Emma walked out of the room briskly, her footsteps echoing lightly as she made her way downstairs. The rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee and waffles with honey wafted up to meet her. As she reached the dining room, she saw the Sinclairs chatting animatedly around the table. The moment Emma appeared in the doorway, the chatter ceased abruptly. All eyes turned towards her, and a smirk settled on Mrs. Sinclair's face, a knowing smile playing on her lips."Well, look who's awake," Mrs. Sinclair drawled, her eyes twinkling with mischief. "I definitely wasn't expecting you to be up so early after the busy night you had." Emma flushed a deep crimson, her cheeks burning as she stood there with a sheepish smile.Lucas, sitting at the far end of the table, glanced at his mother. "Don't tease her, Mother," he said, his tone half-joking, as he chuckled. "I had to endure all those years of your loud love making with father. Just one night shouldn't give you the right to torment us like this." H
The man slowly stepped aside, allowing them to move into the house. His gun still pointed at them."If you say a word, I'm going to shoot you and your girlfriend dead in seconds," the shooter threatened, his voice a low growl. He waved his gun at Lucas, his eyes cold and unyielding. Lucas nodded slowly, his jaw clenched.Emma's heart pounded as she tried to take in the scene. "Now tell him where you kept it," the man with the gun ordered, pointing at a woman tied to a chair. The ropes dug into her wrists, leaving angry red marks. Emma's breath caught in her throat as she stared at the woman—it seemed she was the one she had been talking to. How had Mr. Ethan known to find her so quickly? Had he been tracking her phone?The woman's eyes blazed with defiance. "I don't know where it is," she spat. The man's face twisted in anger. Without warning, he kicked her hard in the stomach. She gasped, doubling over in pain, the chair creaking under the impact.Emma winced and looked away, her sto
Emma inhaled sharply, not expecting what she had just heard. "Does the phone contain information that could help?" She asked and the woman nodded.Emma glanced at Lucas, whose eyes were distant and unfocused, lost in thought.Lucas suddenly stood up from the worn-out couch, his expression resolute. "This is what we're going to do," he said, his voice steady. He ran a hand through his tousled hair, a sign of the stress they were under.Emma watched as he began to pace. "I'm going to call the police, and you're going to speak to them," he continued, "They'll come here and find everything exactly as it is. But this time, we'll take pictures and leak them to the public. That way, they can't cover anything up, especially with the FBI involved." He glanced at the woman, whose eyes widened slightly, a mix of fear in her gaze."We need to make sure they can't hide this," Lucas explained. "You're going to tell them you've been attacked and that you have information they need. When they're clos
"This is one of the disk file you gave to us, we would like to watch it with you," the police officer stated and Mrs Veronica nodded.The screen showed a dimly lit kitchen. Mrs. Maria was gagged and tied on the floor, her eyes wide with fear. Ethan Maddox was pacing around, his face twisted in anger, his mouth moving rapidly as he shouted. Although there was no sound, the rage in his body language was unmistakable. Mrs. Maria seemed to be pleading, shaking her head in desperation.The scene escalated quickly. Ethan Maddox grabbed a knife from the counter and, with a swift, brutal motion, slashed at Mrs. Maria's neck. Blood spurted out in gruesome bursts, staining the floor and walls. Mrs. Veronica's breath caught in her throat, her eyes glued to the screen.The officer quickly shut the laptop, her hands shaking slightly. She took a deep breath, her face pale. "This... this is more than enough evidence," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Emma and Lucas sat in the car, parked
Upstairs, Lucas leaned back in his leather chair, the phone pressed to his ear. Morgan's voice echoed through the line, breaking the silence."We need to see Lucas. It's urgent," Morgan's tone was urgent.Lucas frowned, his brow furrowing. "See me for what?" he asked, his voice guarded.There was a brief pause on the other end of the line before Morgan replied, "About Ethan Maddox. There's been a breakthrough, and I thought you should know."Lucas's grip tightened on the phone. Ethan Maddox. He inhaled sharply."Why are you trying to help me?" Lucas's voice was low, contemplative. "It feels like there's more to this than just the case."A soft chuckle came through the line, warm and unexpectedly genuine. "Yes, Lucas," Morgan admitted, her tone unguarded. "I have my reasons. I want you to warm up to me, and if helping with this case will achieve that, then I'm willing to take the risk. I'm really sorry about yesterday, I shouldn't have done that. It's been years, and I should have allo
The lady sighed deeply, her shoulders slumping as she collapsed onto the edge of the bed. "Maybe you weren't convincing enough," she suggested. "You should have worn the other more revealing red dress. And maybe you sounded pushy..."Her words faded into the background as Morgan's anger reached a boiling point. With a sudden, ferocious movement, she stood up and crossed the room in two quick strides. Grabbing the lady by the front of her shirt, she lifted her off the bed and slammed her against the nearby wall. The impact sent a dull thud through the room."If you want to pass blame on me for your stupid plans not working," Morgan hissed through gritted teeth, her face inches from the lady's, "you're not going to like how it ends for you."The lady's eyes widened in shock and fear. Her breath came in shallow, rapid bursts. As Morgan's grip tightened momentarily before letting go, the lady slid down the wall, her legs weak beneath her. She straightened herself slowly, smoothing out her
"Cookies or a sandwich?" Emma asked.Tina picked cookies without hesitation. Emma retrieved a pack from the pantry and placed a few on a plate, setting it on the counter next to where they would soon sit with their hot drinks.The kettle began to whistle, steam escaping from its spout as Emma poured the hot water into two waiting mugs filled with cocoa mix. The rich aroma of chocolate filled the air.They sat down at the kitchen table, the silence heavy between them as they sipped their drinks. The warmth of the hot chocolate seeped through Emma's fingers, temporarily soothing her senses.After they finished their drinks and Tina left, Emma returned to the living room. The fatigue of the day washed over her, and she settled onto the couch, her thoughts wandering to Lucas.Hours later, the sound of the front door opening roused Emma from her doze. She blinked sleepily, glancing at the clock—it was a little past seven. Lucas entered the room.He settled beside her on the couch, leaning o
His lips curled into a sneer. "I'm going to win my case tomorrow. And when I get out, Emma, I'll make sure you pay. I'll kill you, and before that, I'll have my way with you. Brutally. You'll regret everything. You should have stopped when you had the chance."Emma's smile didn't waver, but inside, a shiver ran down her spine. She steadied herself, refusing to let him see any weakness. She knew the case was too good for him to win it. "We'll see about that, Ethan Maddox. How pitiful it is, the once powerful Maddox, stuck in a jail cell." She stood up, adjusting her coat with deliberate grace.As the guards moved to take him away, Ethan's expression shifted, a malicious glint in his eye. "Watch your back, Emma. Mario is still out there, and he's planning something big."Emma paused, her heart skipping a beat, but she didn't turn around. She walked out of the room, the echo of Ethan's words trailing after her.With Mario still roaming out there, she knew everything was truly far from ov