NATASHA The next day. My babies got enrolled into another school. All fees were paid and their dad insisted they resumed the next day. He wanted them to spend their day with him at the office. I too decided to go out and catch my breath. “ Keep your phone on you at all times. Don't go anywhere without the guards. If you feel someone is watching you or following you, I want you to come straight to the company. Clear?” “ Yes.” I didn't tell him I was going to visit mom's grave, I'll let him find that out himself. He could track me down with my phone. I haven't seen her since the shooting incident with Hattie that almost claimed my life. “ Can't you wait at the car? I'm only going to talk to mom, then we head straight back home.” “ I'm sorry ma'am, but we can't risk that. We all know what happened the last time you were here.” Yeah right. But it wasn't my fault that happened anyway, plus I had no idea Nicholas would be paying Hattie a visit.
MADELYN Later that day.The sun had already turned it's back to earth when Jason and the kids came back. I left the graveyard by 3pm and went straight home. With the maids help, I cooked for the kids and Jason. Lately, I have been enjoying cooking for him. Fortunately for me, he never complains about me doing the chores or cooking. As long as it's what I want. “ You went to mom's grave? Tracked you down..” we were ready to sleep, and he had his hands wrapped around me. We had been talking about the kids, his day at work and literally every other thing. “ Yes. Since the last time, I haven't been to see her. Just needed to check on her and Hattie. By the way, Hattie says thank you. She knows about the men you hired.” His hand crept down my arms to my stomach, massaging every spot he touched. “ She's smart to figure that out. I made sure the men stayed as far as they could.” “ Mmh, she's a smart one. If I had been absent that day, I'm certain it would
CARA Isn't it weird that you have to plan your sister's abduction with a maniac who can't seem to leave her alone? Madelyn and mother were the good ones and they were more closer. They thought I and Craig were just a younger version of our father. They thought wrong. I can't say for Craig, but I do know I'm not as evil as people paint me to be. I never really gave Madelyn or my mother to see the little bright light in me. Of course, that light dimmed each passing day as our father led us down the path of evil. I wasn't born heartless. Ironic! Haha, I'm just as good and pure-hearted as the late Evelyn Adrian. I'm half as good as Madelyn Black. I know I am. Deep within me, I know I didn't choose this course, my dad forced me down it. He ignited our fury by pointing out how malevolent our mother and sister thought us to be. “ See? They're scared of you and Craig, Cara. Why do you think they keep their distance? Why do you think they look at you with eyes
MADELYN Family. That was the one word that could either break you or make you. I lost my family about eight years ago. Evelyn Adrian, was the only family I had. The one true person I could refer to as family. I had her blood running through my veins. I talk like her, act like her and think like her. She was family. The remaining members of the supposed family’I have are only related to me by name. The name Adrian is the only thing keeping me bond to them. I was nothing like them. “ You look really happy, Madelyn. I'm so glad that Jason is treating you well.” Grandma and I were spending the afternoon together. She suggested I keep her company while she did tended to her garden. I could not turn down the offer. I loved her company. “ I'm grateful to you, grandma. You raised a gentleman. I have you to thank for that.” “ You know his dad was the complete..”My phone's vibration cut through our conversation and I smiled apologetically, “ I'm sorry, I have to
MADELYN “Coffee or tea?” I stiffened. I know why she brought me back here. “ Why did you pick this cafe, when there are hundreds of others?” She smiled lightly, her hand rubbing the back of her neck. I noticed how she winced, but I couldn't tell if she was hurt physically, or otherwise. Cara beckoned on a waitress nearby. “ Two cups of grande Mocha please.”I watched quietly. Observing the environs for any signs of danger. So far, it was just I and Cara. Nicholas or Natasha were no where in sight. I heaved a sigh of relief when my eyes met that of Oliver's, one of my guards. If anything should go wrong, he would get to me before a hair on my head is harmed. This sucks! I couldn't even have coffee with my sister without being at alert. In my purse laid a small knife. What is family without trust? “ You should stop acting weird and tensed. Loosen up. Glance around all you want,” her eyes travelled around, and I did same. “ There's no one here, but us. I hav
NICHOLAS. Fear. The one feeling that's present in every human. Even in a monster. It was present in my dad shortly before he died, I saw it in mom's eyes when she got admitted into a mental home. It was the same feeling present that now engulfed my little Ms. Sunshine, Madelyn. After today's meeting, I suspected there was something going on with Cara. For once, I read a person wrongly. I initially thought she was backing out, or perhaps she had gotten tired of her father and I, but, it was something else. Turned out Cara wanted revenge on her sister more than I wanted revenge on her family. Her eyes shone with hate when she told me how much she wanted Madelyn dead. Dead? If I had been the same old person who thought taking revenge revolves around killing a person, I'd have gladly indulged her. But no, I want Madelyn Black to pay twice. She can't do that when she's dead. “ What do you want, Xavier? Or should I say, CEO Nicholas Brightman..” Natasha s
MADELYN As I walked out, Cara and I exchanged glances. Natasha was oblivious of what went on right in her presence. My guards were already outside waiting for me. My car was parked just besides the textile store. They had come in it, while I came in a taxi. “ Let's go.” James held out the door and I climbed in. Once in the safety of my car, I felt relieved. If it had not been in a cafe, Nicholas would have tried to hurt me or take me along with him. 6:50pm. Jason would be searching for me. Speak of the devil, his call came in. “ Where are you, wife?” Where am I? That means he didn't check the tracker. I couldn't possibly tell him that I decided to meet with Cara, neither could I afford to mention that Nicholas came to visit. “ Oh, I just stopped by the park. I needed fresh air and that was the only place I could think of.” No one spoke on the other end. Did he believe that ? Perhaps, he's trying to check the tracker. “ Nichol.. Sorry
JASON Unsettled, I paced around the waiting room just of outside Madelyn's ward. There was this guilt that filled me. Perhaps it was her fear for me at that moment that brought about this. I thought of many ways where I could have been the cause of her misfortune. At the end, none of them seemed logical, but I was still going to take the blame anyway. This happened because of me. “ Calm down, Jason. The doctor will be out in no time and then we can find out what's wrong with her.” Grandma held my hand and drew me in for a hug. I was scared. Terrified. What if something bad happens? I would livd with the guilt of it till the end of the world. “ Grandma, I.. I hurt her. If I had waited till tomorrow before we talked about her meeting with Nicholas, she would still be very much okay...” The doors flew open with a strong gust of air, and our attention went to the male doctor. It was a critical condition, and I had no choice but to let a male examine her. Madelyn was