I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that this nightmare would end soon, that my family would be safe again. And in that moment, I allowed myself to hope for just a second. Because if I didn’t have hope, what did I have left?I glanced over at Samuel, curled up on the couch, his small body t
NICKI thought I could wait. I thought I could keep my anger in check, let my thirst for revenge simmer beneath the surface until we found all of Xander's men. But that phone call with Olivia had shattered whatever thin restraint I had managed to hold onto. How was I supposed to stay composed, to fe
OLIVIAI hoped Nick would come home early today. He hadn’t been around much since he started working with my best friend, Sandra. Things had been hectic at the office, but I still hoped today would be different, seeing how it was our fourth-year anniversary. I also had big news; I was finally pregna
OLIVIATwo Days Later“Lock her up, and don’t let her see the sun ever again. She doesn’t deserve it!” Nick barked at the New Village Town police. His eyes were cold as ice, filled with hatred. The officer roughly shoved me into the filthy, smelly cell before slamming the bars shut. I turned to loo
OLIVIAAs I stood in the cell, my thoughts went to my grandma. What would happen to her now that I was locked up? My chest tightened as I thought of her and her fragile health. Hearing about my arrest might kill her.Nick turned to the officer. “She’s to have no visitors and isn’t allowed outside. L
OLIVIAI sat in the dark jail cell, thinking about my baby and how he was going to survive in a place like this. I didn’t care about myself—they could keep me there for as long as they wanted—but my baby didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve to be born in a jail or suffer for my sins.It was only t
OLIVIANINE MONTHS LATERPrison had been hard, not just because I was pregnant but because of how I was treated. But I was grateful for one thing—Ethan kept his word. The guard he’d bribed continued to bring me vitamins and took care of me as promised.But when he wasn’t around, the others would con
NICKTwo years have passed since that woman humiliated me, since I found out she stole millions from me. How could I have been so stupid and blind? When Sandra told me that Olivia had a hand in what happened to my mother all those years ago—how they met, how Olivia “just happened” to save her from
NICKI thought I could wait. I thought I could keep my anger in check, let my thirst for revenge simmer beneath the surface until we found all of Xander's men. But that phone call with Olivia had shattered whatever thin restraint I had managed to hold onto. How was I supposed to stay composed, to fe
I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe that this nightmare would end soon, that my family would be safe again. And in that moment, I allowed myself to hope for just a second. Because if I didn’t have hope, what did I have left?I glanced over at Samuel, curled up on the couch, his small body t
OLIVIAI couldn’t stand what was happening. My son, poor Samuel, was trying to sleep, but every time he would drift off, his small body would tense, and then he would wake up crying, his little chest heaving with fear. He was traumatized.I could see it in his eyes. He hadn’t done anything to deserv
NICKWhen I heard the news of the shootout at the house, my insides ran cold. I rushed out of the room and headed to where we kept Xander. I didn’t ask question when I got there. I woke him up with a kick on the ribs. He groaned in pained and his eyes flew open. Then I gave him a rain of punches unt
I had no choice now. The call had to be made, and I would be the one to make it. There was no turning back. The weight of the decision pressed down on me, but I didn’t hesitate. This was part of the job now, the hard part. And if I was going to carry the weight of this family, this operation, then I
ELODIE“How the hell did Luke train you? you are all such morons! How could you let them slip through your fingers like that, are you blind?” I was livid, they were supposed to be the best and yet I felt like I was dealing with armatures! When father was still alive, men like these died every day. T
And then, just when I thought I was losing my mind, I heard a voice. It came from behind me, faint but clear, cutting through the chaos.“Mam! We are here.”I whipped around, my heart leaping into my throat. There, partially hidden behind a large flowerpot near the entrance, I saw the guard, James.
Olivia“Olivia! Where are you going? Can’t you hear the gunshots outside?” Marcus's voice was frantic, laced with desperation as it cut through the tense silence that had gripped the house. I didn’t have time to stop. I didn’t have time to explain. I was already halfway to the door, driven by a sing
OliviaI kept the mask of a brave face firmly in place, hiding the storm of emotions brewing within me. I had to; for my husband, Nick, and for Ethan, who seemed so unaware of the deep fear clawing at me. The reality was, though, that I was crumbling on the inside.It wasn’t just the men Nick and Lu