Lana’s POV I wanted nothing other than to go home, take a long, cold shower, eat at least five bowls of ice cream, then lay down and sleep for a week, but all these were mere imaginations. That was the only place they could exist freely, in my thoughts. For now...The past few weeks have been hectic for all of us. After the preparation and then the transplant, we had all put our all into making sure that Zoe recovered fully and properly. Even Joe was not left out. He had insisted he do something to help his sister recover quickly. Now, we had only a few days until we were discharged and could finally return home and to our personal and individual realities, but the life that was waiting outside of this hospital seemed even more daunting. I had no time to rest... We all had no time to rest.Once I got out of here, I was to resume work immediately to try to make up for all the days I had missed. I would be going from one meeting to the next, jumping from one meeting with an investor
Lana’s POV “Fred is here?” The words tumbled out of my mouth, and my heart skipped a beat. I raised my brow at Sally, wondering if she was really serious or if this was a prank to get back at me for leaving her in the dark about Zoe’s health. “What? You don’t believe me?” She straightened her trousers and beamed at me. “I believe by now Cameron would have met him already.”I started towards the door, abandoning all the clothes I had been folding in a heap on the bed. “Fred is really here?” I needed to see him. That was all I thought as I bounded out of the door and into the hospital hallways. Sally had not been lying. Neither had she been trying to pull my legs. Fred was really young, and he looked extremely good in that brown tailored suit. It looked as though he had gotten a hair cut recently and ditched the glasses. He had been sitting with Cameron, Darby, and the children when I arrived, but as soon as his eyes fell on me, he stood to his feet and his mouth stretched into a sm
Lana’s POV I found Andre standing by the window in one of the hospital’s quiet lounges. I swallowed as I approached him, clenching and unclenching my fist to at least relieve some of the tension that I felt. I had searched everywhere in the hospital for him, and during that time, I had gone over everything I would say to him, but now that I saw him, the words would not come. They hung in the space between my throat and my tongue, and no matter how much I tried to push them forward, they just wouldn’t bulge. How do I tell a man to go against his own mother? How do I convince him to stand before the world and say the world’s might send her to prison for the rest of her lives?I stood at the door for a while, watching him. I was questioning myself and wondering if this was where I was going to stop. If it was right to stop here and not get my father’s company back from Freda as I had promised,. I had a good life now, did I not? I had a family with Cameron, Sally, Darby, and Fred—peopl
Lana’s POV André took a deep breath, his gaze fixed on the floor. “I found it after I logged back into our database back in Cartonica, so I’ve known for a while. I thought I was protecting her by keeping it to myself. I wanted to protect her.”I placed my hand on his knee, offering comfort in the best way I could. “It is something about Freda and her operations.”I tightened my grip on his knee; my patience was beginning to run thin. “What is it, André?" Please, just tell me.”When he looked up at me, his eyes were filled with a mixture of guilt, embarrassment, and shame. I felt sorry for him. Sorry that he had to have someone like Freda as a mother; sorry that he had honed all his life convinced that he was doing the right thing. “It’s not just the money laundering, Lana. There’s evidence of her manipulating your father’s board members for years. She has dirt on all of them—blackmail material. That’s one of the reasons why none of them will testify against her. They’re all scared s
Lana’s POV We did not stay in the hospital for long after that night. Three days later, we were discharged after more tests had been run, and they were sure that Zoe was perfectly healthy. We began preparations to leave the hospital, and now, almost one week later, we were throwing a party to celebrate health. Zoe’s health.The sound of laughter and clinking glasses filled the air. I had invited about a handful of people. All close family and a few friends, then some of Zoe’s classmates who had sent her gifts to the hospital. The past month was hard, but I could not forget those who stood by me and supported me during the hard times. The nanny and most of the other home employees had spent the night and part of the day adorning the house with colourful decorations, and the children ran around, their joyous giggles adding to the festive atmosphere. I was moving through the crowd, greeting guests and ensuring everyone was comfortable, when I spotted Sally standing by the kitchen isla
Lana’s POVI took tentative steps towards the bouquet. Whether unconsciously or by some reflex response in our system, we all had taken steps away from the bouquet. For some reason, we felt threatened by it. This was not the first time we would receive threats disguised as gifts, and I guess that has taught us a lesson. Slowly, I pulled out the card in the bouquet and glanced at Cameron and Sally, who both gave me curt nods. I opened it and began reading it aloud. “Congratulations on Zoe’s recovery. Best wishes for the future. – Freda.”The room fell silent as the implications of the message sank in. Sally was the first to break the silence. “Freda has acted once again. First of all, it was an almost dead bird on my door, and now congratulatory bouquet?”My grip on the card tightened. “Is this supposed to mean something?”Cameron stepped closer, resting his hand on the small of my back. “Hey, we’ll keep our guard up. She’s only trying to play mind games, but we won’t give her the sat
Narrator’s POV Freda’s office was located on the uppermost floor of the skyscraper that acted as Ranhold’s headquarters, a detail that made Fred pause as he stepped out of the taxi five minutes ago. He blinked against the rays of sunlight reflecting off the monolithic structure of steel and glass, momentarily blinded. The reflective surface mirrored the city below, creating an illusion of infinite depth.The other buildings around it were similar in their grandeur, each with its own unique design. For the umpteenth time since his arrival in the city, Fred was reminded of how little he had traveled. There were places outside of his known world yet to be explored, and this city of steel and glass was one of them. He had spent—wasted—five minutes entranced by the sleek, modern design, temporarily forgetting his purpose for being there.Pulling himself back to reality, he straightened his suit and approached the entrance. The revolving glass doors spun smoothly, ushering him into a grand
Narrator’s POV Freda’s smile faltered for the briefest of moments, a shadow crossing her eyes before she quickly regained her composure. She leaned back in her chair, interlacing her fingers and resting them on her desk.“That’s quite a heavy topic, Fred,” she said, her tone now more serious. “Why are you suddenly interested in this?”Fred shrugged. “Perhaps after Kathy’s death, I realised something. I just want to know why he abandoned my mother, why he chose his other family above us, and why he caused us so much pain and loss. I want to understand all of these things; perhaps it would help me forgive, let go, and move on.”A shadow of a smile crossed Freda’s face. “Ahhhh... I guess it runs in the family then.” Fred narrowed his eyes, wondering what she meant by that statement. “I don’t understand. What runs in the family?”Freda stood to her feet and approached the floor-to-ceiling window, which offered a great view of the city. From here, he could view the city’s skyline and wat