Cora felt her knees buckle. Her head suddenly felt full. She broke out in cold sweat as her mouth went dry. What was Scott talking about? What did he know? Did he know she had been deceiving him all along? No, it can't be. He still dotes on Tommy. He wouldn't if he already knew the truth, right?Blinking in a bid to maintain her composure, Cora stammered, "I... I don't know what you are talking about."Yes, you do!" Scott snarled. "Quit pretending, will you? For once, own up to your shit!"She burst into tears. "Why are you yelling at me? I really don't know what you are talking about. I don't know what lies Zara or anyone told you, but it's not true!""No one told me shit! Stop bringing Zara into this, will you? You were so mean to her just now. How can you still act like a saint?"Cora screamed, "Why are you always defending her against me! Rumor has it that she has been sleeping with different men. All the companies she acquired in the last few years were done crookedly. I even hea
Jordan's car pulled into the driveway of the Hall family's mansion. Seconds later, Zara got out of the car and shut the door. She lowered and said thanks to him. After watching him leave, she walked into the house. "Good morning, Grandma," she said to Karen who was sitting at the dining table with a cup of hot tea in hand and a plate of toast and eggs before her. Karen peered at her granddaughter over her glasses. "Welcome. Go take a shower and come down for breakfast. I'll tell Abigail to fix you something." "Okay..." Twenty minutes later, Zara returned clad in a loose shirt and a pair of shorts. Her hair was in a messy bun. She had decided against washing it because she was feeling too lazy. After having breakfast, she walked up to where Karen was sitting in the living room. "Jayden is sleeping in today. When I checked on him, he looked so tired." "Yes, he is. I allowed him to stay up late yesterday," Karen explained with her eyes on what she was knitting. Her granddaughter rec
A slight tension rippled between all four of them. Just then, the waitress came up to the table with Jordan and Zara's order. She set it down carefully. The situation became a little more awkward after she left."Mr. Brown, you are here to have dinner, aren't you? Why don't you go ahead?" Jordan finally broke the silence, glancing at Scott's company.For some reason, Scott smiled brightly. "Yes, we are. But I forgot to make a reservation before coming here. We were on our way out when I heard your sweet sweet words."Zara instantly felt uncomfortable. She sensed something in his tone. And it wasn't good. When he moved closer to the table with his companion, she bit her tongue and cursed him out in her mind. Jerk! Why don't you just go your own way? Why did you have to stop? Don't even dare do what I think you are about to do!Suddenly, Scott pulled the chair nearby and said with feigned politeness, "We already came a long way. Since you reserved a large table, how about we sit with yo
Scott's eyes glowed red like torches. After slamming his glass down on the table, he glanced at the two of them as if he was some kind of cop they were obligated to answer to."What do you mean?" Zara frowned at him. "Watch your tone. Even if you want to ask such a personal question, you shouldn't use that tone.""Huh? What's wrong with my tone?" He turned to face her squarely.She rolled her eyes and took a bit of the spare ribs as if he hadn't addressed her. The expression she had on her face was indifferent. However, she was panicking inside. Can he just drop it already? Why did he flare up? Was he jealous? Did he think he was free to date anyone he liked while she was supposed to stay celibate forever? How arrogant of him! It wasn't until Scott was about to flare up again that Jordan finally piped up. "As she said, we have been dating for quite a while now. We would appreciate it if you—"Scott cut him off. "For how long have you had eyes for her?""I beg your pardon?" "Answer t
Were her eyes playing tricks on her? Was she hallucinating right now? Why the hell was she seeing this man standing at her doorstep in the middle of a rainy night?Zara blinked hard and looked again. When the image before her didn't disappear, she uttered in disbelief, "Scott? What are you doing here?""Break up with him," Scott repeated. Zara was even more stunned. She stared at him as his mouth quivered. He was soaking wet as if he had jumped into a pool, fully-clothed."What's wrong with you? Why did you show up here in the middle of the night?" she asked, folding her arms over her bosom."Break up with him."Hell, he was sounding like a broken record now. Zara's frown deepened. She didn't even know what to say to him. How could he come all the way here just to tell her those four words? Wait a minute!A stench suddenly hit Zara's nose. It was so pungent that she wondered why it hadn't gotten to her before now. Scott reeked of alcohol. Finally, she understood why his eyes were dro
A squeal came from Jayden the next second. The little boy threw his head back and laughed out loud. In contrast, Scott looked horrified as he stared at his reflection in the mirror. He looked an absolute mess.Asides from the thick large circles around his eyes, there were small lines like whiskers at each corner of his mouth. His eyebrows were also darker than usual. On his cheeks were several small circles."What's the noise about?" Zara suddenly showed up at the top of the stairs. She rushed downstairs in a matter of seconds. After glancing at her son who was cracking up, she looked at Scott. "Why aren't you saying anything? What happened here?"Hearing this, Scott, who was backing her, slowly turned around with his hands on his cheeks. Zara's eyes widened as soon as she saw the large circles around his eyes. And when he dropped his hands, she looked even more stunned. "Who did that to you?"Even before Scott could answer, she sharply looked at her son who was still laughing out lo
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
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