The smell of disinfectant hit me as we made our way through the hospital lobby. I scrunched my nose and stole a glance at Kathy. Damn, I hated this place. How long has it been since I was last here? If I recall clearly, the last time I was here was over a year ago when I brought Lana to the hospital. We made our way to the receptionist desk, which held a petite, brunette nurse. She glanced up as we approached, but her fingers continued tapping away at the keyboard. I cleared my throat. “Excuse me, miss,” I began. “I’m here to inquire about a patient who was treated here about a year and a half ago.”The nurse, whose name I saw from the tag on her chest to be Angela Lackerman, nodded and offered us a polite smile. Her eyes strayed to Kathy and then back to me. “Of course,” she answered. “I’d be happy to assist you.” She looked at her computer screen. "Do you have the patient’s name and any other relevant information?”“Uhh, yes.” I responded. “Her name is Lana West. But she might hav
The nurse, whose name was Jeannie, was a petite, fine lady in her early or mid-thirties. She had round, wide-set eyes that crinkled when she smiled; it looked like she smiled a lot; her hair was held in a ponytail above her head; and her lips were curled in a warm smile. “Good afternoon.” She greeted me warmly as she met Kathy and me. We were seated on one of the benches in the reception. Another nurse whose name I had forgotten to ask had offered to call Jeannie Daniels for us, and minutes later, she appeared. “I was told you wanted to see me.” I nodded and stood to my feet. “I did. Is there any place more private where we can talk?” Her brows shot to the sky, and a frown appeared on her face. That frown did not suit her. “I’m sorry.” I added it immediately. “Forgive my manners; my name is Andre Lynch, and this is my wife, Kathy Lynch.” Jeannie nodded. “Is there anything I can do for you?” She looked at the watch on her wrist. “I have a patient to attend to in ten minutes.”“We
“Is that how you say hello to a guest?” Freda fired. “I trained you better than this, Lana.”My nostrils flared. “I guess you can say that.” I turned towards the door, hoping Gates had the sense to send in security. “Ma'am, if you don’t leave here now, I’m going to have to call security.”I saw her lips twitch at my words, and I knew she was getting upset. I didn’t care either way. There was nothing she could do to me that she hadn’t done before. I was out of her clutches now, and that was the most important thing. “You do realize who you are talking to, right?” I sighed and folded my arms around my chest. “I don’t give a damn who you are or whatever power you think you have. In my company—the company in which you are standing right now—all the power belongs to me, and I said I don’t want you here.”I picked up the phone from my desk and placed it in my ear. “Since you’re not going to leave on your own, I guess I’ll have to use force.” I punched in the numbers rapidly and waited. “P
Seeing Freda again rattled my nerves. I could barely concentrate on my work; every time I tried to think, I heard her in my head. Her cold voice sent shivers down my spine, and my heartbeat accelerated. I had been bluffing earlier when I said I did not fear her; it was only the rush of adrenaline speaking.Now that I was calm and settled, I felt fear. It seeped through my bloodstream and attacked my heart until all I saw were illusions of Freda taking my children away from me. She had on a sinister smile, and every time I tried to fight back, I would only sip deeper into the quicksand—a trap that she had set for me to keep me from reaching my children. The more I tried to move, the deeper I sank. And her loud laughter roared everywhere around me. It was a nightmare that I saw even with my eyes wide open and would continue to see if I did not act quick enough. A warm hand touched me, jolting me from the daydream that I had fallen into. “Hey, are you okay?” Sally asked. “You look quit
“We are gathered here today to commend the soul of our departed mother, sister, wife, and friend, Mrs. Hillary Sanders, into your loving arms,” the priest droned. I stood stoically by Sally’s side, offering her the support I was sure she needed.I pressed down on her palm, which was intertwined with mine, and offered her a small smile, noting her red-rimmed eyes. She had been crying; all of us had been crying, and I was sure that the small mascara that I had applied this morning would have decorated my face. Although I had told myself that I would shed no tears, especially since I was being a pillar of support for Sally, I couldn’t help the tears that made their way to my eyes whenever I glanced down at the freshly dug grave. “Mrs. Sanders had been a remarkable woman.” The priest was still speaking, but my mind seemed to be filtering out his words. I fingered the rose that was held in my other hand and thought of all the times my father had taken me to the Sanders’ house to enjoy di
CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE“I am ready to drink myself into stupor.” Sally declared as we headed back to the car. “You know, when I said family, I meant all of you.” She said, looking from me to Darby and Cameron and the twins, who sat in each of their arms.I smiled. “I know, Sally, and to us, you are our family too.” I glanced at Darby and Cameron. “Right guys?”Both Cameron and Darby nodded. “We are all we’ve got now. Each other, and we always have to watch each other’s backs and tell ourselves when we are walking into an obvious trap or doing something stupid like going to drink oneself to stupor.” I said, giving Sally a pointed look.Sally rolled her eyes. “I just came from burying my mother, Lana, in case you had not noticed. I need something to take my mind off everything for a while.” I scoffed. “And you think drinking yourself to stupor is the best idea?” I argued. “It’s the worst. We’ll come up with something we can do or a place we can go on our way home.”“Yeah?” Sally taunted. “
Andre’s POVMy mother was livid with anger, and I was even more upset. She glared daggers at me, and I knew that the next thing I would be hearing was how ungrateful a child I was and how much of a disappointment I was to her, but I really did not mind. Not now, not after what I just heard. “You did what?” I asked again. I was sure I had heard her say she was dealing with a brat, and that brat was Lana. “You will do nothing to Lana,” I continued, as she made no attempt to give me a reply.“I will do whatever I want to do, Andre.” She fired. “And when did you suddenly start caring about this girl? She means nothing to you or to us. You are married to a very good woman now, one who brings prestige to our family and is valuable to this company. Take that one thing that you have done well and leave with it. If you won’t help me fight Lana, then I don’t need you.”I sighed. “What did that girl ever do to you? Aren’t you satisfied with all that you took from her?”She shot me another glare
The boardroom was a beehive. The noise could be heard from a mile away; everyone wanted to speak at once, but no one wanted to listen. It reminded me of kindergarten, where there were no rules and every kid just cried and played.The noise died once I opened the double doors and stepped in. Every head in the room turned in my direction, and one by one, they began to settle. I was like the teacher whom every kid feared in high school. Gates, who had met me at the lobby, slipped into one of the chairs reserved for secretaries and guests who were not part of the board and settled into it while I strolled to my seat at the head of the table. Their eyes followed me as I moved, like surveillance cameras.I placed my hands on the table and skimmed my eyes over everyone in the room. Before, I would have thought of something to draw confidence from, but now, my anxiety gives me enough confidence. How could they go and betray me like this? I called an emergency meeting without my knowledge, an