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Year 2014Los Angeles, CaliforniaIt was gloomy and quiet when Beckett arrived at their house with his brows furrowed. His parents, whom he expected to welcome him, were not there, despite informing them earlier that he would be coming home from Italy for their semester break."Ma? Pa?" Beckett called out in a slightly louder voice, but his voice only echoed throughout the place. "Rosie? Nicholas?" he called out to the workers, but no one answered him.He grew more puzzled, but a smile crossed his face as he thought that maybe they wanted to surprise him."If you want to surprise me, I'm here. You can come out now," Beckett said, laughing lightly. He walked towards the stairs to go to his parent's room. "Ma—"But he immediately stopped when he saw the drops of blood on the floor. When he looked at the stairs, he cursed as he saw traces of blood there as well, as if someone had dragged a body upstairs.His entire body froze, and his heart started beating faster. He quickly ran up the s
As the ceremony started, Beckett could feel that everyone's eyes were on him. He was positioned in the VIP seat because aside from receiving an award for his performance in an action movie, he and his team were also invited as special guests by the organizers of the awarding show.Unfortunately, Jeru couldn't attend due to some prior commitments. So Beckett ended up being alone in his seat, while the one next to him remained vacant.The ceremony continued, and Beckett was struggling to maintain his focus. He checked his phone from time to time, not just to see what other artists were doing on stage, but also to check if he had any messages from his staff.Being a model and a part-time actor wasn't his only job. It wasn't even his main job since the income from that wouldn't be enough to sustain his luxuries and desires. When comparing his earnings from modeling and his company, his showbiz industry income would seem like spare change.Nevertheless, Beckett didn't let go of this indust
Vivianne was almost going crazy with the pain she was feeling as she gulped down the beer on the bottle she was holding. She was no longer in the right state of mind to even grab a glass, and she didn't care about the effects of alcohol on her body.She was getting dizzy and slightly nauseous. Despite being in an upscale bar, her behavior was becoming more unruly. She continued to curse because the pain in her heart was intensifying."Fuck all of you!" Vivianne exclaimed, and shortly after, she slammed her head on the counter, not caring if she had everyone's attention.She wanted to forget the pain... Everything. But she couldn't.As time passed, her anger continued to boil, especially when she looked at her phone and saw her wallpaper and that of her boyfriend.Wrong. Her ex-boyfriend, to be precise. After catching him earlier having sex with another woman in his condo unit, he had the audacity to break up with her."Fuck you, Tristan. I told you I’ll exact my revenge! Just wait!"V
"You're the same woman as before..." Beckett said in a cold tone before glancing at the girl. "I told you to go home, didn't I?" he added, but Vivianne didn't immediately respond.Beckett was almost taken aback by the appearance of the woman in front of him. Her eyes were bloodshot, and she couldn't walk properly.But that wasn't what he noticed. Her gaze shifted to the small wounds on the girl's arms. Vivianne had fair skin, so even a slight grip would surely leave prominent red marks.And Beckett was certain on his hunch, too. He knew that someone had tightly gripped Vivianne's arm, given the terror he could see in her eyes.'Fuck that guard. I told him to ensure the woman's safety,' Beckett thought as he clenched his fists, annoyed.But his annoyance was quickly replaced by surprise when Vivianne suddenly answered him. "Well, I don't want to go home yet! I just wanted to have a drink, is that not allowed?" she said, rolling her eyes.Beckett was astounded by Vivianne's sudden chang
Vivianne woke up feeling good in the morning. She had released her anger last night by drinking and punching Beckett, the person she despised. Satisfied with what she had done, she looked at her fist—the one she used to punch him.She smiled, confident that it was the first time the guy received a punch aside from those on his shows."He may seem pitiful, but he deserved it," Vivianne muttered before getting up from bed.She did her routine afterward—fixing the bedroom, eating her usual breakfast of pancakes and apples, and getting dressed.One of her strengths was drinking alcohol as if there were no tomorrow, getting wasted, and acting like nothing happened the next day. Well, she could feel the dizziness and headache of a hangover, but she could tolerate it.This pain was nothing compared to the intensity of the rehearsals her father had given her. At a young age, she could say she was physically strong for a woman, although she preferred guns because they were easier and quicker t
Vivianne didn't answer. She was afraid that Manager Yu might notice that they knew each other if she responded. She tried to calm herself down before smiling."You called for me, manager?" Vivianne changed the topic.Henry had many questions in his mind, but he dismissed them for now. They were still within working hours, and the famous Filipino-Italian model Beckett Clainfer was right in front of them."Vivianne, baby, I want you to meet your new client," Henry looked in Beckett's direction as he pointed at him. "From now on, you'll be working outside. Mr. Clainfer personally requested you as his personal dress stylist.""W-What?" Vivianne asked incredulously.At that moment, Vivianne would have believed it if Henry said that the sky had turned white or the moon had turned purple."W-Why would he need a dress stylist from a small company like ours?" she added."Because I liked how you style your clients' clothes," Beckett interjected, his lips forming a pretentious sweet smile... bef
The loud sound of her favorite song, "As It Was" by Harry Styles, reverberated around the room as someone was calling Vivianne on the phone. Suddenly, she forgot that she had a hobby of maximizing the volume of her ringtone, especially outside her house. She did that so when someone called her, she could easily hear it. And that foolishness was what Vivianne didn't expect to get her into trouble now."Shit!" Vivianne muttered to herself before ending the call, but before she could put her phone on silent mode, it rang again. It was an unregistered number, and as much as she wanted to know who it was, she couldn't answer the phone. She was at work, and the director at the photoshoot was already giving her a stern look."Sorry…” she apologized as she turned off her phone instead.She was panicking, so she decided to turn off the phone before putting it in her pocket. She just hoped that she wouldn't receive an important call at this moment.Unlike earlier, the room was now filled with
Suddenly, Director Valeria knelt in front of Vivianne, causing her eyes to widen."W-What—""I'm sorry, Vivianne!" the director pleaded, his voice filled with desperation and tears. "I-I know what I did earlier was wrong. I shouldn't have humiliated you like that... I'm sorry! I won't do it again!"Vivianne was frozen in her spot. She didn't know what to say, and she didn't know how to feel because she sensed the desperation in the person in front of her."As you should."It was Beckett who interjected as he pulled Vivianne slightly away from Director Valeria, especially when the director tried to hold her hand and plead even more."Let's go," Beckett commanded again, but he didn't wait for her response this time.Beckett kept his hand on Vivianne's pulse as they walked out, and they could still hear the director incessantly begging for forgiveness until they finally left the studio."I still have another photoshoot," Beckett said as they reached the parking lot."I know," Vivianne re
Alfred raised his right hand, and all the members of the Allamino mafia emerged. Beckett did the same, and his men who were hiding in the trees and bushes earlier also came out.Seeing how the two leaders are determined to clash with each other, it only means one thing: this place will be in bloodshed soon.And indeed it happened. The people between Beckett and Alfred started fighting. Blood flowed, and many lives were lost. It was a long-time war between the two of them, and Beckett won.Now they are face to face. Alfred is sitting on the ground, his body full of wounds and bruises from Beckett's beating, while Beckett is standing. His gun is pointed at Alfred.“I know you want to kill me… But why can’t you fucking pull the trigger?” Alfred asked, grinning. “Has your fear of killing people returned?”“Hah.” Beckett clicked his tongue, annoyed.But he didn't answer the question. The reason he didn't shoot Alfred was because of Vivianne. She was still sitting in the grass, but the ropes
In Alfred's anger, he approached Vivianne with large strides before grabbing the collar of her clothes. "Take back what you said.""I'm not your father to obey you." Vivianne grinned, especially when she saw the rage intensifying in Alfred's eyes. "I never considered you a father because I don't have a demon for a father like you—"Vivianne didn't finish her sentence because Alfred suddenly let go of her collar and slapped her. Not just once, but three times.Vivianne smiled painfully. The happy family she had dreamed of... She would never have that. And she needed to accept the painful truth."You have no manners! After everything I've done for you, this is how you repay me? By fighting me and insulting me?!" Alfred's anger and shouts echoed throughout the entire office.Vivianne chuckled sarcastically. "I have no manners? And everything you did, you did for me? Why, did you even ask if I wanted to be in this situation?""You're ungrateful!"Alfred slapped her again, harder than befo
After that, they discussed their next plan all night. They agreed on one thing: they would rescue Ella from the hospital and inject her with the new medicine that Beckett had developed to wake her up.“I will distract Alfred and his men,” Beckett said, pointing to the right side of the footprint. “We will go here since Ella’s room is on the left side of the hospital. While we’re here, use the opportunity to escape with your mother.”“But that’s dangerous.” Vivianne shook her head. “Alfred might have prepared for this and could have you killed in the hospital. He can easily do that. Believe me.”“I believe you, but it doesn’t matter. What’s important for me right now is to save your mother and fulfill my promise to you…” Beckett kissed his wife’s forehead again. “So let’s do this… and see the end together.”THE NEXT DAY, it was time to execute the plan. Beckett was already in the parking lot, along with the men who would pose as doctors, nurses, and janitors if anything went wrong.He
Alfred went to the hospital afterward to check on Ella's condition. He’s making sure Ella will be alive, but not enough to wake her up. He will only get her treated once Vivianne follows his demands. But it seems fate is not on his side now, because he was shocked to see Vivianne just coming out of Ella's room, holding a large suitcase. “What does this mean?” Alfred asked in a deep and angry tone. “You’re leaving your mother for that man?” “I just said goodbye to her earlier, and I’m sure she’ll understand me,” Vivianne replied. “How can she understand if she's already dead?” “She won’t die.” Vivianne gritted her teeth but forced herself to stay calm. This was not the time to argue with her father. She was already exhausted from everything that had happened. “I’m leaving.” Vivianne took a step forward, thinking her father would not speak again, but she was wrong. “I’m giving you one last chance to take back what you said. Go back to the mansion and break up with Beckett,” Alfre
“TWENTY million dollars.”“Twenty million? Dollars? Are you out of your mind?!” Vivianne suddenly shouted when she realized what her husband intended to do. “No! That’s too much money! Just leave me here!”“Shut up, lady,” Raul said in a deep voice, frowning as he seemed annoyed by Vivianne's yelling in a language he didn’t understand.“Non maledire con mia moglie, Raul.” [Don’t curse at my wife.]Beckett didn’t like the way Raul reprimanded his wife, especially the tone of his voice. He glared at Raul but quickly calmed himself.“So, is this enough for you to buy guns from their organization?” Beckett asked, raising the diamond card. “You have collateral, and remember how I saved your ass when we were in elementary school?”Unbeknownst to everyone, Raul and Beckett were not just acquaintances. They were classmates back in the day, and when someone tried to beat up Raul because he didn’t know how to fight, Beckett saved him. They became best friends somehow after that, until they dec
"Don't talk shit with me. I know you're the reason she's missing." Beckett approached Alfred, his eyes filled with rage. "Where did you take her?""I don't know. Which part of that don't you understand?" Alfred slammed the newspaper down beside him before meeting Beckett's angry gaze. "And don't forget that you're in my territory. I could blow your brains out right now."Beckett smirked. "If you really planned to do that, you should have done it already.""I'll do it later, once I have all your wealth."Hearing Alfred's words, Beckett couldn't help but laugh. His suspicions were correct—Alfred had ulterior motives for agreeing to his marriage with Vivianne and for pretending to be cordial with him."Keep dreaming," Beckett whispered, his jaw clenching. "I will find her, no matter how long it takes. Mark my words, Alfred Allamino."Beckett turned to leave the mansion, but stopped when Alfred spoke again."Even if you do find her, can you be sure she's still alive by then?"Beckett turn
Beckett immediately hit the wall when he thought of that. He didn’t waste any more time. He quickly searched for paper and a pen to write down his thoughts.Fortunately, he still memorized the ingredients and knew the drugs that could interfere with the chemicals.Due to his endless thinking, the three days passed quickly for Beckett. He didn’t even realize that he was eating only twice a day and spent almost the entire day sitting on the edge, thinking.He had filled almost an entire notebook with writings and drawings of various things. Everything was settled, so all he needed to do when he got out was go to the warehouse and test all his ideas.“If what I’m thinking is correct, it means that the other drink Ella had taken is the reason why she went into a coma. It was also the reason for her nosebleed,” Beckett muttered while staring at his notebook.He was bothered by the events, but it wasn’t just the chemical in Ella’s body that made him uneasy. It was because of another realiza
Vivianne entered her mother's room. She sat by her side, silently crying. She couldn’t stay still because just a while ago she was able to talk to her mother properly, but now, she looked like a withered vegetable. Her skin was flushed, and she was lying bedridden.“Mom… I’m sorry,” she whispered to her mother, gently squeezing her hand.Vivianne felt that everything that happened was her fault. She couldn’t blame anyone else for this, but earlier she had exploded from the many problems she was going through.Her trauma hasn’t healed yet. She has major trust issues. She also knew that she shouldn’t have treated Beckett the way she did earlier, especially since he just wanted to help. But because of what happened, her walls were up again.“I’m sorry, Beckett…” she said, and soon after, her tears flowed freely.But unbeknownst to Vivianne, Beckett had followed her. He had already opened the door and was ready to enter, but when he saw how sad Vivianne was while looking at Ella and heard
Not long after, Beckett and Vivianne began doing the things they had planned in Agrianthropos. They also informed Ella about what was going to happen so she wouldn't be surprised when she started to feel pain in her heart.Now, they were at the Allamino mansion. They were alone because Alfred was in the office reading documents. The mother and daughter were eating dinner, and Vivianne had already put medicine in her drink.They were chatting while eating. Vivianne was discreetly checking the time. She and Beckett had planned this specifically, so they had a schedule to follow. Vivianne was waiting for it.“Child, I think it's time for me to watch my favorite KDRAMA,” Ella said.It was a code. Ella was asking if it was time for her to drink the water on the table which contained the medicine.Vivianne looked at the clock before nodding. “Yes, it's time, mom. I’ll take you back to your room after we finish eating.”“Alright.” Ella finished eating and then drank the water.Ella did not i