AURORAShe sighed heavily. She knew I had caught her. “How do you know about the Killings, Maya?” I asked her.“Are you a part of them?!” I yelled.“No, I'm not,” she snapped. “How could you possibly think that? I have daughters,” she said and I sighed.“Yeah? But those daughters don't run your company. Your son does and he is not even the first born,” I said to her.“And why do you think that is?” She asked, getting into a sitting position. “Huh?Tell me Aurora. Think, you always know everything,” she said to me.“You are protecting them,” I said, with my voice low.“I'm protecting them because I don't want them to end up dead,” she said and I sighed.“Well, you could have led with that,” I said, standing close to the door.“You didn't let me. You already accused me,” she blurted out while I rolled my eyes. Maya had always been the one to say her mind. Not caring what others think about her.“I protect my daughters. Who is protecting you, Aurora?” She asks with concern in her voice.“
AURORA“Here,” I handed Anna some sand to place on Steven's casket as it was placed on the ground. I could feel the tears gathering in my eyes but I had to keep them there for the sake of Anna, Mary and Linda. Mary has come to know Steven as a father and so has Anna to Linda.They had their little family going on and the group took that away from them. “You are okay,” I said as I wiped Anna's face. Jacob held my hands as he got us up. We will all in black as we said our goodbyes to Steven. He was our friend, a good father to his daughter. He didn't deserve it. Anne doesn't deserve to be an orphan.“Come on,” I noticed Anna dragging me away from the burial site. Everyone was already walking away as well.“Are you doing okay?” I asked Andre. He seems to be taking Steven's death harder than everyone else.“I should have done more than just stand there,” he said and I clicked my tongue.“No, Andre, if you had, we would have been mourning two loved ones today. We are going to get these
AURORA“The future has always been for the men to rule, not just the future the world at large,” that's the voice of Mr. LeVert from his broadcast morning show.“Women need to know their place. We go out to work and they stay at home to take care of the home. I mean that's what happened during the war,” he said and stared straight at the camera with a smug look on his face like he knew I was watching.This has been the thing I do every morning from the moment I found out he is behind the group.Everyday, I draw strength from watching him say some of his misogynistic words, knowing one day he is going to eat it.I held a sharp sound of a pencil breaking and the TV going off. I looked at the pencil in my hands, it was broken into two.“Wow, it's like a pattern,” I heard Amy's voice and I looked up.“What's a pattern,” I asked, adjusting myself. I knew exactly what she was talking about. But she knew better than to give me an answer.“You can't keep doing this to yourself,” Carina asked,
AURORA“It's possible that this could be his way of taunting you,” Carina said as I sat in front of Desktop typing on the keyboard.“He has to know that meeting with you will make you research about him which means watching his shows,” she continued but I wasn't buying any of it.“I don't buy that, Carina. LeVert is dubious and vicious all at the same time. He didn't just place that Mug on his broadcast show for fun, he did it to taunt me,” I said to her.“Okay, what does he gain by doing that?” She asked.“Well, for one, we don't have the necessary chemicals to go through with production,” I paced around the room.“He can't stop the company from selling to us, he doesn't own it,” she snapped.“He might not own it but he is a shareholder in the company,” Amy said, handing me her tablet.It was the company's website, LeVert's picture was there amongst others as shareholders.“Damnit,” I cursed, handing Amy back her tablet.“Well, we source for other companies even if it's out of the co
AURORA“Thanks for being here,” I said to Aubrey. “I know you have a lot to do with the opening of your art showcase.”“I can't let you walk in here alone,” she said to me. “Postponing was a good idea, it gave me more time to deal with what I couldn't do before,” she said to me.We got out of the car and I stared at the company's logo. “Safe and Clean Chemical.” “Having cold feet?” I heard Martin's voice, he insisted on driving us here.“Not really but I'm having goosebumps about seeing LeVert again,” I said to him.“That guy is a creep and shouldn't be on the planet,” Aubrey said with spite.“Okay, Aubrey,” I laughed a little as we walked into the building.“I won't let him come close to you. That's what I'm here for,” he adjusted his tuxedo, standing in front of us.“Miss Clinton?” A lady walked towards us.“Yes,” myself and Aubrey said at the same time. We both smiled and she made me take the lead.“We are both Miss Clinton and we are here for the board of directors meeting,” I sa
AURORA“Is it just me or do you just remain effortlessly beautiful all the time?” Maria asked as I walked into my dressing room. Looks like she is done with Carina and Sophie's makeup.“I just had my dress on,” I said, shyly.“Well, my brother is going to be dumbstruck when he see you,” Sophie said and I blushed harder.“Well, I will say you love beautiful as always,” Carina said, trying not to be left out.“We should have lunch sometime,” I said, walking towards her.“Yeah, I feel like we haven't connected like we used to,” she said to me.“We are both growing, though we did promise not to get married,” I said, laughing.“Well, it's not too late,” she joined me and I glared at her.“Don't you dare break Andre's heart,” I said to her.“Me?, Or he shouldn't break mine,” she pouted.“When you two lovebirds are ready, I will like to begin Aurora's makeup,” Maria said to us.“Lovebirds?” Carina asked as I walked towards Maria.“Yeah, before Andre and Jacob both of you were in love with ea
AURORAThe lights came on. I looked towards Aubrey, she was on the floor holding Clay's hands. He was pinned down by a wooden plank and couldn't move.“Someone call 911!” Aubrey yelled as I raced towards her.“Oh my gosh, Aubrey, are you hurt?” I asked, taking a look at her.“No, Clay. He isn't moving!” She screamed with tears pouring down her face.“He is going to be alright,” I tried calming her down but she wouldn't let me.“Take this off him, he can't breathe,” she screamed.“No!” Sophie stopped the bodyguards trying to get the wooden plank off Clay.“We have to figure out if there is any bleeding or tearing,” she said and I nodded.“Come on, let's go,” I tried pulling Aubrey up but she didn't move. “Come on, Aubrey. Sophie knows what she is doing,” I said to her.“No, I'm not leaving him alone,” she cried out.“Hey, hey, she is not alone. I'm with him,” Martin said to her. “I won't leave him alone.”She finally got up, Carina and Madeline helped me get her away from the crash. S
AURORA“I don't buy it,” Aubrey said. “This could all just be a mere coincidence. Clay is still hurt,” she said with sadness in her eyes.“We are not disputing Clay's pain or yours,” I said to her. “But if this is even a hint that someone in LeVert 's circle is sabotaging him then we need to figure it out,” I said to her.“Well, you all can do that. I will be with Clay and when this plan doesn't work you come find me,” she said and walks away.“I will go with her,” Madeline said walking behind Aubrey.“I hate to say it but she's right,” Jacob said and I nodded.“Yeah and it sucks,” I agreed with him.“So what do you want to do?” Martin asked me. “I'm with you all the way.”“So is Aubrey,” Carina said. “She's just hurting. She will come to respect both your decisions.”“I know that, Carina but we can't wait long,” I took a deep breath. “Get the footage to Special Agent Bell, let her figure out a way to know who is the second person,” I said to Martin and he nodded.“That's a good start
AURORAI have been in a moving vehicle for the better part of ten hours. Wherever my captors are taking me, they don't seem to have an idea what they are doing.This can't be LeVert, he won't make such a mistake by hiring amateurs, even if he is doing it by himself. He has enough experience to do it right.Suddenly the vehicle stopped moving, the back of the vehicle opened and I was brought out. One of them was about to speak when the other one shut him up without speaking.I kept my mouth shut, I need to be brave, for myself and for my family. My wedding is in a few hours along with Carina's and there is no way I'm missing it.They tied the blindfold around my eyes even tighter, causing the darkness to engulf me.The rough fabric of the blindfold pressed harder against my eyes, sending a jolt of sharp pain across my temples. Darkness was absolute now, not just the absence of sight but the weight of uncertainty pressing down on me. I tried to focus on my breathing, forcing myself to s
JACOB“I can't believe you are getting married!” Braden slammed into me. Trying to ruffle me up a little.“Says the married man,” Andre said to him. It's funny how we are all friends now and we have Aurora to thank for that. She brought all of us together. That's my future wife.“What are you smiling about?” Grey asked me.“You better not be thinking about my sister in some certain way in front of me,” Martin said and we all laughed.I have asked all of them to be mine and Andre best men including Michael, Ryan and Clay. Liam insisted on being the DJ for the service. Right now we are having our bachelor party and having loads of fun. “Thank you for allowing Aurora to do this with Carina,” I said to Andre holding his shoulder.“Are you kidding, Carina will have my head if I don't agree, plus we get to give the world the wedding of the year,” he said and I smiled.“Good man,” I shook his hands and walked towards Grey. “Hey bro,” he turned around and placed his phone in his pocket.“Th
AURORAONE YEAR LATER“What about this?” I walked out of my closet in a black gown filled with diamonds and a white off shoulder handle.“Perfect,” Carina squeaked. I rolled my eyes and walked deeper into the room.“People see me on this, they might think tonight is my rehearsal dinner,” I said to the soon to be bride.“Oh come on, you are the chief bridesmaid, you are meant to dress as elegant as the bride,” Aubrey said, adding her own wisdom to the situation.“Well, apart from that, I will think you guys are just playing dress up with me for me to impress Jacob,” I said to them and they both laughed.“Why are you laughing?” I asked them.“Nothing, just remembering how you blunted out I love you to him,” Carina said, still laughing. I rolled my eyes, trying to hide my blushing face.“Aubrey smirked, “Oh Aurora, you were so abstract about it. It feels like you have been bottling that emotion.”“Maybe I was. I guess my body moved before my mind,” I said to her.“And your timing couldn'
AURORA“Okay, alright. Be safe,” I said and hanged up the call.“Is everything alright?” Carina asked me. I looked at her with my puffy eyes. I can't believe I asked her to move her wedding date all because of LeVert. I feel so sad and heartbroken.“No, don't do that,” she said, hugging me. “Everything will work out. We just need to protect Anna and Mary and we all will be safe.”“But your wedding…”“Can wait,” Andre said, standing beside her. “We all need to be together right now.” He took my hands and I nodded.“Okay,” I exhaled, wiping my face with my other hand. “Let's do this then.”“The girls are pulling up,” Aubrey said to me. We raced towards the car to stop the paparazzi from taking pictures of them.“How come there are so many paparazzi?” Madeline asked as we moved through the crowd.“LeVert probably called them here to witness whatever he had planned,” I said to her.We finally got to the car and help Linda protect the girls from the cameras.“Aunt Aurora,” Anna and Mary hu
JACOB“What does Christina has to do with any of these?” I asked her.“I'm sure you heard from your stepbrother, Grey?” She asked.“Lara, what are you doing?” Aurora asked her. “Grey is not to be trusted.”“I was the one who told Grey to meet with you,” she said looking at me. “He is trying to make amends. You should let him.” I looked at Aurora, who just shrugged her shoulders.“So what about Christina?” Amy asked, standing in front of her. “You can't just drop a bombshell like that and not say anything to it.”“I was getting to it,” she handed her USB drive to Liam, “here, input it to the system,” Liam looks at me hesitant to do it. “Do it Liam,” I nodded.”A lot of files displayed on the bug screen. “These are all of the operations I could find that can be linked to LeVert, including serial killing of high profile women.” “Which one involves my step mom?” I asked, and a more detailed document displayed on the screen.“Wait,” Aurora scoffed. “You have this much evidence and LeVert
JACOBI kept pacing around, it's been almost two hours since Aurora left and she isn't back yet.“Martin is with her,” Madeline said to me, “he won't let anything happen to her.”“But if he can't,” I said and she looked confused. “Whatever is going on is beyond his power,” she sighed and shook her head.“Hey, you have to think good thoughts bro,” Amy said, holding my shoulder. “Aurora didn't come this far to give up or jeopardize everything.”“She is right, J,” Braden whispered, standing beside me. “You have to be able to trust Aurora, trust that she knows what she is doing,” he said and scoffed, “because she has been doing this long before she returned back to her life.”“I just want to protect her, want to keep her safe,” I said to him.“I know bro, but she got this and you know it.”I took a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down, even though every fiber of my being screamed to go after her. Braden was right, though. Aurora had proven time and again that she could handle herself.
AURORA“Thought I would recognize you?” I asked her.“Hoped,” she said, jerking her hands from Martin who was still looking shocked.“What the hell are you doing here?” I asked her with gritted teeth.“I don't know, hiding from my brother,” she said and I scoffed.“You are not that bumped into me,” I said to her. “You were at the precinct.”“No, you only saw me at the precinct when I came out, not before,” she said and I looked at Martin.“I will prove it to you,” she said and I turned to her.“How?” I asked, folding my hands. She tried to move but Martin stopped her. “Let her go, Martin. She knows she needs us,” Captain Marlow scoffed and walked deeper into the room.“Here,” she placed a material over her head and I could see the face of the woman we saw in the CCTV camera video.“Unbelievable,” I whispered. “Have you seen something like this before?” I asked Martin.“Heard of it but haven't seen one this real,” he said as Captain Marlow took it off.“Spent almost all the money I co
AURORA“You know he is just scared for you,” Martin turned around in the car and said to me.“If you are referring to Jacob then don't. I don't need a lecture right now,” I said and he sighed.“He just wants to protect,” I glared at him and he raised his hands in defense. “That's all I'm going to say,” he turned around facing the traffic.“I have been on my own for a while, I can handle myself,” I said out loud.“I thought you guys have moved past that?” Martin asked me.“Move past what?” I asked, feeling confused.“Move past what he did almost ten years ago?” He asked and I sighed.“We have but he has to know that I didn't have him or you protecting me then and I was still able to survive Copper and being kidnapped,” I said to him.“I get that but he is here now and from the look of things he wants to protect you at all cost.”“Why do you think I brought Michael with us?” I asked and Micheal smiled. “At least Michael can report to him if anything happens.”“We are here, Miss Aurora,”
AURORA“Hey,” I kissed Jacob on the lips as I took off my jacket.“I miss you,” he said, kissing my neck. I bit my lips smiling.“I know but we have work to do,” I pushed him slightly and walked over to the workstation he had set up in his penthouse.“Are you sure this place is secure?” Martin asked him as he walked in.“Yes, nobody knows about this place, not even Christina,” he said and I sighed.“Does Grey know about this place?” I asked him, for a while he has been having a blind spot when it comes to his step brother.“Jacob?” I called his name when I noticed he was hesitant to answer the question.“Yes he does,” he said and I dropped my hands loudly against my laps.“Why would you do such a thing? Grey is not to be trusted,” I said to him.“Look, Grey might have done a lot of things in the past but he helped us back in my airport.”“Or he brought you there to set you up along with Martin,” Braden said.“I agree with Braden,” Amy said and Jacob glared at her.“Don't do that, they