"Oh, I don't want to repeat myself, Hailey." Sharon flicked off her tear and chortled. "I so much hate doing that. Since you won't adhere to simple words, isn't it better to use actions?" She laughed. "Yes, I should just go ahead and get rid of you once and for all." She nodded to herself and Hailey frowned. "But wait." Her eyes lit up and she grinned. "Why don't we get rid of your baby first?" Hailey's hands instantly went to her bump and she frowned at the girl's menacing look. "W–What do you think you're doing—" she halted in her words and her thoughts shouted danger as Sharon grabbed the knife. *****Inside the study room, Kendrick sat on his chair facing the computer screen. However, his focus was on something else. He would glance now and then toward the door. Should he go check up on her? The same question had been repeating in his head for a while now. However, this was a bad time. Only a few days left, as long as he kept things in control, then all would return to norma
Kendrick cursed again and stepped back. Even though he couldn't make out the screams, the voice obviously shouting for help belonged to Hailey. He made a quick survey of the door's layout and with one swift motion, his left arm made contact with the wooden door and it broke apart instantly. "Master, be careful!" The Butler's words came too late. His eyes were wide in their socket and he hurried forward to survey his arm. "Master, are you alright?"Kendrick had no time to answer that. He pushed past the man and barged inside the kitchen. When the door shattered, the screams also stopped. And the sight in front of him– His heart stopped. Was he too late? Both women were covered in blood and a large quantity of the red liquid was plastered everywhere, the floor, the tables, the cabinets, and even the appliances weren't spared. "Kendrick." Relief washed over him like a gush of wind when Hailey who was curled up in a corner sprang up and fled into his arms. "Sharon— she–she's gone mad,
"M–Me?" The maid's body shook and her frightful gaze darted between Kendrick and the Butler. Kendrick frowned at the two's interaction. Hailey was eerily quiet in his arms. He needed to make sure she was alright. "Just follow me!" The Butler grabbed her hand and started pulling her toward the stairs. The maid tried to break her hand free and the Butler's eyes darted around as if looking for an escape route. Kendrick took his eyes off the two and glanced at the rest of the bodyguards. "Take care of her." He nodded toward the fainted maid, who happened to be the one that had called his attention earlier, before finally returning his attention to Hailey. Her hands were now wrapped around his neck and she had her head buried in his chest. She didn't even protest when he took her in his arms and headed toward the stairs. "Hailey," he whispered her name as he walked down the hallway. She didn't lift her head but tightened her arms around him. "Relax, Hailey... You're safe now." The
Of course, she did. Kendrick couldn't take his eyes off her wound. And as the seconds ticked past, the possibility that her wound would get infected increased. "You're losing blood, Hailey—""Get out!" Hailey pointed at the door. "You're being unreasonable." Kendrick sighed. If only she'd stop being stubborn. "Am I?" Hailey raised a brow at him. "You are the unreasonable one, Kendrick. You think you can fool me, do I look like a child?" Her eyes turned glossy.Kendrick stepped forward and tried to reason with her. The last thing he wanted to be added to her baggage of emotions was crying. If she cried now, then all hell would break loose. It'd be hard to calm her down then. "I'm not fooling you, Hailey. You're not a child." "Just get out." She pushed him away, and pushed him all the way out of the bedroom, Kendrick was very astonished at her strength he barely had time to react. "Since you don't wish to tell me anything then leave me alone. Get out and never come back!" Then she
Kendrick took his eyes off the door and glanced at Sharon. She was awake. Her eyes fluttered open, they were still red and she stared blankly at the ceiling. Although the drug's effects didn't wear off completely, she was now calm. That was all Kendrick needed. Her eyes left the ceiling and she glanced sideways. "Ken." Sharon blinked and scurried to sit up. "Don't move." Kendrick held her down and she ceased her movements. "Ken, what happened? My head feels so heavy?" She pressed both hands on her forehead and groaned. Kendrick glared at her and took a syringe and a bottle from the box. "Why did you trick Hailey." He already knew the answer why. He'd be a fool not to. He only wanted to let her know that her actions didn't go unnoticed. "W–What are you talking about?" Sharon broke eye contact with him and her eyes darted to the side. Kendrick ignored her and extracted the liquid, from the bottle, inside the syringe. "Never try that nonsense again," he ordered and took her arm.
He wasn't ready to tell her whatever was going on. He didn't clarify whether Sharon was right or wrong. He decided to keep her in the dark despite what happened. She'd thrown him out of the room yesterday in her fit of anger. He didn't even return to check up on her. Instead, he sent a doctor to check on her mental health. Did he think she was crazy? And in the night, he didn't return. This morning also, he was nowhere to be found. Why was she this helpless? No. Kendrick was the crazy one. He was crazy and Sharon was crazier.Hailey had suspected something was wrong with the girl since she started acting weird in the kitchen. Her words as well as her tone, she absolutely wasn't in her right mind. Although Sharon would use harsh words to taunt her, she had never threatened her life and her baby's. And she had never called her such horrible words. Jinxed. Despite Hailey's shock, the word was stuck in her mind. Sharon called her jinxed and she called her baby the same. Hailey's ha
Hailey's cheeks ached as she struggled to maintain her smile. The more the time passed by, the more she lost her resolve to question Chloe, even though the questions were weighing heavily on her heart.They entered the kitchen and Chloe began setting the utensils in place. She didn't allow Hailey to cut even the vegetables, and all Hailey did was wear an apron and stand by the stove. And the food was done in no time. It took less than thirty minutes. Chloe helped her arrange the food on a table inside the kitchen, and they both sat down on the stools opposite it. It wouldn't be a great idea to have their conversation outside. The daylight was breaking and customers would start flooding in at any moment. "This is so delicious, Sis. It seems your skills have reached an ultimate level." Chloe instantly dug into the food and gave Hailey a thumbs up. "Quit exaggerating." Hailey chuckled. "My skills are still the same.""Don't be so humble, Sis." Chloe's attention was still on the food
It was a forbidden topic in her family, and only her father ever brought it up whenever he was enraged with her. Hailey's heart sank and her mood instantly plummeted. "I'm so so sorry, Sis." Chloe walked around the table and hugged her from behind. "I– I didn't mean to bring it up... All I was trying to say is that I didn't tell her more. I never told her anything suspicious. If she has said any horrible words to you, she must have made them all up to frustrate you. I would never do something as betraying you, believe me." Hailey opened her mouth but no words came out. She could only give Chloe a slow nod. She didn't want to be sad. She didn't have to be sad at the reminder of that? The truth was always there and she had been doing okay no matter the circumstances it brought. Chloe released her and went back to sit on the stool. "Forgive me for bringing it up," she whispered. "It's my fault and I will take full responsibility.""You don't need to be responsible for anything." Hail
Sharelene stood in a corner, watching everything unfold. The family was in a frenzy. She could only see fear in their eyes and hear the fright in their voices.As the staff wheeled Hailey out of the emergency room, a deafening silence fell upon the hallway. And Ken...He hadn't been himself since they came here. He hadn't been himself since a few days back when he learned Hailey was kidnapped. Neither would he speak to anyone, nor listen to those that tried to talk reason into him and advise him to take it rationally. Since a few days back, he was the complete opposite of the man she had met many years ago and had a second chance of getting close to again. The man that would always keep calm no matter the circumstances...He was nowhere to be found. Ken was completely different from that man she knew. In her mind, she'd almost gotten what she wanted... Or more specifically, what her family wanted. But now, staring down at the ring on her finger, it was as if the engagement neve
```````And every day, Kendrick lived in guilt. For the next several months, every minute of his life was consumed by guilt. It took him weeks to gain her mother's favor, and even months to regain her grandfather's. He would come back every day, hoping that her eyes would at least flutter. Her bump kept increasing at an alarming rate. His every day was filled with fear and trepidation. And one day, her eyes did flutter. He was supposed to feel joy, but not at a chance that more trouble loomed ahead. Her pregnancy was due and not a week after that, the babies arrived. His real fear resurfaced at that moment. The fear that they would never be able to hold their bundles of joy together. The fear that he would never get the chance to tell her that he loved her. However, she proved the doctors wrong, chasing away his fears. Now, staring down at the babies, her utmost gifts to him, Kendrick had never felt so much contented in his life. He'd never been able to wipe off his smile sin
***Kendrick paced in front of the Emergency Room. His heart was in his stomach and his hand never left his hair. It was as if she'd been inside there for hours now despite being wheeled in just now.No amount of self-reassurance could calm him. No one attempted to offer him reassuring words even. They've all been in the same dilemma.Her mother wouldn't stop crying and he couldn't find the heart to offer her those words he'd yearned so much to hear. Hadn't it all been his fault? Hailey was pregnant. How was that possible? When they arrived here, it was the first thing the nurses said after taking her vitals. But Kendrick still found it hard to digest.And the fact that the child would definitely turn out to be his only made him more confused. It made him angrier with himself. "Ken, what is going on here?" Rushed footsteps sounded in the hallway and he glanced sideways to find his parents as well as Sharelene. "What are you doing in this place? Is someone wounded?" Asked his f
~~~'Hailey.'Kendrick's hands trembled and his grip on the gun threatened to loosen. Staring up at the balcony where she was being held captive, he fought not to let the rage take over. The rage that became multifold the moment he sighted them dragging her here. Her body was limped. She looked worse than how she'd looked in the video. And an almost similar-looking lady, whose face was cascaded with tears, was being held at gunpoint beside her. Was that her mother? "Don't worry, Mr. Reid." Standing with them were the three shareholders. "She isn't dead yet. But she'll soon be, if you don't follow our commands."Mr. Weimar and the rest. Kendrick's assumption hadn't been wrong. They had a hand in this. "Already, you've broken one of our rules," scoffed one of them. "We thought we told you to come alone. Coming here with your friend is like seeking more trouble. Will Mr. Carter be competent enough to fend for himself?""Shit! Buddy, these stupid old fools are underestimating me," De
***"Hailey, listen to me!" Rob grabbed her shoulders, forcing her to look up. "This is important, you have to take it."Nothing was more important to Hailey right now than getting away from him. Not only did she fear these drugs he had brought her, but she also feared the way his demeanor had changed ever since he returned with them.Of course, even if Rob was really trying to save her, there was no way she was going to cooperate with him.Yesterday, he'd secretly taken her blood, waking her up. And he returned this morning, looking agitated and somehow angry at her. "Hailey!" Rob's hold became tighter. "You must take these drugs immediately. I can't get you out here if you don't. Please, Hailey." He softened his voice. "Just take the damned drugs, you'll feel better. We both will feel better.""What exactly is wrong with you?" Her mother's voice faded in the background. "Leave her alone, she doesn't want to take them. Please I'm begging you, don't torment her any further."While he
Maniac.Hailey lifted her hand weakly to send a slap across his face, but her hand went limp and fell mid-way."M–Murderer." She pushed his chest. "Just go, leave me alone.""Hailey." Footsteps approached the room and Rob said frantically, "Please hold on." He touched her forehead. "You're sick. I'll get someone to treat you. I'll get you out, I promise."Then he sprang to his feet and left, closing the door behind him. Hailey was left wondering how such lunatics could be left wandering among normal people. She sniffed and waddled back into her mother's embrace. How blind had she been to associate with these kinds of people in the past?And how could she put a stop to these endless noises and intense headaches? She didn't want to remember? She didn't want to recall whatever they had shared in the past. ***'Ken, you have to save me. These strange men have captured me and they won't release me until you come. If you don't come alone, Ken, they're going to kill me and my Mum.'Kendric
...The hours dragged on, and from the tiny cracks in the wall, it seemed night had come. Still in her mother's embrace, Hailey shut her eyes to keep up with that pain.Both hands were wrapped around her stomach and she'd shiver now and then. As much as she'd like sleep to overtake her, it didn't. The exhaustion weighing her down didn't let her achieve that. The exhaustion caused by the aches all over her body. Her head pounded constantly, the voices also became louder each time she was left to her thoughts. Those hallucinations were neverending, and very soon she was afraid that they'd burst out, damaging more parts of her brain.The darkness slowly disappeared and the creaking sound of the door made her aware that morning had come. Another day of torture and pain."Hey, wake up!"Before cold water or anything worse could be splashed on her, Hailey leaned away from her mother's embrace who was also awake."Take your food!" The man burly man threw a food box and a water bottle at them
***"Ken, you have to save me. These strange men have captured me and they won't release me until you come. If you don't come alone, Ken, they're going to kill me and my Mum. They have laid traps for you, Ken—"Hailey was cut shut by a hard slap across her face. Bound to a chair with ropes, cold water was splashed on her face. She licked the side of her lips, tasting the metallic liquid; the only thing that kept her from fainting."Damnit! Woman. I told you to leave the trap part out! Are you deaf or what!?" The man holding a camera in front of her shouted. "Now, let's take another video. You will say everything you were asked to.""Stop wasting your time, Man," the portly man said and walked forward. "I don't think this lady is willing to cooperate.""I told you she's a stubborn one," Chloe scoffed from a corner."Now listen to me, Young lady." The portly man approached her and lifted her chin. "If you keep acting this way, we can't fulfill our promise to you. Give us your cooperation
***"Buddy, this is serious. How could she just disappear into thin air? Is there a chance that they're hidden somewhere in this city?"This city? Probably not. Kendrick had turned the whole city upside down. He'd deployed every force he could think of. They'd searched everywhere; every warehouse, every dilapidated building. There was no sign of them. It had been three days and there wasn't any traces of them. He'd driven to the cemetery that day, hoping more than anything that she hadn't spent the night there. And his prayers turned out to work. Only that, what actually happened was worse than spending a night in the cemetery. The sight of her phone by the cemetery gates was all he needed to know that something bad had happened. She was abducted. And there was still no traces of the suspects. Her sister and that guy. "Damnit! This is all screwed up." Devon paced for a while before sitting on the couch. "You didn't tell me you've taken her back. You never should have allowed her