Vincent “I wasn't expecting to see you, I just came back from my trip and I promised to reach out to you and your brother next week” He was sitting across the table from me in his house.Cory was right.“Well, it's a good thing I came to you, isn't it?” I asked while taking a sip of the wine in front of me.The man, Mr Stark, who was Jude Madigan’s lawyer and who was also in his late fifties, looked at me with curiosity in his dark brown eyes. His hair was greying and there were creases that made him look less like an intimidating businessman and more like someone whose life was more lived than most people’s.“It is. So why are you here?” he asked, putting down his fork. “Is everything okay?”I put down my glass of wine as well and took a deep breath before I answered “Yeah. Yeah. Everything's fine.”We stayed silent for about fifteen seconds after my statement until Mr Stark decided to break it: “And you're sure? You're absolutely certain that you’re okay?”I nodded.“Good”“Well y
Vincent“That asshole!” I cursed as I smashed the glass across the walk. The child began to cry.“Nicole! Nicole!” I heard Cory scream out. Nicole ran into the living room.“Make him stop crying” Cory ordered. Nicole took the child from her and left.“Can you tell me what is going on? You are overreacting” Cory demanded. She was not happy about being ignored.“The foolish old man did not agree. He rejected my money” I seethed through gritted teeth. “I should have known he would do that. He was always the same. Nothing was ever good enough for him” I continued ranting.“You can’t just expect him to jump on the offer immediately, my dear husband, greatness takes time and effort. You will need to be patient with him. He is still adjusting to your offer. It will take some time”“What if he doesn't agree to it before next week?” I huffed. “I cannot wait a whole week. I am in the market for something soon… Something special” I continued pacing back and forth. “Something that will last...”
Third Person’s POV“MAMA" she whispered, "can I go out?""Hmm," her mother had hummed in response as she stroked Darcy’s hair, “Is that a yes?” Darcy asked hopefully“No darling”. The answer came with finality.Darcy frowned and pouted and huffed ‘but why?’"Why can't I go out now? Are we waiting for something important to happen." Darcy protested. She was seven but she had always know what she wanted“That's enough Darcy,” her father called her.“But Mama always lets me play outside,” Darcy whined.“You spoiled her,” her father had said sternly to Darcy’s mother.Her mother rolled her eyes at the statement before looking away in shame and guilt, thinking of what to do about her daughter.“Please mama…just once I want to go outside. Just this once” Darcy pleaded.It was as if the whole place froze. The mood in the house changed instantly and everywhere was silent, it caused Darcy to shrink where she sat slightly under their piercing gaze. She knew something bad happened and her mothe
Third person’s POVWhen Darcy’s mother knew that her attempt of peacekeeping was not working, she had tried other ways which had also not yielded any futile result. Her husband had come in after the plate incident, his face was red with fury, his hands clenched into fists like he wanted nothing more than to strike them against something, someone.Darcy had hid behind her mother’s floral print dress."We can't afford this," his tone was low, dangerous like a snake about to strike, "you didn't raise your child properly, she is wild and tainted by filth." He spat out each word as if it were poison on his tongue."This is my house, the first home we've ever owned," his words had turned hard and bitter like broken glass laying on the and Darcy felt an ache deep within herself that she hadn't known before."You must be sensible," his eyes were cold, calculating, like those of a scientist about to crack some important scientific truth.He had never referred to her as his daughter, then Darcy c
Third person POVThere was a feeling of dread within Mr Stark, the kind that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. It’s so much more than just fear—it’s also confusion, and worry, and maybe even sadness, because if he wasn’t wrong…then something was truly off.First the death of his friend had come as shocking news to him, one that had nearly shattered the stability that Stark had left in his life. Jude had not just been a friend, he had saved his life multiple times and was someone close to his heart. He had become an older brother, a mentor, a confidant, a partner. But most importantly, he had been a mentor—the one who had taught him all about law, and life, and things that he still didn’t get the hang of like golf.He couldn't imagine how the world would feel without Jude. Without his constant smile and endless encouragement, he would have lost his way long ago. His presence brought life into Stark’s life when it needed it the most—when everything felt bleak.As Stark w
Unknown POV“You haven't said anything, you didn't call me, no text, nothing. I thought we came to a mutual agreement to be partners” The blonde in front of me went on ranting ‘what could have gone wrong this time?’ she seemed to think and her eyes widened like comets when I took another sip from my coffee. I couldn't tell if she was angry at me or just startled because there was so much emotion in her voice when the words left her mouth. It was quite loud for such a small place.I focused on her red lipstick instead on trying to make sense of what she just told me and why she was upset with me. “Nothing new happened” I finally told her after taking a deep breath. She seemed to calm down a little bit but still looked angry enough to kill someone “The deal was that we would come up with something. They seem to be in love and Rhys hates me… I think” Her voice sounded bitter when she mentioned her ex and it made me uncomfortable. “Did you sleep with him?” I asked.Suddenly she looked
Unknown POV“Can we not leave tomorrow pleaseeeee” my sister pleaded with my mom as she made her way through the kitchen on her way to get us all breakfast.It was the last day of our summer holiday and all we were allowed to do was stay home so we could wake up early the next day to start our trip back home.“Eat your breakfast, Kendall, there will be a lot of other summer holidays” mom said while she finished buttering some bread for herself. She had always been one to baby us and baby even our dad.My parents had lived together since high school. But they decided to separate at college and then they got back together after college and the rest was history. Mom worked in the city office of our town. She was a secretary but also one of the chief prosecutors of a police force in the area. Dad did work in the construction company which meant he spent a lot of time at work and he didn't get out much. He liked it that way, he said it gave him more freedom and he didn' get caught up in
DarcyI was the first person to leave Rhys' room after our endless night of sex. I didn't want to deal with the aftermath of him leaving me again. He was going to be angry and confused but he could handle it. I knew how we worked together well enough to understand what he wanted from me. I’d get over it eventually, moreover my thoughts were on other things. As I returned to my room, I had a warm bath, I could still smell him around me like some kind of lingering scent. It felt amazing and I needed more. When I stepped out of the tub to dry myself off, an idea came into my mind.Maybe I could go to Cory and offer her a peace treaty in order to gain her trust. She'd probably not believe me but it's worth a try. My heart ached at the thought of the pain I was definitely going to feel if I found her holding my son. I couldn't bear the thought of him being in her hands, it was a constant reminder of what I needed but didn't have. And she wouldn't stop trying to rub that in my face.I
Rhys“Almighty Rhys Madigan, pleading for mercy? Who would have thought?” Cory said, mocking me and chuckling.“Come on Rhys, we both know who is the stronger of us” Vincent added.“You guys don't even deserve mercy. You're nothing but bad news” he sneered.“Listen...” I warned them “I am willing to surrender, you can't hurt me or she, you know that” I motioned to Tessa.Vincent started laughing. “Oh please,” he scoffed “like anyone would ever trust her over you”“Let Tessa go, you want me right? Let her live please” A smile crept up in Cory’s expression “You really wanna save this whore?” she asked rhetorically. “That's very charming considering that you didn't find it difficult to kill three people without remorse” “What do you mean?” She snorted “don't play dumb with me boy. You killed my parents and my little sister, remember you got into an accident and you fled, left the scene, left us to die! My parents died because of you, my little sister died because of you!” she screamed
Rhys “What are you doing?” I asked Blair.“Calling for backup, do you think a single gun would save you from your brother? If you did, then you don't know the kind of brother you have. He's dangerous” “I don't need your help. I'm in control, and you're the problem.”Blair laughed.“You're a fool Rhys… they are watching you! better make use of this chance and let me do what I know how to do.I swallowed her insults like bitter lemon drops. “Where is she?”“At an abandoned warehouse out of town”, Blair said as if we'd been discussing the weather.Speaking of the weather, it had begun to rain. A light mist that made it impossible to see anything beyond thirty feet or so, but enough to make me feel uneasy.It also meant that I couldn't see anything outside of the car. And I had to pull over into the parking lot before stepping out. It was a miracle Blair followed and the rain took longer than I expected.I watched as Blair dozed off beside me and a silly idea came into my mind.I gently
DarcyI was tired of fighting, my body was extremely weak, my throat dry from dehydration and the constant ringing in my ears made me almost blind. I felt completely lost and I couldn’t understand why. What did these people want from me? Was this happening to me? Why were these people staring at me? Where did they come from? How had they taken me here? “I am thirsty” I cried out for the hundredth time. “Please” I begged again. “Just give me something to drink, anything at all. Please”. My voice cracked, and I was surprised I didn’t feel any pain anymore. The silence only amplified the sound in my head. It was deafening. So quiet, so peaceful now. The ringing was gone.“That's your punishment for pulling that stupid stunt” One of them hissed. They looked angry. Yes, I had tried to escape again but I didn't even make it past the day.I got punched hard across the face, my head snapped to the left and back to the right, the ringing grew louder but not quite as painful as before, and I
Rhys When I drove down to Vincent’s house, I didn't know what to expect but I made sure I kept my gun closed.Someone whom I assumed was the nanny opened the door and she was holding a baby.For the first time in a long time, I paid attention to their son. He was a spitting image of Tessa... I mean Darcy. He had her eyes. Her beautiful, greyish blue, wide, soulful eyes. He looked just like her. And that terrified me for some reason.It also made sense why she had been fooling me the whole time. I would have probably done the same thing if I was her or done even worse.The nanny looked at me as if she was skeptical of my being there or something equally dumb and stupid because she didn't let me inside. “Tell Vincent I am here”, I demanded. “He's not here” she said. She wasn't rude by any means, she just seemed completely unimpressed with my presence at all.I wanted to tell her to fuck off, but my mouth wasn't cooperating. What a fucking mess.“Who is at the door?” I heard Vincent as
Rhys“What do you want?” I typed and waited for a reply while I began to drive down to the police station.The car was silent on its way there, but the ride didn't last long since it soon became apparent that my phone was ringing. It was the sound of my cell phone ringing that alerted me to where I was. I stopped the car and reached for it.“We said don't go to the police and you are parked in front of one? You really must think we are unserious right?” The voice said from the other line.I looked in the streets but everyone was going about with their business, there was no sign that I was being followed.How did they know where I was?“What do you want?” I yelled through the line as loud as possible just to make sure my message wasn't lost in the noise from the cars passing by.“You already disobeyed us and now your darling wife would pay for it” He sneered “Do not test our patience” “No, no, no” I heard Tessa scream from the background. I could only imagine her franticness and dang
Darcy“Why? You are supposed to be his friend. Why would you do this to Rhys?” I asked the man in front of me. My hands were shaking from trying to break free and my body was trembling with rage. He stood staring at me.“You see my dear, life is not always black and white. There are people who can love others, and those that do will be remembered for eternity. The difference between you and them is that you choose to stay with the light and I decided to go to darkness. That, or it takes too much effort” His face was twisted in amused expression, as though he was watching a child trying to figure out their math homework. But he was serious about what he said.“Rhys has always had things easy, he was always good at everything, he had the women, they loved him, and he loved them back.” He shook his head sadly ‘The thing is, there is no such thing as perfect men, only ideal ones. And unfortunately, there isn't any such thing as perfection in this world, and there's nothing you can do to c
DarcySomeone pulled the fabric that blinded my eyes open, and I squinted as a bright light invaded my mind and consciousness. My body ached, it felt as though someone had taken a hammer to me. I could barely breathe. It seemed impossible that such an intense pain existed in this world, especially in my own body. My heart felt like it was going to burst with every beat.“Hello there Darcy” Cory’s voice sounded so cheerful yet it was laced with malice, it didn’t help at all to calm me down.Beside her was her husband, and him… the least person I expected and when Cory forcefully pulled the duct tape away from my mouth, I let it hang loose. Could he?“I can tell you are familiar with all of us, aren't you?” It was Vincent. A smug smile stretched his face as he said these words, as if he were about to play a cruel prank. “Well, you could imagine the surprise when my wife told me the person I thought was Tessa had been Darcy all along and it made sense. How every move I tried to make was
Rhys“Hello” I yelled into the receiver, the alcohol in my system had immediately taken a halt as the sound of someone speaking filtered through to my ears. I thought I had heard wrong.“We have your wife” the voice on the other end said, it was almost robotic, as though this had been practiced in front of the mirror so many times that it felt natural. I heard Tessa… I mean Darcy scream again . She sounded so frightened and alone, like she was in pain and terrified of everything happening around her. “Is… Is she okay ?” My words stumbled across my tongue as I struggled to keep them together, “Tess…”“She is unharmed, for now” I heard, again from whoever was speaking to me.Suddenly anger course through my veins, like lightning through dry leaves, burning the insides of my skin with heat.“What do you want?” I asked, my voice low but sharp as a knife. My words were laced with hatred, and rage, like poison as they seeped out from the ends of my lips. It wasn’t often I spoke to people li
Rhys It felt like Tessa took the life of the house along with her when I asked her to leave.The house felt empty, dead and void of warmth. I had gotten used to the way the walls vibrated with her laugh, the light touch of her hand on my arm, or her voice, but she’d never taken it away before, she was always there. And yet, now, she seemed so far away, a ghost who would never really be. It didn’t feel right that she wasn’t still here. My chest constricted in a way I’ve never experienced before and I wondered if maybe she could hear me, even though I knew there was no sound to reach her ears. She’d left me, after all. Just like everyone else has. Except she didn’t just leave, she left with everything that mattered to her me. Everything that mattered was lost forever. When you lose something that matters, it hurts like hell. You’re alone, but at least the other person knows. But this time, it hurt in a different way, because she took that with her, too. The only thing I have left is m