Olivia ~•~Everything felt so surreal. It was just like yesterday when I packed my entire life and moved back to New York with the kids. But in reality, it was actually a year. As I sat down on my bed, I couldn’t help but reflect on everything that had happened during this time frame. I had gone through so many challenges but somehow I was still standing. I was so proud of myself and how far I had come. I started my career from scratch but I was still able to build something great for myself. I was grateful for everything. The sound of my buzzing phone interrupted me from my thoughts. I picked it up to see it was Alexander. The kids had spent the night at his house for a sleepover to celebrate Jason’s birthday. I felt bad for Jason because his mother wasn’t present to celebrate his birthday with him. I also felt bad for Sandra because she was apart from her son. Life would have been so much better if she hadn’t turned out to be a horrible person. We could have still been friend
Alexander Burke ~•~ Just as I turned around to welcome my parents, my dad’s husky voice broke from behind. “Why didn't you come with your wife?” I took a deep breath and before I could respond, my mother chimed into the conversation. “I hope we aren’t late for the wedding?” She asked, changing the subject. I shook my head, responding with a small smile. “No, ma. The wedding doesn’t start until noon.” I pulled my mother into a warm embrace before opening the trunk to allow the airport guards to help put the luggage in the car. When they were done, I tipped them before heading back to the driver’s seat. My parents sat in the back seat while Caroline sat in the passenger seat beside me. As soon as I drove into the city, Caroline began. “Can you believe Arthur is finally getting married after all these years?” She questioned, her voice laced with amusement. I laughed because everyone had the same reaction when it came to the news of his wedding. “It’s high time he settl
Olivia ~•~Who was this mystery man and how did he know about my father’s favorite flowers? I was too stunned to speak, so I was at a loss for words. David, on the other hand, wasn’t too stunned to ask questions. “Who are you and why are you bringing flowers to my father’s grave?” He demanded, his gaze piercing as he assessed the stranger.The man opened his mouth to speak but abruptly stopped, as though he was unsure how to respond. He placed the flowers beside ours, then he dipped his hands into his coat and brought out something small. It was a flash drive. He handed it over to David but my brother was hesitant to collect it from him. I was just watching in silence, trying to make sense of the whole situation. He gestured for David to collect it but he still didn’t move. “What is on it? And who are you?” David demanded with a hint of suspicion in his voice. The man didn’t answer. Instead, he turned toward me, extending the flash drive in my direction. Curiosity got the bette
Olivia ~•~“What are we going to do? We can’t just pretend that it didn’t happen.” David asked for my opinion when we were done listening to all the voice recordings. I exhaled heavily, the weight of the revelation pressing down on me. From what we had listened to, my father discovered a shady business in the Burke enterprise. He didn’t mention what it was about but he claimed he was being threatened because he wanted to reveal the truth to the public. He told his friends about what the family had said to him but claimed he wasn’t going to back down from his investigation. My father wasn’t part of the police department but for him to put his life in line just to expose them, it must’ve been something serious. My mind was racing with different questions. What was the shady business about? Why didn’t this mystery man give us these recordings as soon as my father passed away? Why didn’t my father say anything to us? It had to do with Alexander’s family and I had every right to know
Alexander Burke ~•~As I stepped onto the podium, ready to share my thoughts, I caught sight of Olivia entering the venue.I smiled as I saw her but my happiness was short-lived when I saw three policemen trailing behind her. A chill swept through me, I knew something was terribly wrong. My face formed into a confused frown when she continued walking in my direction. Did she come here to arrest me? What had I done? My mind raced with different possibilities but I couldn’t quite figure out what I had done to her. I couldn’t remember doing anything bad that would warrant an arrest. Not from Olivia. Not from anybody. As she reached the podium, she stepped aside and with a nod from her, one of the officers stepped on the podium. “Alexander Burke, you are under arrest for the murder of Robert Keatings.” My heart skipped a bit. “What? Mur…..murder? M….me?” I stuttered, unable to grasp the reality of the situation. The whole crowd gasped as the officer continued. “Whatever you say or d
Olivia ~•~I felt terrible having to ruin Arthur’s wedding. I wasn’t in the right headspace to go back to the station, so I asked David to go ahead alone. Then I booked a ride to take the kids back to my house. “Mama! Why did you bring those policemen to take Daddy?” Riley asked as we stepped out of the car. I took a deep breath, trying to steady my breath as I rummaged through my bag to find the key to the front door. I didn’t know what to say to Riley, so I just kept quiet, hoping she would forget about the question. But just as we stepped into the house and I closed the door behind me, Rowan spoke up. “Mama, you ignored Riley’s question.” He narrowed his eyes on me. Jason also chimed into the conversation. “Why did they take my daddy?” I thought about everything else but I forgot to think about how the kids would react after arresting Alexander in front of all the guests. They didn’t deserve to see him like that and I should’ve taken them somewhere else first before arresti
Alexander Burke ~•~I spent the night in jail. I had never spent a night in jail before but it happened for something I didn’t even do. After listening to all the voice recordings, I knew damn well that my father was involved in Robert Keating's death. No wonder he didn’t put up a fight when the officers took me away. He knew he was guilty, so he had to stay calm to find a way to find a way to make everything go away. I had no part in it but I was the one paying the price. Just because I took over the family business. I didn’t blame Olivia for her actions but I was still disappointed that she didn’t come to me first before doing anything. I was disappointed that she would embarrass me in front of the kids and Arthur’s guests. I was disappointed that she ruined Arthur’s wedding. At least, I now knew the reason behind her actions. But I still had a bigger question that my father refused to give me the answer to. What was Olivia’s father trying to reveal? What shady business was
Alexander Burke ~•~I was released on bail since they didn’t have concrete evidence that it was me who committed the crimes. However, that didn’t mean the case was closed. There was an ongoing investigation and the police didn’t fail to remind me that they would be conducting another arrest whenever they finished their investigation. Arthur was the one who picked me up and drove me back home. I felt a little bit relieved but I was still restless. As soon as I stepped foot into the house, the first person I saw was Tricia. “What is going on, Alexander? This news doesn’t look good for my project.” She asked, her voice cracking slightly. I responded with a scoff, the irritation bubbling up before I could stop it. How selfish could she be? I spent the night in jail and she couldn’t even care to ask if I was okay. She was only concerned about her project that I had no business with. “You and your family blackmailed me with something. You forced me into this mess of a marriage, knowi
Chapter 269Riley Burke ~•~I wanted everything to be perfect! For the past two weeks, I’ve been looking forward to this day. Mason and I were finally going on our date. I had no idea why I was nervous. It wasn’t like it was the first time I was going out with him. Maybe I was just having PTSD from our last date. But I knew I had nothing to be worried about. My father had assured me that he was okay with me being with Mason. He wanted me to be happy, even if my happiness included being with someone who had hurt us in the past. It wasn’t Mason who hurt us but I just didn’t focus on that part. As long as he was ready to move past the whole situation, I didn’t care to correct him anymore. “The makeup artist is here!” Rowan yelled loud enough for me to hear after knocking on my room door. Yes, I had to ask for a professional makeup artist because I was hellbent on making everything perfect. “I’ll be downstairs soon,” I replied as I wore my hair bonnet to protect my hair while getti
Chapter 268Mason Craig ~•~Ever since Riley’s father picked her up from the restaurant and interrupted our date, I had this lingering feeling of sadness inside me. But I acted like everything was fine and normal. I didn’t want to put too much pressure on her. I felt hurt because every day I woke up, I was reminded that she wasn’t my girl and could easily give another boy a chance. I didn’t want that to happen but at the same time, I didn’t have any control over it. Every day felt like torture but I was glad that it had finally come to an end. Riley’s father had finally approved of our relationship. A wave of excitement surged through me but I tried my best to remain calm when she told me about it. I would finally be able to be with the girl of my dreams. I had a feeling that he changed his mind because my father agreed to help when Riley had gone missing. I also had my father to thank. He finally fixed the mess he had caused earlier. Everything was finally going smoothly. I h
Chapter 267Olivia ~•~“Are you sure you don’t mind seeing them together?” I asked Alexander for the umpteenth time when he said he wanted to tell Riley that she could be with Mason. I didn’t want a situation where he would second guess his choice and regret his decision. Or a situation where he wouldn’t be nice to the boy later in the future. It wouldn’t be fair on Riley. Alexander nodded his head as he parked the car in the driveway. “Yes, I’m sure.” He assured me. “I shouldn’t be the one to take away my daughter’s chance at teenage love.” He added, smiling at me. I shrugged. “Okay, if you say so,” I replied as I loosened my seatbelt. “I hope you don’t have any secret animosity towards him that will reveal itself later.” Alexander laughed. “Don’t you trust me?” He asked, raising a brow at me. “I’m not holding anything against the boy. Not even his parents.” “Fine.” We stepped out of the car and made our way into the house. On our way back home, we stopped at the mall to get
Chapter 266Riley Burke ~•~It was fun having my friends over for the weekend. And it was a total flop trying to pretend like I was surprised when they first arrived. They saw right through my pretense. Even if we hadn’t been friends for so long, they knew me well enough. I barely even thought about what I had gone through while they were around. Having them around was a good distraction. I was sad that they had to leave. But I couldn’t do anything about it as I walked them to the car. During their stay, I realized that it was actually my mother’s idea to invite them over. Now it made sense why she was so welcoming. My mother didn’t usually like it when I had my friends over. I mean, my friends from high school. Our family was always under scrutiny, so she didn’t trust anybody. It was nice to see her giving my new friends a chance. The weekend was over and it was a new school week. I hadn’t completely healed but even when I assured my parents that I would be okay, they claime
Chapter 265Riley Burke ~•~As soon as my dad handed me a new phone, I found my friend's phone number and called them immediately. It was already noon and on the weekend, so I was confused about why none of them answered their phones. I mean, those girls were literally always with their phones. I really wanted to speak to them, but I guess I had to wait until later to try calling them again. Maybe they were busy with something. I spent most of my time inside my room and I was getting bored. Normally, my mother didn’t like it when l took my food upstairs but this time, she brought the food to my room by herself. I hadn’t gotten any reason to go downstairs. I needed a change of environment, so I decided to freshen up and head downstairs. I was pretty sure Rowan and Jason were playing video games in the living room. After spending about thirty minutes in the bathroom, I dressed up in my comfortable sweatshirt and shorts before making my way downstairs. “Hey,” Jason said as soon a
Chapter 264Olivia ~•~I wanted to accompany Alexander when he was going to see Maxim, but he refused. I knew that he didn’t want me to see him, but still, he said I was going to see him later. After helping Riley with dinner and giving her medication, I went back to the room to meet Alexander. I hadn’t talked to him since he came back from the station. “Hey, what happened at the station?” I asked him as I walked into the room. He was standing in front of the closet and searching through it. “I have something to tell you,” Alexander muttered under his breath. My interest became piqued. “I’m listening,” I responded as different thoughts ran through my head. Alexander sounded so serious and I couldn’t help but wonder what he wanted to say to me. He took a deep breath and turned around. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier.” He cleared his throat and continued. “You remember when you found out that Maxim was a fraud?” He asked and I nodded, anticipating what he had to say next. “Y
Chapter 263Riley Burke~•~When we finished at the restaurant, my father asked my mother to drive me back home. He wanted to go to the station to see Maxim and the other men who kept me hostage. My mother wanted to accompany him but he refused, saying she would see him later. As soon as my father left, I followed my mother to the car. I couldn’t wait to go back home and see my brothers. I was so excited to see everyone. Being free felt so good. “Riley, I’m inviting the doctor over, so she can do a checkup and give you the necessary treatments you need.” My mother said as I settled down on the passenger’s seat. I hated anything related to hospitals or medical care, but I couldn’t protest against it. I actually needed medication because I was still in pain. My legs and my head were still hurting and I needed the pain to stop. “Sure,” I responded with a smile and my mother nodded. A few minutes later, we arrived at the house. My heart leaped for joy as the security guards open
Chapter 262 Rowan Burke ~•~I loved my sister but I had no idea that her absence would affect me so badly. Ever since I realized she was missing, I couldn’t even focus on anything else. My mind was always racing with different thoughts. What if something bad had happened to her and my parents took so long to search for her? Everyone thought Riley had willingly disappeared but that wasn’t the case. My sister was missing. I couldn’t even talk to anyone or go anywhere. I shut everyone out, including my girlfriend, Belle. Until Riley was found, I was certain that I would be restless. While my parents were at the station, I kept on blowing their phones with constant calls. Most of the time, they didn’t respond. A part of me felt bad because I wanted to be kept in the loop, I wanted to know what was going on, or even if they had gotten a lead. But I knew that they were busy and my calls were distracting them from doing their work. When my mother finally answered her phone, she a
Chapter 261Olivia ~•~Different waves of emotions rushed through me as I saw Riley running in our direction. Relief, joy, and gratitude swirled together, overwhelming me.I was so happy to see her. For a moment, I thought we were at a dead end. I thought she had left the house or the men they caught were probably lying about her whereabouts. She looked so scared but also excited to see us. Before I could even move, Alexander rushed and pulled her in a tight hug. I was still in shock as I watched them reunite. After a few moments, I joined them, turning the hug into a group hug. “Oh my baby, um happy to see you.” I smiled at Riley as we broke the hug. Riley looked like she was struggling to hold back her tears. I could only imagine what she had gone through at the hands of those people. Alexander stepped aside to call the detectives. He wanted them to know that we had seen Riley. While he made the call, I led Riley to the car. As soon as we got into the car, I began asking her