“I’m sorry, we can’t hire you. We’re looking for more professional musicians,” the manager of the cafe tells her.Halsey is dejected. This is the fifth cafe which rejected her for the position of in-house musician. She applied to quite a few places. Some responded while others didn’t. The ones which responded to her saw the qualifications and rejected her.She thanks the manager, picks up her guitar and leaves the cafe. Slowly heading for the bus stop, she sits on a bench and sighs.“Am I gonna get a job?” She wonders out loud. Lincoln had told her to go on pursuing her passion but now Halsey is doubting herself. Did she make the right choice?Her phone makes a pinging sound and she takes it out. It’s from one of the job sites she had signed up for. There’s a new hotel opening in the town and they’re having an open door recruitment for multiple positions including that of a musician. Halsey’s heart leaps in hope. “I’ll need to prepare hard for this one,” she mutters. The recruitment
Nathan is sitting at his desk, listening to the latest report from his men. “Salvez is furious that you closed down his business,” Jason tells him. “They’re looking for you all over the country but I think they suspect that you’re here.”“Do they have any clue about my identity?” Nathan asks, raising his eyebrow. When he was released from jail, he used his contacts to remove all traces of his tracks. Thanks to Trent’s excellent hacking skills and network, Nathan Jacobs is still rotting in jail. That’s the facade for the public. The jail authorities are now scared of Nathan’s power and are supplying Daniel with lies about his condition. Daniel thinks that he won but it’s Nathan who’s manipulating him from afar.Once his old identity was erased, he took up his mother’s surname. He wants to remove all traces of his past and use his new identity to avenge himself. While in jail, he looked out for people who were Daniel’s enemies. He knew that Daniel had angered many people but Nathan n
Familiar. There’s something familiar about the man who’s standing in front of her. Halsey can’t put her finger on it but something is tingling in her head. A blurry image is flashing in front of her yet she can’t figure it out.Nathan is staring at the woman he loathes with a cold fury. His eyes are flaring with anger and he wants to throw her out of his life, but his heart is the wretched one. It’s still beating fast for her and there’s a tiny part of him which wants to hug her. He can see that she’s confused and even scared of him.Bianca hurries forward. She recognized their boss immediately and told the guards to clear out the hall. They shoo the other candidates away, citing maintenance as an excuse. Bianca approaches Nathan on stage.“Sir!” She hisses. “The auditions aren’t over yet!”Nathan ignores her and still glares at Halsey. The latter isn’t sure why she’s feeling so nervous around him but his gaze is full of anger and hatred as if he wants to kill her. Am I imagining thi
Jo is hungrily slurping on Mac N’ Cheese. They’re sitting on a bench outside, enjoying the cool breeze. Halsey smiles at the girl who’s obviously starving. “How are you liking it here?” she asks. “Are the kids at school treating you well?”“It’s alright,” Jo shrugs. “It’s kinda lonely though. I can’t go out most of the time so I stay home and sing or study.”Halsey frowns. What kind of a parent keeps their kid shut up in home all day?“Doesn’t your dad allow you to go outside?” she questions her. “Why?”Jo pouts. “There are a few bad monsters who want to hurt dad,” she mumbles. “He says that if they hurt me, it’ll make him sad. I don’t wanna see my dad sad.”Monsters? Halsey recalls that Jo was talking about monsters back in the trench. What kind of life does her dad lead?“What does he do?” she asks Jo.“He’s a superhero!” Jo quips. “He puts bad men in jail and fights monsters! Just like the Knights in fairy tales.”Halsey can’t help laughing. “You mean he’s a cop or a lawyer?”“I h
Halsey instinctively shields a scared Jo. Her own heart is thumping hard against her ribs as she faces the masked man. The man is larger than her in size and by the accent, she can sense that he’s not an ordinary mugger. “Hand that kid over!” He demands, stepping forward. The knife is shining under the dim light, only inches away from Halsey.“No!” She exclaims. “I won’t let her go with you. Leave now or I’ll call the police-”To her horror, another masked man appears. He’s holding a chain made of metal, indirectly threatening the girls. Jo whimpers in fear as she hides behind Halsey. Halsey is defiant, ignoring the chill creeping into her heart. They’re both much larger than her and she won’t be able to hold them off. The men are clearly trying to hurt Jo and even though she’s scared, Halsey won’t let them hurt her.“Listen b*tch!” The second man curses at her. “You have nothing to fear if you just step aside. We only want the kid.”Halsey tries to stay calm but is inwardly freaking
Halsey slowly opens her eyes and is almost blinded by the bright lights. She winces as she sits up to find herself back in the hospital. Her arm has been stitched up and bandaged. It’s stinging a lot but otherwise fine.Lincoln enters the room in his lab coat. “You’re awake,” he comments.“How did I…” Halsey begins but Lincoln cuts her off.“You were found unconscious after two men tried to mug you,” he says in a stiff tone. “The surgery ended early so I happened to be at the restaurant. Imagine my shock when I saw you unconscious on the ground.”Halsey groans.“I’m sorry you had to see that,” she mumbles.“Hales, I was so worried!” He scolds her. “You tried to fight muggers! Like, what’s wrong with you?”“They weren’t muggers,” Halsey tries to explain. “They were trying to kidnap a little child and I had to-”“You could’ve called the cops!” Lincoln snaps. “Or just minded your own business! You know that you’ve just woken up from a coma and-”He trails off in frustration. Halsey blink
The glass shatters on the wall with a thunderous force. Damien is calm while the two men next to him wince in fear.“You failed?” Salvez roars. “YOU FAILED?”The men he hired to kidnap the little girl came back empty handed. To top it all, they were defeated by a young woman! “Two of my best men failed to kidnap a girl!” He snarls. “What the f*ck am I supposed to think? My men are incompetent fools!”“Boss, the girl screamed ‘Fire’!” One of the men says. “She managed to gather a crowd. We threatened her, thinking she’ll walk away but-”Salvez stands up and hits the man across the cheek so hard that a tooth pops out. The man staggers in pain, his mouth bleeding.“FIND HER!” He screams. “Kill that other b*tch if you have to but find the little girl and bring her to me!”“Y-Yes sir!” The men squeak. Their boss is one to anger quickly and if they fail again, he’ll not be so lenient. Damien watches as they scurry off to find the girl.“They may fail again,” he points out.“If they fail, t
For the rest of the day, Halsey tries to avoid bumping into Nathan as much as possible. Thankfully, she doesn’t see him after that incident but for some reason, it makes her feel even worse.You’re pathetic. These words keep on circling her mind. She feels as if it's deja vu but can’t recall anything at all.“Halsey!”Mary Ann’s voice brings her out of her thoughts.“Bianca is calling for you,” she informs her. “It’s nearly time for your show.”“Oh right!”Halsey thanks Mary Ann for her hardwork and quickly rushes back to the HR section where Bianca is waiting for her. Bianca is stooping over her desk, looking at some files when Halsey enters the room.“Your show is about to start,” she curtly states. “Why aren’t you ready?”Halsey blinks in surprise and looks down at the hotel uniform she’s wearing. “I-I thought I’m supposed to wear the staff uniform at all my shows,” she says hesitantly.“You thought wrong!” Bianca snaps at her. “This is an important guest! You can’t wear that! You’
*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