“Just tell me one thing, as that is the only thing that matters to me, not any of the things you’ve been saying since you started talking. Is Barry truly dead? These men told me that he was and that someone close to the family told them that. I'm guessing that someone was you.” Derek said, interrupting Blair mid-story. He could tell that she was pissed at the interruption, but he could not care less.“No, he’s not, but he will soon be, which is for the better. He's taking too long to do it, in my opinion. I don’t recognize him as my grandchild. The only grandchildren I will ever recognize are the ones that would come from Amanda. Any grandchildren from you are bastards, in my opinion.”“Well, good luck with that. Amanda can't keep a man long enough for them to get into a solid relationship, not to talk of her giving you any grandchildren.”“Watch your goddamned mouth. Anyway, Barry’s supposed death was just something I told these people to tell you so you would not spend your entire t
Jerome and the man who was holding him captive by pointing a gun at him and leading him through the forest had only walked for about twenty to thirty minutes when Jerome decided to hell with it!He was not about to be led like a sheep to the slaughter by the asshole behind him.He needed answers and since he did not know how many more armed men were at wherever this man was taking him to, he needed those answers here and now. This asshole was going to provide him with those answers whether he liked it or not.“I have to pee,” Jerome said, breaking the silence that had been between them since they started walking.“I don’t give a flying fuck. If you need to pee that desperately, do it on your fucking self in your fucking pants. All I know is that I want you to keep moving, if not, you might open your eyes in the great beyond quicker than you can say ‘Jack Robinson.”“This is highly inconvenient. Tell me what the world is turning into if a man cannot go camping and hunt some nice deer l
“Mom? Mom, where are you? I need to tell you something.” Amanda called out, knocking several times on the door to her mother’s room, but she got no reply, which was strange because her mother never went anywhere without informing her, about it first. Also, when Amanda knocked on her door earlier in the day before she went on her fact-finding spree with Denise, her mother didn’t answer the door either. She could not wait to tell her mother about her findings … that the woman they both loathed so much had a child for Derek. She needed to get her mother’s input on that very annoying information. Pushing the door open, Amanda made her way into the large and tastefully furnished room and looked around. Her mother’s bed was made, but she wasn’t in the room. She saw the letter that her mother had left behind and quickly scanned it, then sighed in relief before picking up her phone to place a call across to her. To her surprise, the call didn’t go through … something which never ever
BACK IN THE DAY Not long after the bastard child came into their lives, things turned for the better for the Turners. Mr. Turner finally got a huge loan approved and was able to get funding from some investors, which he used to start his dream company. The business took off really fast and became an overnight success, much to Mr. Turner’s and even Blair’s joy. He no longer talked about a divorce, and his bastard son had become integrated into their family. To Blair’s chagrin, however, her husband attributed his overnight success to the entrance of his son into their lives and called the boy, whom he named Derek, his ‘lucky charm.’ This never ceased to piss her off, especially when she noticed that he had started to show favoritism to the child over their own flesh and blood, Amanda. He still didn’t bother to confess that he was the real father of the child to Blair, and Blair also didn’t tell him that she knew about his secret. So long as he did not expect her to be the
Blair did not think that she was going to ever forget the day the will was read in a hurry. That was the day she found out that her husband, whom she had adored for all these years, was nothing but an asshole who placed his bastard son above her, his own wife.She sat there in shock as she found out that her husband had willed almost everything that he had to Derek. Amanda’s trust fund, which was substantial, but was mere peanuts compared to what Derek was given, was hers to keep, but that was all she got.Blair was also well provided for, but again, what she got was nothing compared to what Derek got. For starters, the huge loan that he took from his father to start up his company was written off.Then the bulk of his father’s wealth was passed down to him, with the instructions that he could lend a helping hand to his mother and sister as he saw fit.This was such a huge blow and insult to Blair, who could not believe that her husband would have the audacity to do such a thing, but
Blair listened to Derek give his absurd ultimatums, hardly able to believe that this was happening to her of all people. How could it be that a bastard boy, whom she had pitied and let live under her roof all these years, now had the unmitigated gall to dictate how she and her daughter, who were the rightful heirs of her husband’s wealth were going to benefit from that wealth.“You must be joking,” Blair told Derek in fury.“I wish I was, mother, but the fact is that I'm not. I will not sit by and watch you both squander everything that Dad spent his lifetime building in a matter of a few years. Since Amanda has refused to be reasonable and you cannot say no to her whims and caprices, then we will have to do things the hard way.”“What the fuck do you mean by that? I don’t care about any of the big grammar you’re using. I want money and you're going to give it to me. That's what Dad used to do.” Amanda told Derek.“Well, in case you failed to notice, Dad is no longer here. I’m in cha
PRESENT DAYThere was a long pause as Blair finally stopped talking to take a breath. Derek did not bother to say anything into the silence, because his chest and arm had only just stopped throbbing from the pain that was inflicted on him the last time he dared to interrupt her.“Well, are you not going to say something?” Blair prodded him.“Poor Denise. I can't bring myself to feel sorry for her though. How exactly do you intend to frame her for my kidnap and subsequent death?”“Oh, that’s easy. Leave it to me to do that and don’t worry your handsome head about it.”“Alright then. I won't. do you think I could go and sleep a little now, or do you intend to finish me off anytime soon?” Derek asked Blair.He was putting on a brave front, even though inwardly, he was terrified. The last thing he wanted was to die and it was crazy to think that it was most likely going to happen in the span of a few hours or even minutes because Blair looked like she had gotten everything that she wante
There was silence for a while and then Rooney got up and went outside to check out what was going on. Derek could not exactly make out what he and the other person were saying, but in less than ten minutes, he got the shock of the century.Rooney and another man came in, dragging someone who was tied up and bleeding from his arm. The bleeding man seemed familiar and when the two men who held him captive roughly shoved him to the ground, Derek understood why.It was Jerome, his head of security at home. Blair too was clearly shocked, and for a second, she seemed at a loss as to what to do.“What the fuck is he doing here?” She asked, at last, directing her question to the new man who shrugged before answering.“I found him close to the edge of the woods, near your car. When I questioned him, he said that he was camping nearby and was just loitering around. Rooney here says otherwise, however. He says that the man is this guy’s bodyguard.” The man replied, indicating Derek as ‘this gu
“It was by sheer luck, if not, they never would have found you on time, and what would have happened then does not bear thinking about. Apparently, they managed to arrest the guy that Amanda initially hired to do all this sometime yesterday.Once the asshole realized that there was no chance in hell that he would get out of this and that he was well and truly done for, he began to sing like a canary. He led the police right to the house, and the rest, as they say, is history. I'm so thankful we got there on time.” Damien said.“Yeah, me too. It’s still hard to believe that Amanda could be filled with so much hate in her heart and that she was willing to go to such lengths to harm Derek, me, and even our child who has done nothing to her.”“I was surprised as well. I always knew that she was a mean person, but I never imagined that she was downright evil. I'm glad you followed through on your instinct.”“Me too. So is Amanda still …” Ava asked, unable to finish the question.“Unfortuna
Mother and daughter hugged each other for what felt like decades, and when they finally pulled apart, Ava's arm was hurting where she had been shot."I'm so sorry, baby. No one will ever hurt you again, I promise. Not when I'm alive." Ava said, ruffling Harper's hair, and wincing when she saw where the area on her head that had been shaved because of an injury there."The bad woman hit me with a gun. She shot Uncle Steve with the gun. Uncle Steve wanted to run away with me and Gracie, Mom." Harper explained, noting that Ava's eyes were on the wound.Ava gulped and averted her gaze immediately, unable to imagine the horror that Harper and Gracie had been through. Little children like them should never have to see someone murdered in cold blood.Seeing such a thing messed with even grownups like her, not to talk of children.The girls were going to need loads of therapy. Once again, Ava damned Amanda and Denise to hell and back in her mind. Suddenly, she realized the implications o
Ava had grabbed Denise because she wanted to use her as a human shield, and her plan worked pretty well, as it was all that saved her from what would have been certain death.The bullets that Amanda had just fired hit Denise point blank and in rapid succession. She died quickly, although the other two women didn’t know it yet.Ava felt Denise’s body jerk with the force of the shots at the same time that she saw Amanda crumple to the ground as though in slow motion.That was confusing, and Ava stared at her in surprise, unable to fathom what had just happened.She glanced down at Denise, whom she still held, and who was clearly very dead, and let go of her body immediately, feeling extremely sickened.She needed to focus on not getting killed, which was what Amanda was bent on doing to her.Amanda was trying to get back up, but before she could manage to do that, someone tackled her, and hit the gun out of her hand,Within moments, policemen swarmed the room, and Ava collapsed in relie
Denise and Ava stared warily at each other after Amanda left the room, and a few seconds later, Ava decided to try to reason with the other woman, even though she wasn’t sure that Denise was going to listen to her. “Denise, please, let us go. I promise not to press charges against you. You must know from all indications that there’s no way the both of you are going to get out of this unscathed. It doesn’t matter what Amanda says now. I can see in your eyes that you know it.” Ava tried to get to Denise. It was all she could do not to rush straight at Denise and grab Harper, who was whimpering in fear and trying not to move so that the knife would not nick her, away from the woman. She could see the fear and indecision in Denise’s face. Apparently, she was wise to realize what Amanda clearly failed to realize, which was that Ava was right and there was no way she and Amanda going to get out of this without being apprehended by the police. “Shut up!” Denise muttered. “Think abou
Ava didn’t wait to see what would happen next. She rushed straight at Amanda, faintly aware that her arm was hurting weirdly, but her adrenaline was too great for her to think anything of the pain right then. She had taken self-defense classes several times in the past, and although it had been a long time since she took them, those classes came in handy at that moment. Her life, as well as those of Harper and the other little girl, Gracie, depended on her. She couldn't let them down. She began to try to wrestle the gun away from Amanda, who struggled fiercely with her. As they struggled with the gun, it kept discharging, but by some miracle, neither of them was hit. Finally, the gun was out of bullets, and Amanda let go of it while yelling for Denise to come at the same time. Ava wasn’t done with her, though. She thought of poor Harper and her friend who were somewhere in that house, scared to death and definitely not in the best shape. She thought about Derek, who had been throug
Adrenaline pumped through Ava’s entire body, and utter rage filled her entire being. She was right! She had been right all along. These evil women were the ones who had abducted her daughter and another innocent child. She would have called for help, but there was no service on her phone, and she could only hope that Damien and the police would be somehow able to find her and soon too, before something bad happened to her or the girls. Had it been she had thought things through earlier, she would have gotten a car tracker before coming on this solo adventure. Unfortunately, never in her wildest dreams had she imagined what the night would bring, and so she had failed to take this necessary precaution. One moment, she was standing outside the house in fear, and the next moment, she found herself beside the door. Without caring what was waiting on the other side of the door, she threw herself against it as hard as she could. She thought fleetingly of the poor soul that was growing in
Ava didn’t go back home after driving away from Denise’s place. Instead, she parked her car the next block away from Denise’s house in a spot where her car would not easily be detected.Then she waited for what felt like an eternity for Denise to leave her house because she had every intention of following the woman to wherever it was that she was going.Her phone was blowing up with calls from Damien, who had left her several messages, asking her not to do anything drastic that could cause Denise to have the power to get her arrested or something.She ignored the messages and continued to wait. After a while, she saw a car, which she recognized as one of Amanda’s cars, come from the opposite direction and drive towards Denise’s house.Ava’s heart immediately began to beat really fast. Amanda was picking Denise up? Where the hell were both of them headed by that time of the night? Several minutes later, the car appeared again and drove off into the night.Ava let a few minutes pass, a
Ava sat in her idling car outside Denise’s house, her nerves failing her now that she was here.What was she thinking, sneaking out of her house like a thief in the night and coming here to the house of her sworn enemy?She just couldn't continue to sit at home, wringing her hands and crying while waiting for something positive to happen.She wasn’t sure what to do now that she was here, but she had to do something.Taking a deep breath, she took her phone and texted Damien to tell him where she was, just in case somehow, her hunch was right.If it was, then it would be incredibly dangerous and foolhardy to just walk into Denise’s waiting arms without telling anyone where she was.Even though it was only a little past eight in the evening, the streets were deserted, and there was no one around.Ava was about to open her car door and get out of the car when the lights in Denise’s house went off. Apparently, she was preparing to go to sleep.Ava sat still for a few minutes, wondering wh
It had been several days since Amanda and Denise paid their so-called courtesy call to Ava at her house … a move that Denise thought was incredibly stupid and dangerous.After all, the three women weren't friends and all of their acquaintances knew that, so it was surely going to look weird and suspicious that Denise and Amanda decided to visit Ava.Unfortunately, once Amanda put her mind to something, especially in recent times, it was practically impossible to change her mind, and so Denise had no choice but to go along with whatever she wanted, even if she thought it was foolhardy.“I’ve got a bad feeling, Amanda,” Denise said.“About what?” Amanda, who was in a terribly foul mood asked.It was now common knowledge that Derek had not only survived the gunshots but had also gone on to regain consciousness. Ever since this news broke out, Amanda had been unconsolable and had even taken out her frustration on Derek’s daughter, whom she still held captive.“I don’t know … I’ve got a ba