Blindly Ida went inside a dark room and closed the door after her. She didn't bother to turn the lights on. She sagged down with her back facing the door as tears of grief started trickling down her eyes."Why? Why are you doing this to me, dear god? Why me? I can see the love in my father's eyes for me. But he will never tell anyone that I am his daughter. Why? What is stopping him? Is it his obligation as a father and husband to Clovia and Selene? Or is there something else?" she thought out loud and sobbed with grief.On the other hand, Leo is searching for her. "Ida?" he is checking all the rooms one after another for her. But so far he didn't find her. Just then, he came across Sid, who was carrying something for the ongoing party in the backyard."Sid, have you seen Ida?" Leo inquired.Sid shook his head."No, Mr. Hamilton. I haven't seen Miss Wilson. I am just coming from the kitchen" he replied.Leo's frown deepened and left to look for Ida.Sid is puzzled, but the weight in
Ida composed herself and slowly stood up to her feet in that dark room. She knows that she has to get back to the party soon. 'Leo must be searching for me' she thought. She searched for the light switch so that she could wash her face and look a bit presentable. She knows that her face must be a mess because of all the crying. She let her fingers feel the wall in search of a switchboard. She found one and turned on the lights. The once-dark room is now bright and she can see that this room is not in use now. The bed, couch, and all the furniture are covered by a white cloth. When Ida was searching for a bathroom, she noticed some pictures on the wall. They are pictures of Walter with a woman and a little girl. Ida noticed that the little girl in the pictures started growing as her eyes trailed down to other pictures in the room. And the other woman beside Walter is not seen either. 'She must be my grandmother ' Ida thought. She gasped when she noticed that the little girl shared s
In Walter's office, after he received the text from an unknown number, he rushed to his office to call that number again and find out if his daughter was alive. But when he dialed that number again, no one answered the call. He tried several times but in vain. 'Why are you not answering my calls? Are you my daughter?' he texted that number out of desperation. He didn't get a reply for a few minutes. After that, his mobile dinged with an incoming text.'No, I am sorry. I am not your daughter. I was trying to bluff for money. I was scared and didn't answer your calls ' that text read. Walter's shoulders sagged with disappointment. He tossed his mobile on the table with bitterness. For a moment he thought he was really lucky to find his daughter and granddaughter at once. But that text proved once again that dead people cannot come back alive. His eyes became misty with sadness. On the other hand, Leo is still searching for Ida. She is nowhere to be found. And he started to get worr
"I didn't do anything. But your ex-boyfriend Kevin did" Selene sneered and adjusted her hair.Richard rushed to his daughter's side and helped her up. "Selene" he snapped at his wife.But Selene ignored him. She is looking at Ida, who looks stunned. Ida gasped with shock. She knows that Kevin is an idiot, but she never thought he could hurt Grace. Whenever he used to speak about Grace, he sounded as if he genuinely liked her."I don't believe you. You treacherous woman, you are lying" Ida said angrily.Selene snorted sarcastically and swiped something at her phone. She opened a video that Kevin sent her a while ago."Here, look for yourself," she said smiling maliciously.Ida watched the video with shock. She saw how Grace was walking down the stairs and suddenly how Kevin appeared out of nowhere and pushed her violently. Grace screamed with fright as she lost her balance and tumbled down the stairs and landed in a heap of her own blood. Now the stairs are drenched in her blood and
Ida is looking longingly at Leo's retreating figure. She couldn't do anything to stop him or stop Selene from whatever she planned. Tears that she held started to trickle down her cheeks as pain sliced through her heart."You could only stand and cry from now on. You will never be able to get close to him again" Clovia said with a sneer.Ida ignored her words. There is no use arguing with insane people like her. "Shut up, Clovia" Richard snapped at his adopted daughter.Selene glared at him, while Clovia made a sour face."What she said is true. I will take everything away from your precious daughter and leave her on the streets to beg" Selene snapped at Richard. Richard wanted to kill Selene. But he cannot."One day, you will pay for this," he said angrily.Selene and Clovia laughed at his threat. "One day? But that day is not today. It's your turn to suffer today" Selene said and snapped her fingers. A passing maid rushed to where she was standing."Where is my father?" she inqui
In Newark, the Giovanni mansion is dead quiet. Walter did not come out of his office after his call from a nobody who texted him as his daughter. Selene and Clovia were very happy about the misery they put Ida through. All the maids were forced to retire for the night and Ida was forced to do all the work alone. Now, at 4 am, Ida is the only one who is awake. Even though she is tired, she is determined to find a phone and tell everything that is happening here with Leo. She searches every room without much use. Most of the rooms here are not used at all. The Giovanni mansion is a huge mansion with more than twenty bedrooms and three floors. There is a recreation room, two living areas, one huge kitchen, and a huge dining area that can host thirty people at once. When Walter was still in business before he lost his wife and daughter, this Giovanni mansion always used to bustle with guests and made men from the mafia world. After Walter lost his wife, he slowed down a little, the hustl
"Sid, Sid, wake up" Leo shook Sid not too gently.Sid is sleeping with his mouth open. He was tired after the party last night, and he was not planning to wake up at 5 Am the next morning. But he was shaken roughly by a familiar voice that he recognized instantly."Black, please, let me sleep for a few more minutes" he mumbled sleepily, his eyes still closed. It's still dark outside and his room is dimly lit by the glow of his bed lamp."Sid, if you want to eat my punch for breakfast, then you can sleep" Leo threatened impatiently. He is determined to take things back into control before Selene and Clovia wake up.Leo's threat worked out efficiently. Immediately Sid sat up and rubbed his eyes."This is not fair, Black. I just slept a few hours ago" he complained but stood up from the bed and made his way inside the bathroom to get dressed and wash up. He has yet to see Leo's face. He assumed it was Black of the voice alone. He didn't take much time in the bathroom though. He is out wi
Leo nodded, considering his next step carefully. "Sid, I think it's Selene who is behind this" Leo decided to share everything with Sid, as he needed his help with what he had in mind.Sid gasped with shock. "What? But she is Mr. Giovanni's daughter. Why would she do anything to hurt her father?" he asked, trying to wrap his head around everything that was happening around him. Selene and Clovia are mean and very greedy. But they both used to behave well and care about Mr. Giovanni. This news is a shock to him. "Yes, she is. And as his illegitimate daughter, all she wanted was his money. She only ever cared about his money. That's why she tried to kill Walter's daughter Sara..." Leo revealed every vile thing Selene did. By the end of everything, he found Sid sitting on the floor and looked shaken."Ms. Sara Giovanni inherited her mother's kindness. But Ms. Selene inherited his vicious nature. I can't believe that she did all this for money. What are we going to do now?" Sid asked.
"Leo, I am fine" Ida complained. But Leo refused to listen to her. He is always insisting on carrying her everywhere these days. She is thirty-seven weeks pregnant now and she gained a lot of weight. All thanks to Leo, Grace, Sara, and Walter. They kept pampering her to the point that Leo refused to walk on her own these days. He insists on carrying her everywhere."Who said you are not? I like carrying both of you in my arms. Why do only you get to carry our daughter? Why can't I carry her?" he asked with a playful wink.Ida groaned and gave up arguing with him. She knows that he will not listen to her, so she lets him do as he pleases."Oh Ida, you woke up? Here, drink this milk. Grace found this recipe somewhere. And it is said to be good for both the mother and the baby" Sara explained while placing a huge glass of milk in front of her.Ida sighed heavily. Her day usually begins like this from the moment she and Leo announce her pregnancy. Sara and Grace dismissed the cook and th
After two months... In one of the private beaches in the Bahamas, Rose is lying on the beach on top of one of the beach chairs with her eyes covered with shades. She is dolled up in a black two-piece bikini. Her sun-kissed tan skin is looking good on her. She gained a few much-needed pounds, which gave her curves that went on for days. She is looking peaceful and content. "Baby doll, here, drink this juice" Leo handed her a glass of cranberry juice, which is tangy, and she happened to crave the tangy taste these days. "Thank you" she replied with a small smile and sipped the cool refreshing drink. She hummed with approval as the taste of the juice made her tastebuds come alive. It's been two months since that fateful day. And two months two weeks from the day she lost her baby. And a year from the time when she first met Leo. At the beginning of the year, she doesn't know that her life is going to change so much. She was still under the wrong belief that she would be marrying Kevi
The next morning, everyone gathered in the graveyard to attend Selene's funeral. Walter was not interested in giving a proper burial to the person whom he treated as a daughter but she almost destroyed his family. He wanted to burn her body in the inferno and get rid of her. But Sara insisted that they needed a proper burial. So hence he arranged this small arrangement. Clovia was brought from the center to attend her mother's last rights. Ida was discharged from the hospital. Leo is standing beside Ida and is looking as interested as Walter.The priest started the procedure. "I request you to speak about the diseased" the priest requested. It is customary to speak well about the dead person. But no one came forward to speak good things about Selene. Because she never did anything good to anyone. "Let's skip the speech and proceed to the last step. Let's drop her coffin into her grave" Walter muttered impatiently. Apart from Sara who seemed a bit sad about Selene's death, no one i
"Sara? Are you alright?" Richard asked with worry.Sara nodded mutely. Her gaze is still fixed on Selene's dead body. She recollected her sweet moments with Selene. Her eyes watered with sadness. There was a time when she used to share everything with Selene. But she failed to recognize how and when Selene started to harbor this much hatred for her. She suppressed her sadness and blinked her eyes to clear her gaze."Call my father. He needs to know this" she muttered before locking herself inside the bathroom to wash away Selene's blood from her body along with her memories.Richard dialed Walter and told them everything that happened in the mansion. "What? I am coming now" Walter promised before disconnecting the call.When Sara stepped out of the bathroom after a long shower and freshly changed into another set of clothes, she saw that her room was spotless again. Someone cleaned everything. Broken vase, droplets of blood, and the dead body. It was as if nothing happened. If her bo
Goosebumps erupted on Sara's skin. Selene looks scary and pure evil when she is laughing like this."You were cherished by Richard and by your father. They were treating me like a princess while I was ignored and my importance in the Giovanni household was minimal. I wanted to ruin you too. I want to take everything you had. So I did. I used Tony and planned that accident to kill you. But somehow, you escaped. After you were out of the picture, I married your dearest Richard and made his life miserable. I raised my daughter like a princess, while you and your daughter were living out there miserably. I lived your life after replacing you in the Giovanni mansion and you were forced to turn into a pauper. You had everything but still living like an orphan. And your daughter? She was kicked and pushed from one orphanage to another. But I found out that your daughter is alive. So I tried to kill her. But she escaped. No, Leo Hamilton saved her every time. The same man whom my daughter is
'Sara, I will kill you today ' Selene thought venemously.In her room, Sara couldn't fall asleep after her talk with Richard. There was a time when she was too young she used to feel that marrying him would be enough for her in this life. But now, so many years have passed and she is not the same. She still likes him, but she doesn't know if she wants to marry him or not. Ida no longer needs them to take care of her. She is blessed with Leo now. After struggling for so long, all she wants in this life is peace. 'I don't even remember most of what happened in these two decades. I was in a coma after giving birth to Ida. It was Nancy who took care of me like a mother. I can never repay her kindness. She is the person who saved my life. I will talk to Dad and ask him to give some properties to Nancy so that at least she can live in peace during her old age ' she thought.Sara is standing near the window, facing away from her room entrance. She was standing there from the moment Richard
"It was not what it looked like" he muttered.Sara could sense bitterness and resentment in his tone. She understood that his relationship with Selene was not good."I know Selene might not have been a good wife. But what about Clovia? What do you think she would do if you married me leaving her mother? How are you planning to explain it to her?" she inquired.Richard looked at Sara. "I have only one daughter, and that is our daughter Ida. Clovia is not my daughter. I never shared a room with Selene after I married her. She became pregnant before marriage. So I was blackmailed into marrying her so that she can give a decent father to Clovia" he explained.Sara is stunned. "I..." she is at a loss for words.He understood her dilemma. "Sara, please, think about what I suggested. Don't you think we both deserve our happily ever after? Do you think that it's fair for us to end up alone in our old age? Don't you think we need someone when we get old and our daughter becomes busy with he
In the rehabilitation center where Clovia was admitted, the doctors are giving her electric treatment often to help her recover. The frequency of the electric shocks to Clovia made her head feel hazy and heavy. She is taking a little longer to identify the objects she is looking at, and she even forgets about why she got there. It took her a good five minutes to remember everything. Leo, his marriage to Ida everything Clovia did to Ida, and how she was stuck in this torture chamber."No, I have to get away from here as soon as possible. If they keep giving me electric treatments like this, I might completely lose my mind. If that happened, then I would lose my Leo forever. I have to escape" she decided to herself.So this time, even though she was awake, she didn't make any noise to alert the nurse or the doctor. Her ears perked up and she strained to hear for any movement outside her room door. When she heard nothing, she slowly sat up from the bed. She made her way towards the door
In the rehabilitation center, when Clovia gained her conscience, she found herself gagged and bound to a stretcher. White hospital walls and beeping machines greeted her in the otherwise quiet room. Slowly when she remembered what happened to her a few hours ago, she started to panic. She frantically started tugging at her binds and screamed behind her gag. She planned to kill Ida and even hospitalized her. But she never expected to find herself in a place like this. "Ahhh...lt m g..." she said something, but her words came incoherent and muffled. She looked angry and would have killed the doctor and the nurse who gave her the electric treatment, but she was tied down to a stretcher and she couldn't move.As her anger started building, her heart rate and blood pressure began to rise as well. This made the machines start beeping loudly, alerting the nurse station outside. Immediately a couple of nurses rushed inside and looked at how Clovia was tugging at her binds almost with too mu