The anger was so evident on Rafael’s face when he walked into the room. His entrance had taken Hernandez completely by shock and he had dropped the phone immediately, leaving Hermes stranded on the other end. They had both been trying to figure out what was going on. Hermes had still not been able to find Athena and he was getting extremely worried. Hernandez had wondered what was going on because he had put her into the van personally and watched the van drive off. There was only one explanation to this that he could think of but then he never wanted to believe it.It had to be Rachael. She had been the one who had arranged everything about the pickup and the drop off. She was the only one who could have pulled something like this off. Hernandez was about to tell Hermes this when Rafael stormed in. From the look on his face, Hernandez could tell immediately that the gig was up and he knew exactly what was going on.“You!” Rafael shouted, his hand pointed out to Hernandez in a menacin
The dryness of my throat was what had woken me up from the deep sleep I had drifted into. My eyes fluttered open slowly, each one felt incredibly heavy and unfocused. My vision was extremely blurred as I tried my best to see what was going on. I blinked a lot of times, trying to get some semblance of light into my eyes but it was still met with darkness everywhere. The whole world seemed to be nothing but a swirling void, as I sat there, panic surging through my veins. The air all around me thickened, suffocating me as I struggled to beat. My heart beat thundered again and again in my ears.I tried to lift my hands in order to touch my head or try to feel around for something to clear my eyes, but they wouldn’t move. That was the first time I felt it. The rough bite of the ropes as they dug into my wrists. I immediately became conscious of the fact that my arms were pinned behind my back. My whole body tensed up as this realization hit me. I instinctively tried to twist free, but I so
RAFAELThere I was, sat in the study thinking about everything that had just happened. Hernandez was in the room with me but he was off in a corner because I couldn’t bear to even look at his face right now. We were both battered up because of the fight that had ensued. I still couldn’t wrap my head around the fact that he could do something like this to me. His explanation about everything and how he was just looking out for himself had struck a nerve in me, but then there were still much better options. If he had come to me with this from the very beginning, I would have been more open and I would have been able to do something to prevent something like this.No matter how he wanted to look at it, he betrayed me and that was the crux of the matter. My eyes caught his eye several times, as we sat in silence waiting. I had placed a call to Hermes earlier and he was on his way to the house so we would discuss everything. We were going to formulate a plan to get Athena by whatever means
Everybody in the room watched as Hernandez paraded the room in silence. He was obviously deep in thought about everything that he had just heard. He was considering his options and was desperately trying to figure out what his next step would be. Rachael had put him in a completely impossible position. It was either he came out and told the world about everything that he had been up to the past few days. This would mean definite arrest for him and would definitely lead to even worse things which he was not sure he was ready for. Him confessing to all these things would implicate the people that he was working for and they would definitely not be pleased about it. If he came out to the public about all his crimes then he was definitely a dead man.On the other hand, if he chose to be quiet about it all and did nothing, then Rachael was going to hurt Athena. The threat which she had made over the phone kept on ringing in his head and he knew that Rachael was more than capable of doing s
Hermes stood in the meeting hall of his house expectantly. His hands were visibly shaking but he paid it no heed, as he tried his best to steady his thoughts and body as much as possible. It was not proving to be so effective but then he had to try. This was going to be the first time he was having a meeting with one of the investors and he was entirely nervous. For the duration of their time together, all the investors had gone through great lengths to hide their identity and there had never once been a physical meeting, there had never been need for one. Work had always gone smoothly before and they were highly pleased at the fact that he provided results and made them a lot of money as well.The fact that he had gotten a message from one of them that he was going to be visiting him personally was definitely not a good sign. It had been so impromptu as well and there was no time for him to prepare or get his act together. Everything seemed to be happening around him all at once and
ATHENAMy eyes fluttered open once again and this time I found myself on the floor in what looked like a makeshift bed. I could tell that it was a makeshift bed because it still felt like I was on the floor and my body hurt like hell. I had no idea how I had ended up in that corner of the room as I looked around. I must have slept off and that was when they did all of this because I couldn’t remember the bed being there when I woke up the first time. I let out a huge sigh of relief as I surveyed the room. If there was anything I was thankful for, it was the fact that my limbs were no longer bound.I rubbed my wrists slowly as I touched the place where the ropes had frayed them, they were still quite red and felt very sore, but at least they were no longer in shackles. Fighting through the pain which I could feel coursing through my body, I sat up on the bed and tried my best to get up. The pregnancy was not helping matters either, as I felt my back hurt from the weight which was being
RAFAELProcessing everything that had been going on was extremely hard for me. I had just been betrayed by two people which I trusted so much, one I trusted and treated like my brother, an extension of me. Even as I sat in the study looking at the drink of whiskey which I had poured out but had been unable to drink, I could still feel the hurt in my heart. The fact that Hernandez had chosen to do something like this to me was completely beyond my ability to comprehend. It was the last thing that I thought would ever happen to me in a million yearsThe fact that Rachael had tried to warn me about it but then I had not listened to her in any way. If anything, I had pushed her to do what she was doing right now. I definitely had a huge part to play in everything that was going on. Maybe if I had handled things differently when it came to matters that were presented to me then she would not have felt the need to take matters into her own hands. A world of guilt continued to float around i
Hermes waited for Rafael to arrive at his location. The call which he had placed had been against his better judgment but it was obvious to him that time was no longer on his side. The clock was ticking and there had been no positive outcome from anywhere. His efforts to find information about Athena and Rachael had hit a roadblock and it felt like his guys were completely incompetent. He had expected this though from the beginning. Rachael was the best at what she did and there was no way she was going to be stupid not to have arranged something quite solid. If she didn’t want to be found then she was certainly not going to be found. He knew that this meant doom for Athena, especially if he didn’t do exactly what she wanted. She had his hands tied and she knew it.Rachael was a completely different breed from Rafael. From the way which Rafael had treated Athena the few times he met them. He knew that he didn’t have what it took to hurt her. He couldn’t even sense her being in danger
EPILOGUETHREE MONTHS LATER“He is so beautiful.” Athena said, as she lifted up their baby and spun him around in the air.The past months after the baby had come had been nothing short of magical. She couldn’t stop staring at the baby and she thought about how different her life was now from how it had been just a couple of months ago. They were at a point of peace and Rafael had magically transformed into the sweetest person on the earth. She now saw him smile a lot, especially when he played with Jaden. They had both chosen the baby’s name together after a lot of arguments. It had been a funny scene to witness but at the end of the day, they had settled for Jaden and it was a name that suited him so well.“He has my eyes so of course he is going to look beautiful.” Rafael said, as he emerged at the door of the room.He had been standing there for a while watching his mother and Athena without them knowing. They were startled at first, but at this point they had gotten used to the f
RAFAEL“Watch your step.” I said, as I held her hands and led her into the house.She had absolutely refused my offers to carry her. In her words, she felt I had done enough. On the contrary, I felt I was yet to do enough. I was not sure if I could ever do enough to compensate for everything that I had put her through in the past few months. I felt it in my heart though, I was definitely ready to make amends for everything. That was the plan.The doctor had finally agreed to discharge her from the hospital and we got back to a welcome party from my mother. She had been extremely happy over the past few days. Ever since I told her the news at the hospital about how the baby might actually be mine, I realized that the glow which she had the first time she found out that Athena was pregnant had actually returned to her face. I couldn’t be hundred percent sure if I was the father, not until the baby was here and we were able to carry out a DNA test.I could feel it in my bones though. It
ATHENAMy eyes fluttered open, as I came to. A faint beeping noise continued to ring in my head, as I steered wondering where it was coming from. My equilibrium was still off and I had no idea what was going on around me. My mind felt like it was covered by a thick fog and it was very hard to get it clear. My eyelids felt extremely heavy and it was like they were being weighed down by invisible anchors. Finally, I was able to pry them open. It took some time for my eyes to get accustomed to the lighting in the room. There was a light which shone soft and dull right above my head, casting a pale glow across the room I was in.I looked around as it took me a moment to adjust, to process the white walls of the room it was in. There was the hum of machinery all around me, that was where the constant beeping sound was coming from and that smell. It was a very distinct smell which I recognized immediately. I had spent enough time in hospitals during my mother’s hospital to be able to recogn
“Athena!” Rafael yelled, as he rushed over to her side.He had watched her fall when he came out of the car and this had taken him completely by surprise. He knew that she could already tell exactly what had happened from the moment he stepped out of the car. The stench of failure was no doubt all around him and he had thought about it all through the drive to the house. He thought about how he was going to tell her that her father was dead and he had watched as Hernandez put a bullet through his head as he was unable to do anything about it. The mere thought of telling her such a thing troubled him so deeply and it showed on his face immediately he stepped out of the car.Without him saying a word, she could already tell that the worst had happened. The look in his eyes told more words than he could ever say. Athena had felt like she was going to cry, as if a great burden had just come upon her shoulder. A burden which was too heavy for her to bear. She felt like she was going to cru
RAFAELWe finally pulled up to the house and my mother was right outside to greet us. She was so happy that we made it out, as I watched her hug Athena deeply. She checked her to ensure that she was fine while she led her into the house. I could see a deep sadness on Athena’s face even though she tried her best to hide it for my mother’s sake. I could tell that she was greatly troubled about what happened to her father. Her words in the car kept on ringing in my head. She had asked me to help him and there was only one way I knew how to.Walking past them, I headed to my room upstairs and went straight to my wardrobe to bring out my box. This was where I kept my suit and weapons which I used when I raided Hermes’s warehouses. Every time I wore it, it meant that I was about to do something which I was not essentially going to be proud of. I stared at the box for a couple of seconds as I contemplated whether or not to open it. Questions danced around in my head as I wondered if doing th
The whole room seemed to be in a sort of chokehold, as everybody’s eyes bounced around. Hermes’s arrival had been quite unexpected to all of them and they had no idea what any of this meant or what he was doing here. From the way that he had burst in, his intentions could be told to some degree though. He was standing in between his two guards who had come into the room with him and he had a smile as he stared at the meeting which was going on at the table. Rafael most especially was very surprised by all that was going on. He wasn’t sure what to make of all of this as so many questions ran through his mind.He got up and walked over to Hermes as their eyes met.“What the fuck are you doing here?” Rafael asked,“And here I was thinking that you were an honorable man that I could trust, Mr Hall.” The investor said, as he sat up and adjusted his suit. “The last thing I was expecting was that you would bring the enemy right to my doorstep after you were the one that asked for this deal t
RAFAELAll through the night leading up to this, I found myself completely unable to sleep. This was certainly not a new phenomenon for me. Sleep had managed to elude me a lot during the past few days and I desperately hoped that I would finally be able to find rest when all of this was in the past. When Athena and the baby were safe and sound, I would finally be able to rest and think about everything. I had desperately avoided thinking about what Rachael had told me the other day. This whole time, I had not even considered the possibility that the child that Athena was carrying could be my own in any way. Initially I had seen it as a means to carry out my revenge on Hermes.Raising the child the way which he had raised me, that was what I had planned to do. That plan had since left my head, but then, I still had never considered the possibility of the child being mine. All I had thought was that the child was Athena’s ex’s and this had pissed me off so much for a reason that I was s
ATHENAEven as I sat bound to the chair with a bag over my head impeding my vision, the whole scene at the restaurant kept on playing in my head. I had seen the bullet go through Rachael as she slumped to the ground along with the gun which she had trained to my back. The whole thing had happened so fast and even though I had tried my best to get to Rafael, especially after hearing him screaming my name out loud, I wasn’t able to. I couldn’t get to him before the van pulled up beside me and the men tossed me in. As I sat in the room, I could still feel their presence all around me. I wondered who they were and nobody had bothered to tell me anything ever since we got to wherever this was. They had not spoken to me directly despite all the questions I threw their way. I was in a world where I knew no one and I struggled so hard to comprehend what was going on.I was sure of one thing though, these were completely different people from Rachael’s men. When we first got here, I had though
RAFAELWe all rode in silence as we headed to my house. Rachael was bleeding in the back seat and I had instructed one of my men to tend to her wounds. She kept staring at me without saying a word, but I could tell from the frown on her face that she was not pleased by anything that was going on. When I had offered her my assistance when she lay on the floor bleeding, she had initially tried to fight me. It had not been so much of a fight as her hand was not of so much use. The bullet was still lodged in there and I had already called the family doctor to meet me up at the house to perform a quick removal of it. The wound didn’t look entirely nasty and I was sure she was going to live through it.Hermes was not too pleased about my decision to keep her alive and he made this expressly clear. Even when I tried to place her in the back of the car, he expressly denied and insisted that he was not going to ride with someone who had been responsible for putting his daughter in harm. I coul