"Boss," Balthazar said as he answered the call.
"Have you already given the phone to Celestine?" Vincent asked as he was shaving. His phone is on a loudspeaker, resting on the side of the sink.
"Yes, Boss," he immediately answered.
"How come she's not answering my calls? Didn't I tell you to accompany her to the mall to go shopping this morning?"
"She doesn't feel good, Boss. So she choose to just rest inside of her room," he reasoned.
After shaving, Vincent wiped his chin using a clean towel then he picks his phone from the sink.
"Why, what happened?" Vincent asked as he walk out of the bathroom.
"She didn't explain what she really feel, Boss. All I know is she's not feeling good."
"Alright. Just let her rest and if she needs anything, give or do it immediately."
"Copy that, Boss," Balthazar said.
Vincent ended the call and throw his phone on the bed. He's
"Sir, smoked salmon, turkey sausages, and avocado toast for your breakfast this morning," the maid said as both of her hands are behind her and keeping a distance away from Vincent's opened office door. It is one of the rules that Vincent made for the maids to follow. They should not dare to step inside his office unless he allowed them to do so. "Have them prepared for me downstairs. I'll go down in a minute," he said as he was checking something on his laptop. He didn't have work however, he still needs to check on the products that go in and out, same with the customer's reviews in every purchase so he can work on the customer's concerns and so he can improve their company products. "Okay, Sir," the maid said before leaving his office. He stretched his arms and leaned on the backrest of his office chair. He was planning to go straight to the resthouse a while ago but then, he remembered about checking some stuff on t
"Oh, shoot," the young boy said as his ball dropped to the sea. From where Celestine is standing, she could somehow know the age of the boy and she thinks that he must be above five years old. Her lips formed a smile as she saw the frown on the boy's face. She run towards the sea and went down on it to reach the ball that has been weightless when it touches the sea; letting the breeze and the water take him wherever it wants to. She swims as the ball starts to go further and further until her feet wasn't touching the sea bed anymore. She looked back at the boy that was now no longer on the seashore. She was torn between going after the ball or going back to the seashore but before she could even think of a decision, her legs becomes numb because of the cold temperature of the water. "No, no, no, not now," she said to herself as she try to swim back to the seashore however, she can't feel her legs. Celestine started to panic. No
"I am not allowed to enter the resthouse or even get near that place. They have my face in a wanted poster everywhere," Kingston's answers his cousin before he sucks smoke from his cigarette. It's been a couple of days yet he still hasn't made any move. His days are spent just inside of his old apartment that he's renting for a cheaper price now because the apartment's owner died and his daughter and son just went after his money and abandoned some of their father's business the whole apartment becomes a dumpsite and looks an abandoned place now. The dust, cobwebs, and graffitis on the walls are the things that welcomed him when he stepped again into the apartment. At first, he thought that he entered the wrong place for the whole apartment to change completely. Dust-free hallways and well-sanitized rooms are now replaced by rats, spiders, and their cobwebs, dirt, dust, fleece, and trash because the maids and the apartment keeper were no lon
"Are you relative of the patient?" Dr. Suarez asked when he get out of the emergency room and found Sophia in the waiting area. She hastily left her seat and approached the doctor. "I am uh, h-her friend," she answered the doctor. Dr. Suarez nodded his head. "Okay. It was nice seeing you again after so long, Miss Sophia." She creased her forehead, shocked and a bit confused about how and why the doctor knows about her. "H-How did you know me?" she asked. The doctor put his hand inside his pocket and speak. "She's fine now. However, we still need to monitor her condition and she needs to undergo some tests to see if any complications occur because of what happened." Instead of answering her, the doctor explained Celestine's condition, obviously trying to avoid answering her question. "How long will it take for her to recover?" Sophia asked as she was trying to act like she didn't
"Celestine Oakmont's room please." "Are you a relative of the patient, Sir?" the nurse asked at the front desk. "No, but I am her friend so may I know her room?" Lander asked as he was unconsciously tapping his fingers on the desk. "Please wait a minute, Sir," the nurse said as she was searching for something on the monitor. Lander heard the news from some of the maids and as soon as he heard it, he went straight to the hospital. He had lost a friend from drowning and so he was afraid of the possible things that Celestine might face even after she survived. "She's in the emergency room, Sir." "Thank you very much," he said before he hurriedly walk towards the emergency room. His hands are sweaty and he's sweating bullets. He keeps on praying to his mind silently to keep Celestine safe. When the elevator door opened, the first person he saw was Balthazar. "How's Celestine?" he
"Boss," Sebastian greeted as he entered the room. He carefully put the tray on the bedside table and he stand near it as he look at Vincent that was still intently looking at Celestine. The nurses moved Celestine to another room since she is now in stable condition. Vincent never leaves her side the whole time; before the nurses move her to another room and even after they successfully put her in the hospital bed. "Boss, this is your lunch—" "I'm not hungry. I told Balthazar that I don't want anyone entering this room," Vincent gruffly said while still looking at Celestine as he squeeze her hand from time to time. Sebastian lowered his gaze. "My apologies, boss. But you need to eat. Your health is also part of our concern—" "Leave," Vincent empathically said. "Boss—" "I said leave. I didn't tell anyone to give me food nor did I tell them to let anyone enter this room without my permission." Vincent raise
"Mr. Mogilevich," Vincent's men greeted in a chorus before bowing their heads as they saw him coming their way after stepping inside of the headquarters. His presence was enough for Vincent's men to sweat. Every step that he takes is making a distinct sound that was the only thing that can be heard throughout the headquarters. Vincent's men stand on either side of the hallway to make a way for Victor. He was walking, head straight, without looking at anyone in particular. He abruptly stopped walking when he reached the room where his brother was resting. He did not say anything but one of his men opened the door as if it was a job he regularly does. Victor put his sunglasses down then he stepped inside the room. "Close the door and wait for me outside," Victor said to his men before he walk towards Venedict's bed. As soon as the door shut closed, Victor sat on the chair next to his brother's bed and crossed his le
Vincent closed his eyes and the next thing he knew was the night sky behind Celestine's hospital room curtain. He put both of his hands on either side of his pocket and close the curtains once again. He just woke up from a deep slumber and the first thing he do was to look at Celestine and call her doctor to know if there is an improvement in her condition but like what the doctor said earlier, all they are hoping for is for Celestine to wake up and from there they will figure out everything else. Vincent hasn't eaten anything yet and it's already night when his stomach made a gurgling sound, he's not surprised anymore. He walked towards Celestine's bed and pick his phone on her bed. He opened it and dialed Nicholas' number. "Boss," Nicholas greeted as he answered the call. "Order a meal for me and all of you," Vincent said as he was glancing at Celestine. "Copy that, Boss." He ended the call and put his phone back on top of Celestine's bed before he sat again on the chair. It
"V-Vincent..." All she remembered was throwing the gun somewhere and she ran towards Vincent. His eyes are wide open as well as his mouth. He's not moving. She tried to wake him by touching his chest yet after minutes of sobbing and trying to save him, nothing happened. His chest is not moving, it was as if he is asleep but his eyes is open. He's not breathing anymore. "N-No, Vincent. Wake up, c-cmon... Wake up p-please," she whispered to his ear even though she knew to herself that no matter what she do, it's already too late. She hugged his body and she sobbed in his chest, hoping that it was just a bad dream even though she still can feel the intensityof the gun when she fired it. "Celestine, let's go. C'mon, you need to leave now. Any minute from now Vincent's men will come to check on what was happening here. We need to go now." Celestine looked at the woman who suddenly speak. It was Sophia. "S-Sophia..." Sophia's eyes is roaming around the mansion checking if Vincent
"Clean the cell, leave no trace of his blood there, burn the gun, his clothes, and his apartment," Vincent authoritively said as he was washing his hands on the sink. His men immediately nodded his head after hearing what his boss had said. They were having a good time talking while eating until they heard a gunshot coming inside of the cell. Everything happened so fast that the the only thing they know was thinking that their boss had planted a bullet in Kingston's head but it wasn't what they are expecting because when they go to see the cell, it was Kingston who is holding their boss' gun. "What the fuck are you still doing here? Didn't you hear what I asked you to do?!" Vincent shouted when he noticed that the associate is still standing next to him like an idiot. Vincent's shout was enough for the associate to get back to his senses and get out of the bathroom and do what his boss asked him to do. Vincent closed his eyes firmly and threw his head back while he is clenching
"Let me go!" She had been screaming yet no one seem to hear her, they are ignoring her. She is inside of a van with five men inside, all of them are wearing masks and they are all silent. There is nothing that could be hear inside except for her screams that don't seem to bother the five men. She closed her eyes firmly and stopped trying to untie her wrists on her back for a moment. She has to remind herself that she had been in this position before, her getting kidnapped by the enemies is something that is not new for her and instead of feeling scared she should think of a way to escape from them, though it might be impossible to do that because what is the strength of a woman compared to five strong men surrounded her. "Good thing you finally get tired of screaming," the man driving the car said while he is chewing a gum. She opened her eyes. "If you think that Vincent will come to save me, you better think again. You got the wrong person. I am not Sophia, you should've taken h
"Fuck," Kingston murmured when he tried to make a movement. His body is sore from all the punches that he had received. He doesn't know how long Vincent had been keeping him inside of the cell because he couldn't see any light from the outside. All he wanted was Vincent's men discovered a new hobby and it is to beat him up every fucking minute. He spit blood on the cold tile floor then he tried his best to move his body for him to comfortably lie on the floor. As he was trying his best to move, he is holding his breath firmly. He can endure the pain but his body needs a rest. He never felt so restless his entire life until Vincent kept him inside of the cell that makes him feel like he is visually impaired. "Fuck this," he continued cursing as he was trying his best to quicken his movement so the pain he might going to feel will be all at once yet his body is not cooperating. He can feel the tiredness of his body. Every inch of his being wants to rest yet in his mind, he keep tel
Celestine stopped walking as soon as she figured out that Saoirse is no longer following her. She turned around to see what her manager was doing and she found her a bit far from where she is with a devilish smile. At first, she is hesitant to call her attention but then she remembered why somehow she wanted to have this conversation with her manager. "Hey! Everything's fine?" she asked loudly, making sure that despite the distance between them she will still be able to hear her. Saoirse who was startled by her voice immediately composed herself, remove the devilish smile on her face, and act as if she had done nothing wrong then she jogged towards Celestine's direction. "Sorry, I just had to reply to that important text message," she explained as soon as she reached Celestine's side. "Anyways, I know a place here where we can talk privately." What Saoirse just said made Celestine's eyebrow raise. She's not in her manager's side for months now unlike before that they are usually t
"Good morning, Miss," the maid greeted as soon as she opened her eyes. Last night, she wasn't able to sleep. She doesn't know if it is about the temperature or is it about the idea that Vincent and her isn't fine. But between the two, she choose to believe that it is because of the room temperature. "W-What time is it already?" she asked as she was helping herself to sit on the bed. The windows in her room is open yet the sunlight is not hurting her skin, giving her an idea that she woke up early today. She looked at the maid confusedly. Maids are not allowed to enter the room, not just her room but in any room without asking for permission that she is confused for why the maid is inside of her room the moment she open her eyes. Even though she wants to point out about the maid tresspassing inside of her room she just decided to shrug the idea off. She wanted to start her morning in a good mood since she slept with a heavy heart last night so instead of scolding the maid she just p
"H-Here's your coffee." She slightly tilted the tray that she was holding. Vincent lick his lower lip and run his fingertips to his scalp. He doesn't have an idea of how he supposed to deal with her after knowing almost everything that she had done. He couldn't believe everything that is on the papers. He couldn't believe everything that Kingston said. Everything is an act of betrayal. Everything isn't true. Celestine planned it, she tried to be in control of his life and he never did question her, it also somehow his fault yet it wouldn't justify the fact that she is the mastermind. She did what she did and he wouldn't let her fall for her stupid game anymore. She might had already plan how everything is going to end for him but he will change it. He will change the ending and it is him who will have the loudest laugh in the finish line that she had prepared for him. "I didn't ask you to bring that to me." He turned his back on her then he pulled his sleeves up. She, on the othe
Celestine hit her shoulder when she felt a mosquito pinching bite. Its blood was on her palm. It's dead. She grimaced, disgusted by the blood that is on her palm. She looked away from her it and wipe it on the hem of her t-shirt. The blood in her palm is something that doesn't freak her out anymore like she used to. Seeing blood anywhere becomes a normal scenario for her ever since she met Vincent. She glance in her palm and even though the blood wasn't there anymore, she can still see it; her hands that is covered by blood. She closed her eyes firmly to keep herself calm but instead of avoiding the idea that her mind had made up for her, she smell the blood. She can smell it. Blood that almost smells like hers, the scent that she's been trying to get out of her system. That smell, it was so familiar. A shovel suddenly entered her mind. The dried red stain in the shovel is what brings her back to the past that she's been trying to get off of her mind but couldn't. "Miss, are
"Did you already sent the letter?" The man slightly nodded his head. "Yes, Sir." "Are you sure that she will receive the letter?" "Certainly, Sir," he answered with great confidence. "Good. Go back to your work now." He rest his back on the backrest of his couch. The letter successfully sent to Celestine, he just hope that the letter reach her before Vincent get to read them. Just when he thought he can finally have his fifteen minutes break, his phone suddenly rang. He pushed himself to reach for the phone on the other side of his table. He picked it up and put the phone against his ear. "Who is this?" he asked. "How are you, Bonifacio?" said the man on the other line with a devilish smirk lingered on his lips. That voice, he knows that voice very well, he know it so well that he immediately recognized the person calling. "Venedict," he said. Venedict chuckled. "Guess you still remember me." He clenched his jaw tightly. They haven't heard anything from Venedict sinc