[Yes.] Deborah took Jayden's extended hand to help him up and kiss him. "I love you, Debbie." [I love you too, Jayden.] Deborah blushed as she gazed into his eyes. "Wow… that was beautiful.” The couple was startled to see Jayden's parents standing in the balcony doorway, his mother holding her phone to record the special moment. "Excellent word choice, son," Eric said, giving a thumbs up in approval. "Dad…" Jayden complained, blushing. Deborah was also embarrassed but happy. "Jayden, stop complaining and put the ring on your beautiful fiancée already," Samantha scolded. "Okay, okay," Jayden said with a pout but smiled as he turned to his beloved and carefully placed the ring on her ring finger. As he did, the older couple applauded as they approached to congratulate Jayden and Deborah on their engagement. "Now you’re officially my new daughter," Samantha said happily. "You know, if this boy does anything wrong, let me know so I can give him an earful." [Sure.] Deb
After locking the door securely, Cassandra took out her phone to call Sophia again. But no one picked up after five attempts. "That idiot…" Cassandra whispered furiously. It seemed like Sophia was deliberately ignoring them. "I swear, if she doesn’t answer, I’ll kill her," Ernest muttered angrily. "Calm down, I’ll call her one more time," Cassandra said, making a face as she dialed again. [What?] Sophia answered, annoyed. "Finally, you picked up," Ernest complained. [I was busy.] "That doesn’t concern us," Cassandra said. “Yes, what we want is for you to fulfill your part of the deal," Ernest added. [What are you talking about?] "We need you to give us the codes necessary to access the mute’s fortune," Cassandra said. [Oh… that… well, we might have a small problem.] "What do you mean?" Cassandra asked irritably. [The thing is, I still haven’t figured out what they are.] "What?!" Both twins exclaimed. "You told us you would help us," Cassandra said angrily.
Everyone was thrilled, nearly jumping with excitement as the lock finally gave way and the safe door opened. Frederick felt like a triumphant victor; everything he had endured and all the trouble he had gone through seemed to culminate in this moment. Everything that belonged to Alexandra was now within his reach. However, as he opened the safe, his exhilaration evaporated abruptly upon discovering that it was empty, save for a single folder. "What...?" Frederick said in desperation, grabbing the folder and rifling through the documents inside. His frown deepened and his face flushed with rage as he read what was inside. "No, that bitch!" Frederick yelled, throwing the documents to the floor. "This can’t be!" He cursed vehemently, pulling at his hair and grinding his teeth in frustration. "Frederick?" Vanessa asked, confused by his reaction and trying to approach him to calm him down. The twins, driven by curiosity, picked up the folder to see what had angered their father. I
"Aw… darling, doesn’t it feel like a dream? Our children are helping out with the business," Samantha said, sitting in the office with her husband as they looked over some documents. "Yes, it's exciting to see that they're both passionate about their work." "True, but the help was just an excuse. We're going to pull a little trick," Samantha said, pointing to the decoration catalogs that Deborah had left on the desk. "You read my mind, darling. I was just thinking about how to distract them with this because I want to convince them to move into the house." "But darling, that will be their choice." "I know, but we'll remind them that technically, they won’t be living with us. They’ll be in the main house while we stay in the annex where your parents lived." "Hm… I like that plan. It keeps with the family tradition," Eric said with a smile. Just then, someone knocked on the door. "Come in," Samantha said. A young, tan man entered the office. "Good afternoon, did you cal
After the meeting, Jayden went to check on his beloved, but seeing that she was still busy, he didn’t interrupt her. Instead, he decided to update his parents about the changes made to the plans. As he entered, he saw that they were on the phone and seemed upset. "Excellent, my friend, thank you for this support," Eric was saying on his cell phone. "Say hello to Virginia for me, and let’s see when you can make space in your schedule for the four of us to have dinner together. Haha, yes, keep me posted, thanks." "Then you’re all right? No one got hurt?" Samantha asked on the office phone. "If not, have someone cover the boy’s shift and send him to the hospital for a check-up, just in case. Well, thank you very much, Charlotte. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call." When Eric and Samantha finished their calls, they noticed their son standing there. "Is something wrong?" Jayden asked. "We were just informed that something happened at Villa A," Eric said with a sigh.
“Don’t worry, Deborah; you’re no longer alone. None of us will let anyone hurt you,” Eric said as he moved to sit next to Deborah. [Thank you.] “Deborah, I called Christian, and he said he’s going to take advantage of the moment. They’re going to start the plan,” Jayden informed. “If you need help, don’t hesitate to ask,” Samantha said. “Whatever you need,” added Eric. [Thank you for the support.] “So, are you ready for this?” Jayden asked. [Yes.] Deborah replied. Meanwhile, Vanessa and Cassandra looked at each other nervously and anxiously. They hadn’t heard from Ernest, and after arriving at Deborah’s house, he had stopped answering their calls. “Mom… do you think something happened to them?” Cassandra asked, worried since it was the sixth time she had called and received no answer. “I have no idea, and that worries me because your father is impulsive when he feels cornered.” “Do you think they were arrested?” “Cassandra, stop saying that… they’ll be fine,” Va
Vanessa’s words scared Cassandra as she could tell her mother wasn’t joking and was very serious. “Mom, are you serious?” “Yes, so decide, Cassandra: are you with me or your father?” “With you,” Cassandra quickly declared, as she refused to work and live like everyone else. “I thought so,” Vanessa said mockingly. “So let’s go get that money and get out of this city because we’re both tired of everyone talking behind our backs and pointing at us in the streets.” “Yes… I’m tired of it too.” “Let’s go. Let’s start a new life.” “But… what will happen to Dad and Ernest?” “Once we’re settled, we’ll try to help Ernest… but they’ll most likely release him because he’s innocent and only tried to stop your father.” “True… so…” “When he’s free, we’ll tell him where we’re living so he can join us.” “Okay.” The mother and daughter went into a restaurant to eat something and then returned home. Upon arrival, Vanessa immediately went to her room to look for the jewelry in the
“You’re lying!” “Girl, wake up. Your parents are the Turners, a pair of thieves who killed my best friend, kidnapped her daughter, and have been stealing Deborah’s inheritance to live comfortably,” Nicholas scolded Cassandra. “And you’re an accomplice to their actions.” “That’s not true!” Cassandra exclaimed. “Then why don’t you let your mother tell you the truth?” Nicholas asked, smiling wryly. “Disgusting, using a child for their own benefit instead of getting a job,” Jayden commented, frowning as he looked at Vanessa. “That was my husband’s plan. I never agreed with it,” Vanessa said desperately, not liking how she was being judged. “I’m just a victim and—” “Victim? Seriously?” Hearing those words, Vanessa fell silent because she recognized that voice very well. She looked around, searching for the owner of the voice, because it was her voice… but that wasn’t possible since she was dead. “I think asking for this arrest to be recorded was a great idea because the woma
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