“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
After a while, they arrived at the police station where Cassandra and Vanessa were placed in the cell next to Fredrick and Ernest.“Mom?” Cassandra was scared as she saw two officers laying her mother on the bed in the cell. “Mom, wake up!”“Huh? Cassandra?” Ernest woke up at the sound of his sister’s voice. He was confused to see his mother and sister getting locked up next to him. He noticed his mother was unconscious and immediately asked, “What did you do to my mother?”“Shut up!” the officer ordered angrily, closing the cell door. “The woman is just asleep because she got agitated during the transport.”“Why are you locking them up? They haven’t done anything wrong,” Ernest demanded, his shouting waking up his father.“They were arrested for theft.”“What…” Frederick’s eyes shot open at the officer's words. Turning, he saw his wife asleep. “Vanessa!” he called out, but she didn’t respond. “You animals! What did you do to my wife?!”“Dad!” Cassandra cried out, tears streamin
"Here’s your dinner, you lazy bums," the officer sneered as he handed over four trays of food."Yuck! What kind of crap is this?" Cassandra complained, looking at her meal with disgust."Oh, sorry, princess, but this is the food rats like you deserve," the officer mocked before walking away."What did you say?" Cassandra fumed, but she was ignored."Just forget it, Cassandra," Ernest said, grimacing. "We’ll get our revenge later. Besides, you should be thankful; the food they served earlier looked even worse." He noticed his father lost in thought.‘But if he’s alive… that means…’“He’s going to smash your face in, just like he promised, remember?” Fredrick's eyes widened as his subconscious conjured up the image of Alexandra sitting across from him with a mocking smile.Seeing this hallucination made him frown. It wasn’t real, and its presence was infuriating him.“What are you talking about? Of course, I’m real, because part of you wants me to be.”The blonde man stared at t
"Who—?" the twins began to ask, but stopped when they saw a man with red hair standing before them."You..." Cassandra said angrily. "Dad, this was the guy with that idiot."Frederick felt a chill run down his spine. Despite the years that had passed, Frederick recognized the man. It was him… and the hatred in his eyes was unmistakable."Well, well, who would’ve thought? Finally, you and your disgusting family are where you belong," Nicholas remarked."Who the hell do you think you are to talk to us like that?" Ernest demanded, standing up to confront him."I’m Nicholas Foster. And do you know who you are?""Of course I do. I’m Ernest Anderson and—""Oh my god, I can’t... haha. It’s so pathetic hearing a lie told with such determination." Nicholas laughed."What’s so funny?" Cassandra snapped, clenching her fists."You. Your whole life is a lie, thanks to the pair of thieves who brought you into this world," Nicholas replied, noting how Frederick and Vanessa bit their lips in
Vanessa stared at the ground, biting her lips hard. This was the end for her."Dad..." Cassandra tremble. Nicholas’s words made her realize that this was the reason for all the strange treatment she had endured as a child, including the bullying at school where many girls mocked her—they called her a freeloader or a bastard. "Tell me what he said is a lie.""Dad, we demand an explanation," Ernest demanded."Are you satisfied now, Frederick? We're in this damn place because of you," Vanessa cried out in despair."My fault? Let me remind you that you helped me plan how to kill her—you agreed with my actions. So, you share the blame because I never saw you complain when you spent that money or wore her jewelry and luxury clothes.""What? No... don't you turn this on me! This all started because of you, preferring to steal money from a rich girl instead of getting a damn job."The twins heard their parents' argument but paid little attention. They were too preoccupied with their inte
The news of the false Andersons' arrest became the hottest gossip of the week, and no one could wait to start talking about it. All the news outlets began covering the story as a breaking report when Vanessa and Cassandra were seen being led out of the Anderson mansion in handcuffs. And as a consequence, reporters immediately began searching for Deborah's residence to interview her, hoping to get her perspective on the situation. However, since she lived in a private location with tight security, they couldn't get in easily. No one knew her phone number to call and ask her questions either."It seems you're quite the celebrity now, my love," Jayden remarked as they carefully drove away from their home.[It appears so.] Deborah was wearing a blonde wig to go unnoticed by the cameras."You know, with that wig, we look like my parents," Jayden teased, causing her to laugh.[But I'm not going to dye it.]"Hey, I never said I wanted you to be blonde. I love your beautiful chestnut ha
Deborah couldn't resist and stood up, giving the doctor a big hug. [Thank you for giving me hope.].“It’s nothing, young lady, but I’ll accept your thanks in a verbal form once this is all over. Deal?” the doctor asked and saw her nod in agreement.“That’s fantastic news, although I must say I’m feeling a bit stiff,” Jayden said, stretching after holding the same position throughout the treatment.[Thanks for the support, Jayden.] Deborah leaned in to give him a kiss on the cheek.“You’re welcome, my love, but you know, I’d feel even better with a kiss right here,” he said playfully, pointing to his lips and wiggling his eyebrows.“For now, no kissing on the lips. Zero contact for 24 hours,” the doctor interjected with a chuckle.“Boo, now I don’t like this treatment anymore,” Jayden joked, pouting.“It’s just for today. And even if the baby doesn’t like it, you’ll have to only eat soft foods or purees,” the doctor instructed.Both nodded, listening attentively to all the ins
"Let go of me! Help!” Roger froze at the sound of the woman's scream, releasing his grip on Deborah and stepping back in shock. How had she managed to shout like that?Unfortunately, he didn’t have time to figure it out because two store employees rushed over, closely followed by Jayden."You again?" Jayden said angrily, rushing to embrace Deborah. "Why do you keep harassing my girlfriend?""Even if she is your girlfriend, I have the right to approach her because she's carrying my child," Roger retorted."This baby is mine, and you need to stop stalking Deborah," Jayden declared, feeling her cling tightly to him."That child is not—""Sir, please leave, or we'll call the police," the employees ordered."Deborah, my love, it's okay, I'm here," Jayden said, holding her protectively.She nodded, still not letting go.Jayden shifted her slightly and noticed the marks on her wrist. He immediately felt his blood boil."You animal, she's pregnant and you still hurt her," Jayden fu
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