“Yeah, I’m here… How did you know?” Kiara mumbled, her voice rather shaky as she glanced out of the window. “I see your car through the window, silly. I’m coming out right now.”Kiara hurriedly stepped out of the car before he could come out. She threw the device on the floor, before using her feet to stomp on it. Could it really be what she thought it was? She moved to his front door, and instinctively, he opened it, pulling her in. “Baby girl, I’ve missed you so much.” He groaned, wrapping his hands around her waist.Kiara’s heart skipped a beat, “I missed you too, love.” She leaned into him, giving way to his comforting hug. Things weren’t supposed to feel this right, yet they did.He planted a wet kiss on her lips, before leading her to the couch. “So, we have snacks for the madam,” He gestured to the table, “There’s popcorn, pretzels, hotdogs, and candy. I didn’t know what you’d like.” He shrugged, grinning sheepishly. Kiara’s lips formed a pout as she looked down at the neatl
“I’m quite certain that’s not the toilet…or is it?” Luca questioned with taunting eyes as he stepped closer to her. She could hear the drip of water hitting the wooden floor.She maintained his gaze, not backing down. Even though she was scared as hell, she wouldn’t give this man in front of her the luxury of seeing her cave in. With a rough gulp, she spoke, “I saw water dripping, I only wanted to take the clothes out. You startled me.” She took her voice to a near whisper, unsure if he bought the lie.He narrowed his eyes, searching hers for some truth. He hummed suspiciously, “Huh. Well, sorry about the mess. I’m not the cleanest.” He apologized, stepping back from her.She felt the airy gust of air conditioner on her body once again almost immediately he stepped back. They weren’t even touching, yet she craved his body warmth.“Like I said, I’ll be right out. You have nothing to worry about.” She said, spinning on her heel and making her way into the bathroom. As soon as she was ou
“I’m just teasing. I wouldn’t do such to you.” He waved a dismissive hand, sliding a knife out of his pocket.Kiara remembered how hard her eyes had widened as he stepped closer to her, pressing the sharp blade into her soft skin. Her heart raced wildly as she prepared herself for the worst that was yet to come. She closed her eyes tightly, waiting for the pressure, the pain—anything to tell her that Luca would make her life a living hell now.Instead, he had just moved it to the lock of the handcuffs, wiggling it inside a bit, “I forgot the keys somewhere. I have no idea where they are.” He took the cuffs off her sore wrist, massaging them gently.“Kiara!” He said with a booming voice, frightening her. He did it once again, leaving her an anxious mess. “What is it?” She yelled back, covering her ears with her hands. She squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to just disappear at that very moment.Kiara felt someone tap her shoulder, and it jolted her back into reality. “Oh my God, Mom! You
“Oh God. Oh, God.” Kiara trembled as she looked down at the injured man in front of her. Has she taken it too far? She didn’t mean to kill him! Her hands shook uncontrollably as the golf club clattered on the ground with a loud sound.“You’ve gone nuts, Kiara!” Luca yelled as he pushed her into the wall. “Look what you’ve done now! You’re going to clean this mess up, all by yourself, because I won’t help you.” He said through gritted teeth, looking down at the man who was bleeding on the floor.Kiara fell to her knees beside the man, shaking him gently, “Sir, sir, are you conscious?” She called out, looking to see if he was the least bit alright.He groaned in response, trying to move, but instead, he let out a yelp of pain, unable to move his arm.“You are really trying to kill the pizza person, huh?” Luca retorted, looking down at the man unfazed. He couldn't care less, as long as it wasn’t him.Kiara pursed her lips, hurriedly pulling her phone out from her back pocket before diali
“Mom said you wanted to see me, huh?” Kiara grinned as she sat right across from her father at the dining table, digging into her full plate of food.She was starving, well deserved for all the stress she’d been put through yesterday. “You should slow down first.” Damian suggested, gesturing towards her plate, “You eat like a wolf.”Kiara snorted, “Well, guess who I learned that from?”“I can’t seem to figure it out.” He chuckled, pushing around the sausages on his plate.“So, sweetie, I wanted to talk to you about the company.” His tone became more serious, and he placed his hands on the table, lacing them together.“Yeah, what about it?” She raised a brow, gulping down a glass of orange juice. All Damian did was stare, he didn’t say anything else.“Dad, you’re scaring me. Can you say something?” Kiara’s brows furrowed in annoyance as she dropped her silverware back onto her plate.“Right. Right, I’m sorry darling,” He nodded, finally slipping back into reality, “Well, you know I’m g
The first time Kiara’s father brought up the fact that she would be in full ownership of the company, she frowned upon the idea, saying that office jobs weren’t for her. She also thought she wasn’t meant for those kinds of roles, so instead, she’d stick to helping.Doing the little she can. You know, charity, helping out at orphanage homes, raising money for a particular cause and mass donations, those kinds of things. She’d stick to those things—her personal routine, her holy grail.Now, she knew better. She also knew that if she was the owner of the company soon enough, it would be game over for Luca. Of course, she couldn’t trust her father right now. As a matter of fact, Damian trusted Luca way too much for his own good and look where that got him. Now, it was her turn to take over. She wouldn’t lay all her cards out on the table, but she’d pretend so.“Good morning, how are you doing?” Kiara set her bag on the table, smiling down at the newly hired accountant, courtesy of her. S
Kiara’s eyes narrowed as she drifted through the company’s files that lay on the table right in front of her. She had been studying them all day, well enough to know how things worked at the very least.All that was left was for her father to come in, so they could finally talk. She wondered why he was taking so long at work, and her patience was wearing thin gradually.She decided to stand up from the table and walk around, stretching her arms and limbs a bit. Her eyes were beginning to get sore from all the reading she’d been doing, and she rubbed them, annoyed.“Oh, look at the time.” She sighed, as she placed a hand on her hip, looking up at the clock. It was already 6. P.M.“I’ll just call him then.” She grumbled, pulling her phone out of her breast pocket and putting his number on the line. It rang for a few seconds, but there was no response, and it went to dial tone.“Hey, it’s Damian! I’m either busy or in a meeting. Leave a message.” Her father’s pre-recorded voice echoed th
“Thank you so much, the food looks delicious.” Kiara smiled as the waiter set the bowl of steaming hot pasta right in front of her. It was Damian’s favorite, but he already had his food in front of him. A bit of seafood rice and a soup on the side.Kiara grabbed her silverware and looked at the two men across from her. “We can eat now.” She murmured, taking her fork and a spoon and picking up some pasta to take a bite.“Actually, sweetheart. Do you mind if we swap plates?” Damian asked, uneasy about what he was about to eat.“Oh? Why couldn’t you have just ordered this instead?” She pouted, as she chewed on the delicious, creamy pasta.“Luca said it would be nice, but I’m not really feeling it now,” he explained, looking at Kiara, hopefully.“Damian, what are you saying? This is quality food! It was Annie’s favorite.” Luca laughed, urging Damian to take a bite, but Damian shook his head, standing on in business.“Nah. I’d stick with my usual,” He replied, “So?” He looked at Kiara.Luc
Flashing red and blue lights filled the night.The party had turned into chaos as the guests murmured in hushed voices as paramedics rushed Kiara towards the exit, her body limp on the stretcher.Damian pushed past security, his expression unreadable as he followed closely. “I’m coming with her.”“Sir, we need space,” a paramedic started, but the warning died when Damian shot him a sharp glare.“She’s my daughter,” he said flatly. “I’m not leaving her side.”The paramedic hesitated but nodded. “Get in.”As the ambulance doors shut, Damian sat beside Kiara, watching as the medics checked her vitals. His hands clenched into fists. Even in her unconscious state, Kiara could still feel his touch lingering. It felt familiar, like she had felt it before.And just like that, her mind slipped into a dream.And then, the past pulled her in.***Laughter surrounded her as she spun in circles, her arms wrapped around Donald’s neck.“Put me down!” she giggled, swatting his shoulder.Donald smirk
Luca, on the other hand, has been going crazy since his kids were taken from him. They were all he had left. His neighbors heard him breaking things so they called the police. Luca was taken to a facility after his tests came positive for PTSD and disruptive behavior. Days passed, and he stayed quiet. Cooperative, pretending to be fine. The doctors bought it. They thought he was getting better. Not until one evening, during a shift change, Luca made his move. A nurse had forgotten to properly secure the door after checking his vitals. Perfect. This was his chance to escape from this hellhole.Luca slipped out, moving down the hall, his heart pounding.He stayed close to the walls, avoiding eye contact with staffs. One wrong move and they’d drag him back. His bare feet barely made a sound against the cold floors; the exit was close. Just a few more steps. Then— “Hey! "What are you doing?” A security guard spotted him. Luca bolted, running with all his might.Alarms sou
It's been three months and Kiara has not had the guts to go out due to the trauma she faced in Luca's hands. Although Luca has been away from the Lux family for months now, Kiara still feels like he's watching her. She still hasn't told her family the truth about her relationship with Luca and his involvement in the kidnap.The Lux home had never been this quiet before. There was no music playing from Kiara’s room, no late-night TV chatter, no laughter echoing through the halls.Maria sighed as she walked past the closed door of her daughter’s bedroom, hesitating for a moment before knocking softly.“Kiara, sweetheart?”She heard nothing.She knocked again. “It’s morning. You should eat something.”There was a long pause before a tired voice. “Not hungry.”Maria pushed the door open, stepping inside. Kiara was curled up on the couch by the window, staring blankly at her phone. The curtains were still drawn, blocking out the sunlight.Maria sat beside her, placing a gentle hand on her
A Few Months Later********************The courtroom was filled with quiet murmurs as lawyers shuffled papers and the judge prepared to begin. It was the final custody hearing for Sam and Katie, and Annie’s heart pounded as she sat at the plaintiff’s table, waiting for the moment that would decide everything. Across from her in the room, was Luca, who sat stiffly, his expression unreadable. He looked calm, but Annie knew better. This wasn’t the Luca she had once known. The man sitting before her had changed. For years, Luca had raised Sam and Katie without her, and for a time, they had been safe. But then, things changed. He became reckless. Cold. Dangerous although he had been that way, which was why Annie left him, she didn't think he would one day show his true colors to the kids.The judge, a woman in her late fifties with gray hair and sharp eyes, cleared her throat. “We are here today to finalize the custody arrangement for Samuel and Katherine Ettore." Ms. Annie, you may p
“Power’s out, completely out,” one of the nurses shouted in the dark hallway of the hospital. The emergency lights flickered off and on for a moment and then came back on, but the sense of unease had not.“Listen, we can’t stay here,” said Damian, his voice low as he looked around the nearly empty corridor. “This hospital isn’t safe anymore.”Maria nodded quickly, clutching Kiara’s hand tighter. “I’m scared for Kiara,” she said softly.Kiara, still shaken, couldn't say a word. She just sat there mopping. Harrison stood near the door, keeping his hand on his radio. “We need to move to a safer hospital. I’m calling for transport. We can't use my car. This place has been compromised, obviously.” Damian frowned. “Compromised? What do you mean?” “Not sure yet,” Harrison replied. “But when power is cut like that, and there are strange sounds in the hall, you can’t trust the security here.” Maria interjected, “So, where do we go?” Harrison sighed shortly. “There’s a private facility on
Kiara barely had time to react before Detective Harrison shoved her behind him, drawing his own weapon in one swift motion.“Drop the gun!” Harrison barked, his voice sharp and commanding.The intruder didn’t hesitate. He fired at Kiara but missed.A loud bang echoed through the room.Kiara screamed, instinctively ducking as the bullet slammed into a nearby vase, shattering it into pieces. Maria shrieked, stumbling backward, while Damian threw himself in front of her, shielding her from the masked man.Harrison didn’t waste a second. He fired back, forcing the masked man to dive for cover behind the couch.“Stay down!” Harrison shouted at Kiara, keeping his gun targeted at the intruder.The masked man didn’t stay hidden for long. In a blur of movement, he lunged out, knocking over a chair as he went towards Kiara.Her heart seized. He was coming straight for her.Harrison moved fast, stepping between them. Both Harrison and the masked man clashed violently, fists colliding in a flurry
The room was filled with tensed silence. Luca sat on the other side of the table, his jaw clenched, and his expression unreadable. Across from him, Annie maintained a composed demeanor, although her hands were folded.The Mediator glanced between them and cleared her throat."We've already discussed both parties' concerns," she began, flipping through the case file. "Now, let's proceed with the custody evaluation."Luca exhaled sharply. "I don't see why we're still doing this. Annie had already got what she wanted- a divorce, my kids, my house. What else is left to fight over?"Annie's eyes flickered with emotion, but she kept her voice even. "I'm not fighting, Luca. I'm protecting our children."Luca scoffed. "From me?"Annie didn't flinch. "From the version of you that exists today, yes."Her lawyer, Clarke, leaned forward. "My client has provided substantial evidence that Mr. Ettore's unstable behavior, coupled with his previous reckless decisions, has had a negative impact on Kati
Harrison studied Kiara for another long moment, waiting for any sign she might answer him. But she remained silent, her expression distant and unreadable. He sighed heavily, realizing he wasn’t going to get anymore out of her today.“Alright,” he said quietly, standing up. “I’ll leave you to rest. But Kiara, please think about what I said. You’re not alone in this, and we’ll figure it out together. You just have to trust me.”She didn’t respond, her gaze fixed on a random spot on the floor. Harrison took a final glance at her, his frustration simmering under the surface, before turning and heading toward the library doors.As he approached the entrance, he noticed a shadow moving just out of sight. His sharp eyes quickly identified the culprit: Maria, hovering near the doorway, her expression a mix of curiosity and feigned nonchalance.“Mrs Lux,” Harrison greeted flatly, his voice laced with suspicion. “I see you’ve found an interest in library doors.”The woman straightened abruptly,
“Errmm, sir…” “Don’t make me ask again.” Harrison spat. “The library.” The butler mumbled, scared the consequences of whatever was about to happen would land him in trouble. “Do I also need to tell you to lead the way?” Harrison asked, waiting for the man to show him where the library was. After hesitating a while, the butler showed him where the library was situated. Harrison stormed into the library, his frustration evident in the sharpness of his movements. Kiara sat curled up in an armchair near the window, her knees pulled to her chest. She flinched at the sound of the doors swinging open, her wide eyes darting at him like a cornered animal.“Kiara,” Harrison said, his voice firm but not unkind. “We need to talk.”She shrank back further into the chair, her fingers gripping the fabric as if it might protect her. Her lips trembled, but no words came out.Harrison sighed, dragging a chair closer and sitting down across from her. He kept his voice low and measured, trying not to