Mikael’s Car Manhattan, New York, US. 1 PM“I know her,” Linda’s voice, accompanied by the smoke from her cigarette, was the only thing that caught Mikael’s attention after he chose to close his eyes and lean back without saying anything since the car left the grand Williams mansion.“Claire Thompson, the charming one,” Linda spoke again. But still, she failed to pull Mikael’s attention away from what he was doing. He was listening to her, fully aware of her words because her voice was the only thing breaking the silence aside from the sound of the car engine and the tires squeaking on the snow, yet he gave no reaction. And he wasn’t obligated to.“What a surprise to finally meet her in person,” Linda clicked her tongue. “I’ve heard her name everywhere, every time I was with you. Hell, you even called out her name when you climaxed with me.” Linda’s hand brushed along Mikael’s inner thigh, prompting an annoyed grunt as he pushed her hand away.“Damn you, Linda,” he hissed sharply.“O
Williams MansionManhattan, New York, US. 4 PMEverything went well—far better than Claire had expected when she received a surprise this morning.Well, Mikael’s arrival and… his woman had caused quite a bit of tension. Claire had even considered all the worst-case scenarios that could happen if Mikael was there while Cecilia was also at the mansion.But that didn’t happen...Cecilia stayed quietly in her room with the maid, while Mikael left right after their late breakfast as if he deliberately didn’t want to linger after realizing Claire was also there.Josephine had mentioned that Mikael never celebrated Christmas with her, but suddenly, he showed up with his woman—the same one Claire had seen five years ago. And without any explanation about their relationship, Claire could already conclude that they… were very close.Ignoring Mikael’s influence was incredibly difficult. She had tried hard over the past five years, but she had to admit that there were moments in her life when tho
New York StreetManhattan, New York, US. 8 PM“She's still there," Nancy pointed toward the TV screen displaying the CCTV footage.The news of Claire losing her daughter had quickly spread throughout the café. A manager had approached to help while other staff members searched every corner of the café, even those rarely accessed by customers—storage rooms and the kitchen. Some even searched outside, checking the souvenir shop across the street, the place Cecilia had initially wanted to visit.But they found nothing.Cecilia wasn’t there, and now Claire was tracking her daughter’s last appearance on the CCTV footage.Then… something happened. Cecilia ran out of view of the camera. She disappeared from the recording. There was no trace of where she had gone. She had run towards the café door, following a man who called out to her—waving her over before picking her up and carrying her out of the café."Oh God," Claire closed her eyes, trying not to break down in hysterical sobs, even tho
Mikael MansionManhattan, New York, US. 11 PM“Mikael, I need you.”The words Claire had spoken at his apartment door kept echoing vividly in Mikael’s mind—repeating as if purposely driving him even crazier after everything he had been through today.“You came to me just to sit in my living room? Are you serious?”Unable to hold it in any longer, the words slipped out of his mouth—pulling Claire from whatever thoughts were consuming her.Everything was clear from the look in her eyes… empty—like all hope had drained away.“I need money,” Claire whispered softly. Her face was filled with despair as if she was facing a burden too great for her to bear alone.Her sentence was shocking.Of course, Mikael hadn’t expected that to be the first thing she said after her prolonged silence.However, Mikael didn’t show any reaction. He took a drag from the cigarette between his fingers and exhaled deeply. “How much?” He raised an eyebrow—trying to suppress the pounding in his chest that was on th
Mikael’s ApartmentManhattan, New York, US. 11 AMMikael couldn’t believe it when he heard the phone call interrupting his peaceful morning—a morning that made him not want to leave the bed because he remembered Claire was still asleep beside him the last time he closed his eyes.Or... not.Because when he opened his eyes, he found no one.“Shit!”The room, dark throughout the night, was now fully illuminated as sunlight streamed through the cracks in the window.Mikael nearly jumped in shock when he saw the clock on the wall.11 AM?No way. He hadn’t slept this deeply in the last six years, and he couldn’t believe he had slept in so late as if all his problems had disappeared.Fuck. Claire needed money... and he had slept so late that she had already left him.“What’s going on?” Mikael almost snapped at the caller, but fortunately, he still had enough presence of mind to control his voice.“Mr. Williams, it’s me, Trevor. I’m calling to inform you that a woman claiming to be your wife
Manhattan’s BankManhattan, New York, US. 11 PMClaire still couldn’t believe what she was doing. Losing Cecilia, going to Mikael, doing the unthinkable, stealing money from him, then running through the bank’s back door with three bags larger than her body.Cecilia...Claire would get her back—she would save her.And Claire didn’t regret doing all these crazy things for her daughter. She would do anything for Cecilia—anything.“Hurry if you don’t want to be late. Frankly, you’re already an hour late.”Her phone rang once more, and she considered ignoring it, thinking Mikael was calling—just like the dozens of calls he’d made after they had spoken using the bank manager’s phone.“I got the money. Please understand it takes time to gather this much.” Claire closed her eyes briefly while still trying to drag the three large bags, “just wait there for two more minutes.”“You’d better hurry, someone’s already waiting for you there,” Anderson responded quickly. “Stop talking and hand your
Somewhere in New York. 1 PMDiscovering that Linda was a traitor and learning that Hernandez was still the one behind all of this was deeply shocking.For a moment, Mikael couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw Linda standing there with a gun pointed at Claire’s head.It felt like just yesterday, they were talking in the car after leaving his parents’ house. He never imagined that woman—the whore—could turn into a traitor in the blink of an eye.Or maybe not in the blink of an eye. She had been a traitor from the beginning. He was the one who had been fooled, allowing her to stay one step behind him the entire time.But who cares about Linda now that Lionel and his team have likely dealt with her?Chasing Claire. That was all Mikael focused on—chasing Claire as she had just run away from him into the old building at the end of the yard.There had been an explosion from inside the building, but when they entered, no one was there.“Oh God,” Claire covered her mouth, tears streaming down
Somewhere in New York. 1 PM“Long time no see, Hernandez,” Mikael said calmly. “What the hell are you doing this time?”Mikael spoke with a calmness that seemed so real, as if he wasn’t afraid of anything, even though they had just realized that there was no way out of the building while time was ticking away. However, Mikael’s calmness didn’t affect Claire at all. She could feel her legs trembling—fearful, deeply cared.She remembered how she had decided to come without the slightest bit of fear to meet Mikael, steal money from him, and leave with Linda to meet Anderson here. And now, as she stood face to face with Anderson, all her fears merged and hit her at once.“Mommy,” Cecilia’s soft voice was the only thing that pulled Claire out of her shock, making her tune back into the conversation between Mikael and Anderson, who both stood ready with guns in hand. If Mikael fired, the place would turn into a terrifying battlefield in just a few seconds. The same would happen if Anderson