“With this information, we confirm that you knew perfectly well that your last name isn’t Anderson and that your whole life was a lie,” Nicholas stated.“Alright. I confess that I knew from the beginning, but so what? It was all my father’s doing, not mine.”“And your sister?” the detective asked.“That pampered idiot lived in the bubble of the lie, but when that bitch Sophia called her a bastard, it pissed her off. Out of curiosity, she started investigating until she found the truth. Of course, I played along and said that I had only recently learned about this too.”“Well, now with this declaration, I think we can inform you that we’re going to extradite you to pay for your crimes abroad. Once that’s done, they’ll send you back here to serve your sentence,” the detective announced.“What…” Ernest was terrified; he knew if he went back to that place, he wouldn’t come out alive. “Wait… you… you can’t do that.”“And why not?” Nicholas asked.“Because if you do something to me, y
As they left the interrogation, the three men smiled, having gotten what they wanted.“So it's true. Frederick did work with that guy,” Nicholas said, his anger simmering as he remembered the documents Christian had shown him.“Given the timeline, it’s clear that that was the work of that group’s previous leader, but I’m sure if we shake things up, we might find something good and locate the current leader,” the detective remarked.“I’ll inform Jayden to keep him updated,” Christian said.“Hey, what are we going to do with those two?” Nicholas asked, glancing at Vanessa and Frederick, who were already looking annoyed and frustrated from being confined in those rooms.“I’m only interested in Frederick since we technically already have Vanessa’s confession,” the detective stated.“I’ll come in with you guys,” Nicholas offered.“No,” Christian and the detective said simultaneously.“But I was with you for the twins’ interrogation of the twins,” Nicholas argued.“Yes, but it’s goi
“Wow… it’s beautiful,” Caroline said, admiring the stunning piece[I like it too.]“Excuse me, how much is it?” Caroline asked, clearly interested in the necklace.“Sorry, miss, but it’s not for sale.”“What… um, then why are you showing it to us?” Caroline was confused, thinking the salesperson was mocking them.“...” Deborah smiled at her friend’s reaction and then tried to get her attention. [Carrie, he means you don’t need to know the price because it’s already yours.]“What…?”“That’s right. Happy birthday, miss,” the salesperson said, showing that Caroline’s name was engraved on the pendant.“But…,” Caroline was speechless and looked at her friend. “Did you…?”[It’s a gift from Jayden and me.]Caroline smiled when she heard that, feeling tears well up as the salesperson took the necklace and fastened it around her neck.“Thank you,” she said, touching the jewel now hanging from her neck. “Now I see why you pointed out this store, you sneaky little thing.”[Yeah, and w
During the party, Jayden, Christian, and Nicholas stepped out onto the balcony to talk privately.“Wow... who would’ve thought something that seemed so simple could get this crazy?” Jayden sighed.“Definitely,” Christian agreed. “I’m trying to stay calm, but I’m actually pretty scared. A lot of lawyers have disappeared when their cases crossed paths with that guy. And I... I can’t bear the thought of something happening to Caroline.”“Is that why you rushed to buy the house?” Nicholas asked, raising an eyebrow.“Yes, the security here convinced me.”“Relax, buddy,” Jayden said. “I doubt he’d risk attacking one of my properties. My family has the resources to play this game of war with his group for a long time.”“Even so, Jayden, don’t take any unnecessary risks,” Christian urged.“Don’t worry, I know how to take care of myself and—” Jayden stifled a yawn. “Well, it’s getting late,” he said.“You’ve caught the pregnancy symptoms, huh?” Nicholas joked, noticing Deborah had also
Deborah: Because you love shopping and sales.Caroline: Hey! Don’t judge me. You know they’re my weakness, and everything has a use sooner or later in my house :P. But hey, how about we order pizza and have dinner at your place with the four of us?Deborah: Sounds good. If you want, I’ll pick up some drinks and snacks to go with it.Caroline: Excellent ;D. Alright, I’ll let you go. I’ll never finish packing otherwise :/Deborah: Good luck :,DWith that, Deborah smiled and glanced at the time before locking her phone. She realized she had gotten so caught up in her work that she was already late for lunch.“James, we’re eating out today,” she thought to herself, rubbing her belly as she grabbed her purse and headed out to eat at one of the nearby restaurants.As she walked, she took her time browsing the various food stalls, eventually settling on a burger place.When she entered, she noticed the family-friendly atmosphere, complete with a play area for kids, making it a popular
Deborah was quite scared. She had no idea who this man was, what he wanted from her, or where they were heading.The worst part was that when he forced her into the car, they took her bag with all her belongings, leaving her only with her notebook and pen to communicate.She glanced at the man entrusted with her bag. He was a burly figure, hiding his identity behind dark glasses, with a gun visibly hanging off his belt. She discarded the idea of trying to retrieve her belongings. She didn’t want to expose herself to that kind of danger—especially since she wasn’t alone.Feeling a wave of anxiety, she protectively placed her hands over her belly.“Relax, I’m not going to hurt you. I just want to talk,” Brandon said, noticing her fear. “Remember, you need to stay calm for little James’s sake.”[How do you know my baby’s name?] she wrote.“As I said, you’ve been hard to find. I’ve had people watching you for a long time, but the opportunity to borrow you for a private conversation h
They entered a room that looked more like an executive office in a high-end corporation than a warehouse. It was furnished with top-of-the-line office furniture, including a large black leather sofa.“Go ahead, make yourself comfortable,” Brandon said, guiding her to the sofa.Deborah settled into the indicated spot, watching as the blond man moved to the desk in the room, retrieving something from the drawers before returning to her side.He handed her a box and then sat down directly across from her.[What’s this?] she wrote.“Let’s just say this is the reason I’ve been looking for you.”She was even more confused by his words but, seeing the look in his eyes, she opened the box to examine its contents.The contents didn’t seem extraordinary or special—just two letters, a folder with some documents, and a jewelry box.The jewelry box caught her attention as it was identical to the one her mother had owned. Upon opening it, she could confirm that it was her mother’s, filled wi
That same morning, Christian and Nicholas returned to the police station to interrogate Frederick."My strategy worked. He looks like a raving lunatic now," the detective said, amused, pointing at Frederick babbling to himself as they watched him through the one-way mirror."He deserves that and more," Nicholas said."Yes, but we’ve noticed that he and his wife are now suffering from hallucinations," the detective added, sounding a bit worried."Why do you say that?" Christian asked, concerned."With the threat of Vox trying to kill them, we installed security cameras to monitor them. When we reviewed the footage this morning, we discovered their strange behavior," the detective explained, opening his laptop to show them the video.“Damn you! Hey! You idiot!” Frederick shouted hysterically, banging on the bars of his cell. “Those morons left me isolated... What… You shut up! You’re nothing more than a damn illusion…!”"Who is he yelling at?" Nicholas asked worriedly, searching f
Extra 40: A Happy and Perfect Life Part 2That promise came to an end for one of them three years later, as Nicholas was the first to go due to his heart, which began to fail until it simply stopped beating one cold December morning.Despite the immense pain she felt, Deborah fulfilled her father’s last wish… so they buried him with the diamond pendant that had belonged to her mother and grandfather.It was a very sad time, and everyone came together to keep Deborah from falling apart, as she now felt alone, as though she had lost her family again.But her children reminded her that she wasn’t alone, and because of this, they tried to distract her by having her organize the Christmas party.The days continued to pass, and just when they were preparing for James’ wedding, Eric and Samantha Cooper passed away due to old age.That was news that covered all the media outlets, with the headline telling a beautiful love story, as they had gone to sleep together and passed away to the n
Extra 40: A Happy and Perfect Life Part 1Time began to pass quickly, bringing good, bad, and sad moments that gradually changed the family.One good thing that happened was that after much reflection, Roger managed to make peace with his father, asking for forgiveness for all the stupid things he had done when he was younger. He also apologized to his little brother for being such a jerk.Even though he didn’t want to, Elliot reluctantly accepted the apologies because his wife convinced him that holding onto grudges wasn’t healthy.Unfortunately, the Peterson family only got to celebrate being united for a short period of time because two weeks after that reconciliation… George passed away of natural causes.That was a tragic moment for everyone, one that shook his friends, reminding them of how precious and short life is. Those who suffered the most from the loss of their Grandpa George were Howard and Fiona. But their parents, uncles, and maternal grandparents showered them wit
Extra 39: Deborah and JamesAfter lunch, and taking advantage of when his father taking his little siblings to their extracurricular activities, James sought out his mom to talk with her.“Mom,” he called out when he saw her in her study, reading some papers.“Hey, come in,” she said, looking up and setting aside the documents for a moment.“More work?”“Not exactly. These are the reports of the current buildings for sale in the city.”“Huh… are you already looking into that?”“Well, son, your sister graduates next year, and a year is not a lot of time to start a company from scratch.”“Will it already be furnished for her?” he asked, taking the documents to read them.“Yes, that’s why I want to buy a warehouse to remodel or a vacant lot so you and your dad can work your magic to build it and make it just like Elizabeth wants.”“It’s a project I can’t wait to start,” James said excitedly.“Your little siblings are also helping me, looking into sewing stores to buy industrial
Extra 38: A Father’s FearsHonestly, it was a strange conversation for James, one he never thought he’d have… in fact, not even in his wildest dreams did he imagine having this kind of interaction with the man who was supposedly his biological father.After telling him a bit about his school life, James paid the bill and said goodbye to Roger, as he had to get back to the office; he didn’t want to be away from work for too long.When he entered the conference room, he saw his father talking to some other architects.“Great, we’re all set then,” Jayden said, dismissing them. “Son, how did it go?” he asked as James approached him.“Fine, but it was weird.”“So... has he started to feel his age?”“I think so,” James replied, making a face.“And what did he want?”“Well, he just started talking to me, apologizing for being absent, and now he wants us to meet up to talk because he wants to get to know me,” James said, scratching his head. “I don’t know… it seemed odd that he wants
Extra 37: A Late Talk Part 2“Wow, sorry for the confusion.”“Don’t worry about it. My family supported me, and thanks to learning the truth, I understood why we had three grandfathers.”“I imagine you became an architect because of Jayden.”“That’s right. My motivation was seeing how his drawings came to life… it excited me to the point where I wanted to do the same, and as the days went by, that desire grew stronger, so I decided to make it a reality,” he said, his excitement evident in his words. “Though I also saw that Uncle did something similar by turning his sketches into beautiful jewelry, but that didn’t impress me as much.”“I see, but didn’t my dad teach you the basics of the company?”“Yes, Grandpa showed me the trade,” James said with a smile. “In fact, I’m a good appraiser, and I know how to make jewelry because Uncle also taught me the basics of jewelry design and creation. But I see that as a hobby because the only jewelry I’ve made has been for my mom, my sisters
Extra 37: A Late Talk Part 1“I’ll ask you again. What are you doing here?” James questioned, frowning slightly.“James… I…” Roger stammered nervously, his words catching in his throat and refusing to come out.“Are you here to apologize on behalf of your daughter?”“Something like that,” he said, finally managing to speak, though he made a face. “Would you let me talk to you?”“To me?” James asked, confused, pointing to himself. “About what?”“Can I invite you for a drink so we can talk?”“What do you want with my son?” At that moment, Roger saw his longtime rival approaching and standing next to the young man.“Jayden, please let me talk to James,” Roger pleaded.The now platinum-blonde looked confused at his rival. It was the first time Roger had called him by his name, and he could see that Roger seemed genuinely sorry and defeated. Jayden let out a sigh. “James, go with him.”“What?” James looked at him, surprised and confused.“Are you serious?” Roger said, a note of h
Extra 36: Late Regrets Part 2The next morning, during breakfast, Roger was focused on his phone, determined to reach out to James and be the one to make the first contact.“Hey, Dad,” Cassandra called out, trying to get his attention, noticing he was more focused on his phone than his breakfast.“What is it?” Roger asked, looking up.“Well... hey, what are we going to do about last night?”“What?” he said with a frown.“Come on, Dad, aren’t you going to do something about Grandpa and—”“Casandra, enough... I think whatever happened last night should have made the situation clear.”“But…”“They no longer see me as family, and they never recognized you as such, so just forget about it because it’s only the three of us, no one else.”“No…”“Cassandra, enough,” her mother scolded. “I told you yesterday not to go, and all you did was humiliate yourselves in public,” she said, looking her daughter in the eyes. “Grow up already. You lost that boy because you chased something that
Extra 36: Late Regrets Part 1Roger didn’t return home for the rest of the night. He ignored the cries of his ‘daughter’ as he headed to the nearest bar to have a drink and try to clear his mind.Seeing his father defeated and exhausted had made him stop and think.While sipping his third beer, he raised his gaze and saw his reflection in the mirror behind the bar, realizing that an old man was staring back at him... which scared him. He now looked at his hands, which had more wrinkles than he remembered. When had he changed so much?His once beautiful hair was now streaked with gray, his face showed his age, and he had dark circles under his dull eyes.When had he gotten so old?And why did he look like this?He was supposed to age gracefully, but that wasn’t the case... because what he saw in that mirror was a shell of the successful man he once was.He thought back to James. That boy had surpassed him in height; he was the version of himself Roger had always wanted to be: ta
Extra 35: Total BreakElliot was furious to see Roger and his daughter at the party.“Why did you hurt my daughter?” Roger hadn’t recognized James and just wanted to help his princess. “Who do you think you are…?” Then he saw James and, how could he not recognize him? He was Roger’s spitting image, giving the latter the same hateful look Roger himself wore.“I should ask you the same thing, sir. Who do you think you are, crashing a private event?” James asked.Roger was about to respond, but…“What’s the meaning of this?” George asked, approaching them.“Grandpa, they attacked me, and…” Cassandra started to say.“Miss, don’t call my grandpa ‘Grandpa,’” declared Howard.“Tom, call security,” Eric ordered. “Get these two out of the party.”Among the guests, a blond young man recognized Cassandra but didn’t go to help her because his parents didn’t allow it. They didn’t want to end up caught in the middle of the problem and become collateral damage, nor did they want to fall out