After taking a long, hot shower, Cindy put on her pajamas and headed to Megan's room. Megan was curled up in bed, staring at the wall. She was sure she had heard Benny's voice calling for help, but no one else seemed to have heard it. She wished she could hold her son, hug him, and kiss his chubby cheeks. Her mother kept watching over her, afraid that something might happen to her.Meanwhile, Bill was seated in the garden outside with Logan and Stefan, who were updating him on what had happened at the police station. "But how did you manage to get the recording?" Bill asked, unaware of Logan's background or his connections."Well, I have had several clients with airtight cases that ended up being thrown out before they reached court. We had a feeling that the police chief wasn’t being straight with us, so we bugged his phone," Stefan explained, cleverly omitting the details about who the "we" referred to.Just then, Logan's phone vibrated."Sir, are you in a position to talk? I have
Logan always believed that he was a man made of steel, but seeing little Benny, who looked like he was peacefully asleep, made him crack. He had always thought that after Megan finally divorced Rich, he would adopt Benny and give him his name. He envisioned raising him like his own son, providing the fatherly love that Benny lacked from both his biological father and stepdad.Now, he faced the heavy burden of telling Megan about the loss, but before that, he was determined to catch the perpetrator responsible for it all. Back at the police station, he scrutinized the evidence they had gathered while awaiting the DNA results from the cigarette butts. The pathologist had also discovered scrapings of skin under the boy's fingernails, which had been sent for DNA testing.Everyone crowded around the medical geneticist as he walked in holding a red envelope. Because the case had been marked as urgent, he had put aside all his other work. The red envelope signified the importance of this
Dante, confused, looked at the strange faces staring back at him. They hadn't said a word since they had forcefully barged into his house, but he was already beaten to a pulp.He was sure that he had done a great job at hiding from the authorities and even managed to cross borders. He had felt that his escape was too smooth but didn't put much thought into it.Hands took him by the collar and landed one more punch and his lower lip split. Now he was scared because even the two police officers just looked on as he was being beaten."What is going on?" He asked as he shielded himself with his hands.Hands grabbed his head and smashed it on the table which caused a sharp ringing in his head."I am going to continue beating you up until you talk" Hands threatened him then punched him in the ear.Dante was sure that his left ear had gone deaf because of the punch. If this went on then he would die in the hands of this menacing soldier-like monster.Crawling away from him to put some space
"Benny come back" Dante ran after the little boy.Dante had loosened the restraints on Benny's hands and feet, feeling sorry for him. He then placed him in the makeshift bed, intending for the boy to sleep more comfortably as he had been lying on the cold floor since they got to the shed. As soon as his hands were loosened, Benny grabbed the bag that was on his face, hindering his vision and frantically looked around."You!" He exclaimed in recognition, his eyes settling on the face of the kidnapper as his sight adjusted to the light in the room.The man, alarmed, tried to hide his face in vain. "No....no......no, it's not what you think", he said as he tried to hold Benny. Benny started hitting and kicking with all his might. After seeing the kidnapper's face, he knew he had to escape. While the man was holding his eye where Benny had hit him, the boy saw a chance and ran for the door. Hitting the dirt path running, he stumbled, fell, then picked himself up and ran. He heard foo
Liana and Rich cuddled after a round of making love. She had cried bitterly on the phone, begging Rich to see her to no avail. Finally, she threatened him with suicide so he had to drop everything and pick her up.Ever since the miscarriage and Cindy's arrest, she had felt a wide space between them. Rich was slowly slipping away from her and she wasn't ready to lose him.At first, he had questioned her decision to have his sister arrested without consulting her."But she killed our son", she said pitifully."Cindy is my sister, and the miscarriage was an accident" Rich tried to reason with her. "We lost our child and you are taking their side?" Liana rose from the bed where they were lying down as they talked, anger rising in her."Who are 'they'? I am asking about my sister. She is Wayne's only daughter, so her reputation matters!" Rich was now feeling exasperated.He had been avoiding Liana because he wasn't in the mood for an argument with her, and now this! Moreover, he felt lik
Dante looked back in shock at the sound of a familiar voice that he hadn't heard in ages. A voice that took him years back, a voice that he had longed for and regretted losing, the one voice that had brought warmth and sunshine into his life, now seemingly lost forever."What's going on? Why do you look so battered? Who beat you up?" Megan asked in concern as the rest of the room stared in silence.A huge scar ran down his face, his shirt was bloody, and he was trying to hide his hand that was bandaged.He looked like a messed up, bloody pulp, like a huge ripe tomato that had been squashed under the wheels."Do you know this man?" One of the policemen who came with the group asked as he removed a document from his jacket."He is my ex-husband", Megan replied, still confused as to what was happening."Ma'am, this man is the main suspect in the kidnapping of a little boy found in the mountains", the man said in an official voice as he stretched the arrest warrant for Megan to have a lo
Dante has just got home from the mechanic shop where he worked. Before the divorce, he worked as the Project Manager at Epic Media Company, where he was in charge of verifying the contracts brought in by agents for their artists and also sourcing for international projects.He had a large office with a view, but after being laid off from work due to anger issues and fights at the workplace, it took him quite a while before getting a job as a mechanic. On that particular day, he was alighting from his car when his phone vibrated and he saw an unfamiliar number calling him."I have a job for you", a gruff voice got him curious. He was short of money and was up for making extra dollars."Excuse me, who are you and what kind of work is it?" He asked."That is not important. I know that you are working for peanuts at the mechanic shop. After doing this work for me, I will pay you enough to make you live a comfortable life"."So what do you want me to do?" His interest piqued."I want you
The police immediately dispatched a team to go to Dante's house to get the laptop.******Dante was not familiar with MountainView, so he had to make a stop and ask for directions to the mountain, claiming that he was there for a hike.The bottom of the mountain had sheds where hikers and mountaineers rested and grouped themselves before making their ascent.He got into the one that was nearest the mountain and placed Benny inside. After gagging Benny and tying his hands and feet, he left to make a call.He felt sorry for his boy but had no choice but to do this. He promised himself that he would make it up to him after this was over.They had been in the shed for two days. The ransom money was to be collected that night, so he was just from the train station having a plan of travelling back to the county by train, collecting the ransom at the agreed-upon point, and then hiring a van that he would use to transport the money back to MountainView.He would then lay low for two more days
After Briana had been kicked out by the security team, the company settled down. Logan called Megan to his office because she was still shaken up. He watched her walk in, fragile but guarded and all he wanted to do was envelope her in a protective hug. Megan sat nervously across Logan, the huge mahogany office desk creating a boundary between them. "Megan, thank you for coming in. I wanted to address what happened just now." He said as he tried to read her face. "Oh Okay," Megan looked down as she intertwined her fingers. "First, I want to be absolutely clear: there is nothing, and I mean nothing, going on between Briana and myself." "I don't even understand why she would think that we have a thing going on". He continued but Megan only gave a slight nod, her eyes avoiding him. "I also want to apologize for any discomfort or distress that Briana caused you. That was completely unacceptable." Megan trembled slightly. It was… unsettling, to say the least, but she remained silent
The sterile, hushed atmosphere of the ICU was a stark contrast to the storm brewing within its walls. Liana lay pale and still, a network of tubes and wires snaking across her body, the rhythmic beeping of the monitors a constant, unsettling pulse. After hours in the operating theatre, she was alive, but barely. The doors to the ICU burst open, and Liana's parents, their faces etched with grief and rage, stormed in. Their eyes, red and swollen, immediately locked onto Rich and Beth. "What have you done to her?!" Liana's mother shrieked, her voice cracking with emotion. "You've driven her to this! You've pushed her too far!" Liana's father, his face a mask of fury, pointed a trembling finger at Rich. "You! You're the reason she's lying there! You never appreciated her! You never deserved her!" "How could you let this happen?" Liana's mother wailed, her voice rising in hysteria. "She was always so happy, so vibrant! You've destroyed her!" Beth, her own guilt a heavy weight in her
He lurched forward, his hand instinctively reaching for her wrist, searching for a pulse. The water, now a chilling, viscous crimson, sloshed as he moved. His fingers, slick with the bloody water, fumbled against her skin, finding it cold and unnervingly still. A wave of nausea washed over him, the scent of iron thick in his nostrils. He pressed his fingers harder, desperately trying to feel the faintest thrum of life. Nothing. A strangled gasp escaped his lips, a sound of pure, raw terror. He yanked her arm up, the delicate white rose petals clinging to her skin, now stained a gruesome pink. He stared at the deep, ragged cuts, the blood still seeping slowly into the water, and a primal scream threatened to erupt from his chest. He had to do something.Anything. He couldn't just stand there, watching her slip away. He fumbled for his phone, his hands shaking so violently he almost dropped it. He had to call Brian. He had to call an ambulance. He had to save her.Brian rushed
"Sir, maybe you should go back and check on her." Brian was a worrier, and he had heard what Liana had said on the phone.In the bedroom, Liana had changed into a silky black lingerie that hugged her bust and hips, accentuating her small waist.She then filled the bathtub with water and taking the white rose flowers that she had decorated the room with, she started to slowly remove the petals, placing them from the door all the way to the bathroom. She then sprinkled some in the bathtub, leaving them floating.After admiring her handiwork, she took a glass of wine and sat on the bed, perusing a fashion magazine where she was featured on the cover as she waited.Rich lifted his glass and then put it down again without drinking. Something flashed in his mind but disappeared before he could process the thought.He had always been alcohol tolerant and knew his limit, so he didn't understand how, on that particular night, he was so drunk that he couldn't remember signing the divorce papers
Megan and Rich met at a quiet café, the hum of conversations around them doing little to ease the tension between them. Rich sat across from her, his fingers tracing the edge of a thick envelope—fresh divorce papers. "What do you want now?" Megan asked as she crossed her arms on her chest as if guardian her heart from more pain. She had already purposed to have nothing to do with this despicable couple but just couldn't seem to get away from them. Rich eyes were downcast, avoiding Megan's sharp but questioning look. He had noticed the bag eyes and the etched lines on her face that not even the light makeup could hide. There was something different about her though; her aura was no longer timid. Determination was written on her lips that were stretched in a thin line and a sharp glint cut through her eyes. "I need to apologize for how Liana ambushed you with the divorce papers," he said as he nervously clutched the edge of the brown envelope. Megan just stared at him as she
"What's going on?" Liana asked then her smile froze as she saw Cindy in the living room.She had thought that she would have time to hide the papers from Rich for a while until the 30-day cooling-off period was over.She would then find a way to tell him that it was time to finalise the divorce proceedings, and maybe by then, she would be pregnant again, holding Rich for life.Rich's sudden move took Liana by surprise. She hadn't anticipated him grabbing the envelope, assuming that the shock of knowing about the divorce papers would keep him off balance. Her carefully constructed facade began to crack as Rich snatched the envelope from her grasp and opened it.He held the papers tightly, his knuckles white. His gaze was fixed on Liana, his eyes burning with a mixture of anger, hurt, and disbelief. "How, Liana?" he asked, his voice low and dangerous. "How did you get my signature? And how did you get access to the Wayne family seal?"Liana's carefully composed demeanour faltered.
"What in the world is going on here?" Beth exclaimed, rushing down the stairs, her voice laced with concern. The sound of Cindy's furious honking still echoed faintly outside, and the tension in the living room was thick enough to cut with a knife. Cindy, her face flushed and her eyes blazing, was pacing back and forth like a caged tiger."Rich!" She was screaming the house down."You had better get the heck down here and face me you cowardly bastard." Rich, who was in his study, heard the ruckus and asked his assistant to find out what was happening."What is going on, Cindy? Why are you so worked up?" Beth asked, worried."Aaah Boss, you had better go down. Your sister has just gone mad." Brian told Rich after asking a servant what was going on."Rich!" Cindy practically spat the name as soon as she saw her brother come down the staircase. "How could you? How could you let Liana do that to Megan?"Rich looked utterly bewildered. "Do what? Cindy, what are you talking about? I d
Megan sat at the window seat of the cafe, Cindy and Athena a few tables away. The persistent ringing of her phone had been a constant annoyance for over a week. Liana's calls, begging for a meet-up, had finally worn down Megan's resistance. When she left the Wayne household, Megan had vowed to put everything behind her, including her estranged husband, Rich and his mistress. But Liana's relentless calls were driving her insane.Liana sauntered into the cafe and immediately noticed Megan at the window seat.Like a queen ascending her throne, she took her seat and then dusted imaginary dirt on the table as she looked at Megan who was totally unfazed by her Sliding a brown envelope towards her, she smirked and extended a pen."What's this?" Megan asked without bothering to touch it."Rich wants nothing to do with you so quickly sign the divorce papers",Liana then looked at her wristwatch as if she was in a hurry."And he asked you to bring them?" Megan looked at her suspiciously smel
It had been a month since the girls moved in together, and the shared apartment was starting to feel like home. Cindy had returned to university, but a surprising change had occurred. Instead of returning to the familiar comfort of her old residence near campus, she'd opted for a daily commute by subway from their new home; determined to never return to the Wayne mansion.This was a completely new experience for her, a stark contrast to the chauffeur-driven lifestyle she was accustomed to. The crowded trains and bustling stations were a world away from what she knew, but she seemed to embrace the change, a subtle shift in her perspective.Athena, meanwhile, had secured a position at the company, working directly as Megan's assistant. This arrangement wasn't coincidental; it was a deliberate move to ensure she could keep a close watch on Megan, a silent guardian angel in the corporate landscape. The dynamics between them, both personal and professional, were still unfolding, a