GRAY’S POV“I told you that Serena Ambers is a big-time person, man! First, she bought one of the major shares from your company. Second, she is always favored by the board members. Third, she is the only daughter of Victoria. You know how influential Victoria is due to her connections, right?”“Well, I did not anticipate that. I was busy enjoying the party last night and it fucking shocked me when Aerah made a fucking scene. Is this the kind of drama that you’re dealing with in the Moore Estates almost every day, Gray?”Marco and Kole’s sentences weren’t even interesting anymore. I asked them to come to my penthouse to have a drink with me, as I didn’t want to have this confusion just for myself.Seeing Serena pass out like how she did the last time added to my curiosity about her. She had been working in the Moore Estates for some time now, and it felt like there were still a lot of things that I did not know about her.Just like what my friends told me a while ago. They were the on
SERENA’S POV Lucia, knowing who I truly was went according to what I wanted to happen. Miranda and I got to talk bad about the Moores freely like we used to do when she still hadn’t known about me. It was actually funny because sometimes, she would initiate the conversation to talk badly about them. I originally planned to not tell my family about Lucia, but I realized that it would be another bad decision that I would make.I did not want to hide any secrets from them as that was what we always practiced in our house. A secret could ruin everything. We would lack communication and that was what my mother hated the most aside from being weak and stupid. “You’ll get shocked once you see my sisters,” I stated as I guided Lucia inside our house. This was the time to let them know. It had been two days and my guilt was already over the roof. I couldn’t keep Lucia a secret between only me and my secretary. “I think I would. I was already shocked when I learned that you are truly Jane ev
VALERIA’S POVSeeing my firstborn talking to the maid gave me mixed emotions. Jane talked to me just a while ago, and she told me how much she would thank me if we just trusted her for her decision this time.She was right. What she did was stupid, and even if she was my daughter, I would still reprimand her for that. Not too intense, though. She seemed to make the right decision of telling her… but her way of having Lucia know was a sign of her weakness. She got caught off guard, she said. I watched Jane and Lucia Davis converse while I remained sitting on the couch, the twins were beside me. Lucia mentioned that she treated my daughter like her own child, and I guessed I did a job well done to not show them what I truly felt by not reacting.To be honest, hearing her say that made me undeniably envious of her. She got to spend time with my daughter without having to think of people forbidding her. She got to be a mother to my child and it took me years before I even got the chance
GRAY’S POVI watched my mom get assisted by the nurse I hired for her in silence. She just got here a few seconds ago, and the shock on her face when she saw me interrogating my mom just pissed me off.This wasn’t the first time that I saw my mother being alone in a room. Her doctor advised her that she should always be with someone wherever she went because she might get a heart attack anytime. Seeing her alone for the fucking nth time while she was shouting so hard at the person she was talking to on the phone was something I didn’t expect to witness today.Why was she shouting, anyway? If I hadn’t interrupted her, I guessed she wouldn’t know that I was already inside the room. That I was already listening to her private conversation.“Who was the person you were talking to, Mom? You seem so mad. You know it’s not good for your health. You might have a heart attack again…”I promised my father to take care of the family, but I could not just watch them 24/7. I wondered if this had b
SERENA’S POV“Miranda, how’s Lucia doing? She’s still sick?” I asked as we walked down the hallway, both of us catching our breaths. How couldn’t we? We were both late and I never wanted to have that in my record. I valued punctuality so much that even if Gray’s opinion about me didn’t matter anymore, I knew I still had to be here on time.“She said she’s still sick right now, Ms. Ambers. She’s currently staying in her own house with her grandchildren. I heard Mr. Moore told her to do so…”It had been two days since Lucia didn’t show up at work due to flu. It was fine, as long as she could rest and spend time with her family. We could clean the office on our own, anyway. “Pay someone to send her groceries and toys for her grandchildren,” I added, worry could be detected on my tone. It was not new to me to send groceries or even financial help to people I wasn’t close with, as long as I knew that they needed it.I knew Lucia wouldn’t accept it if it came from me. I always offered her
SERENA’S POVI rolled my eyes dramatically, acting irritated, when in fact, his actions were confusing and kind of enjoyable at the same time. Is he jealous? Does he know that stranger?“Who gave you the right to forbid me to talk to someone? You only own this company, Mr. Moore. You don’t own me or anyone that works with you,” I responded, getting rid of his hands off my arm. He should start realizing by now who he wasted. He should start thinking that he would not be able to get rid of the idea of me in his mind.I knew how much I could affect him… no matter how hard he tried to show that he didn’t give a damn.“I am not saying that I own you, Serena. I am telling you this because that man couldn’t be trusted. You should stay away from him. This is for your own good—”“How do you know what’s best for me? You were not even that good before yet you still slid into my inboxes and flirted with me and all. You don’t get the right to judge who’s good for me when you’re not even better…”A
SERENA’S POVI shouldn’t be like that. How can I like the kiss of someone who ruined my life? It shouldn’t be that way. I found myself leaving the building, hailing a cab because I had no plans on going back while my face looked like a fucking mess. I didn’t want to show my face to our driver, too. I just didn’t want to be seen by anyone. I felt so embarrassed because of the emotions that were currently living in my chest right now.What the hell is wrong with me? What the fuck is going on?I didn’t go home like I originally planned. My mom and my siblings were there, and I would have some explaining to do if they saw how smudged my lips were.I checked in in an unfamiliar hotel. This was the first hotel that the cab passed by, and I was lucky enough that this wasn’t owned by the Moores. Their properties were scattered all over Texas, so it wouldn’t be impossible if they owned the establishment, too.Lucky for me because they didn’t.I stood in front of the mirror, removing my makeup
HAZEL’S POV Damn that man! Why did he have to come back? Why did he have to show up now that we are suspecting that Jane is alive? Damn him… he was making it hard for all of us. His timing was all wrong. “I am here now Mrs. Moore. Are you sure I am now allowed to enter the Moore Estates? Your son might kick me out again. He wouldn’t think twice to embarrass me in front of those people…” I stated over the phone, looking at the tall building where I used to work at for almost a decade now. Gray and I had never been on good terms ever since Serena came, so I was not sure if I was even allowed to show myself to him after what I did to Serena. I took a deep breath as I waited for the old woman’s response. She was not really old, but she was acting like one. She was acting like she would die anytime soon so that her children would favor her all the time. Cunning, right? “Oh, you don’t have to worry about that, Hazel. I have talked to my son about you representing me as one of the major
SERENA’S POVGray Moore looked at me straightly as I bid my goodbye to his friends. He had been waiting for his turn, but even I felt like I was not ready to go yet. I felt like I still needed to say something to him before finally leaving the state.My family was already inside the jet, waiting for me to get inside so we could all leave this place. I thought Gray’s friends understood me when they started waving their hands as they walked away from the both of us.We needed privacy, and I was thankful they weren’t slow to understand what I wanted to happen.“I am leaving now. You may or may not see me anymore once this plane leaves to send us somewhere you’ll probably know soon only if you’re desperate enough to find where I live…” I stated, chuckling. Knowing Gray, he could pay millions just to get what he wanted. “I’ll know where you are. I’d go crazy if I didn’t get an update—”“I would not text you or anything, Gray. I would cut connections to all of you. It is also a challenge f
SERENA’S POVThe sound of my heels colliding with the floor surrounded the empty hallway of this floor. Weeks later and I finally had the time to visit this wench face-to-face.Hazel Brown was sent to jail immediately the day I got rescued, as she didn’t have any major injuries like Geraldine Moore. I did not know how had she been since she was arrested, but I hoped she was suffering here. I hoped she would rot here.I went inside a room when a policeman opened the door for me. This room was just for private visitations, so this was far from Hazel’s cell. This one was decent and might be comfortable for her. I did not want her to feel this good while she was in jail.“Why did you visit me here? Is sending me to jail not enough for you?” she asked the moment I sat down in front of her. Her hands were handcuffed and there were two policemen behind her, while my bodyguards were on my side. “Any form of punishment and torture would never be enough for me, Hazel Brown. You’re lucky I stil
AERAH’S POV My heart was throbbing in anxiety as the maid of the mansion escorted me inside. This wasn’t my first time coming here, but this was the only time that I dared to enter the huge structure and face the people whom I had been having anxiety about talking with. I heard my brother was here again. I needed to talk to him… at least just this once. “I did not expect to see you here, Ms. Moore. You’re looking for your brother?” I was startled when I heard a voice that was similar to the voice of the person that I was most scared to face. Looking to the side, I saw Kaihly Ambers sitting on one of the couches, a plate filled with fruits resting on her lap. She was alone there, and I was so thankful for that. She looked exactly like Kelsey, the only difference was that she had soft features and lacked the boldness on her face. “Y-Yes. Have you seen him? I heard he’s here… according to his secretary. I just need to talk to him,” I answered, my confidence leaving me as the minutes
GRAY’S POV Ever since Jane got rescued and woke up from her deep slumber, I started having a new routine. It felt like I was already living in their house because I refused to leave her side even though I had a ton of paperwork to do. One part of her room looked like my office. It had a table and a swivel chair where I did what I was supposed to do in my office. Her family offered me a room, but as I said, I refused to leave her side. I would only do so if it were nighttime. But everything must come to an end. When Jane finally healed, I took the initiative to leave her alone and only met with her whenever she went to work. I would visit her from time to time, though—but only if she allowed it. “What the hell is this, Gray? What’s the meaning of this?” Jane inquired curiously as she put familiar papers on my table. “Have you read it?” I asked her back. The last time I saw those papers was already years ago, when I thought she had died, and all I could ever think was to give her e
GRAY’S POVI was not expecting Jane’s family to let me enter their home after all the things that happened. I wouldn’t question it if they banned me here, but that was not the thing they did. They simply let me wander around their house as if I did not do anything wrong, as we all waited for my wife to wake up.Jane was peacefully sleeping in her room, a bedside monitor standing beside her. It had been two days since she got rescued, and she still hadn’t woken up since then. Fortunately, they didn’t hurt her when we hadn’t arrived where they hid her, so there was nothing serious that happened to her body aside from the wound that she got before they took her. She already got the treatment that she needed, but her doctor said she was still under trauma, which was why she wasn’t waking up.My phone had been vibrating for a while now. It wasn’t a call from anyone but text messages from my sister. She had been asking me if I was going to visit our mother in the hospital, and if I was eve
SERENA’S POV“Oh, stop overreacting, Aerah Celine. It’s just a shot on your leg. Why bother to cry?”I could not believe this old hag. It felt so strange listening to her confident voice when I had been watching her fake her illness a thousand years ago. How could she do all of that stuff? How could she shoot her daughter?“Mommy, stop this now, please—”“Oh, shut the hell up, Aerah Celine! The moment you chose to side with the woman, I no longer considered you as my daughter! How could you betray your mother, huh?! You are just like your brother—”“And how can you call yourself our mother while doing all of these, huh? I can’t believe you, Mom. After all these years… after all of the things that I have done for our family…”I still could feel the metallic material that was pointed at my temple, but after hours of waiting and I finally got to hear Gray’s voice, waves of relief washed over my chest. We were still here yet I already felt like my problems were now resolved. There was no
SERENA’S POVI felt lightheaded as Charles continued carrying me. The only hope that I had with me right now was the fact that Gray would be with us anytime soon. How dumb it was to feel like this when I was the one who ran away from him before I got kidnapped.I was the one who put us all into this.“Jane, I have to stop carrying you for now. Aerah Celine will guide you while I protect the three of us from any person who might come to us. This will be quick. Gray and the backups will be here anytime soon…” Charles whispered to me, making me open my eyes amidst the gunshot that I was hearing around the building.I was comfortable being carried by him, as my injured leg could not take it anymore. But hearing that this would be over soon, it was as if the motivation to get through all of these that I thought had left my body made me agree to what he said.My silent nod was his cue to put me down carefully. The moment that my feet felt the solid ground immediately had me gasp in pain. Ae
SERENA’S POV My lips seemed to be experiencing draught due to dryness, my bruised leg was numb, and I was damn well sure that I had lost a lot of blood during my whole stay in this building. It had been so many hours since Hazel told me those things. She said that she would finish me and I would not be able to leave this place alive. During my hours of stay here, I had a lot of time to think of what she told me. I even came across thinking of the things that I wanted to tell not just to my family but also to Gray before Hazel decided to kill me. It was so heavy in my chest to even think that I would not have the chance to talk to Gray after learning all of those things, but somehow, while I stayed all alone here for I did not know how many hours, there was a time that I accepted that this would be my end. That I would die without achieving the justice and happiness that I deserved. I did not know what Hazel was waiting for. Is this her way of killing me? To let me have an infection
GRAY’S POVIt had been a day since Jane went missing. Because of this happening, we paused everything that we were about to do during the whole team building. To be fair to the other employees who had been so excited about this out-of-town activity, I gave them all a budget to stay on a nearby island where they could enjoy things without interruptions.There were only a few of us left here, and when I said few, only Jane’s relatives and mine were present. Including the police officers that we contacted, of course.“Look for my daughter in all the corners of this island and the nearby ones. It is so impossible for her to be missing in this small place. I need you to find her.”The woman whom they called Victoria, the mother of the love of my life sat at the end of the table with a wine glass in front of her. Just like what they described her, she had a strong facade because of her sharp features which no one dared to talk about while she was speaking.I did not know if I was the only o