Chapter 19Penelope returned to the party in cautious steps.If the body wasn’t found, why was she declared dead?Her mind reeled, unable to comprehend the revelation. The woman that attacked at the mall.Maybe she knew something. She remembered the night she met Killian when he was called a murderer.Her mind refused to connect the dots. He couldn’t possibly kill her, could he? Many rumours had spread over the years about the Kings. Some said they could make anyone disappear at will and the authority wouldn’t bat an eyelash.Good lord, Penny. Your mind is running wild. That is completely ridiculous. No one is above the law.“Finally, I get to meet the infamous Ms. Winters.” Penelope heard a voice. She looked up to see two men watching her strangely. Shew was familiar with one of them but had no idea who the other one was. But with his dashing looks, he could pass for a model or celebrity.“Huh?”“I am Nathan Freight. We couldn’t meet that night because of a brute.” He introduced hims
Penelope’s gaze snapped to look at Killian in bewilderment. She used her index finger to subtly pat her ears to ensure she heard well. Had he had too much to drink? “W-what? She is your w-woman?” He stammered, then scoffed, refusing to believe Killian. “Impossible!” She is just some who-” “I dare you to complete that statement and you will have nowhere to run your petty oil business in San Francisco.” He warned dangerously, pinning him down with a steely gaze. McBland gulped in fear. His plan to intimidate Ms. Winters really backfired on him. Seeing Nathan and Freddy didn’t help at all. The trio had a reputation which preceded them. You messed with one, they would all come for you. “I am-m s-sorry, Mr. King.” He said shamefully, looking at his feet, unable to hold Killian’s gaze as he apologized. “Leave. Now.” Killian ordered. Some security men had waited near the scene to escort him out. Penelope let out a huge sigh of relief as she watched him leave. “I can take care of mysel
The tires of the car screeched loudly on the asphalt, almost rendering Penelope deaf as she grabbed the passenger seat in front of her out of fear. A car had recklessly over taken them which almost sent their car straight into the other car. “Are you okay?” Max inquired fearfully. He was definitely getting fired. “Pull over!” Penelope ordered as she rushed out of the car to catch her breath. Max fiddled with the seatbelt for some seconds before running after Penelope but stayed some feet away from her. “Are y-you okay, ma’am?” He asked timidly, fiddling with his index fingers. Penelope was bent down by the side of the road and straightened her posture after she got some air in her lungs. “I am so s-sorry.” Max quickly apologized, staring at the ground. “I didn’t mean to take my eyes off the road.” Penelope stared at him for a long time. When he didn’t hear any response from her, he looked up and locked gaze with her. He wondered what her reaction would be? What if she told the b
Killian drew in a sharp breath. He heard some voices in the background, “Where are you and why are you with her phone?” Hailey shivered at his icy tone. She had lied earlier using his name. “W-we… I am at the park. Uh… I think she dropped her phone.” “Who authorized you?!” He bellowed. “I uh … N-no one.” She stammered in fear. Shit! Penelope couldn’t have dropped her phone intentionally. What if she had been kidnapped? Fearfully, she concluded, “I think s-something is wrong, Mr. King.” Killian slammed his hand on his mahogany desk in his office. Penelope jumped in fright at the thunderous sound. He ended the call and called his team. “Find where Ms. Winters is right now!” He barked into the phone. They all scrambled to work by checking the surveillance cameras around the park. “Handle Benson for me.” Killian instructed Ms. Flores. Benson was a business associate who had scheduled a meeting with him. She got to work immediately. He got a footage where he saw Penelope being d
“They are all gone.” Lance, his security team head, reported to Killian, breaking the moment between Penelope and him. He nodded. Penelope shivered in his arms when he cut off the binds. Seeing that, he took off his suit and draped it on her shoulders. He carried her bridal style all the way to his car. Penelope was quiet the entire ride. She revelled in the warmth from Killian’s body. Her mind couldn’t comprehend what happened earlier. Her heart was beating very fast. It was unusual for her. Killian didn’t let her go the entire back to the manor. He used one arm to hold her tightly to his chest while he used the other to slowly caress her arm. Penelope subconsciously rested on the crook of his neck, breathing his scent in. “Killian.” She mumbled. “I got you, Penelope.” Killian assured her as they returned to his manor. “Make sure the doctor is at the manor when we arrive.” Killian instructed one of his men. Ms. B and Hailey were pacing at the entrance of the manor, waiting for
Joe shivered at the ferocious voice over the phone. So, he ran to where his master was.“Mr. King!” He yelled all over the Villa.“Is the world on fire?” Jared inquired indifferently.“It is K-Killian. He asked for you.” Joe quickly delivered as he held onto his phone tightly.“Tell him I have gone on a business trip.” He quipped. The last thing he wanted was to deal with his son’s temper.But before he could speak into the phone, voices were heard.“Master! You can’t go in.” The guards all shouted. They tried to stop him but none of them could touch him if they wanted their heads intact on their necks.“Shit!” Joe cursed out in fear. He attempted to block his master’s view but was pushed aside violently by Killian.Jared rolled his eyes at his incompetent hires.I really need to fire the lot of these.“Jared.” Killian sneered when he saw his father sitting leisurely and watching over the terrains.“Killian.” Jared called him with the same tone. “What brings you here?”Killian scoffed
Betsy looked at Penelope suspiciously as she held her daughter, Brianne’s hand. Penelope was shocked to see her.“Betsy?” She asked, her eyes darting towards Max and Ms. Flores. “Hi!” She squealed awkwardly.How had she recognized her? What if someone else could recognize her as well? Penelope couldn’t dissipate her wariness.“Uhm… She is a friend. I will be back.” She said to Ms. Flores in a hushed tone. Thereafter, she proceeded to Betsy was with Brianne.“It has been a while, Betsy.” She greeted and said hello to Brianne.“Yes. Uh… Who are they?” Betsy, unable to control her urge for gossip, asked. Penelope needed to stir the conversation to something else. Betsy knows nothing about her life and she wanted to keep it that way.“How is the Shelter?” Penelope asked.“The Orphanage is doing fine. That is an exotic car.” She marvelled at the sight of the Black Rolls Royce.“Well, are you seeing a doctor?” She continued to preoccupy Betsy’s wandering mind. She jolted out of her reveri
Where are you? Max will pick you up after you are finished. Another text came from Killian. Penelope didn’t need a chauffeur so she declined. Compromising on her privacy was not up for discussion. She dialled Killian’s number. After some seconds of ringing, he answered. “Penelope?” Some voices could be heard from the background but later on, she heard the sound of a door shut so the noise in the background lessened. “I can find my way through the city. I don’t need some chauffeur.” She expressed her distaste at the idea of a driver. “I know. Just use him, okay?” He responded, sounding exasperated. The whole launch was taking a toll on his due to last minute alterations. Penelope sensed how tired he was so she bit her tongue from rebuttal. “Fine.” Killian hadn’t gone home since the day of her abduction. Strangely, he missed seeing his insufferable self. “When are you coming home?” She asked subconsciously and berated herself. She mentally smacked her forehead for inquiring. Kil
“Congratulations, Ms. Penelope Fords.” The board members erupted in a series of congratulations. She had been voted as the new CEO for Ford Company and all affiliate companies.The new reached Stanley Ford and he was beyond livid. The woman took the one thing that he hoped would still be his if he was granted bail. But his court judgement had been life sentence till death without any chance of parole.It was at that moment that a foreign substance rolled down his cheeks. He didn’t bother catching it because he deserved all that had happened to him. He allowed himself to be driven with so much power, molesting women, blackmailing them and killing simply because he thought he could get away with it.In the end, Penelope Ford won. She provided the DNA evidence, sending Delilah and her daughters away. She didn’t take the house from them because she had no use for it. She, more than most people, understood what it felt like to have no roof over your heads.She wished she could be steel hea
“Max! Fran! Come out!” Penelope screamed at the top of her lungs, wondering where they had hidden. It was their moving day. The boxes had been tapped, packed and waiting for the moving truck.She tried again and went to the back exit to look for them. The kids were testing her patience lately. They had ben rebelling against her since she mentioned that they would be moving to the city. But Max had given her a condition- to move in with Killian.They wanted to spend as much time with her and Killian as well. The thought stressed her out because it further added more pressure on her decision making.“Come on, Max! Fran!” She called outside and was on the verge of giving up when she heard some movement nearby. There was a store room where she kept the supplies.“Max? Come out here!” She ordered sternly. He came out in slow steps with Fran in tow.“Really? Both of you are unbelievable. I am the parent here! As much as I allow you some freedom doesn’t mean you should undermine my authoriti
Revenge never felt this sweet and bittersweet.It had been a couple of days since Jared King trended for the fraud he was. His doctor who forged a report of his ailment had his license revoked as well. So, yeah… Revenge tour was bittersweet as many people lost their jobs, sources of income all to rebuild a system that had fallen into the hands of power-drunk men.Penelope took it upon herself to visit some people before she returned to the countryside. One of those people was Nathan Hoffman.“You have a visitor.” She heard his PA relay to him.“Was there an appointment?” She heard him ask in a tired voice. Her heart bled for him. She imagined the PA shook her head when she heard no response. “Let them in.” He gave his permission.Penelope waited for the PA to come out to accompany her in.“Nathan.” She called as soon as she set foot into his office. He raised his head slowly. A glimmer of light shined in his eyes at the appearance of Penelope.“Penny.” He whispered, almost disbelievi
His eyes looked like they had seen a ghost. He was right. Everything he held dearly would soon become a ghost of his imagination. "T-thank you all for spending today with this old man." He concluded his speech and left the center stage. People began laughing, smiling and toasting to him. A clip played in the background for everyone to see. It was a collage of photos with music attached to it. Stanley smiled so much, his cheeks burned. Slowly, the pictures turned from pictures of his to pictures of the bruises he afflicted on Lola. Everyone gasped at the gory pictures, covering their mouths at the sheer horror of those images. Soon after, names from the black lists were called. Several funds of the government that was diverted. Stanley gasped, shaking his head disbelievingly. "No! None of this is true." He tried to plead with his guests who had adored him some minutes ago, now turned their backs on him.No one listened. People started to leave the parties because soon after, siren
"What have we got?" Killian asked.Boyles held a cigar in between his lips as he took a deep long drag."A lot. Depends on where you want us start." He spoke after putting the smoke in the air. His feet casually crossed over each other on her work desk. She had a study in a makeshift basement.It was no news that Boyles knew about where she was, even though she never revealed where she was writing from in any of her letters.He was the one that anonymously tipped Killian about her whereabouts. They knew because he confessed the minute he set foot into her household, right before plumping into the chair in front of her desk.He was always an enigma thag no one could decipher."His offshore accounts. We must look into it. Several events had been hosted, especially art works which we know he couldn't give the middle finger about. Most of them are usually sent to another location." Killian inquired, looking at the spread papers and files before him."I will have my men on it. I got you an
Penelope woke up to the light streaming down softly on her face. She groaned a little due to the sudden intrusion on her vision she opens her eyes.She adjusted her position and met a wall behind her. Her hand darted to the back to feign the object."Careful, love. Unless you want to stir him awake for another round. I don't mind, though." His voice vibrated against her neck, turning on very early in the morning.She bit her lips and retracted her hand. As tempting as his offer was, she couldn't even summon the strength. The previous night was a tryst that left her moaning her lungs out and causing her to be sore down there.If she somehow made it out of her bed, she would claim victory. The night was sweet, slow and rough. Everything she wanted and desired. She clamper he thighs shut while reminiscing."Talk to me. What are you thinking about?" Killian asked, slipping his hand around her waist and pulled her flush to his front, not condoning any space between them. He let out a sigh
Killian didn’t hold back on having fun with Max and Fran, especially not on his Black Gold credit card. But he didn’t mind. Anything to see the joy on their faces, he was willing and ready to do it.Sometime in the evening after having lunch with the kids, Max asked, “Okay, Dad. Why are you sulking? Don’t you like spending time with us?” Max inquired, dumping his fries on the plate and meeting his gaze.He turned away from the view of the buzzling locals outside the window, “Of course, I want to spend all the time I can get with you.” He spoke defensively.The two arched a brow, “Then, why are you sulking?” Max asked again.“I am not sulking.” He answered with a scowl on his face.Max and Fran leaned back at the same time, seemingly choreographed before concluding. “Sulking!”Killian let out a sigh.“Come on. Talk to us.” Fran spoke this time. She pushed her food away, grabbed the napkin to clean her hands and crossed her arms, expectantly.Max leaned back into his seat, waiting as we
“Stay in here and don’t leave the car, Penny.” John warned sternly, debating on whether he should turn back home because of the danger he might be putting his daughter in. Evelyn would have his head if she found out about it.She had warned him against it but didn’t listen to her. How could he? The only opportunity he had to save his dying wife, not taking it would mean losing her to that bastard disease that was eating her up from the inside.All he wanted to do was take his wife’s pain away. The society shouldn’t fault a man for the means he takes.In quiet strides, he went into the building with his hands tucked inside both his pockets. Occasionally, he would look behind him, straining his neck to check the car to see if anyone was near it.After some minutes, gunshot was heard, startling Penelope where she sat. her heart raced as she looked around, wondering where her father was.The kite was in her hold when she poked her head out of the window, looking into the darkness that ove
She looked down at their joined hands and looked back up at Killian. “One step at a time, remember?” She spoke and pulled her hand out of his. “The children are far more important right now.” She added and stood up from the couch. “Goodnight, Killian.” She whispered the last part.“Goodnight, Penelope.” He spoke in a low voice, feeling dejected at her rejection. Although, he half expected it but it didn’t lessen the ache he felt in his heart. He grabbed the comforter nearby and used it to cover himself after taking minimal clothing pieces off. That had been his bed for the past few days.The thought made him chuckle. How could a billionaire squeeze his length into a couch for days? Ms. Flores would have aneurysms if she ever saw him in that uncomfortable position. His bed was much more comfortable than the hard couch. He wondered why Penelope didn’t buy a more comfortable one when she easily could.Think of this as a means to an end, he tried to comfort himself internally.Just when h