Ruby flipped through the medical file of Ciara’s mother, a wicked smile playing on her lips as she sat on the comfortable couch in the rented apartment in Ciara’s hometown.Colt and Linda were also present, as well as Hayes and Martin.“The little wench thought she was smatter,” Ruby said. “How dare she begin to dig up matters that have been buried already?” Linda looked at Ruby with pride. She could not be more proud of her mother than she was now. Ruby was fearless and fierce, and she handled issues with vigor. The moment Colt had received a call from Martin that Ciara was snooping around, she had swung right into action, and also, in the next couple of hours, they had all arrived at the hometown. According to Ruby, in taking care of Ciara, they needed to be closely within range to avoid matters running out of control.But when Linda turned and looked at Hayes and Martin where they stood before them, she noticed that Martin was shaking and sweating.“What is wrong with you?” Linda
“I cannot leave without that file,” Ciara said stubbornly as they drove out of her hometown. She had been saying these exact words to Samuel for the umpteenth time, but he was deliberating ignoring her and pretending not to hear what she was saying.“Please,” Ciara begged. She was hundred percent certain that when she was arrested, her mother’s file had been in her backpack, and now, they were not there. “It is not enough that you are having an affair outside our marriage and you even had to murder him, now you are talking to me about going back? Do you have an idea the strings I had to pull to get you out of there?” Samuel’s voice was taut was anger.Ciara was taken aback by the tone of his voice. “I am innocent,” Ciara said even though she knew that it was as good as pointless.“Why, Ciara?” Samuel eventually turned to her and asked.It was the first time that Samuel was calling her name. It was the first time that Samuel was actually calling her name without yelling or raising the
“That cannot be true!” Ciara cried out. She could not believe her ears. She was here barely twenty-four hours ago, and she was certain that Lottie had been the one who had attended to her, so what the heck was she saying about not knowing Ciara?“I don’t want a scene here,” Lottie said. She was struggling to keep her voice from trembling. “Perhaps there was another receptionist on duty when she came here?” Samuel asked. He was growing impatient as the seconds ticked by.“No sir, I am the only receptionist who has been working here all week,” Lottie said.“But it cannot be true that you do not recognize me, Lottie!” Ciara was confused and perplexed, and she deliberately mentioned her name so that she would know. How is it possible that a hotel, even though it wasn’t a luxurious one, would hire someone with dementia? Lottie’s gaze darted sideways again. Something was making her agitated, and now that she had denied Ciara, she could see that Lottie was a bit uncomfortable and restless.
“You are toast, Ciara.”Ciara could not get those cold words from Samuel out of her head. Everything had fallen more apart than she had anticipated. She had lost everything more now, and what was worse, she might end up in prison again, and this time around, forever. Nobody would be there to save her, and since she saw Samuel, he hadn’t said anything about his mother, Aunt Mary.Indeed, Ciara was toast.As they drove back to the city, Ciara could not help but think about how pathetic her life was. She was in a deep shit, and just when she thought she was doing any better or making headway, something just comes up and ruins it. Maybe she should have just let sleeping dogs lie when she realized that she did not even know what made her mother sick, but then again, she could not fault herself for letting curiosity get the better part of her.This was her mother they were talking about.The same woman that made her do the dirty thing she did with the supposed dying man as negotiated by the
Ruby had returned after taking the call and hearing Ciara’s frantic cry over the phone about her mother’s failing health and she had rushed Ciara’s mother to the medical house in Ciara’s hometown.“Why not a hospital?” Ciara had summoned courage and challenged Ruby when they had arrived at the medical house. With the worsened condition of her mother, she had thought that Ruby would take her mother to a big hospital where she would get better treatment and bounce back to life in no time. Ciara had been so worried about her mother’s health that what she saw on their living room table had almost evaded her.Before Ruby arrived at their house, that glass of liquid hadn’t been there at all, which then made Ciara think that that could be the reason why her mother’s health failed drastically. Granted, her mother had been sick, but she was still going about her daily activities, but after that visit on that particular day, she had just completely almost turned into a vegetable.“This is where
Ciara had arrived at the Luscious house with Ruby some hours later. After Ruby’s lame attempt at conversing with Ciara failed, she had completely given up, so they had had quite a quiet ride all the way.Ciara had looked at the building and thought it was big and beautiful compared to the one she shared with her mother, but she was not swooned. She would even pick the gutters to living in a mansion if her mother was not going to be there.“Welcome home,” Ruby had said tightly. Her voice was very hostile, and Ciara had noticed it the moment the words came out of her mouth.Now Ciara was certain that she hadn’t been imagining things when she had felt that Ruby’s kindness was faked. The words sounded more like “Welcome to hell” in Ciara’s ears. “This is not my home,” Ciara disagreed stubbornly. It was never her desire to come here, and as long as she remained here, she would continue to act in ways that would make Ruby and Colt Luscious realize that she did not want to stay. Ciara had f
Ciara had fallen on the floor and cried bitterly after Ruby had said those harsh words to her. She had rolled and cried and cried until she became weak and tired. “I still have a mother,” Ciara had kept telling herself hoping that as she did, some magic would transport her to her mother’s bedside that very minute, but of course, nothing like that happened.Ciara had continued to cry and wish for her mother. She was in a new house that felt like she was in hell. She could not still understand why Ruby had forcefully uprooted her from her mother’s side all the way here when she had known that deep down, she hadn’t even remotely liked Ciara or even wanted her to live in her house.What had Ruby meant by Ciara did not have a mother anymore? Before they left the medical house, her mother had definitely been weak and very sick, but she had been alive, because Ciara had spoken to her before they had left, and if Ruby had gotten a call from the doctor that her mother had died after they had l
Ciara had startled and jumped when Linda had called her an eavesdropper. Worse, Ruby and Colt had heard the sound and rushed out of their rooms. They had been shocked to find both Linda and Ciara outside their door.“She was eavesdropping,” Linda had immediately said the moment they came out.“It’s a lie!” Ciara had tried to deny it and set herself free, because she scowl she saw on Ruby’s face made her realize that she would be severely dealt with.“Into your room, right now,” Colt ordered Linda. Linda sulked and whimpered at the same time before stalking off to her room angrily. Ciara had also turned cautiously to return to her own room, but Ruby’s angry voice stopped her instantly.“And you, where do you think you are going?” Ruby had asked Ciara.“To my room,” Ciara had answered calmly while praying that they would let her off just as easily as they had let Linda off. In that moment, Ciara was not even thinking about the scary conversation she had heard from Ruby and Colt. Inste
Samuel arrived at the police station in his own car, following the cops. He was boiling with anger, but his anger was to Colt, and not the cops, because they were simply doing what they were asked to do.“What is the meaning of this?” Samuel asked the moment he got into the office he was invited into before. The head cop signaled to Samuel to sit down, and although Samuel sat, he was still upset. This was the second time in a couple of days that he was being invited to the hospital, and he was no longer finding it a joke.“Mr. Fury, we have a lot against you,” he told Samuel.“How do you mean?” Samuel asked, not bothering to mask his anger. “I was here the last time, and you asked me to go, so what is this about?” Samuel demanded gruffly.“Our interrogation the last time was inconclusive, and we informed you about this, so inviting you back here shouldn’t be strange, or even rile you up,” the head cop said, saying the last words with caution.“You do know who I am, right?” Samuel thr
Ciara waited for Samuel to return, but he seemed that was not happening any time soon. She had woken up much later after a disturbing dream, and had found the penthouse very empty. For the first time, Ciara found herself lonely in Samuel’s absence. Maybe it was because of the moment they shared together before she fell asleep, but she could not exactly tell.Then there was the deal with Rudge. Although he was yet to call her back, Ciara still did not want to take chances with him. This was her only opportunity to know about what happened, and contrary to Samuel’s belief, Ciara was certain that he truly had something to tell her. If there was anyone aside from the Luscious family who knew exactly why she went to prison, it would be an employee of theirs, especially the one that worked closely with Linda.All the years living with and knowing Linda Luscious, Ciara knew that she was full of shady and dirty things. There were always skeletons in her cupboard. So now that Rudge had called
So you two created a gang behind my back,” Samuel questioned Kingston after Quinton had left.He intentionally stayed in the study while Quinton sorted out her things and left. Samuel would not go back on his words; he had already fired her, and that was it. Right now, he was even angry with everyone. So while he was struggling to put things in place and make things work out for him, his own employee had been sabotaging every move by reporting to Ciara. Now he understood why he was always seeing her staring at him weirdly; she had been eavesdropping on him every minute and reporting back to Ciara, which was why she had been able to stay two steps ahead.Now he felt like a horrible fool.“What is it with Ciara that everyone just wants to protect her?” Samuel asked himself in frustration. From his mother to his own employee, who was even trying to recruit his driver into the league. For the life of him, Samuel could not understand the hold that Ciara Summers had on everyone else. His
Linda had locked herself up in the room ever since the scandal. She could not even bring herself to go anywhere as close as downstairs, because she did not even want to deal with curious stares from the employees. Not only had she been skipping meals, she had also been avoiding her parents, especially her mother, because she could not deal with any firm of judgments right now.In truth, the Luscious mansion had been somewhat gravely quiet ever since. Linda was a nervous wreck as she called Hayes. She had been calling him almost every ten minutes, but she could not bring herself to stop.“Anything else?” Linda asked the moment the call connected.“No, Linda. He has been in the main house for hours now. Maybe he has called it a day, and I think I should too,” Hayes said, sounding tired.“Don’t you dare move from there!” Linda barked. They had missed Samuel for days, unable to trail him, because he had gone to hide somewhere unknown, and Linda had quickly told Hayes where to find Samu
Samuel got into the main house and flopped on the couch, extremely tired. From what he could see outside, all his domestic staff were in good shape and doing their jobs well, so Samuel closed his eyes and tried to take in as much rest as possible. He did not want to think much about anything for now; he just wanted to rest. If he could stay here for a couple of hours, and even take a nap in the process, he would be relieved, but shutting his brain off completely was not something he could do, considering all that was going on at the moment. He would need to take extra caution dealing with Colt henceforth, but Samuel could not tell if Kingston was now strong enough to get back to work. He knew he should have called Doctor Pedro to ask about Kingston’s improvement, but he had been swamped with things. Anyway, now that he was here, he would ask him personally. Samuel opened his eyes and looked around, and everywhere seemed quiet. Samuel was now used to catching Quinton standing by the
Samuel drove home, his mind muddled up in thoughts. It was a card he played on Colt, and like a mirror, he saw right through Colt.More than ever before, and for the very first time, Samuel was certain that there was something amiss. Colt could not even answer the last question he asked him. Samuel thought of going to the penthouse, but he changed his mind last minute. He hadn’t been to the main house in days now, and since he was still in charge of the Fury house and wealth, he needed to go there and ensure that everything was okay.Changing directions now, his mind went back to Colt Luscious. Samuel knew what he hadn’t known for years now; he was also a victim of Colt and Ruby’s games, but he could not exactly put the points together. All along, he had been worrying so much about understanding what was going on in Ciara’s life and trying to piece together bits and pieces of the things he knew, and he had no idea that he might also need to piece them together. Now, Samuel was begin
Samuel and Colt stared at each other for the longest time, each refusing to break the ice, and equally refusing to be less deadly in their stares.“You are ungrateful,” Colt said angrily.“How so?” Samuel asked, refusing to back down.If it was before, he would allow Colt Luscious to guilt-trip him into feeling like he needed to set things right.“I did everything for you, Samuel Fury. I showed up for you when no one else would. I became your benefactor when there was no one to even help you. I aided you to get back the Fury name and wealth, and what did I get in return?” Colt said, his eyes spitting fire.“Say how I fucking betrayed you, Colt, and stop beating around the bush,” Samuel stated bluntly, almost cutting Colt off. Colt ground his teeth in annoyance, and was also surprised at Samuel’s disrespectful tone.“You got my daughter pregnant!” Colt barked.“Did I?” Samuel asked, looking at Colt square in the eyes challengingly. “How am I certain that your daughter was the one I ha
Samuel had been in many uncomfortable situations, ones that required deep and intense emotions, but he had never seen anything like this, and deep down, he knew that there was still more that Ciara was yet to tell him.As he stood above Ciara and watched her, her words just kept floating through his mind. And to think he had actually believed Linda when she said that Ciara had come into their home to steal. Now, things were beginning to click together, piece by piece. How on earth did someone go through all that? A woman for that matter? “Thank goodness I did not end up marrying Linda,” Samuel said quietly. When he had arrived at the venue and had walked up to the altar, and had looked at Linda in that dress, he had just known that he could not go through with the wedding. Even if it was some sort of an arrangement, and nothing based on love, he just couldn’t. Even though he had wanted to marry Linda to get to know what was really going on, he just couldn’t, and now, he was grateful
There was a deafening silence after Ciara said Linda Luscious.Samuel felt as though he was hearing differently. Yes, he knew that he suspected something was off, but he had no idea, and now, he was even more confused.“Linda Luscious?” Samuel asked, wanting to be certain he was hearing rightly.“You asked who Rudge was referring to when he said ‘she’, right?” Ciara asked.Now, they were both seated on Ciara’s bed, quietly. It was the first time they would be having a conversation in this manner. All the times they had a conversation, they had always been talking in high tones, and throwing unpleasant words to each other.“Was she the same person the previous time when Rudge had contacted you and struck a deal? Samuel asked calmly. He could not even bring himself to shout. In fact, he was even struggling to ask questions that were not silly, because while they talked and he listened to Ciara, he was still trying to clear out his confusion.“Yes,” Ciara answered soberly.“How on earth d