*Present*“They must’ve found us!” Hastings exclaims. “How? You just said it’s a safe place?“I don’t know!” Lincoln yells. “They’ll kill us. Let’s just kill the kid and-”“ARE YOU INSANE?” Hastings screams. “She’s our only bet! If we take her, we can negotiate with them and leave this place alive!”As soon as he says that, several of Damien’s guards barge out of the elevator. Without any word, Hastings enters the room and grabs Jo before escaping through the fire escape. Lincoln runs off to hide.Downstairs, Nathan, Halsey, Damien and Daniel, are scavenging the floors. Hastings’ guards are being captured by their men, leaving their way clear. “Jo!” Halsey cries. “Jo, where are you?” “Jo?” Nathan shouts. The rooms are empty and they start to ascend the stairs. Daniel breaks off from the group, heading east to find Jo. In the chaos, no one notices him leaving.Halsey is beside herself with fear. Nathan keeps a firm grip on her while Damien instructs his men to spread out. “We’ll loo
Lincoln was being carried away by Damien’s men. He’s completely catatonic, his mind in severe shock. They took him to the psychiatric hospital where the doctors checked up on him. For many days, they’ve tried to figure out what’s wrong with him but to no avail.His encephalitis has reached the advanced stage in a short period of time. The doctors have no hope now.“He’s in a sort of a self-induced coma,” the psychiatrist tells Halsey one day. “He can’t comprehend anything. His eyes are open but his mind is shut. It’s as if he had a severe shock which he couldn’t overcome.”“Can he stand trial?” Halsey asks. “There must be something you can do to make him sane again. We can’t just let him off the hook like this!”“We’re trying but in a way, his punishment is this,” the doctor concludes. “He won’t be able to stand trial but he’ll not recover from this.”Halsey glances inside the ward where Lincoln had been kept. He’s staring at the wall, unmoving for hours. His once luscious hair has fa
*Eight months later in New York*Halsey is crying hard while Nathan looks guilty while Jo is quiet. “How could you do this to me?” Halsey wails. “This…this is…this is such a betrayal!”“Hales, I didn’t mean it!” Nathan exclaims. “It was an accident!”“Dad, this really isn’t right,” Jo adds, shaking her head. “I’m disappointed in you! How could you do this to mom?”Nathan gapes at his daughter. “It was an accident!” He claims. “I swear it was! I didn’t do it on purpose, babe! I-I was seduced!”“SEDUCED?” Halsey shouts at him. “SEDUCED?”She’s now angry and she throws a pillow at him. “SEDUCED? HERE I AM CARRYING A LITTER AND YOU…YOU…”Stopping in between her tirade, she takes several deep breaths. Nathan is ashamed and sad by what he did.“YOU…YOU ATE THE LAST PIECE OF CHOCOLATE?” Halsey shrieks and throws another pillow at him. “YOU KNOW I NEED CHOCOLATES IN THIS STATE!”Nathan is truly ashamed but the chocolate was too delicious to ignore. He thought no one would find out but Jo cau
“Halsey! Table 21 is still waiting for the coffee!” “Y-Yes!” A bespectacled girl squeaks from behind a counter. She hurriedly fixes her glasses and rushes over to the coffee machine. Putting the steamy cups of coffee on a tray, she heads for the table. “Here are your coffees, sir and madam,” Halsey says with a small smile. “We’ve been waiting for over an hour!” The man exclaims. “Why were you late? This is just bad service!” Halsey gulps nervously. The man is quite intimidating and she’s too scared of him at the moment. He looks as if he is going to hit her. “T-The cafe is packed today, sir,” she says. “I am sorry-” “The coffee is too cold!” the woman with him complains. “Cold?” Halsey asks blankly. I just poured it though, she adds in her thoughts. “Get her another cup!” The man yells at her. Halsey jumps in shock but nods. She picks up the coffee cups and goes back to make a fresh cup of coffee. It seems as if the whole town of Bayers’ Coast is there. The cafe was completely
Halsey’s heart stops beating for a moment as Nathan kisses her full on the lips. Her eyes widen in shock but her body cannot react. He presses his lips against hers and his strong musky scent is drowning out all her thoughts. Nathan is surprised by the girl’s reaction or lack of one. Her lips feel soft, making him deepen the kiss. She slightly puckers when his tongue brushes against her lower lip and Nathan can feel her tremble. He slightly opens his eyes to study the girl he’s kissing. Her bright chocolate eyes are covered by a pair of thick rimmed glasses. She has a sweet vanilla scent and her lips taste like honey. Her heart shaped face is terrified and she’s scared stiff. “You sick son of a b*tch!” Lydia’s screams break their kiss. Both of them are a little breathless. Halsey lowers her head, unsure of how to react to what happened while Lydia is furious at Nathan. “You dumped me for this…THIS?” She yells and points at the plain jane. Halsey feels even more embarrassed. “I…I…”
“Hales, you look terrible!” Charlotte comments at the breakfast table. “Are you alright?” “I’m fine, Charlotte,” Halsey lies through her teeth. She could not sleep all night because of her kiss with Nathan. Halsey was torn whether to tell them of it or not but after seeing how Lincoln almost had a fight with Nathan, she decided that it was best to keep it a secret. But she cannot forget the incident. Halsey feels ashamed of herself for not being able to stand up against Nathan. Her hands tremble whenever she thinks of him and her heart is beating too fast. She lowers her head, hiding her face behind the curtain of long hair as she eats her cereal. “Lincoln, did you say anything to upset her?” Charlotte asks her son. “What? No! She’s just too flustered by her burnt hand!” He exclaims. Charlotte sighs and sips on her coffee. Even though she is 40 years old, she looks a lot younger than her age. She shares similar features as her son with strawberry blonde hair and a charming persona
The door to Nelson’s room is slammed open for the second time that day. Nelson sighs and looks up to find Nathan standing there, glaring at him. “Why the hell would you do that?” He demands. “Take Lincoln into our team? He’s no good!” “Have you seen him play?” Nelson asks, going back to the documents he was studying. “Coz I have and he’s a damn good player.” “basketball is a serious game, Coach!” Nathan exclaims. “He has no practice in playing with a high school team-” “He plays great underground and I’m sure he’ll be equally good in my team,” Nelson says curtly. “If you have a problem then it ain’t my problem.” Nelson’s tone is authoritative and final. There will be no more arguments on this and Nathan is furious. He storms off towards the boy’s locker where the other players are changing into their clothes. Lincoln is there as well, already changed into his basketball jersey. The Coach also assigned him a number: 10. Nathan storms into the locker room and charges right at Linc
Halsey is completely stunned and scared. Her hands are shaking at the sight of him. Memories from last night and that morning are swirling in front of her eyes, making her very nervous. Nathan approaches the deck and stops right in front of her. Halsey feels like a tiny mouse in front of a giant as he looks down at her.“Your friend joined the team today,” he states. “Did you know?”Halsey fervently nods her head. Her heart is beating too fast and for a wild moment, she’s afraid that he’ll kiss her again. What if he does?“Tell him to quit,” Nathan orders. Halsey slightly looks up, surprised by his demand.“Tell him to quit the team and I’ll tell my friends to lay off you,” he offers. “Lydia’s the one who wrecked your locker, right? I’ll tell her to stop if you tell your friend to quit the team.”“No.”Nathan blinks in surprise. Even Halsey is shocked by her own audacity but she couldn’t stop herself from saying it out loud.“What did you say?” He whispers in a dangerous tone.“I-I wo
*Eight months later in New York*Halsey is crying hard while Nathan looks guilty while Jo is quiet. “How could you do this to me?” Halsey wails. “This…this is…this is such a betrayal!”“Hales, I didn’t mean it!” Nathan exclaims. “It was an accident!”“Dad, this really isn’t right,” Jo adds, shaking her head. “I’m disappointed in you! How could you do this to mom?”Nathan gapes at his daughter. “It was an accident!” He claims. “I swear it was! I didn’t do it on purpose, babe! I-I was seduced!”“SEDUCED?” Halsey shouts at him. “SEDUCED?”She’s now angry and she throws a pillow at him. “SEDUCED? HERE I AM CARRYING A LITTER AND YOU…YOU…”Stopping in between her tirade, she takes several deep breaths. Nathan is ashamed and sad by what he did.“YOU…YOU ATE THE LAST PIECE OF CHOCOLATE?” Halsey shrieks and throws another pillow at him. “YOU KNOW I NEED CHOCOLATES IN THIS STATE!”Nathan is truly ashamed but the chocolate was too delicious to ignore. He thought no one would find out but Jo cau
Lincoln was being carried away by Damien’s men. He’s completely catatonic, his mind in severe shock. They took him to the psychiatric hospital where the doctors checked up on him. For many days, they’ve tried to figure out what’s wrong with him but to no avail.His encephalitis has reached the advanced stage in a short period of time. The doctors have no hope now.“He’s in a sort of a self-induced coma,” the psychiatrist tells Halsey one day. “He can’t comprehend anything. His eyes are open but his mind is shut. It’s as if he had a severe shock which he couldn’t overcome.”“Can he stand trial?” Halsey asks. “There must be something you can do to make him sane again. We can’t just let him off the hook like this!”“We’re trying but in a way, his punishment is this,” the doctor concludes. “He won’t be able to stand trial but he’ll not recover from this.”Halsey glances inside the ward where Lincoln had been kept. He’s staring at the wall, unmoving for hours. His once luscious hair has fa
*Present*“They must’ve found us!” Hastings exclaims. “How? You just said it’s a safe place?“I don’t know!” Lincoln yells. “They’ll kill us. Let’s just kill the kid and-”“ARE YOU INSANE?” Hastings screams. “She’s our only bet! If we take her, we can negotiate with them and leave this place alive!”As soon as he says that, several of Damien’s guards barge out of the elevator. Without any word, Hastings enters the room and grabs Jo before escaping through the fire escape. Lincoln runs off to hide.Downstairs, Nathan, Halsey, Damien and Daniel, are scavenging the floors. Hastings’ guards are being captured by their men, leaving their way clear. “Jo!” Halsey cries. “Jo, where are you?” “Jo?” Nathan shouts. The rooms are empty and they start to ascend the stairs. Daniel breaks off from the group, heading east to find Jo. In the chaos, no one notices him leaving.Halsey is beside herself with fear. Nathan keeps a firm grip on her while Damien instructs his men to spread out. “We’ll loo
Jo is glaring at Lincoln. She’s not crying nor looking scared but rather apprehensive of the man. The guards who were supposed to watch over her that day, had knocked out Jason and kidnapped her while she was on the way to school. They lied to Nathan that she was safe so that he wouldn’t come after them.Now, hours later, she’s tied up in an empty building. They’re on the fifth floor where Lincoln and Hastings are hiding. Lincoln is glaring at the little girl and he wants to push her off the window but she’s his only leverage to get Halsey.“In a few hours, your mother will come to me and we’ll leave this place,” he grins. “And you’ll be dead.”He steps forward, a manic glee in his eyes. “Once Halsey is here, I’ll kill you and take her with me.”“My dad will beat you!” Jo sneers. “Remember what he did to the other guy when he kidnapped me? I’m not scared of you!”WHACK!Lincoln slaps the insolent child. Jo feels immense pain on her cheek and even though her eyes are stinging with tear
Halsey is feeling a little squirmish. Things have been hectic for the past few days and it has taken a toll on her health. Just that morning, she threw up everything she ate. Nathan was alarmed by her condition and insisted that she went to the hospital for a checkup. He’s sitting with her, holding her palm. They’re outside the doctor’s office. Halsey was asked to undergo some tests and now, the doctor is reading the results.“Nate, I’m fine,” she assures him. “There’s nothing to worry about. Go to work.”“No, I won’t stop worrying until I see the reports!” Nathan insists. “I want to stay here.”Halsey smiles and shakes her head. He’s so persistent in every little thing related to her health. Nathan can’t help it. He lost her once and he can’t lose her again. The moment she started to show signs of being ill, he was overcome with paranoia. He’s thinking about the worst case scenarios and his heart is filled with fear. “Is Jo at school?” Halsey asks.“The guard texted me that she’s s
Over the next few days, Daniel is kept under close observation. Hastings and Lincoln are still missing, something which is looming over everyone’s heads. Nathan is trying to find them but to no avail. He and Halsey are trying to maintain normalcy at home so that Jo doesn’t suspect anything.One night, Nathan arrives home late to find Halsey is still awake. She’s curled up on the couch, reading. When she hears the door open, she looks up and smiles.“Any luck finding them?” she asks when he plops on the seat next to her. “None,” Nathan admits. “I can’t find them. It’s like they’ve vanished.”Halsey is now troubled. Where could they be? Nathan puts his arm around her shoulder. “We’ll find them,” he assures her. “They can’t hide for long.”“I hope so,” she murmurs and hugs him.Meanwhile, miles away from Bayers’ Coast, Lincoln is feeling frustrated. He’s angry and annoyed at being locked up in the house all day. Hastings told him that they’ll be implementing their plan soon but he’s lo
CRASH!The vase breaks into thousands of tiny pieces. Standing above the broken ceramic is Lincoln, with wild red eyes. He’s in a murderous rage and he breaks everything in his vicinity. Hastings is on a couch, bored of the man-child’s drama but Lincoln is on a warpath.“I’LL KILL THEM ALL!” Lincoln shouts. “THEY’VE BETRAYED ME-”“You were stupid enough to trust a stranger,” Hastings yawns. “You should’ve come to me instead. Just like your dad did. Your stupidity cost us the hospital. If you had your shares, we’d have been unbeatable today.”Lincoln shoots him a glare but Hastings doesn’t care. They’re at Lincoln’s farmhouse, a property he had purchased a few months back in secret. Lincoln can’t fathom his loss. Jamie and Damien double crossed him but he’s more shocked by Salvez.“My father is a fool! He only wants his business to be safe but I don’t care about all that!” Lincoln yells. “I just want Halsey!”“And I want revenge against Nathan Michell,” Hastings says. “The best way to
Daniel and Lincoln stand up, shocked. They gape at Nathan who’s grinning. “What’s the meaning of this?” Daniel snarls at Salvez. “Why are you withdrawing your support? And isn’t he the head of the Michell family? He’s your enemy!”“My father is merely supporting me,” Damien calmly says. Daniel rounds on him.“Did you forget that I saved you all those years ago? I gave you a new heart!”“By killing the woman I love,” Damien quietly says. This makes Daniel even more furious. Lincoln is glaring at Jamie but she’s smug. Nathan takes charge.“Fifty five percent of the shares have been transferred to me,” he tells his father. “You’re not the chairperson of this hospital anymore. I am. It’s over for you, dad.”Daniel glares at Nathan while Lincoln is silent. He’s too shocked, too numb to say anything. Once again, he has lost. This can’t be happening, he tells himself. It’s all a bad dream!But it’s not. It’s real and it’s happening. Nathan has taken over the hospital and effectively, Linco
Nathan is sitting on the couch, thinking hard. It’s past three o’clock in the morning and he’s not sleepy. On the contrary, he’s feeling agitated about what’s going to happen in a few hours. Even if everything seems to go according to his plan, he’s still nervous. What if something goes wrong? Even one misstep can ruin years of hard work.Halsey stirs in her sleep and rolls over to the side to hug Nathan only to find the spot to be empty. She slowly opens her eyes to find him on the couch, drinking alone. He looks worried and this in turn, worries her.“What’s wrong?” she asks as she approaches him. “Why are you awake at this hour?”“Can’t sleep,” Nathan mutters as he takes a sip from his drink. Halsey sighs and sits next to him. She pours a glass of whiskey for herself. Nathan is slightly surprised.“When did you start drinking whiskey?” He asks.“I don’t drink it,” she admits. “I just wanna give you company right now, that’s all. Why? You don’t like it when I drink?”“It’s up to yo