Golden Hospital. How could a sick and poor woman like Jasmine have the money to afford treatment at such a place. The insurance money that Jasmine's ex-husband had was all used for gambling and occasionally used to hire night women without Jasmine's knowledge. Jasmine was a good wife. Unfortunately, Elliot was not the kind of man who needed all the good in
Chapter 82The heat of the sun shining directly on Antonio's house made the owner feel uncomfortable. He took in as much oxygen as he could before saying, "Let's talk inside."Rose hurriedly held Antonio's hand as he turned to leave.It made the man in his all-black outfit turn his head. He looked at Rose's hand tugging on his jacket sleeve, then turned to her blue eyes. "What's wrong?""Nathan doesn't seem to like my presence. You guys are having a problem, aren't you?""It's... none of your business. It has nothing to do with you at all.""You're lying, aren't you?"Antonio shook his head. "Come on in. Nathan can wait in the living room."And after deliberating for a moment, Rose finally nodded in agreement. She went in ahead of him, while Antonio still looked around before actually entering, following Rose in and closing the door.Nathan turned around as Rose and Antonio stood in the doorway. He gave a short snort and lit a cigarette with the lighter he always carried in his pants
Chapter 81Nathan packed up some clothes and put them in a long, small tote bag. As well as clothes for everyday use, the now orphaned man also took a few other valuables with him. Anything that left his identity, Nathan tried to take with him, then some of it he threw outside the house and burned it."Are you done?"The man looked up to find Antonio standing in front of him. He nodded and said, "I did, but I'm going to wait for it to burn. I don't want to get caught a second time.""I'll wait in the car.""Okay, boss!"Nathan then stepped on the items that were a little far away to get into the fire. Making all his belongings burn in the flames that turned them into dust.The man then went back into his room. He checked once more. His house was indeed not that big because this place they bought was only as an escape. Their life after becoming fugitives was not easy. Coming and going, leaving and being left behind, meeting and parting became something very close to Nathan. He nodded h
Chapter 80Antonio's brown eyes rounded instantly. "This... what the hell?!"The scene in front of him was a sight to behold. An enthusiastic and excited Nathan continued to explain about the items he had found at Jean's nightclub during the trip. But as soon as they arrived and Nathan took Antonio to his room, which was right next to the living room, Antonio was shocked.Items like pillows, bolsters, blankets were scattered all over the floor. Not to mention a few items on the nightstand. Oh, and don't forget the mirror!All the items lying in front of him now seemed to make Nathan's room look like a crashing airplane. Antonio turned to Nathan with a confused expression, his face saying you-must-explain-everything-now.Instead of cleaning up his mess, Nathan forgot that his room had become an outlet for his frustration. He snorted in amusement and scratched the nape of his neck as he returned Antonio's gaze. The man who had covered his body with an old leather jacket from last night
Chapter 79Rose looked around, after Williams had left her. The hospital corridors were still very busy even though it was soon time for some doctors to go home. Rose's blue eyes found nurses chatting as they walked, small children crying as they were about to be examined by the doctor or even parents who looked confused looking for loans over the phone to meet the hospital fees. But through it all, Rose still felt sorry for herself with all this fate.The woman then made her way to the cafeteria located on the west side of the hospital. Her stomach felt very empty and her throat was dry. And when she got there, Rose immediately cast her eyes around."Is there anything I can help you with, Miss?" asked the vendor standing behind the counter.Rose looked at the large menu board hanging behind the man. There was a wide variety of menus available at various prices. But in the end, Rose remembered how much money she had left and decided to economize. She swallowed hard before finally sayi
Chapter 78Meningitis is an inflammation that occurs in the meningen, or the protective layer that covers the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis can sometimes be difficult to recognize, as the disease has initial symptoms similar to the flu, such as fever and headache.Meningitis can also be caused by bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic infections. Certain conditions, such as a weakened immune system, can also trigger meningitis. But in Jasmine's case, Williams wasn't just explaining things to Rose. He told her that she had a tumor that could aggravate her current condition, so surgery was necessary.After signing some paperwork, including completing the hospital administration, Jasmine was able to enter the operating table with Williams as the doctor in charge.Rose waited for about three hours in front of the operating room. Williams had already told her that the surgery would be performed under general anesthesia. The operation would begin by opening the skull bone (craniotomy) fo