“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
“Thank you so much, Doctor.” Maria shook the doctor's hand, looking down at Kiara, silently sleeping on the bed. “I'm glad I could help.” She gave a small smile, looking back at the monitors. Her vitals were more calm than before. Initially, they were erratic, without telling if Kiara would be okay. Gradually, it began to reduce and all of a sudden, it went back to normal. “She should be thanking her lucky stars. We almost lost her ma'am.” The doctor said, shaking her head.“We had all hands on deck for her, doing everything we possibly could.” “What…what was found in her system, doctor?” Damian asked, his heart racing with each second.“Well, we aren't certain for now. The only thing we know for sure is that it was extremely deadly. It almost took her life, so let's just be thankful she survived.” The doctor explained.“Deadly?” Maria sniffled, resting her head on Damian's chest as he wrapped his arms around her comfortingly. He rubbed her up and down, kissing her forehead. “Yes
“I know what you did. If you think you’re fooling everyone, you’re definitely not fooling me!” Kiara said as she stood in front of Luca.3 days later, she was feeling perfectly fine.“You tried to kill my father! Are you really that crazy, Luca?” She yelled, placing a hand on her hip. She definitely couldn’t take it anymore. It felt all too real to her, and it hurt to know that the man she loved was the one behind this.“Well, that isn’t news, Kiara,” Luca said nonchalantly, leaning against the wall. He wasn’t remorseful, and he didn’t seem to care about Kiara. How often did he do this? He scared her.“You saw what happened, didn’t you?” He laughed, pushing her and she stumbled back shocked. “You told them and they didn’t even believe you! How are they supposed to take you seriously now?”“I’m always one step ahead of you, Luca.” Kiara retorted, hoping that she’d at least instill some fear in him.“You can’t be serious, Ki. You and I both know that you’re too scared to do anything.”“
“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
“What?” Luca exclaimed, terrified Harrison had more things to interrogate him about. Harrison closed in the distance again. It’s obvious it makes Luca very uncomfortable every time he does that. “At Eric’s house, we found a mask—a perfect match to the one used in the kidnapping of Kiara Lux, and a file that had the name Thompson Greco. Then there’s the CCTV footage.”Luca’s heart pounded in his chest. “CCTV footage?” he repeated, his voice laced with disbelief.Harrison nodded, pulling his phone from his pocket. He tapped the screen a few times and turned it toward Luca. “Take a look. Recognize that car? It was out there when Kiara entered that restaurant. Can you see it’s the same car Kiara and this mysterious man who was obviously hiding from the CCTV returned to? The same vehicle that took her? Funny thing, it’s registered under an alias we’ve traced back to one Thompson—Thompson Greco. Rings a bell?”“And guess what?” Harrison scoffed. “The car that chased Kiara’s the other day
Luca froze, stool in hand, as the loud bang on the door reverberated through the room. Open up. It’s the police.” The voice cut through everything that made sound in his house. His pulse quickened, anger and paranoia blending into a volatile mix. He knew that voice—Detective Harrison.The last person he wanted to see.Luca tossed the stool aside, its legs clattering against the broken glass on the floor. He stalked to the door and yanked it open, his face a mask of barely controlled rage.“What the hell do you want, Harrison?”Detective Harrison stood there, his imposing frame casting a shadow over Luca’s disheveled entrance. “Detective, sir! I love to be referred to as Detective Harrison.” Harrison corrected him subtly. His sharp eyes took in the state of the house—broken bottles, shards of glass, the remains of a demolished TV. His lips curled in disdain.“I address you however I deem fit, detective—I mean, Harrison.“Well, well,” he drawled, stepping inside without waiting for an
Luca slumped in the leather armchair in his living room, his hands gripping the armrests so tightly that his knuckles turned white. The echoes of Annie’s words reverberated in his mind: “I’m going to fight for full custody, Luca. And this time, you won’t win.”His jaw clenched as he stared at the half-empty bottle of whiskey on the desk. The house, once his pride, now felt like a hollow monument to his failures. The silence was deafening—a stark reminder of what he’d lost.Luca wasn’t angry because he loved the children that much or even because he wanted them around. No, his rage stemmed from something deeper, something darker. He’d lost control. Katie and Sam had always been pawns in his game—a way to keep Annie tethered, a means to assert dominance. Winning custody had been a symbolic victory, proof that he still held power over her. But now, that power was slipping through his fingers.“Damn it!” he roared, sweeping the whiskey bottle off the desk. It shattered against the wall, a
Maria sat down beside Kiara on the bed. She’s trying to persuade her to give the therapist another chance. It's been days since the last time it resulted in chaos. They hadn’t even gone through any form of therapy before it happened. She recounted the incident from that day in her mind. “Tell me, baby, who’s the driver guy?” Kiara’s panic attack escalated quickly. Her breathing grew rapid and shallow, her body trembling uncontrollably as she clutched her chest. Damian carried her into the house, his movements frantic but careful. Maria followed closely, her hands shaking as she dialed the family doctor.Within minutes, Dr. Rourke, their trusted physician, arrived at the mansion. He examined Kiara, who was still hyperventilating and crying softly. After administering a mild sedative to calm her, he turned to Damian and Maria.“She’s having a severe panic attack,” Dr. Rourke explained gently. “This isn’t just fear—it’s deep psychological trauma. It’s crucial that we get her to open up