A honk was heard as the taxi driver slammed into the steering wheel. On the other hand, Scott's forehead hit the headrest of the passenger seat. His mind went fuzzy due to the impact. Other cars on the road came to a screeching halt one after the other. Honks came from all corners in an instant. Scott shook his head as he saw stars. Leaning back, he held his forehead and opened the door. He got out just in time to see a rickety white car making a sharp swerve to another lane from behind the taxi. There was a dent on its bumper, so this meant one thing—that was the car that just hit the taxi."Hey! Stop right there!" Scott yelled as the car sped away. He took note of the number plate before it went out of sight. Something about that car seemed familiar. Where had he seen it before?*****Scott's head was still banging by the time he returned home. Somehow, the taxi driver had managed to continue the ride. To show his appreciation, Scott wired him some money to repair the damage done
Scott sputtered a laugh. "Oh, come on! How did you arrive at such a conclusion?""Do I have to spell it out for you?" Leonard sounded irritated. "You said it yourself that the car bumped into the taxi you were in out of nowhere and also sped off as if nothing happened. Based on your description, the damage on the taxi was a little serious, which means the hit was intentional."These words got Scott thinking. The accident played out in his mind again. Indeed, it was very odd. Maybe Leonard was right. But who hated him so much to want to kill him?Leonard piped up. "You're seeing it now, aren't you?""Yeah," replied Scott, nodding slowly. "But who would want to kill me? I haven't offended anyone recently. My company isn't doing too well lately, so I don't have haters on my tail. The last company I acquired was done with mutual understanding. Everyone went home happy. I can't think of anyone who is angry with me right now."Leonard rubbed his chin. "You sure about that?"Unsure, Scott co
"What!" Leonard and Anthony exclaimed at the same time. They looked at each other before Anthony spoke again, "Don't do it, Scott. I get that you are angry, but what if he's really the one after you? What if he attacks again?""He's right. You barely just survived the accident. I was even thinking of asking you to go to the hospital to get checked. You know, for internal bleeding and all. I could even go over to attend to you myself," Leonard uttered with worry. "Don't go over to Steven's. Take a taxi to the hospital and I'll meet you there."Scott grabbed his keys. "No, thanks. I feel fine. The bump on my forehead will go down once I put more ice on it. But that will come later. I have gotta confront that old idiot. Something tells me he has a hand in this. Let's talk later, guys!""No, Scott. Don't—" Leonard began, but the line suddenly went dead.Scott ran out of the house. He was just about to get in the car when he remembered something; he hadn't told Cora he was going out.Consi
Scott couldn't think of any other person no matter how he tried. Currently, his biggest enemy was Jordan. Oh, he hated that man so much!Jordan was a no-nonsense businessman, but he rarely had issues with people as long as they did their jobs well. Although Scott had a bone to pick with him, he didn't think it would be the other way around.It appeared Zara had chosen Jordan over him. The guy won, so there was no reason to come after him. Scott was actually the one who had intentions to sabotage Jordan and frustrate him.Thinking of this, Scott looked at Steven who was now seated again in his chair. The older man was staring at him with his hand on his chin. There was something about this man that didn't sit right with Scott. He couldn't place his finger on it, but he found Steven very sinister."I'll put off telling Cora about this for now. If I find out that you have a hand in this, you'll see the other side of me. And that's going to be very soon!" Scott threatened.Steven laughed,
A shriek escaped Zara's mouth as she hit the brakes as fast as she could. She lunged forward, grabbing the steering wheel tighter. After staying down for a few moments, she raised her head and opened an eye.She looked to see the damage she had done. Thankfully, there was no dent on the car. A head suddenly appeared from the other side. "My goodness!" Zara muttered exasperatedly. She opened the door and got out with her hands and legs shaking. Although the near collision just scared her half to death, she wasn't going to let this slide.Scott, who was clad in a white shirt and a pair of trousers, walked up to her and said, "Hey, Zara. Can I talk—""What the hell is wrong with you? Have you lost your mind? I could have hit you!" Zara yelled, holding the hood of her car for support. She was pissed. This man had almost caused an accident. Instead of apologizing, he asked her if they could talk? Was he doing drugs now? Who in their right mind would appear in front of a moving car like he
Scott wanted to push her away. He imagined just standing up with great force so she could shift away from him or even fall off the bed. He contemplated brushing her away with his arm and then giving her a stern warning never to do that again.However, he did none of that. He just lay there as her warm breath continued to spray on his neck and her fingers continued to work wonders on his tensed nerves.Cora seemed to realize that more tolerant so she moved on top of him. Sitting on his butt, she massaged from the small of his back upwards. She repeated this motion a few times.After some time, Scott didn't feel her touch anymore. He thought she was applying ointment to him again, but the next second, he saw the shirt of her nightie lying on the bed.An alarm rang went off in his head. He pressed his hands on the bed and lunged backward. Suddenly, Cora moved. She sat on his back, forcing him to lie back down. She wrapped her hands around his chest and kissed his cheek again."What are y
A stalemate ensued between the two of them. While Zara was angry, panicking and confused, Scott was actually giving her a look of certainty. She could see in his eyes that he knew the truth.The day she dreaded for a long time had finally come to pass. She was at her wits end now. For the first time in her whole life, she wished she could just disappear. The look on Scott's face told her he wasn't going to leave here until she agreed to his demands.The last thing she wanted was to co-parent with him. Scott's life was too messy to get him involved in Jayden's. Besides, she wanted to keep her bundle of joy as far away from Cora as possible. She still hadn't forgotten how Jayden lost his teeth because of that wicked witch."Hey, are you still with me?" Scott snapped his fingers, moving closer to her desk.Zara finally looked up at him. As her heart tightened, so did her fists. Suddenly, she slapped the desk and shot to her feet. "Get out!""What?""I said, get out!" Zara pointed at the
It was already ten o'clock by the time Zara slipped on a pair of flat shoes and grabbed her bag. She was going to work particularly late today. Having stayed up late to binge-watch cartoons with Jayden since it was Friday night, she slept in and only woke up about thirty minutes ago.Zara still had some tasks to do at work, and also a few errands to run. After saying goodbye to her grandmother and checking on her dozing son, she went to the company. There were a few employees present now; most of which were handling pressing projects.She said hi to the workers and walked into her office. After opening the blinds, she was just about to sit at her desk when she noticed something on the edge of her desk. It was a rectangular box wrapped tightly in a transparent plastic bag like it was some fragile item.Picking it up, she realized there was no card. She picked up the office phone and pressed it to her ear. Suddenly, someone knocked on the door."Come in!" she said, dialing a number.Bri
Ten months later."Wake up, Daddy, Mommy! It's morning already!"Scott and Zara, who were snuggled up in bed, woke up to the excited squeal of their son. Zara opened her eyes and yawned. She nudged her husband as he was already drifting to sleep again."Wake up or he will come jumping on the bed again," she whispered to him.Scott stirred and rubbed his eyes. "But I am so tired. You wore me out last night.""It's not my fault. The baby wanted to eat a lot last night and she refused to let me sleep until I satisfied the cravings.""You know that's not what I'm talking about," Scott chuckled. "How can a pregnant woman have so much energy?"Hearing this, Zara slapped his arm while blushing. "Shush! Don't let Jayden hear you or he will start asking questions again. Help me up, will you?"Scott pulled her closer and gave her a kiss. Looking at her slightly swollen face, he said, "Good morning, beautiful.""Me too! I want a kiss!" Jayden shouted, running into the room without shutting the do
Time seemed to stop as Zara let out a scream that reached the ears of the policemen outside the gate. She lost the sense of her surroundings as she looked at Scott's face. Even the gunshots from nearby and the thud that came moments later didn't draw her attention.Her tears fell on his face. He stretched his bloodstained lips again, flashing his red teeth at her. Coughing, he muttered, "Take care of Jayden. I love you two… So so much."Zara nodded her head. "I will. I'll take care of him. But don't leave me. Let's take care of him together, okay? I can't live without you. Stay with me, okay? I love you, Scott. Always have."Still smiling, Scott raised his hand and touched her face. He held her gaze for seconds which seemed like minutes. His hand slowly dropped. Zara held on to it and continued to tell him to stay with her.But at this moment, his eyes slowly closed. Zara's cry increased in tempo alongside Jayden's. The little boy was just as horrified as his mother. Zara shook Scott'
All of a sudden, a loud noise came from not too far away. Portia and Cora looked in the direction of the exit."What was that?" they uttered at the same time.A gunshot came from a distance above. It was followed by several thuds, louder than the first one."It's the police! You are surrounded. Surrender right now!" a shout came from above.Portia immediately swung into action. "Stay here! I don't think they have found this place. I'll go handle them. Don't let these two get away, okay?"Being instructed, Cora nodded her head even though she was shaking. She sat on the ground while still holding Jayden's hands together. Portia quickly headed for the entrance with the knife still in her hand.Outside, several policemen broke down the door of the house with multiple battering ram. They took several positions while the best of them matched into the kitchen with guns.The door of the pantry was kicked down in the blink of an eye. They broke into twos, looking around in the pantry. A duo s
"That shoe!" Scott's eyes widened as he leaned forward. He zoomed in on the live footage to have a better look. The other men also opened their eyes wide. Their eyes were on Portia's pair of blue and white trainers."I have seen that shoe somewhere before," Scott mumbled as he began typing on the keyboard again. Another tab opened. He clicked on the surveillance video Portia had given to them. Without wasting time, he looked at the footwear Zara had on when she arrived at the Andersons' home. It was a pair of pink and black sneakers. Quickly, he fast-forwarded the video to when she was leaving. Strangely, her footwear was no longer pink and black. It was blue and white!Scott increased the brightness level of the screen and zoomed in more just to make sure he wasn't mistaken. The footwear had indeed changed."Holy smokes!" Anthony exclaimed at the mystery that was unfolding before him.In silence, Scott scrolled up the body of "Zara". It was at this moment he noticed that the body s
The person she was looking at was Scott. She imagined slapping him in that hard face of his for all the pain he caused her child. The nerve of him to show up here after everything!"Mrs. Anderson... Mrs. Anderson," Detective Marshall called out, snapping his fingers.Finally, Portia drew her gaze away from Scott. She looked back at the cop and said, "Can't we talk here?""I'm afraid, no. I also need to speak to your daughter."Portia turned. "I could call her out.""No, there's no need. To the best of my knowledge, she's under house arrest, I don't want to stress her more than she already is. Also, she could get into trouble with her probation officer. Just let us in. Or is there something you don't want to see in there?"Hearing this, Portia's face changed immediately. She eyed him and then turned around. She walked into the house, leaving the door open. The four men walked in immediately.As soon as they entered, Scott's eyes swept around the house. He walked around while the others
"Mommy!" Jayden screamed as soon as he saw Zara sitting on the chair with her head hanging low. A rope was tied tightly around her. There was a dry patch of blood on her neck. Wisps of her hair stuck to her sweaty face. Her hands were tied together in front of her pelvis. Her collarbone was visible at this time, it was deeper than it had ever been. At the sight of his mother in this state, Jayden leaped to his feet and darted to her. Before he could get through the door of the cubicle where Zara was, Cora pushed him down with a smack. He fell to the dusty floor, hurting his back yet again. He screamed, "Aaaah!""Shut it!" Cora roared at him, raising her hand to hit him again.Jayden held his lips as he looked up at Cora with fear. His pale face instantly turned red. He coughed hard but still didn't let go of his lips. Suddenly, something caught his attention. He looked away from Cora. He soon screamed again, "Mommy!"Cora turned to look in the same direction as the little boy. She
Cora drew her head back. Looking up at the ceiling, she let out an evil laughter that reverberated in the entire living room. There was a bloodstain on the figurine. The sight of it made her more joyful. She looked down at Zara again and smirked. "Stupid bitch!"The patter of flip-flops suddenly came from the side. It was followed by a scream-whisper, "Cora! Why did you do that?"Cora looked at her mother with a smile still on her face. "I told you she was going to come, Mom. She was about to search the whole house. I had to stop her."Holding her forehead, Portia didn't know what to say for a while. She looked upstairs to make sure Steven was nowhere in sight, then she asked, "How did she get here? Did she come in her car or taxi?""I don't know!" Cora shrugged. "Why do you ask?"Portia put two fingers on Zara's neck. After confirming that there was a pulse, she said, "Use your head, Cora! We can't just let her go. And if we keep her here, the cops are gonna come here. You could be s
The mood in the Hall family's home was sadder than it had ever been in more than fifteen years when Zara's parents died. At the time, many people were crying, but today, it was a one-man crying marathon.Zara, who hadn't taken a shower since the day of Jayden's kidnap, dragged herself from the sofa and sat on the cold floor. Her crying increased in tempo. She dragged her greasy hair and scratched her red face. She looked like a woman who had just lost her husband.Mia moved closer and reached out. "You need to stop crying, Zara. You have been crying for more than two days.""If I don't cry, what else can I do? Eh! What else can I do? My son is missing. And the police keep telling me stories upon stories without having a single clue as the where Jayden is. Yet, I am not supposed to cry?" Zara asked sniffing hard.She suddenly slapped Mia's hand off her shoulder. "Leave me alone. Let me cry!"On the sofa opposite the two young ladies, Karen was seated in casual clothes. Her eyes were he
"Yes!" Scott punched the air as he stared at the masterpiece he had made. There was a big smile on his face at this moment. He had taken the day off work and spent the entire morning and noon painting the huge Spiderman figure on the wall of a spare room.With one of his hands on his hip, he muttered to himself, "I just have to put a child's bed here and make it more comfortable. Then, I have to convince Zara to allow him stay the night a few times."The thought of bringing up the topic made Scott shiver. He could already imagine her shooting him a deathly glare. But he was going to give it a shot anyway. "She can't kill me, can she?"Scott chuckled as he imagined her agreeing after his incessant pleas. "She can be very stubborn, but once I make her see the good in this, she will surely agree."As Scott continued to talk to himself, there was a knock on the door. The nanny's voice came from outside, "Mr. Brown, your phone has been ringing. Sorry to disturb you."Scott turned to look a