•ELIJAH•"Georgia, do you think you can find the best florist in town and have them deliver flowers to the address that I will send you?" I asked, my heart racing because I didn't know how she was going to react when she came for the meeting the following day. She was married, but who cared? I had to do everything in my power to at least get her to forgive me for how things turned out five years ago. "I think I can get one in town, Sir." She nodded as she sat down on the chair across my table."Thank you, I would appreciate that." I flashed her a quick smile before I gave her the document that she wanted me to sign. "Before I forget, I want you to call the bank and tell them to freeze the credit card that I allocated to Abigail Hayes. When you're done with that, please inform the security team to be on the lookout and not let her inside the building." "Yes, Sir," Georgia replied as she took notes on her notepad before she handed me the schedule for the day and left my office. At
•ETHAN•"Will, how's your sister? Is she getting better? Did Penelope call our doctor? Please give her the phone."I worriedly closed my laptop and looked at Darla pacing up and down while on the phone when it turned out that Madison wasn't having a common flu. "Please call Dr. Willow to check up on her. I will take the first flight to California in the morning. Yes. Please tell her that Mommy is on her way, Penelope. Alright, thank you. I'll call again later to check if her fever has gone down." After hanging up the call, Darla turned to me with glassy eyes, and I swiftly got up from the chair and went to embrace her.I knew how worried she was whenever one of the twins fell ill when we were away from home."I'm so far away from her, I don't even know what to do." She sighed as she wrapped her arms around me. "We are going to California tomorrow. It will be okay. She will be fine. I'm sure the fever will go down now that she has heard your voice.""Are you sure you can come with m
•DARLA•"Go back to your rooms," I told the twins as I walked up the stairs to my bedroom. Just as I was about to close the door and go and have a long shower, my cell phone rang in my handbag. "Amee, hey." I answered the call as I sat down on the edge of the bed. "Hey, when did you leave?" She asked. "Oh, we left this morning. I'm sorry, it was urgent. Madison was sick, or so we thought she was." I rolled my eyes, just thinking of how the twins and Penelope tricked us into coming to California for some silly game. "Oh, my God, is she okay?" "She was never sick. I'm angry at them right now. Can you believe that they conspired into getting Ethan and I back so that they could play matchmaking on us?"Amelia laughed. "Aww... They don't know that you guys are together already? How did they react when you told them that you and Ethan are dating?" I scratched my head and sighed. "I didn't want to tell them that. They grew up knowing that Ethan is my good friend and their uncle, and I
•ELIJAH•"Elijah, you came!" My mother squealed with joy with her arms wide open as she walked toward me. "Mom, hi." I greeted her as I hugged her for a moment before pulling away and walking to the living room with her.I wanted to deal with whatever she called me for and then find out after that why Darla didn't come to work or call me regarding the flowers and box of chocolates that she received. I expected Ethan to be the one to retaliate about the flowers, but he also didn't show up at the last conference meeting. "What's going on, Mother? Is Harper back from Manchester?" I asked as I sat down on the couch opposite her. "Is it bad for a mother to call her son just to see him again?""I was with you like yesterday." "Come on, I have only one son, and if I want to see you, then I will see you. So, tell me, have you resolved the issue with Abigail?" The whole setup with my mother calling me on a Monday evening to see me seemed suspicious. There were not only two glasses of ha
•DARLA• "What's going on?" "I'm going to Atlanta. My father was admitted to the hospital due to kidney failure." I answered, packing the twins' bags. "You're going with the kids?" "Yes. My father might as well see them now." "Can I come with you?" Ethan asked as he walked inside the twins' room. I sighed after packing the last bag and putting it down. He and I were not good, and I didn't want to complicate things even more when my father accidentally addressed him as my husband in front of the kids. "We'll be okay, don't worry yourself." I walked past him, heading for the door when he said something that stopped me right where I was. "You're still angry at me, aren't you? Trust me, I get it, Darla. I fucked up and thought that things were just going to work themselves out between us and forgot that I failed to deal with Rachel the right way. If I was able to set boundaries with her from the beginning, she wouldn't have come back to disturb our peace." "But you didn't d
•ELIJAH•"Jason, can I call you back later? There's someone at the door." "Alright. When you get time, you can text me the location, and we will see what we'll do. We have to get this done before the month's end." "That's right. I'll call you." I hung up the call when I got to the front door and opened it. When I saw Abigail, I wished to punch myself in the balls."Abigail?" "Hey baby, can I come inside?" Before I could answer her, she shoved her way inside the house, and I was forced to let her be and close the door behind me. "Baby, I'm sorry about last night. I was angry, and I overreacted," she said when I turned to her. "I shouldn't have gone to your mother's house and insulted her. Please tell me that we can still fix this. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." I rolled my eyes and scoffed as I walked to the bar to get myself something to drink before preparing to go and see Jason. "You shouldn't be here, Abi. I got my PA to pay you a monthly allowance just until you g
•DARLA• My breath halted when I looked down at his hand on my wrist. When he saw that I was uncomfortable, he quickly removed it and leaned closer. My heart was racing, but I did very well with hiding it. I didn't want my kids to think that there was tension between us. "I see that you're in a hurry, I promise I won't hold you up for too long." He explained as I pulled the kids to my side. "I don't have time to talk right now." "Are the kids yours?" He asked, and I chuckled. Gosh, if only he knew. "Yes, they are mine. We were here to see my father, and now we are going back home. "Hey, little ones." He knelt to their level, and the kids giggled as they answered him back. "My name is Elijah. What are yours?" "I am -" "Madison and Ryan," I quickly answered for them as he straightened up and looked at me. "It was a pleasure to meet you guys. Don't worry, your mother and I were old friends and are now working together. She told me a lot about you," Elijah directed to th
•ABIGAIL•"Miss Hayes, how can I assist you today?" I took out the brown envelope from my handbag and placed it on top of his table. When he saw it, he took down his eyeglasses and looked at me. "What is this?" "It's enough to keep our business confidential." I leaned closer to the table. "You're a very good doctor, Dr. Bowes. I've heard good reviews from people who do business with you, and I'd also like to be among them. We know how strict the law is when it comes to doctors who break their principles and make side hustles with their licenses, but I wouldn't want to take away your only livelihood." He took the envelope and slid it inside his drawer under his table before turning to me. "What do you want me to assist you with?" ***After my appointment with Dr. Bowes, I drove straight to Elijah's apartment and opened the door with the spare keys that I had with me. I wanted him to come back and find me in the house. He and I had been together for a long time and were not going
•ELIJAH•'Fuck,' I muttered under my breath as I inspected my swelled eye in the bathroom.That motherfucker punched me right in the eye and it was just starting to hurt. I quickly looked for first aid in the bathroom cabinet so that I could treat it myself. I took antihistamine eye drops to reduce the discomfort and then went back to my bed to lie down just a bit. I hoped that the swelling would be a bit reduced in the morning since I had to go to my office.I was about to fall asleep when my cell rang next to me, and I quickly picked it up when I saw that it was Billy. "Yes?" I answered the call as I sat up on the bed."The hand is not real. It doesn't belong to Miss Harper or anyone. Just a mannequin hand with realistic makeup. I don't even think that Abigail knew that." I stood up to my feet and was flabbergasted. Harper was alive, and that meant that someone else took her. Either to save her since Abigail had left her to die or was going to ask for ransom before they could b
•DARLA•"Am I interrupting something?" Ethan asked as he walked inside the cabin restaurant, and I froze in my steps for a moment. I was so shocked that I didn't know what to say. I wondered for a second how he even found me and came at the moment when I couldn't even make up a lie for what he saw. "Ethan, hey." Elijah greeted him and extended his hand for a handshake. But he just looked at it and walked toward me.He looked pissed and I had no idea what he would do when he looked like that. "You said Amelia called and asked for you to come over to her place because her man was giving her some trouble. So, where is she?" He asked as he looked down at me. "Ethan, this is not what you think. I can explain. You don't have to be irrational," I answered as I tried to grab his hand, but he wouldn't take it. "Irrational?!" He snapped. "Bitch, I'm not the one lying so that I can go and see my ex behind your back! You left the kids with me just so that you can come here and dine with him,
•ABIGAIL•"Hey, where are you? I went to your place just a while ago and couldn't find you." Kathrine asked on the phone when I arrived at my hotel suite with Diego. "I just went for a short vacation. Is everything okay?" I asked as I changed into comfortable clothing. I didn't want to tell my sister that I was in Detroit to sort out my problem with Harper because she was obviously going to tell me that she told me so. "Jason came here to my bar asking for you. I didn't know what to say to him. Is there anything I need to know, Abi? You know that I'm your sister and can help you with anything. I just hate that someone from the police is busy going around asking about you.""Did he tell you what he wanted with me?" I sighed as I leaned against the dressing table. "He didn't say anything, but I'm sure we both know what he wanted. Elijah could be the one who sent him. I hope you made sure that nothing could lead to you. They can't ever find Harper's body." "I know, Kat." I groaned a
•ELIJAH•"Sir?" "Yes, Billy?" "I think I found her." "You did? Where is she? Is she okay?" I was so happy when he told me that he had found her. "I found a body." "What?" "I found a hand. I think it belongs to Miss Harper. Abigail and her bodyguard just left, and I decided to inspect the place. I think they left her here after they killed her. I'm not sure if it's her hand, but I'll take whatever I can get and do DNA tests." My whole world shattered, and I didn't know what to say. I didn't know how I was going to tell my Mom the news. They were going to break her apart. But since Billy wasn't even sure that the hand belonged to Harper, I was going to wait until DNA tests proved otherwise. I hung up the call and turned to Darla at the bench. I didn't want to leave her just yet, but it seemed like I didn't have a choice. "Seems like I have to be on my way home now." She got up from the bench and looked at me. "It's alright, I hope they will find your sister." "I think they'v
•DARLA•"Lily..." I whispered under my breath when I arrived at the orphanage center that Elijah had kindly turned around and made it a more comfortable home for the kids who weren't lucky enough to find their happily ever after home."Miss Darla!" She squealed as she wrapped her arms around me and squeezed. "Did you come with Elijah? He told me that he'll be coming with you the next time he comes to visit."I sighed as we sat down on the grass at their park. It was easy to spot her since they were having a sports day. "You only got me, unfortunately," I chuckled as I pulled out a diary book for her from my handbag. "This is for you." "What is it?" She asked as she took the diary. "I had one when I was your age. It helps to write down the chaos in your head and keep them inside the book. That way, things don't get into you very easily. I know how chaotic things get when you're 15." She gave me a brief hug again. "Thank you, Miss Darla." I wrapped my arms around her and rested my
•DARLA•"Elijah, what are you doing here?" I closed my office door, and he walked to the table and sat down on the edge. "I didn't know where to go. I couldn't sleep or do anything. My mind is all over the place, Darla. I don't know what to think. I think I've lost my sense of direction in life." He vented as I walked toward him with my arms folded on my chest. "What's wrong?" I asked. I didn't want to throw him out. Not when he seemed like he needed to talk. He chuckled as he got up and walked toward me, and that's when I realized that he was fucking drunk. It was 10 in the morning, but his breath was reeking of alcohol. "Can you believe that my mother, the one person that I deemed to be perfect in everything that she does, cheated on my father and fell pregnant with my younger sister? The one who disappeared?" "Harper?" "She lied to us all our lives when she knew very well that my father died because of her. He died from a cardiac arrest because of her. I'm sure he couldn't ta
•ABIGAIL•"Who do you think you are?" I scolded. "You can't come here and threaten me in my house." "I just want to ask you a few questions, Abigail. You don't have to be so defensive." My goodness, I couldn't believe that Jason dared to come to my place and ask me useless things. Harper was probably dead wherever she was, but this guy was still bugging my ass about her. He texted and called me several times last night to ask me if I knew anything about Harper's disappearance, but despite telling him that I didn't know anything, he decided to come to my place and interrogate me.It was clear that he and Elijah were convinced that I was the one who kidnapped Harper. But fuck. I was the one who made him suspicious of me from the beginning when I threatened to hurt Harper because she ruined things for us and made me kill my child.But no, they weren't going to prove anything. "I'm not defensive." I scoffed. "How would you feel if I showed up at your house at this time of the day an
•ELIJAH•"I gave you an order to find my sister!" I punched Enzo in the face after Jason called me to his garage when he found him having a drink at the club and having fun. Jason had recommended him because he had good reviews about his competency in finding lost people. He was praised by many and had a lot of success cases. But when Jason found him slacking, we had to teach him a lesson. Every hour that he wasted by putting Harper's life at risk and anything could happen to her. It had been 4 days without any lead to her, and we were starting to be more worried and on edge. We couldn't afford any little mistake. "If you knew that you weren't capable of finding my sister, you would've declined the offer and stopped wasting time and my money!" I was angry and felt like beating him up just like they were beating up Harper on the video."I'm sorry, Sir, it will never happen again. I swear that I did my job and went to the club because I just wanted to clear my mind before resuming m
•ABIGAIL•"You will always belong to me, Elijah. No one is ever going to take you from me unless they want to deal with me." I looked at Sonia, who rolled her eyes at me."That's never going to happen." "Alright, if you say so." I looked at her and scoffed because she clearly had no idea what I was capable of, but she was about to find out."Listen here, and listen very carefully, Abigail," Sonia scolded as she closed the small gap between us. "If you know what's best for you, I would advise you to stay away from my business with Elijah. If he wanted to be with you, he would've made that clear by marrying you instead of breaking off your engagement." "Bitch, I still have his ring on my finger," I cocked my head to the side and smirked as I showed her the diamond ring. "So, as far as this is concerned," I pointed to the ring. "He's still mine." "Leave my house, you two, right now!" Elijah escorted us out of the house, and I didn't have a problem.When I got inside the car, Diego roa