DAMIENPain. That was the first thing I felt when I opened my eyes. A dull, pounding ache throbbed at the back of my skull, and my body felt heavy, sore. The harsh white lights of the hospital room made me squint. I tried to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through my ribs, making me groan.“Damien, take it easy.”I turned my head, wincing. My father’s worried face hovered over me, and beside him, my mother’s red-rimmed eyes stared at me, full of concern.“What happened?” My voice came out hoarse, my throat dry.“You got hit on the head,” Dad said, his voice firm but gentle. “You have a mild concussion and some bleeding, but the doctors said you’ll be okay.”My memory rushed back like a tidal wave. The gunmen. The chaos. Shawna screaming. Jasper being taken. My heart pounded harder than my aching skull.“The kids—where are my kids?” I demanded, pushing myself up despite the pain.My mother placed a hand on my arm, trying to soothe me. “Billy and Phoebe are safe. Shawna’s mother took them
DAMIENI couldn’t believe my eyes as the video loaded on my phone. It was Jasper, my little boy, tied up in some dark, cold place. His face was streaked with tears, his eyes wide with fear, and there was this ticking sand clock beside him. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, like my chest was closing in. My brain couldn’t process what I was seeing.How could this be happening? I couldn’t wrap my mind around it.Shawna and I had been through so much already. There was no way she was involved in any crime. She wasn’t like that. And Eugene... I didn’t believe for a second he had anything to do with this. It didn’t make sense.I ran my hand over my face, trying to shake off the panic that was clawing at my throat. I had to focus.I hit dial, my hands shaking as I called the person responsible. The line rang, and I felt my heart race faster. The voice that picked up was robotic, distorted—nothing like anything I had ever heard before."Where are they?" I demanded, my voice hoarse.A cold laugh
SHAWNAI froze as the door creaked open. I could barely breathe, the air thick with tension, as the boy stepped inside the dimly lit room. My heart pounded in my chest, so loudly I thought it would burst. He was just a kid, but there was nothing childlike about him now. His eyes were cold, filled with something so dark, I couldn’t even recognize it. I didn’t want to recognize it.Eugene let out a harsh laugh from the chair, her voice rough and tired. “So, you’re back for revenge, huh?” she said, looking the boy up and down. “I thought you’d be older by now. Guess time hasn’t been too kind to you, huh?” She shifted in the chair, her eyes glaring at him. “Too bad your parents aren’t here to see what you’ve become. You really think this is gonna fix anything?” Her tone was challenging like she wasn’t afraid of him.The boy’s expression twisted with rage, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. “You think this is a joke?” His voice shook, but it wasn’t with fear. It was with pure, unf
DAMIENMy hands trembled as I stared at my phone, the call going straight to voicemail again. I cursed under my breath, pacing back and forth across the room. My heart pounded so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. Every second that passed felt like a lifetime. My son was out there, scared, helpless, tied up in some dark place, and I couldn’t do a damn thing to help him.I tried calling again. Still nothing. My grip on the phone tightened, my frustration boiling over. Why weren’t they picking up? What if something had happened? What if they had changed their minds and decided Jasper wasn’t worth keeping alive anymore? The thought sent a sharp pain through my chest.“Still nothing?” Mark, my private investigator, asked, his voice tense.I shook my head, swallowing the lump in my throat. “Straight to voicemail. They’re not picking up.”Mark sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair. He looked as stressed as I felt. “We’ve pinged the boy’s location, but we can’t
SHAWNAMy hands trembled as I stared at Eugene, desperation clawing at my chest. The small red light on the camera blinked steadily, like a warning, like a countdown to disaster. The boy stood behind it, silent but filled with rage, his gaze sharp and unforgiving. The air in the room was heavy, suffocating, as if the walls themselves were closing in on us."Just confess," I whispered, my voice raw with fear and exhaustion. "Please, Eugene. This has gone too far."Eugene let out a sharp laugh, shaking her head. "Confess? Are you insane?" She scoffed, folding her arms like this was some kind of joke. "I’m not going to prison. Not for this. Not for anything."My nails dug into my palms. I could barely breathe. How could she be so selfish, so blind? Didn’t she see what was at stake?"This isn't about you anymore!" I snapped, my voice rising. "Jasper is out there, scared, alone. Every second you refuse to take responsibility, you’re pushing him closer to death."Eugene rolled her eyes. "Oh
SHAWNAMy entire body shook as I turned to the boy, my voice breaking with desperation."Please... please, just let my son go," I begged, my hands trembling. "You’ve already made your point. Don’t punish him for something he has nothing to do with. He’s just a child."The boy’s face remained unreadable, his dark eyes fixed on me. "I can’t do that yet," he said, his voice cold. "I need to leave first."Damien stepped forward, his stance firm. "That’s not happening. You’re not walking out of here after what you’ve done. Give us the kid, and maybe we’ll talk."The boy scoffed. "You think you can stop me?" His gaze flickered around the room, scanning the armed men Damien had brought with him. "If you try anything, you’ll never see your son again."My chest tightened at his words. I swallowed back the lump in my throat, trying to steady my voice. "Just tell me where he is. I’ll do anything, just don’t hurt him. Please.""Shawna, don’t," Damien warned. "He’s playing with you."My knees felt
EUGENEI slammed the door behind me, my breath ragged, my heart racing. "We need to leave. Now."My mother looked up from the couch, a glass of wine in her hand. She arched a brow, unimpressed. "And why exactly are we running like rats, Eugene?"I gritted my teeth. "Because everything is falling apart! That stupid boy—he turned on us! He had the perfect leverage, and he wasted it!" I threw my bag on the floor. "Damien got involved, and now there’s a mess. If that idiot had just done what he was supposed to—""Calm down," my mother said, swirling her wine. "You’re not making any sense.""Oh, I’m making perfect sense!" I spat. "That kid wasn’t supposed to rebel like this! If I had known he would be this much of a problem, I would’ve dealt with him myself! He had Shawna right in front of him, but he was too fixated on his stupid revenge!" I ran a hand through my hair. "And now Damien is shot, the police will be everywhere, and if they get to that boy before we do, everything we’ve done w
EUGENEI walked out of the police station with my mother by my side, a victorious smirk playing on my lips."That was easier than I thought," I muttered.My mother scoffed, adjusting the sleeve of her expensive coat as we walked toward our car. "Of course it was. Shawna is too emotional to think straight. The police saw what we wanted them to see—a desperate, grieving mother grasping at straws."I smirked, brushing an invisible speck of dust off my dress. "Pathetic, really. She walked in there thinking she had some grand case against us, only to end up looking like a crazy woman."We approached our sleek black car, the engine already humming as the driver waited. But before sliding inside, I turned back, my gaze locking onto Shawna. She was still standing there, her body trembling with barely contained fury. Her eyes blazed with hatred, her fists clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white. If looks could kill, I would have been dead on the spot.I grinned, savoring the way her ange
RAMONI didn’t expect her to say that.“You want to invite my uncle to dinner?” I asked, blinking like I didn’t hear her right.Phoebe nodded, brushing her hair behind her ear. “Yes. I think it’s time. Everyone’s going crazy over him, and I just… I want to clear the air. If they meet him, maybe they’ll finally stop judging.”I rubbed the back of my neck, confused. “I mean, sure, I guess, but… I don’t know. He’s a quiet guy. He doesn’t do… dinners with strangers.”“Then ask him,” she said, giving me that look, half hopeful, half determined. “Please, Ramon. It matters to me.”I sighed and nodded slowly. “Okay. I’ll talk to him today. I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.”“Thank you,” she smiled, squeezing my hand.Later that evening, I made my way to Uncle Richard’s place. He was outside on the porch, drinking tea like always, flipping through one of those thick history books he loved. I walked up and dropped into the chair beside him.He glanced at me over the top of his glasses. “Y
PHOEBEI slammed my door shut behind me, fuming. My chest felt tight, and my head ached. I couldn’t believe they all did that behind my back. Like, I couldn’t think for myself. Like, I didn’t know what I was doing.I threw myself onto my bed, letting out a long sigh as my face sank into the pillow. I wanted to scream. Maybe cry. But I didn’t. I just lay there, sulking in silence, trying not to overthink the whole night.A gentle knock came on my door about an hour later. I rolled over, expecting maybe my mom or dad. But to my surprise, it was my grandmother.“Can I come in, sweetheart?” she asked softly.“Yeah,” I muttered, sitting up.She walked in slowly, her warm smile softening the tension in my chest a bit. She sat beside me, her hand gently rubbing my back in that calming, rhythmic way only she could manage. Something about her presence always made the storm inside me feel a little less wild.“I heard there was a little storm downstairs,” she said lightly, trying to lift the moo
SHAWNAThe moment we stepped into the house, I knew something was wrong. The air felt thick, voices were raised, and all I could hear was arguing coming from the living room.“What’s going on here?” I asked, stepping in with Damien right behind me.Phoebe, Billy, Jasper, and Winnie all froze. The tension in the room hit me like a wall. Phoebe’s face was flushed, her arms folded tight across her chest. Winnie looked caught in the middle. Jasper had that tight-lipped, stubborn look, and Billy’s hands were resting on his hips like he was trying to keep himself from saying something worse.“Can someone explain this?” Damien asked firmly, eyes scanning all of them.“It’s nothing,” Phoebe said quickly.“It doesn’t sound like anything,” I said. “We could hear the shouting from outside.”“It’s about Ramon and his uncle,” Jasper muttered.Damien raised a brow. “Ramon?”Yes,” Winnie jumped in. “I told Billy and Jasper something earlier…about Richard, Ramon’s uncle. I recognized him from years a
PHOEBEI was tired. I just wanted to get home, take off my shoes, and crawl into bed. But the moment I walked into the house, I felt the tension hit me like a wall.Winnie was sitting on the couch.And my two brothers, Jasper and Billy, were standing next to her, arms crossed like bodyguards. The look on their faces said everything.“What’s going on?” I asked, closing the door behind me.Winnie stood up slowly. “We need to talk.”“I can see that,” I said, dropping my purse on the side table. “But what I don’t get is why you’re here… with my brothers.”“Phoebe,” Jasper started, “Winnie told us about the man you ran into at the mall. The one holding hands with that girl.”I blinked. “Richard?”“Yes,” Billy said, stepping forward. “She said he looked familiar and he happens to be Ramon’s uncle.”I froze, my heart suddenly pounding in my chest. “She told you that?”“Yes,” Jasper added with a serious look on his face. “And we think you need to be careful with this whole issue. It seems lik
RAMONMy uncle, Richard, stepped in like he owned the place, as usual. He looked around briefly and then narrowed his eyes at me.“She’s gone?” he asked.I nodded and moved to sit on the couch. “Yeah, just left.”He shut the door behind him and walked over, not wasting time.“What’s going on with Winnie?” I asked before he could even sit. “She recognized you at dinner. She’s not some random girl, you know. She’s sharp. You’ve been warning me about staying focused, but you’re the one slipping now. What exactly is happening?”My uncle paused by the chair, but didn’t sit. He rubbed his chin like he always did when he was buying time.“She just arrived,” he finally said. “I wasn’t expecting her to recognize me. It’s been years since I last saw her, and even then, she was still in school.”“So she does know you?”“Yes,” he sighed, finally sitting across from me. “Her father is one of my business partners. We’ve done deals together, some clean, some… not so clean.”I leaned forward, frownin
RAMONThe night started simply. After Phoebe told me everything that happened at the mall with Richard, I could tell it had been weighing on her. I wanted to take her mind off things, so I asked her out to dinner. Just something nice, somewhere quiet. I picked this cozy little restaurant I liked on the west side of town. Nothing too fancy, but it had a warm vibe, soft lights, and good pasta.Phoebe seemed excited when I picked her up. She smiled the whole car ride, playing with the radio, teasing me about my terrible playlist.“Ramon,” she laughed, “do you only listen to '90s rock ballads?”I chuckled. “Hey, don’t disrespect greatness. This is vintage mood-setting.”She rolled her eyes, but I could see the blush on her cheeks when our hands brushed on the gearshift. I liked her. A lot. And tonight, I just wanted it to be easy. Normal.When we got to the restaurant, Phoebe told me she’d invited Winnie to join us. I paused for a second.“She’s still suspicious of me, isn’t she?” I asked
PHOEBEIt was hard to ignore the odd tension in the air when we bumped into Richard and his… companion. Despite my initial surprise, I greeted him politely. “Hi, uncle Richard. Fancy running into you here.”He smiled, a bit awkwardly, as if he hadn’t expected to see us either. “Phoebe, Winnie, good to see you both.” His smile seemed genuine enough, but there was something in his eyes that made me think he was hiding something.Winnie, always the one to break the ice, stepped forward. “Hi, Mr. Richard. We didn’t expect to see you out here. Who’s the lovely lady?” Her tone was light, but I could tell she was curious, even more so after the awkwardness of the moment.Richard shifted a little on his feet, clearly uncomfortable. “Oh, just a friend,” he said quickly. “Nothing to worry about.” He didn’t even make eye contact with the woman beside him as he said it.Winnie didn’t seem convinced. “Are you in a hurry? We’ve barely seen you since… well, a while ago. We’ve missed the good chats,”
PHOEBEI blinked a few times, staring at Winnie like she had just told me unicorns were real.“What did you just say?” I asked slowly.“I said I know that man,” she repeated, still staring at the photo on my phone. “The one standing behind you two in that picture. Ramon’s uncle, right?”“Yeah,” I said, glancing at the photo again. “That’s Richard. Why?”Winnie raised an eyebrow, her tone serious. “He came to our house a while back. Twice, actually. He met with my dad.”I laughed, half out of shock, half because it sounded so ridiculous. “Winnie… your dad is basically a billionaire. Why would he meet with Richard? Richard owns like… nothing. He’s not exactly in your dad’s league.”Winnie didn’t even flinch. She stood there with her arms crossed, her brows slightly furrowed, clearly unamused. “I know what I saw, Phoebe,” she said firmly, her tone serious. “You think I’d forget something like that? The second I saw his face in that picture, I remembered. Same smile, same eyes, even the s
PHOEBEI was already waiting outside when Billy pulled up in the car. I had my sunglasses on, hair tied up in a loose bun, and my heart bouncing with excitement. Winnie had been gone for so long, it felt like years, not just a couple of months. She was finally coming home, and I couldn’t wait to throw my arms around her.Billy leaned out the window, one arm draped casually over the steering wheel. “Ready to go pick up your long-lost partner in crime?”I rolled my eyes but couldn’t hide the smile tugging at my lips. “Don’t act like you’re doing this for me. We both know you’re dying to see her.”He chuckled and shrugged. “Guilty.”I slipped into the passenger seat, and we took off, the windows rolled halfway down, letting the warm breeze hit our faces. The drive to the airport wasn’t that long, but somehow it felt like an adventure. We played music the whole way, some of our favorite old songs from high school, the ones we used to scream along to in his beat-up old car.In between vers