"What have I brought upon my daughter with this habit of mine? Look what I have done to myself and most especially her." Loretta's father lamented in tears as he thought about his daughter with the hot tears streaming down his face.He missed his daughter so much that it hurt his heart and he felt so lonely for the first time since his wife passed away. Loretta had been his only family and he was now just realizing the impact of her presence in his life all this while now that she was not with him.He had not been able to stay in the house so he went to a bar where he drank himself into a stupor while missing his only daughter and wondering how she must be doing where she is suffering for his misdeed."Oh my goodness, I miss my daughter so much, how do I even know that she's alive? How am I sure that monster of a Mafia has not harmed her?" He asked no one in particular as he belched and grunted in worry as he thought further about Loretta.Little did he know that his daughter had comm
"Manager, your attention is needed urgently in the bar right now as there is a huge ruckus about to go down." The bartender shouted as he barged into the manager who was in his office, going through the transactions of the morning.He looked up quickly as he heard what the bartender said, at first he had wanted to get angry at the bartender for barging into his office without knocking, but then he relaxed when he heard what he had to say."What? A ruckus? Why? What's the cause? Do we have to call the police?" He asked with great urgency as he was about to grab his phone to call the police, thinking a fight had broken out already."I don't think that is needed yet sir, though I think we would need them in case things get out of hand. But for now, I think you should come with me to check things out first and get it under control as you are being requested." The bartender said to his manager hurriedly and as a matter of urgency as he breathed up and down and was almost out of breath from
"Fabian is up," the doctor announced, walking towards the Antonio family as they were all asleep, apart from Mikel, who was guarding the entrance of the door.Mikel would have summoned additional guards to secure the perimeter, but the fewer people who knew Fabian was in the hospital, the better.Sandra rubbed her eyes as she sat up on the chair she had slept on. "What time is it, and where is my son?""It's seven in the morning, and Mr. Fabian is still in the VIP ward," the doctor answered, but Sandra wasn't listening. She was checking her phone and realized they had not only fallen asleep but also overslept.She quickly sent a text to her assistant, 'Reschedule the meeting to the evening. I'm unavailable at the moment.'"Great, now let's go see him." Sandra gestured for everyone to stand, but just as they were about to move, the doctor stepped in, blocking their path.Sandra stared at the doctor as if he had lost his mind.What was he trying to do? Stop The Tigress from going to see
"Excuse me?" Fabian's eyes bulged out and his voice faltered."Oh, don't pretend. I may not have heard everything you said, but I am not stupid," Sandra retorted, steadying her gaze on her son."Please, Mrs. Antonio," Mikel began, trying to discourage Sandra from pushing the topic as he knew it wouldn't end well for anyone. "Fabian needs his rest—""Exactly, rest from what?" The older woman scoffed. "Your boss has refused to tell us why, how, and who stabbed him, knowing fully well that we are all worried sick.""I believe he has his reasons, Mrs. Antonio. Maybe you can have this conversation another time," Mikel pressed on."Get out of my sight, Mikel, before I lose my temper," the tigress scowled."Yes, ma." Mikel nodded and was about to leave the room when Fabian called him back."I have asked him to be here with me, Mother. He isn't going anywhere.""Then you have to choose; me or him?" She tilted her head slightly."Are you for real right now? I don't have the strength for this c
Loretta was still wallowing in her pain when the door to the basement was pushed open.Loretta shuddered as she feared her death was near. She began to regret not succeeding in her attempt to kill Fabian.The thought of how he had survived three stabs still messed with her head.She could remember Fabian catching up to her though he was injured; it was as if he didn't feel a single pain."Who's there?" She played strong, though she believed it was time for her death."It's me. I need you out of here this instant." Wilma ordered. "What?" Loretta was surprised. "Is he killing me himself, or is he getting someone to do it?"Wilma stared at Loretta as though she was going crazy. "Are you okay?""Am I okay? Does that question matter at this moment? I am about to be killed, and you're asking me if I'm okay? How can—""You're not dying, Loretta, at least not today, so come out of here before I change my mind."Loretta was surprised by what was happening. She couldn't believe she wasn't dyin
Loretta couldn't believe her ears. She stood frozen in place as she wondered how true Tasha's words were. Fabian breaking up with his girlfriend because of her wasn't a story anyone could buy. "I... I'm sure there's a misunderstanding... somewhere," Loretta stuttered. "That's your business. Meanwhile..." Tasha took a few steps forward, and Loretta swallowed. "Who attacked Fabian?"All color drained from Loretta's face, and her heart began to pound as Tasha asked that question. How could Loretta tell the blonde lady that she stabbed the mafia boss? Tasha wouldn't hesitate to kill her. "Mr. Fabian was attacked? How?" Loretta had to play dumb. Tasha chuckled a bit, "You might be able to fool Fabian, but I can see right through—"Tasha was interrupted by the sound of the door closing. "I'm done with you. We'll continue this conversation later," Tasha spat and left the room. Loretta sat on the bed and began to think about her actions. On the other hand, Tasha had gone down to narr
"Please, please, don't tell them, please," Loretta pleaded with Mikel, always coming down to tears as he caught her trying to climb up.Mikel stood for some minutes, weighing his loyalty before signaling her to go up.He didn’t do it because Loretta begged, but because, for some reason, his boss cared about her.Loretta didn’t hesitate for a second as she ran back to her room, turned off the lights, and jumped on her bed, covering herself with her blanket.Loretta didn’t want to die, and now she had eyes on her: Tasha, the tigress, and maybe Mikel.All she wanted to do was leave this place and escape with her father. Dying in there would break her father's heart, and she didn’t want that.But just as she heard some cars start and drive away, which she knew would be Fabian’s mom or Tasha’s, everywhere grew silent.She heaved a sigh of relief and adjusted herself on the bed, only to hear approaching footsteps toward her door."Please don't come here, please don't come here," she muttere
"What the—" Loretta sprang up from the bed and found Fabian sitting in front of her.She looked out the window and realized it was morning already.What was he doing in her room? How long had he been there? Did he plan to kill her in her sleep?"Good morning, Miss Cruz, is anything the matter?" Fabian greeted with a warm smile on his face.Loretta held her blanket tight, holding it so close to her like her life depended on it. She kept wondering how he was still smiling, knowing full well that she had stabbed him.But then again, why would he call her by her surname? He was up to something, but what?"W—What... are you do–doing here?" Loretta stuttered, her voice barely audible."I think you should be asking me how I spent my night, not why I'm here. Or did you expect me to die at the hospital?"'Hospital? He was at the hospital? Damn! This is bad, so, so bad,' Loretta cried in her head."I'm sorry." Loretta's voice broke."Why are you sorry?" Fabian ran his hands through his perfect