**Tyler's POV**Luke was quite weak; with the first punch, he staggered backward, and I kept punching until his nose started bleeding. The restaurant's security began dragging me out, and as I left, I saw Emily crouching to talk to Luke. He said something, and then she came over to me."How lovely, can't we have a peaceful moment, Tyler? Thanks for ruining our afternoon," she said, a bit upset. Ryan and Jade came out of the restaurant behind us, concerned."What did I miss?""Nothing, Jade, just Tyler being an idiot," Emily said, getting into the car and slamming the door. I did the same angrily, and she turned away."Don't say anything, just take me home before I have a rage attack and decide to kill you right here," as soon as she finished speaking, I started the car and signaled for Jade to get in.Back at home, Emily went to her room and locked herself in. I felt a bit angry; was it really necessary? Luke wasn't that important, sure, he helped us out recently, but did I have to en
---**Jade Mitchell's POV**"I can't believe everyone has already gone to bed," I said, sitting in front of the piano."Sometimes they do that, but wake up to eat," Josh said, browsing through the TV channels."How about waking them up with some music?" I suggested excitedly."Of course, any specific song you want?""Play whatever you'd like."I decided to switch to a song by a singer I used to be a fan of. My fingers glided across the piano keys, creating a beautiful symphony. I didn't finish singing the entire song when I saw Justin standing near the door, watching me. My face must have turned as red as a tomato because I saw him chuckle and go talk to Josh.Damn it, Jade, don't let a smile destroy you. Not again.I can't ruin anything here; I think I'm finally going to have a family, and neither I nor anyone else can mess that up.The doorbell rang, and he got up to see who it was. I stood up with Josh to see what was happening, and there was a blonde woman at the door, blonde and
**Justin's POV**"How many months?" I asked without even looking at her."Almost four, don't worry, it's not yours," she said calmly and with a certain tone of pride."You're not going to do this, Caroline; I won't allow it.""To whom do you want me to ask for help? Thanks to Tyler and Emily, I lost the only family I had left. Now, I just want to let Tyler know he's going to be a father," she said, almost jumping with joy."He will indeed be a father, to a girl whose mother is Emily, not Caroline.""Justin, you can't deprive a baby of the chance to know its father. A child is not to blame for my mistakes. Now, let me get out of this car."I pulled up in front of the café and let her out. What to do now? Tell Tyler that Caroline, the crazy one, claims to be pregnant with his child?I returned home, feeling ready to explode, and saw Tyler and Emily sitting on the sofa, shopping for something online, as usual, laughing like fools, which meant it could only be something for Olivia.I pass
**Emily Parker's POV**I woke up earlier with the same anxiety as always; it seems like the days are passing more slowly, and it's torture."Why do you do this to me?" Tyler asked, lifting his head from the pillow, still half-asleep."Sorry, didn't mean to wake you," I said calmly."Then go back to sleep.""I can't, I've lost sleep already," I shrugged and got out of bed."I think it's good; I want to take you for a walk today.""And where are we going?" I asked."First, we're going to a spa that has the best massages for pregnant women, and then we'll have dinner at the best restaurant in town.""Just the two of us?""Yes, my love, just the three of us," he said, smiling. In quick movements, he got out of bed, kissed my belly, and went to the bathroom.[...]"Wait, is it a man doing the massage?" Tyler asked the receptionist the same question for the second time."Yes, sir, it's the masseur who will be doing the massage," she replied, presumably making a great effort not to snap at h
**Emily's POV**I stood there, paralyzed, staring at the reflection in the mirror. It felt strange. I had only seen pictures of her, and now she was right behind me. The hair was the same, just a bit shorter, and the light eyes and that almost identical victorious smile from the photo. If not for her, I might start believing in clones. However, her next action confirmed that it was indeed her."For a pregnant woman of almost nine months, you took a long time to come to the bathroom. I was about to give up," she said, approaching. I turned to her and took two steps to the side."Don't be so defensive, Emily; I just want to talk.""I have nothing to say to you," I said, dry and too quick due to nervousness."Oh, for heaven's sake, drop the 'madam' act. I believe you still don't know the news," she said, examining her well-manicured nails."If it were in my interest, I would already know," I grumbled, heading towards the door."So, it's not in your interest regarding my son? Or is it?" I
**Tyler Miller POV**"STOP, JUSTIN, PLEASE!" I woke up to Emily's screams. I looked at her, and she was thrashing on the bed, her body covered in sweat."Love, wake up," I touched her face, holding other parts of her body to make her calm down."I DIDN'T WANT TO!" She continued screaming hysterically."Wake up, Emily!" I shook her a bit; it took a few seconds for her to calm down and open her eyes slowly.She looked at me and didn't say anything, just wrapped her arms around my neck and clung to me tightly."It's okay; it was just a nightmare," I said, trying to calm her down. Emily seemed dazed; she just hugged me tightly and cried in my arms. I pulled her closer and stroked her face. The doctor had warned me that she might become more sensitive in these last months of pregnancy, so I was determined to provide all the support to her. After all, Emily's pregnancy had been tumultuous, with various attempts on her life, death, and betrayal. I wished I could have given her something bett
**Emily POV**I hadn't gotten out of bed yet when I received a message on my phone. I looked at the number but didn't recognize it. My heart raced when I saw what it was—a photo of Tyler taken without him noticing."Call him and tell him to go home."I replied: Who are you?"Do it now."And then another message with a picture of a gun pointed at him. I called Tyler, and he answered instantly."Hi, my love.""Tyler, I need you to come home now.""What happened, Emily?""Now, Tyler, it's important.""Okay, I'm on my way."Then the number sent another message."Good girl."A few minutes later, I went to wait for Tyler in the living room. He wouldn't take long to arrive since the warehouse was close to home. I entered the living room and thought I saw Jade sitting on the couch, but soon realized it wasn't her, as Jade was sitting next to the woman, and that woman could only be her."Johanna?""Sorry, Emily, I couldn't stop her from coming in," Jade said, coming over to me."Get out of my
**Tyler POV**"Be brief," I said angrily."Don't treat me like that, Tyler. I am your mother," she exclaimed, sitting in the chair near the window."Since when?" I responded curtly."I know I have things to explain, but I need you to stay open to understanding me," she said nervously."Then speak," I said dryly."I'll start from the moment I found out I was pregnant with Jade," she sighed heavily and then continued, "At that time, your father was already a cold and violent man. I didn't want my daughter to go through any kind of pain, and he doubted that the baby was his. So, I decided it would be better to distance myself. I pretended I had lost the child and needed time to recover. I just needed a year, and after that year, I came back to you. I didn't worry about you because I knew he would never harm you. They both had the same temperament and got along so well...""Continue," I said as she paused."Your grandmother always wanted to be close to both of you but not as part of the f
### Pov Olivia"Are you ready, my daughter?" my mother asked, gently tapping on the door.I finished putting on my hat and nodded. She took my hand and led me to the car, where my father was already waiting in the driver's seat. We arrived early at the cemetery, and for now, only Justin and Ingrid were there, both with expressions heavy with sorrow as they gazed at the coffin.We approached slowly, and they greeted us with somber looks."We're burying him in an hour... you didn't have to come so early," Uncle Justin said sternly, trying to hide the anger and pain in his voice."She wanted to come say goodbye," my mother replied, looking at me with an encouraging glance. She signaled for me to approach the coffin.With a heavy heart, I took a few steps toward David's coffin. Each step felt heavier than the last. Ingrid placed her hand on my shoulder and tried to muster a smile. "He would have liked to see you one last time. He loved you, Olivia," she said, her voice trembling but since
### POV Olivia"Antony..." I murmured nervously, looking at his body lying in front of me. Tears blurred my vision, but I couldn't waste any time."Come on, Olivia, we don't have much time. Forget about Antony, he's gone now. You need to live!" David said, gripping my arm tightly and dragging me towards the trees."How did you find me?" I asked in surprise, hearing footsteps of people running after us."I tracked your phone," he said seriously, looking for a place for us to hide."But it's turned off. They removed the SIM... and there's no internet signal here..." I grumbled, confused."I put a tracker on your phone," he replied."Oh my God, you creep, why did you do that?" I let go of his hand, stepping back in fear.David took a deep breath for a moment and looked at me seriously. "Olivia, I did it because I love you. I couldn't stand seeing you pining over Peter. That day, when I saw you kissing him at your father's house, since that day I felt hatred, resentment. I wanted to kill
### POV Tyler"Are you crazy? That man is a scumbag! How can you do business with him?" Emily nearly vomited with indignation when I told her who my new ally was."I know," I replied, trying to stay calm. "But if we want to get our daughter back, he's the only person who knows Ethan's location. Remember when I asked Antony to check all the warehouses in the city? We found out that guy was the only one Ethan was doing business with. The frequency and his employees were so discreet it was almost imperceptible." I shrugged and collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. "Any news from Josh and Justin?" I asked, noticing the worried look on Emily's face. She shook her head, confirming there wasn't."Anne can't stop crying. She's having to deal with everything alone. To make matters worse, Noah keeps saying Ethan is his father. She's devastated, and Ingrid can't stop looking for her kidnapped niece," she replied sadly, the pain evident in her voice."That's all the more reason I need to rip the hea
### POV Tyler"So, what do you intend to give me in exchange for this information?" the fat man with his cane asked suspiciously, his small, calculating eyes fixed on me."I'll release some of your men I've captured and stay away from your business for at least three months. You'll have carte blanche to do whatever you want during that time," I replied seriously, taking a sip of the whiskey on the table."Tyler... Tyler... who would have thought that after all this time, you'd come to me proposing a deal..." He laughed cynically, his eyes gleaming with malice. "What do you want with Ethan?" He raised an eyebrow, clearly suspicious."That's none of your business! It's personal... I want to know if you accept my deal," I responded curtly, shrugging, not caring about his suspicions."Tyler... Tyler... you’re as arrogant as ever!" He shook his head, thoughtful. "Do you think I'll let you come into my house and deceive me? Have you and that worthless Ethan made some kind of deal to take me
**POV Olivia**I woke up again feeling dizzy, with lapses of memory, alternating between waking and falling asleep without being able to keep my eyes open for long."Look, the little princess is awake!" Alana entered the room with a cynical look, while my hands and feet were tied to the chair, preventing me from escaping."This won't end like this. What have you done to me? Why do I feel so..." I couldn't finish the sentence. My lips were numb, and my mouth tingled."Sedated? Perhaps because you're under the effect of sedatives. We already know you're a match, but we had to run a lot of tests to check if your bone marrow is in good condition, considering the amount of alcohol you consume at your father's parties. We'll need at least two more days to detox you from all the medications. Don't worry, this is the last sedative!" She winked, applying that greenish liquid into my bloodstream again."My bone marrow? What do you want with it?" I asked, trying not to succumb to the anesthesia c
**POV Tyler**"Tyler... Tyler, wake up!" I heard a female voice beside me, shaking my body. The voice seemed distant, and I felt weak. After much insistence, I slowly opened my eyes. The brightness hurt my retinas. The room was all white, filled with equipment. I tried to move, but felt something attached to my arm. Then, a gentle touch on my face and a tight hug."Tyler... I thought you were dead. I'm so happy you're alive!"I opened my eyes and saw Emily in tears, her face red and swollen, looking like she had been crying for hours. I looked around and realized I was strapped to a hospital bed, with various machines monitoring my vital signs."What happened? How long have I been here?" I asked desperately. Emily stepped back, swallowing hard."Seven days. You've been in a coma for seven days. Josh and Justin still haven't woken up. The doctor said they're in critical condition, worse than you... we don't know when they'll wake up," Emily replied, lowering her head."No... that's imp
**POV Tyler**With my heart racing, I got into the car and started the engine. As I drove through the nearly deserted streets, a fierce determination took hold of me. No matter what it took, I would bring Sara back safely. Josh and Justin were my closest friends, and I knew I could count on them.When I arrived at the meeting point, I saw Josh and Justin already waiting. They looked at me seriously, ready for what was to come."We're going to get Sara and make sure she comes home safely," I said, looking at both of them."We're with you, Tyler," Josh replied firmly. Justin nodded, the same determination reflected in his eyes.We arrived near the warehouse, having meticulously planned every detail. There were a few men at the back of the building, and I had positioned some patrol cars at key points on the streets to prevent possible escapes. After rescuing Sara, the plan was to interrogate one of Ethan's men and find out what he was planning and why he was so fixated on Noah."Let's go
**POV Olivia**"It's better this way, honey. We need to trust your father. He wants the best for us," my mother said, smiling and stroking my hair as I lay on the bed, crying in anger.She wiped away one of the tears running down my face and suggested, "How about we watch a movie together? It's been a while since I arrived, but we haven't had time to do normal mother-daughter things. We've been apart for so long... I want to know more about you," she smiled, excited."Thank you, Mom... I would love that," I replied, a slight smile forming on my lips, and she nodded.As soon as she left the room, I sent a message to Peter, asking if he knew anything. I fiddled with my phone to pass the time while my mother made popcorn in the microwave. Finally, I received a message."Do you want to find that bitch Sarah? And your dear friend David, who betrayed you? Come to Xavier Marques Street, near the dark alley. I'll be there and take you to them..."There was no sender. It was another one of tho
**POV Tyler**"Okay... Does Emily have a twin sister that her father sold to a couple when she was born?" I asked again, shaking my head, unable to believe my own words."Yes, Alana Parker was a victim of human trafficking..." Olivia replied seriously, while Emily swallowed hard. "She helped me find my mom, but now it seems like she wants some kind of payment for her help..." Olivia finished her sentence."What does this crazy woman want? Money? Could she be working for Ethan?" I stood up from the table nervously, unable to stay still."I don't know... I didn't go with her... but she really wanted me to," Olivia muttered, hugging Emily, who didn't want to let go of her."Alana is dangerous. I always suspected her and doubted she was on our side. I don't know what she wants, but we have to protect our daughter, Tyler!" Emily said nervously.The anguish in Emily's eyes was evident. She clearly didn't want to lose Olivia after already losing so many years of raising her."Emily, we will