Author’s POV"Madeline, look. The pictures are all gone. There's no single one up on the school's social media platforms," Sarah said, pushing her phone towards Madeline for her to see. Madeline was astounded by what she saw. Indeed, the school's social media accounts had removed all of the unflattering photos that had given her such grief. With thanks in her eyes, she turned to face Daniel."Daniel, you handled that for me? Thank you," Madeline replied, experiencing a wave of comfort.Daniel grinned and said, "I did it for you, of course. It was too much for me to watch you in such distress. Remember, we're a team.""Daniel, you're a lifesaver! We value your prompt response," Emily interjected. "You're the best, Daniel," Sarah continued. "It's fine, girls. I only did what I thought was best for my girlfriend. I wasn't going to sit back and watch others laugh at what happened to her when it could have happened to anyone else. So, what I did was nothing big; it was only something t
Author's POV"Nelly?" Madeline called out.Nelly, who had been struggling with the security personnel immediately began to plead with Madeline to ask them to let her go."Please, let her go. I know her; she's a friend," Madeline said to security personnel."Are you sure, Miss Hawthorne?" One of them asked."Yes I'm sure," Madeline replied.The security personnel let go of Nelly, who ran over to Madeline's side. Madeline turned to look at her sister and said,"You may return to mum's room. Tell her that everything is fine and there's nothing to worry about."Marie rolled her eyes but did as her sister had said. After she had gone away, Madeline turned to look at Nelly and asked,"What was the reason for that commotion earlier? You scared the whole hospital.""I'm sorry; I came to the hospital and saw you and your sister coming this way. I waited for a while before making my way towards here but the security guys wouldn't allow pass through," Nelly said."What exactly was was purpose o
Author’s POVNelly?" Madeline called out.Nelly, who had been struggling with the security personnel immediately began to plead with Madeline to ask them to let her go."Please, let her go. I know her; she's a friend," Madeline said to security personnel."Are you sure, Miss Hawthorne?" One of them asked."Yes I'm sure," Madeline replied.The security personnel let go of Nelly, who ran over to Madeline's side. Madeline turned to look at her sister and said,"You may return to mum's room. Tell her that everything is fine and there's nothing to worry about."Marie rolled her eyes but did as her sister had said. After she had gone away, Madeline turned to look at Nelly and asked,"What was the reason for that commotion earlier? You scared the whole hospital.""I'm sorry; I came to the hospital and saw you and your sister coming this way. I waited for a while before making my way towards here but the security guys wouldn't allow me to pass through," Nelly said."What exactly was was purpo
Author's POVSuddenly, her eyes brightened indicating that she remembered. A bright smile appeared on her face.“You’ve forgotten what tomorrow is?” Daniel asked, his voice sad.“And why would? How can I ever forget that our anniversary is tomorrow?” Madeline replied. Daniel’s face brightened. He was glad that Madeline remembered.“I’m glad you remembered. I have a surprise for you,” he said.“What is it?” Madeline asked.“If I tell you, then it would no longer be a surprise,” Daniel said. Madeline groaned, causing Daniel to laugh.“I’m sorry babe but you’ll have to wait until tomorrow,” he said to her. “Fine; just know I won’t be able to sleep well tonight now cause I’ll be thinking about this surprise,” Madeline said.“You will babe; you will,” Daniel promised. After talking for a little bit more, they decided to end the call as they were both feeling sleepy. The next day, at school, Madeline and her friends sat around their table.“So what are we going to go about our Pearl con
Author’s POVJust a few steps away from the restroom door, Madeline was shocked to see Pearl and Aaron standing together, the same Aaron was withdrawn from her school. Her spine tingled with chill. She finally received confirmation for all her gut instincts and assumptions about the two of them being related. There could not be a more obvious coincidence about how identical they were. Memories of all the times she’d dismissed her concerns ran through her head, in part because Daniel had claimed that unrelated people may look alike, and in part because she didn’t want to risk her fragile connection with Pearl. She quickly—almost instinctively—took out her phone and, with a shaky palm, stealthily snapped a photo of the two of them. She realized that her friends also needed to know the reality, thus she had to tell them about this discovery. She didn’t wait a second to send Emily and Sarah the images and the note, “You won’t believe what I just saw.” As she watched Aaron and Pea
Author's POVSeeing that he couldn't find anything wrong with the ingredients they used in preparing the dishes, Lucian had no other choice but to return back to the hospital. Finally he got there, and the doctor told him that they've finally been able to find out what was wrong with Madeline."I guess we were looking elsewhere. We kept running tests on Madeline and we discovered that Madeline fell sick as a result of an allergic reaction to something she ate the previous day," the doctor said.Lucian looked at the doctor with a confused look on his face."An allergic reaction?" He asked."Yes; an allergic reaction and in order to find out what caused it, we asked her what she had eaten the night before and she mentioned an Italian dish. We traced what could have given her the allergic reaction and we found out that her allergen was seafood," the doctor said.Lucian felt relieved especially after the doctor told him that they've administered some drugs to Madeline and that she'd be be
Author’s POV"Tell me, what did you find out?" Madeline asked."Well, my friend, whom I told you guys about, spoke to his friend and he found out that Pearl is actually Aaron's twin sister and was studying in another school but suddenly left. I guess that's when she came to our school. Besides that, he couldn't find any incriminating thing about her. In fact, she was the best student in her old school," Daniel said. Madeline wasn't too surprised by the new information she had gotten since she had always suspected the relation between Pearl and Aaron."So what are we going to do now? I was thinking we would find out some dirt about her to push her out of our school but now that there's none, we can't get her to stop troubling me," Madeline said."You see, babe, you can't extinguish negativity by engaging in negativity. If you want to protect yourself from Pearl's attacks, we need to find a better approach.""What better approach?" Madeline asked."Talk to her and find out why she's do
Author’s POV"Really? From which school?” Madeline asked excitedly.“From NYU, I haven’t opened the email yet. I wanted to do it with you by my side,” Daniel said.“Okay, are you home now?” Madeline asked.“Yes I am. You can come over,” Daniel said to her.“Okay; I’ll be there in a minute,” Madeline said, ending the call.She jumped out of bed and got dressed in more proper clothing. She quickly walked out of her room, made her way down the stairs and saw her parents in the living room watching television.“Where are you off to?” Lucian asked as he saw her walking towards the door.“I’m just heading to Daniel’s; he received an email from one of the prospective colleges. We want to check it out,” Madeline answered.“Don’t stay out late,” Anne said.“Okay mum, bye dad,” she said as she opened the door and walked out.She made her way out of the Mansion’s premises and walked over to Daniel’s house, which was just a few blocks away. When she got to Daniel’s house, she rang the bell and th
Madeline manages to break Free of Daniel's grasp and runs to stand in front of the guards that is about to shoot her friends. She yells at Daniel "if you want to kill them, you have to kill me too." Daniel scoffs walking towards her " don't be foolish, you can't possibly want to die for their sake, you've hardly know them." Madeline screams at him " what is wrong with you,I love Jake and nothing is going to ever change it even if I go with you my heart will never belong to you, you will never have my heart so why not just kill me instead." Daniel stunned at her revelation looks at her surprise that she was willing to go the extent of dying for her friends, for Jake. Daniel walks to where she's kneeling and grabs her hand " if you won't love me willingly then you'll love me by Force." he grabbed her hand and drags her to the car. He pushes her in and shut the door. He turns around once more he tells Tony to handle her friends. Daniel is about to get into the car and drive away w
The tension in the room is palpable as Tony stands in disagrees with Daniels plans. Tony shakes his head, "You're gambling with everything we built. The gang is not just a means to an end; it's family. Don't forget that."Tony's frustration deepens . "You think leaving the gang is the solution? Daniel, this gang is more than just a way out for us. It's a brotherhood, a family. Remember when you first walked through those doors? Henry doubted you, but I saw potential. I stood up for you, vouched for you, because I believed in the leader I saw in you. We swore an oath to the gang, Daniel, to prioritize the gang before anything else." Daniel clenches his jaw, the weight of Tony's words sinking in. "Tony, Madeline is the key to a life beyond all this. We won't need the gang if we have her and the wealth she brings. Can't you see the bigger picture?" Tony's eyes reflect hurt and disappointment. "You're willing to sacrifice everything we stand for just for your personal desires. This gang is
Madeline, despite the escalating horror, keeps her gaze steady, refusing to break. Daniel's eyes narrow, his frustration growing. He leans in, his voice a dangerous whisper, "I'll keep going until you decide to talk. What happened?" Madeline grits her teeth but doesn't relent. Sarah, in pain and fear, pleads with Madeline to tell Daniel whatever he wants to know. Madeline finally breaks her silence ."Fine, stop!, I'll talk." Madeline pleads with Daniel to stop the cruelty towards Sarah. "Please, Daniel, she's hurt enough. I'll tell you everything," she implores as tears start streaming down her face. Daniel, relentless, insists, "Talk, and maybe I'll consider stopping." her voice shaky but defiant. "We were trying to escape. We had a plan to contact someone who could help us get out of here." Daniel smirks, pulling the knife away from Sarah's throat. "See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" he says, almost amused. Sarah, relieved that the pressure on her neck has eased, is gasping for br
In Daniel's office, a tense atmosphere filled the room as he mulled over the mysterious turn of events. "Sarah's sudden illness is too coincidental. Madeline never mentioned anything about her having a condition," he pondered aloud, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the desk. Determined to unravel the potential deception, he summoned both the guard and the doctor into his office. The guard entered, standing at attention. "What did you observe when Sarah fell ill?" Daniel questioned. The guard, visibly uneasy, stammered, "I, uh, didn't really pay much attention, sir. I was focused on getting help for her." Daniel's sharp gaze scrutinized the guard's response, but he dismissed him and turned to the doctor. The doctor, who seemed less perturbed by the situation, remarked, "Honestly, it seemed quite routine down there. As if they were accustomed to such occurrences." Daniel's brows furrowed in suspicion. "Accustomed? That doesn't make sense. Something's not adding up," he muttered to hi
Daniel sat back in his chair, a sigh escaping his lips, he found himself in a moment of contemplation. Tony, his trusted friend, had always been a loyal companion in the gang, never questioning Daniel's authority or plans. The sudden resistance from Tony left Daniel questioning his decisions. Staring at the dimly lit room, Daniel wondered if he had truly thought through the entirety of his plan or if his actions were driven more by emotion than rationale. He ran a hand through his hair, wrestling with the internal conflict of doubt. "Am I doing the right thing?" Daniel murmured to himself, the weight of uncertainty hanging in the air. He shook his head as if trying to dispel the doubt. The plan had already been set in motion, and there was no turning back now. He had invested too much to back down. As he contemplated the decisions ahead, Daniel recognized the necessity of finishing what he started. The consequences of what would happen if he failed, and he couldn't afford to let doubt
In the dimly lit prison, Stephanie, her curiosity piqued, asked, "So, what's Plan B, Jake?" Jake, explained, "Plan B is contacting Justin. He'll come with friends and get us out of here." Relief washed over the group. "But there's one problem." Jake adds and Madeline sighed, " what is the problem then?" Jake, revealed, "The problem is we need a way to contact Justin." Marie, voicing the collective frustration, groaned, "They took our phones when we came into the prison." So, how do we contact Justin without our phones?" Jake, thinking on his feet, replied, "We just need to get a phone without anyone realizing." Madeline, questioned, "How do you propose we do that? They're watching us closely." Jake, undeterred, stated, "We wait for a guard to come down here. Surely, one of them will have a phone on them. We can try to get the phone, send the message to Justin, and get it back to the guard " Marie, frustrated, sighed, "And how do we get a guard down here? Everything is getting more co
Madeline stares at Daniel still not able to grasp the fact that he betrayed her. She listens as he continues talking. Seated back in his chair, Daniel continued his revelation, a twisted pride in his words. "I got one of my guys to suggest selling drugs to Ashton. Predictably, he bought the idea. Little did he know, my guys were watching him. When he sold the drugs, they waited for the right moment, stole the money, leaving Ashton in a bind." Madeline, disbelief etched on her face, asked, "You set up Ashton to get him involved in drugs, knowing he'd do anything to protect Marie?" Daniel nodded, "I Ashton to owe a debt because I knew he'd want to protect Marie so he'd definitely send her out of the country and if their romance was as strong as everyone said it was she'd definitely want to help him and who better than her own twin sister to help her." Madeline, shaking her head in disbelief, muttered, "What happened to the sweet Daniel I used to know? How did you become this person?" D
The guards led to others out the door forcefully. Daniel gestures to Madeline telling her "take a seat." Madeline, standing defiantly, refused Daniel's command to take a seat. He sighed and decided to continue his story, as if seeking understanding from the person who once meant the world to him. "It was asking for help that brought me into this world," Daniel confessed, a somber tone in his voice. Madeline, though visibly hurt and confused, remained silent, urging him to continue. Daniel delved into his past, revealing a stark contrast to the life Madeline knew. "My mother and I weren't always rich. Her parents were so poor that they had to give her to her uncle, who was living alone, hoping he could provide a better life for her." Madeline, her eyes widening with a mix of surprise and sympathy, finally spoke, "I had no idea, Daniel. Why didn't you tell me all this before?" Daniel, with a bitter smile, replied, "Because I knew you wouldn't understand. Your perfect world and my strugg
The tension in the room escalated, the group grappling with betrayal and shattered trust. Madeline, her voice trembling, demanded answers from Daniel. "What is Marie talking about, Daniel? Why are you doing this?" Daniel, grinning with a sinister satisfaction, confessed, "Marie is telling the truth, Madeline. I never came back to Colombia seeking forgiveness. I came back for wealth, and you were my ticket." Madeline, bewildered, asked, "What do you mean, I'm your ticket to wealth?" Daniel, enjoying the power shift, explained, "The treatment for my mother's cancer drained our resources. I realized marrying into your family, taking over your father's business, was the only way to secure our future." Madeline, hurt and betrayed, demanded, "So, everything between us was a lie? You never loved me?" Daniel, unapologetic, admitted, "I needed you for my own gain. When I saw you with Jake, I became enraged. I was supposed to be the son-in-law, taking over the business. But you moved on, and I