LOGINSARAH I struggle to find my voice, as I reply,“I’m okay—”“Not you. I’m talking about Carlos. He has a fever.”He heads for the door without waiting for my response and for a moment it feels like I’m living a dream. Has he forgiven me?He drives hurriedly to the hospital, as we both sit in awkward silence as I rock Carlos.In no time the doctor attends to him. I’m worried about Marco’s sudden appearance but more about my son’s condition.I've been home with him all day and I didn't notice. He might think of me to be a careless mother.I jump out of my seat as the doctor walks out with a numb expression.“Mr. Sidorov, I’m afraid your son might be needing blood,”“What happened to him!” I squeak, unable to contain my emotions with the news.“There's no time to go over the details but this is critical.“I’m his mother,” I say with a breaking voice as Marco meets my gaze briefly. I take a nervous gulp as I walk behind the nurse.The thoughts of Carlos overshadows my thoughts, but ther
SHAWN“What is she doing here?” I say under my breath while groaning in pain from the second kick.The cops are here.This is certainly not ending well. Coughing sporadically, I grab my chest, crawling my way towards the scene.“Maria, get back,” I yell, but she's not looking in my direction. She doesn't see me.Her gaze is fixed on a man. A man I remember vividly. A man I hated. A man Giovannin tried to kill. Or we all thought was dead.“Sarah? How did you get into all these?” the man says, walking slowly towards Ricco and Maria, who grabs my woman tight on the throat and threatens,“Seems to me that you underestimate me.”He sends a shot in the air, and resumes the weapon on her temple.He’s hurting my little boy. I can see the grip on his waist.I try to save her, but I’m losing so much blood.And Maria, she still doesn't see me.Jealousy courses through me like a wildfire. With the last of my strength, I escape my captor’s grip and run to the centre of the battle.“Let her go!”
MarcoThe words escaped my lips before I can catch them.Our baby. The dream of seeing her again had been long dead.And now, she's not only right before me, she's holding on to a version of me.I don't need to ask questions. The resemblance is unmistakable.I feel my world breaking as I force my limbs away from her.My Sarah.It's too surreal to believe, yet I'm going to fight this battle to the end.I turn around abruptly, ordering Sophia without meeting her gaze,“Inform the rest about the new development. At all times, keep an eye on her.”I hear the vehicle zooming off behind me but I don't look back. It'll require more effort to pull away from her ensnaring stare.There's a man just ahead of us and a parked van by the road side.“Where's our man?”“We lost him,” I say, heading straight for the back seat of the cop’s car.“That was not the plan—”“Our lives will be in more danger if we waste precious time. The governor is behind all these,” I reply the detective.“And who is th
Marco“They are here,” I hear Luca say beside me. “Who let the damn cat out?...who!”His voice reverberates the area while I struggle to get back on my feet.There's danger. Evidently. And the room is quiet. The blaring siren from outside foretells nothing good.It's either the cops have found us or Sophia didn't do a good job in concealing our movements from Ricco.“We don't have much time to debate. We have to leave—”“Who made you the boss?” Luca interrupts Padre as I regain balance on both legs. He successfully hijacked the attention from me.All I can think about is the woman that captured my heart years ago. And still does.Sarah. She's here.My environment fades off for a moment, playing back memories from the past.A loud cry snaps me out of my reverie, “Marco, Run!”Before I make the first move, the whole crowd scampers off fleeing away with their weapons, including the voice that yelled at me.I sight Padre’s back view fleeing with the rest.The concentrated smell of gaso
SarahI can feel every one of my pores seeping out sweat as I try to reach Shawn who is backing me. We are both tied to a wooden chair, hands to the back.“What in the world are you up to?” I whisper to him, yet my gaze is fixed on the men surrounding us.This was not the plan.“It’s the only way to put an end to this madness,” Shawn responds, clearly unbothered.“Carlos is all alone with some stranger—”“He’s my son too” Shawn yells back, a drop of sweat hanging on his nose as he spins over the chair to face me.“You either do as I say or you get us all killed…including Carlos. We can afford to make mistakes now—” Shawn stops abruptly.He stares at me for more than a second as we both look to the direction of the sudden noise.“They’re here,” he whispers rather to himself, adjusting his position while clutching the weapon in his hands, enough to stay hidden.My heartbeat thumps loudly as I watch the shadow flicker behind the dusty windows ahead.All I can think of is my son laying s
Marco My grip tightens on the steering wheel, my mind becoming as reckless as my speed.Sarah. The same old Sarah.If this Shawn really has her, then there's no going back.But...what if it's a prank?I've been here a couple times to believe such stories.The thoughts of Sarah clouds my mind.“Give me the phone,” I demand, my other arm outstretched.My heart's thumping faster all of a sudden.It can't be the stranger in my back seat. Certainly not the cars chasing close behind.It must be her.Again. Sophia hesitates at my request, but something in my expression makes her give in. I glance down at the message glaring back at me:“Turn around, or you’ll lose more than the game. I've what you need, MARCO”I clench my jaw, my knuckles turning white. “He’s bluffing,” I say, though I don’t fully believe my words. My heart pounds harder by the minute. Sarah has always been a delicate piece. Somehow she mixes up with every part of my business and makes it hard to execute ruthless decisio
MarcoBig Tom bangs his fist, causing the glass table to crack. As if that didn't hurt enough, he sweeps everything on the table to the floor, catching the revolver close to him before it falls off. He aims at me. “What the fuck were you up to? All the times we tried to bring down the Snakes, you've
MarcoRarely, there's hardly no one around. I'm surprised. I got down from the car, pulling into the entrance and finding it also desserted. Half information. Fuck.With the explosion I heard over the phone, it could mean anything.On the other hand, it could be another of Andrey's tricks. I hate the
SarahShawn!That's the first things that blares in my head.He knows about this. I have no doubts.“Hello. Are you there?” the voice at the other end brings me back to the present as I try to steady my reaction. “Yes. I'll get back to you shortly,” i reply, turning off the phone. I'm walking around, bi
AkimThe surrounding is lonely and the bright lights from the reception ahead cast a reflection on the lonely van parked carelessly outside. I open the trunk door of the van, a pipe hanging at the corner of my mouth. I jump down from the truck, scanning the area with a look of contempt. Two others fo







