•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
•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
•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
•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
•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
•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 wit
•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
•HARPER• I took labored breaths as I tried to get off the rope from my wrists. Every twist and turn felt like thorns in my hands, but I couldn't stop when I heard the sounds of hyenas nearby. I was dripping with blood, so I was sure that the scent of it would draw them closer, and they'd get tempted to eat me. My voice was already dry and hoarse from screaming all day for help. Even on the verge of death, I hoped that my soul wouldn't give up the fight in the middle of nowhere. "Help..." I muttered under my breath when I heard a car outside the building. I wasn't sure if it was Abigail or not, but if it wasn't her, I had to take my chances and find help. If I was meant to die, then I was better off dying where my mother would find me rather than going on for years and not knowing what even happened to me. "Help!" I screamed when the car stopped, and footsteps were getting closer to where I was. But after exhausting my last strength, someone walked in with a torch and bli
•DARLA•"I think I might know who did this," Elijah replied as he got up from the couch. "I think with this new evidence of him trying to tarnish your name with nonsensical theories, we have a chance to get him in jail.""You know who did this?" I asked as I wiped off my tears. "It's Ethan, of course. Who else would've leaked the information about how you got the Millers Properties Lifestyle? Or how you inherited everything from your father and banned your stepmother and brother from the company? It seems pretty obvious to me." I looked at him and realized how much sense he had made. Yet again, I failed to see Ethan for who he truly is. "Then what now?" "I know how to get him to confess to this and also get him to get this article off the internet. So don't worry, I'll take care of him for you. He will never bother you again." For the first time in forever, I let down my guard and decided to trust Elijah. Even though it was hard for me to admit that I needed his help when I came
•ABIGAIL•"Don't worry, I'll call you. Yeah -" My heart skipped a beat when I heard Diego on the phone when I walked out of the restroom. We were in New York and had withdrawn the money for our fake passports, which made it weird about who he might be talking to on the phone. He made my mind and heart uneasy because of his constant attention to his cell phone, which wasn't a problem until a few hours ago.'Fuck. He better not be cheating on me,' I groaned as I walked back to the bathroom and went to look at myself in the mirror and reapply my makeup. I sure wasn't going to let Diego use me to get a fake passport and then turn around and want to bring his whore with us. I had to make sure that he didn't even think about stabbing me in the back after all the things that he did with me and to me. When I was done patting myself on the back, I walked out of the restroom and found him waiting for me. He looked a bit agitated. "Is everything okay?" He asked when I walked toward him as
•ELIJAH•"I want your best flowers and the best gift box you got. Make sure that they are as romantic as they can be. I want them delivered to the address that I sent you. Yes. Thank you." I hung up the call and sat down on my couch. I was in one of my apartments so that I could have my own space and also get my mission accomplished on time.After receiving a file from my private investigator about Ethan's fraud with his former Arab business partners, I realized that it was going to help me get him under my control, and also get him to pay for kidnapping my kids.My cell phone rang, and when I realized that it was Harper, I got up from the couch and answered the call. "Hey, Jason sent me a text that Diego called and told him that you found them. Is Abigail with you?" I asked. "Yes, she's here. We are still keeping her in our hotel room. Jason hasn't called his cop friends, has he?" "No, but they are waiting for something. Abigail has to be captured, and since they had a lead, it h
•DARLA• "I can't believe that you had sex with Elijah," Amelia commented after I closed the door behind Elijah. I rolled my eyes as I turned around and walked to the living room where the kids were happily playing together. "I don't know what you're talking about. It's so crazy that you think I did such a disgraceful act with Elijah. I'd do that with anything walking around with a dick, but Elijah. My goodness," I answered when we got to the kitchen. "I'm sure you think that you're fooling me right now, but I can literally smell and see a person who just had sex." "Oh, yeah?" I chuckled after pouring myself and her a glass of apple juice. "Your pregnancy does that?" "Yeah, and your shirt is turned over." I gasped as I looked down at my shirt and instantly felt overwhelmed with embarrassment. I was so sure that even the housekeeper and Penelope saw that and knew what I did when Elijah was in the house. "That -" I sighed as I tried to think of an excuse. "I didn't see it
•ETHAN•"Morning, beautiful." I smiled as I brought Meghan a cup of coffee in bed. She looked so beautiful, and I couldn't believe my luck in bringing her home from the bar after a failed attempt two nights ago. "Fuck," she groaned.She didn't look so impressed when she saw me. She got up from the bed, dressed up, and took her handbag from the floor. "I'm sorry, but I've got to hit the road. I'm sure we had a lot of fun last night, but I'm not the romantic type to do breakfast in bed, talk, or whatever you thought was going to happen." I placed the cup of coffee down on the pedestal counter and turned to her a little disappointed. She didn't seem like someone who only did one-night stands.I was even thinking that maybe she didn't like me as much as I thought she did when she came home with me. "Wait, what's wrong? You were happy when we came home and you seemed interested in me. Did I read all that wrong?" I asked as I leaned toward her. "It's not you, honestly. But I can't do
•DARLA•"Say it again, Darla. I want you to tell me that you don't love me anymore, but I want you to look me straight in the eye this time when you say it." "What difference will make it, Elijah?" I scoffed. "It won't change the fact that I don't want to be with you anymore. Getting me the cool pink car, jewelry, bags, and shoes is never going to make me forgive you for all the shit that you put me through!" "Are you going to say it?" "Fuck you!" I snapped. "You left and abandoned me when I was pregnant with your kids! How dare you think that you can come back into my life, and I'll just forgive you as if you didn't leave me to be with another woman?! You're a motherfucking cunt, Mr. Houston!""I know that I lied, cheated, and divorced you on claims that Abigail was pregnant! I know that I was an asshole who doesn't deserve sympathy from you, but I love you!" He sighed. "I love you with all my heart, and nothing makes sense to me right now than you." He breathed. "You're the only
•HARPER•"Hey, are you okay?" I breathed, packed my bag, and took a sip of my lemon juice on the table. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just tired of being here and not getting anywhere. Abigail seems impossible to find." Alec smiled as he came to sit down next to me on the bed. "Don't you trust me anymore? I brought you here with me because I know that we can find her. I know Abigail and how she thinks. Chicago is not big enough for her to hide." "Yeah, and we've been here for a day already. We should be getting somewhere, but it seems like we aren't getting anywhere, Alec. What if she's no longer in Chicago? I don't think that I can stay here any longer chasing pavements!" I snapped and then sighed. "Something's going on with you. What's wrong? You know that you can talk to me about anything." "There's nothing wrong! Stop with your interrogations, Alec, and get me, Abigail!" I snapped again as I stood up from the bed. "I'm starting to feel like you don't want me to find your bitch anymor
•ELIJAH•"This better be good," I sighed after answering Diego's call in the morning. I was sleeping when he called me at 5 AM. I had a long night and slept quite late because of a research that I was conducting. "I'm with Abigail, Sir. We met last night in Chicago and will be on our way to New York this morning for some cash. I just need a little more time before turning her in." "My sister and her friend are in Chicago searching for her. When you come back from your New York trip, please give me a call. She has to be captured tonight. That's how much time I'm going to give you." "Yes, Sir. That's okay. I'll make sure that she's captured. I just want to make sure that Harper gets back the remaining money that Abigail took from her." I got up from the bed and sighed. "Alright, give me a call when you're back." "Sir?" "Yes?" "Does our deal still stand? You get Abigail and let me go? You promised not to harm me or my family if everything goes your way. Please, I hope nothing wil
•SONIA•"Hey, Mom. It's me again," I sniffed as I sat down on the carpet floor in the basement. This was where I spent some of my time whenever I needed to feel close to my Mom, even though I didn't really have any memories of her.Before my father had his life devoted to his work, he and I used to have a weekly tradition whereby we would watch videos he took with my Mom before she died. They looked so happy and in love together, which made sense why my father never remarried after her death. She was the love of his life."I know that we barely know each other, but I have no one right now. You're the only person who can listen to me without any judgments, and I really need to vent right now," I sighed. "Was it ever this hard when your parents wanted to get you married to someone else when you were with Dad? Was it this hard because they didn't want you to be with someone who wouldn't be able to take care of you?" I silently cried and wiped my tears before they could reach my cheek