Christopher was almost going insane. He had already had all his security guards secure the front gate and every possible exit.He was fuming and boiling with anger, because he knew how important those papers was to him and his company. Whoever took them certainly knew that they were worth a huge amount of money, and if he didn’t do something about it quickly, he would lose that money.“Whoever did this is going to pay with their lives!” Christopher kept saying to himself, and he meant every word of it.One thing that he could not stand was stealing, and he was very certain that it must have been when he went out to lunch with Ashley. The only thing was that he did not check for it yesterday when he got back.“Damn…who the hell could have done this to me?” Christopher asked.He had already called the cops and detectives and investigators, because he needed to know who did it and retrieve those papers, and he needed to know as soon as possible. However, it just seemed like they were tak
“I knew that my dad never loved me when he began to pick Emily Torres over me, and the punishment in the room increased after they caught me and brought me back home. Emily would sit there and watch my dad scar me with his punishment tools, and then abandon me in the hands of the old maid to be treated. I hated both of them severely.The more they treated me like an animal, the wilder I became. I just wanted to humiliate them and get them infuriated as much as they hurt me. Soon, I stopped feeling the hurt and pain from the punishments, because my body just became numb to everything that I was feeling. So yeah, they couldn’t hurt my body any longer, but I could make them go crazy with the recklessness and scandals.”Lily shuddered as she read through Ashley’s diary.Lily was not exactly taking her time in reading it, because she knew that she did not have all the time in the world, and she needed to get to that part where she would be able to give justice to Ashley before her time was
Christopher had had to get back home from work when he got a call that that same cop was back to interrogate his staff right when he was almost done with the other cops and investigators and detectives in his company.The last five hours have been the most rigorous activity that Christopher had ever had in his company, as all the officials that were sent took their jobs seriously. Meanwhile, Christopher still had Aimee investigated, even though she had seemed shocked when Christopher had asked her that question.“Mr. Christopher, why would you ask me such a question?” Aimee had asked, shock and deep hurt in her eyes, but Christopher hadn’t let that deter him.What was missing was more important than the feelings of anyone, and Christopher would trample on anyone or anything without remorse just to find it. The only thing that ever mattered to Christopher was this company; not any longstanding friendship or working relationship, and certainly not anyone at all.“Did you steal from me j
“What sort of accusation is this?” Lily asked, stunned at what the cop was saying to her face, and worse, Christopher’s reaction indicated that he might also be thinking towards the direction of the cop.The fact that he was not immediately standing up for her was enough message to Lily.“Are you trying to say that it is a coincidence that once you get into an altercation with someone, the person is being murdered?” The cop asked, glaring at Lily confidently.Lily shook her head furiously. “I have no idea what you are talking about! I have no hand in whatever happened to Rosa or even Maggie. I wasn’t even at home when she left the mansion, and I did not send her to get anything, she simply went on her own,” Lily tried to explain.“You can only come up with excuses, but you cannot stop the fact that there is a connection,” the cop said. “I am just sick and tired of you wealthy and powerful people committing crimes and sweeping it under the carpet like it means absolutely nothing. Regar
Lily followed Christopher into their bedroom, more dreadful than she was before. Her life just seemed to be shredding right in front of her.If this was truly Ashley Grander, she might have known how to maneuver her way around this situation, but not Lily. She had no idea that things were going to get this complicated. Between the threat from the cop and Christopher’s, Lily could not even tell which she feared the most, but one thing that was certain was that if Christopher did hand her over to the cops to be eaten alive, she would never survive it.How would she ever be able to tell her story? Who would believe her? No one would even pay a listening ear to Lily once Christopher and Don Grander might have turned their backs on her. She would never see Joe again and she would never live a normal and happy life. Lily’s dream of falling in love and raising a family would be flushed down the toilet. Also, if this broke out and everything was revealed, it could affect Joe’s career, and he
Lily had to take a few minutes to steady her racing hearty.“I don’t think I am going to survive any of this,” Lily told herself dreadfully.The more she stayed in this pretense, the more dangerous things became. Her life now was more at risk than just failing to do Don Grander’s bidding. There were so many things hanging over Lily’s head now, and it made her afraid.There was no way out for her.“You should have been alive to dance to the beat of your own music,” Lily grumbled, referring to Ashley as though she was standing right there.Lily was confused. She was exasperated. She was afraid beyond words. She was almost clueless.The life of the wealthy and famous had nothing that anyone should envy about or crave for. Aside from the money they had to lavish on everything and anything, there was always chaos and danger, and even murder looming around them. It was a sharp contrast from the life that Lily was accustomed to, and in all honesty, it was more peaceful and drama-free.Anyway
Lily wanted to clear things up with Hedge first so that he would stop blackmailing her, which was why she called him immediately and scheduled a meeting. Lily deliberately took a cab there so that Christopher would not know about it, and she scheduled it at a bar in the secluded part of town.Lily took with her Ashley’s diary, so she read through it in the cab.She was no longer reading it page by page, because she realized that it was time wasting, and it was no longer helping her. Don Grander has refused to give her proper information about what was going on, and it was making her get into trouble, and at the end of the day, he would end up blaming her for something that she could not have defended herself for because she had no clue about it.“I still can’t believe that dad wants me to marry Christopher for his own personal gain; we can barely stand each other. Anyway, I have thought about it deeply, and I have told the old maid that I would do it; not like I had a choice though, b
“What the heck?!” Christopher yelled as he jerked up in shock.He had just received a message of a debited sum from his business account and this was worth thousands of dollars. Christopher was almost going insane, and he knew that it was as a result of the papers that were stolen from his office. He knew that he should have taken firmer actions when no one seemed to be the perpetrator of the act, and now, he had lost a huge amount of money.Just then, his phone rang, and when Christopher looked at it, it was an unsaved number; who could be calling him at this time? Angrily, Christopher picked.“Who is this and what do you want?” Christopher said rudely.He knew that he should not be talking to someone he did not know in such a manner, because he could very well be taking to a potential business client, but he was in a very terrible condition right now, and he could not control how he reacted.If anyone felt that he was overreacting, maybe they should lose that sum of money all at onc
Lily could not believe that Christopher Bridger, one of Mexico’s wealthiest and most handsome bachelor was in her grandmother’s hidden cabin with her.He had come to find her!“I have been combing the entire country for you with the best investigators I could hire, Lily,” Christopher said softly as they talked in the living room, alone while Joe stayed outside with Christopher’s driver and bodyguard to give them privacy.It was the second time that Christopher was calling her by her real name and identity, and he did so with such tenderness and gentleness that it melted Lily’s heart. It was very different from the gruff and angry manner with which he always called Ashley.“I thought I had lost you. I was afraid that I would never get the chance to see you, until I got an information that your brother, Joe, contacted his teammates, and then we were able to trace the connection to this cabin,” Christopher explained.Lily ground her teeth in exasperation. “And I warned him,” Lily said, t
Lily stared at her reflection in the mirror with sheer horror and then down to the test strip on her hand which showed two thick red lines; she was pregnant.Then Lily broke down in tears.“How could this be happening?” She asked herself, sobbing.It had been almost a week now that she ran away to her grandmother’s cabin in the woods with Joe. It had been a miracle; one that Lily never thought would happen, but it had happened, and she and Joe had been hiding there since then. She had no idea when it would be safe for her and Joe to return to their lives, but Lily was ready to hide in this abandoned cabin for as long as possible as long as they were both alive. They had agreed not to make contact with anyone at all so that their hideout would not be known.And now, she had fallen pregnant for Christopher Bridger; the man whom she had fallen in love with but would never have.A knock on the door interrupted Lily, and she knew without a doubt that it was Joe; they were the only ones in
Christopher arrived at the company from the hotel in a grand style. He was looking dashing and stunning, and more, he was impressed with what Aimee had come up with in the crunch of time.His company was buzzing with elegance and class, and with everything that had been scheduled to happen tonight, Christopher had no doubt that it would be a successful night for him. The papers he would use in sealing the best deal the company had ever had was with him.However, Christopher was troubled.In all honesty, he had a pretty rough night last time, because while at the hotel room, he kept battling his conscience.“I should have gone home to her,” Christopher told himself.Lately, especially after their intimate affair, he had been unable to get her off his mind, and last night, he regretted allowing Aimee persuade him into sleeping in a hotel home. Christopher had also battled with anxiety and nervousness, and he knew that if he simply wrapped his arms around her, he would have felt better.
Lily stayed in the bedroom and waited for Christopher, but she was downright scared to her bones that something might go wrong and nervous.It was as though the time was ticking by too slowly, but she had no choice but to wait for him in his mansion. However, she was very restless.Lily thought of Don Grander who she guessed must have realized that his papers were missing and would be searching frantically for them. He would kill Lily if he knew that she had taken it, and worse, wanted to show them to Christopher.In thinking of the devil, Don Grander began to call Ashley’s phone, and she jumped in fright.Lily contemplated on not answering the call, but then if she did that, Don Grander might suspect her, because she had never ignored his call before, so Lily took a split second to catch her breath before picking the call.She would have to act normal otherwise Don Grander would know that something was amiss.“Where are you?” Don Grander asked gruffly as soon as the call connected.“
“Monk!” Don Grander yelled at the top of his voice, almost tearing out his lungs. He was in his bedroom, and he paced furiously. Some minutes later, Monk rushed into his room.“Boss, you sent for me,” Monk said, confused, because he was just with Don Grander about an hour ago in the study where they talked at length.“Something has happened,” Don Grander said through clenched teeth.“What might that be?” Monk asked.“Before you and I went out, I was going through the original and fake document that I and Bridger signed before his demise, and the one that Benedict drafted for me which he showed to Christopher to make him believe and succumb to what we want,” Don Grander explained.“Okay…” Monk said, paying rapt attention to what Don Grander was saying even though he was wondering why Don Grander decided to go through the papers in the first place.It was as though Don Grander could read Monk’s thoughts, because he answered right away. “You know that this last deal is very huge; it is t
Aimee threw herself into planning this special event for Christopher and his company. He did not give her the full details, but she worked with what she had anyway.She had been busy contacting vendors and planners, making plans and readjustments; Aimee wanted complete perfection, because this was the event that she was banking on completely. She was fed up of waiting for Christopher to come by, and even though he had reinstated her with even better promotion, Aimee feared that Christopher had fallen for Ashley, and she could not let that happen.After this event, she would have exactly what was hers!Aimee was still in deep thoughts when her phone rang. When she checked the caller ID, it was the new man that she had hired to do her dirty business. The moment Aimee realized that Derek was no longer on board, she had had to find someone else. This time around, Aimee ensured that she went for someone who was fierce and dangerous.“What news do you have for me?” Aimee asked.Now that she
Lily covered her mouth in shock and dreadful fright as her heart slammed against her ribs. At first, she thought that Don Grander was going to hear her gasp, and she feared for her life. If she was caught hiding by the stairs and eavesdropping, she would be dead even before the actual time, but thankfully, Don Grander and Monk were too engrossed in the whole conversation to even hear her.“I just want this to be over and done with so that Emily and I can finally go for that vacation. We have already missed our flight and she is breathing down my neck…it can be really frustrating,” Don Grander said to Monk.Then the two men stopped right close to Lily, making Lily more afraid.She needed to get away from this mansion before they either discovered that she was here, or that the papers were missing. As far as Lily knew, no one saw her come in except the security at the gate, and hopefully, she would be able to get out before Don Grander declares that anything is missing.“When she steals
“What?!” Lily was stunned and afraid and alert.Her mind instantly went to Monk and Don Grander’s threats that they would kill Joe if she failed on any of her tasks.“Yeah, and it was pretty weird. It made me feel uncomfortable,” Joe said over the phone.She could feel the discomfort in his voice, and Lily’s heart broke into more pieces. She even began to wonder how much heartache she could take at once.“I really wish you were here, Lily; I feel safe with you around,” Joe said warmly and sadly. “It has been over a year, and this is beginning to look creepy to me. Even Rudney does not exactly know where you are,” Joe admitted.Lily did not think that Joe would think too deeply about everything. She hadn’t even really been thinking about Joe and how her absence might have affected him. More tears dropped from Lily’s eyes in pain and regret. If only she could tell Joe exactly what was going on, but then again, she did not even have the liberty of brooding about that for so long, because
Lily felt like she had been hit with a ton of bricks at the harshness and cruelty of Christopher’s words, and when she managed to look into his eyes, she could see all the emotions right there.“Let me say what I came here to tell you, please,” Lily begged deeply.“How did you manage to bleed like a virgin when everyone knows that you are not, huh?” Christopher asked bitterly and angrily.Lily opened her mouth to say that it was because she was a virgin, but no words came out of her mouth, and Christopher mistook Lily’s inability to say the words as guiltiness.Christopher shook his head. “You are my worst mistake, Ashley, and I blame myself for not fighting this arrangement when I was told. After this party, you are going to return to your father’s house discreetly until this whole crap of a marriage is over; I never want to see your face again,” Christopher said firmly.Lily squeezed her eyes shut as the words sliced through her heart. She felt like Christopher had literally taken a