Chapter One Hundred And Forty OneAs soon as the party arrived home, Lana went straight to her room and locked herself in.She had been quiet throughout the ride home, and refused to say or acknowledge a word anybody said to her."What's wrong with Miss Lana?" Diego asked, looking round at the others who stood at the bottom of the stairs, watching Lana go up.Yvette shrugged, as puzzled as Diego was.Damien and Liam, however, ignored him as well, and went into his study. Damien was brooding, his heart heavy with sadness and anger.Liam stood before him looking downcasted as well. Knowing Damien's temper, it would not be a good idea to say anything unless Damien spoke first.It had not been a good idea to let Lana listen to the recordings with them. That was the one thing Damien regretted. Although, it was supposed to come to her notice one way or the other, but Damien would have loved to keep it buried for life.He hated to see Lana sad, or heartbroken. After listening to the tapes,
Chapter One Hundred And Forty Two."There are some things we need to look into before handing the files over to the police."Damien was silent.He had his head in his hands with his eyes closed. He was not fully listening what Liam was saying, with his mind whirling with various thoughts. He was still numb from the fact that his grandmother had been killed. She had been taken away from him. He did not even get a chance to reconcile with her.For months he'd been at loggerheads with her because of Rina. He'd made her cry and frustrated. He'd repeatedly declared his love for Rina, and how he'd choose her over Romero. Damie closed his eyes as pain lodged in his throat. She must have been very heartbroken, yet she still made sure she helped him recover.Yet, she'd been taken away from him?Rage coursed through his body and he shivered with the intensity. At that moment, he swore he was going to crush Zaire's neck.Just the way he'd done to his grandmother. And he'd take extreme pleasure
Chapter One Hundred And Forty ThreeZaire stands in the balcony of his villa, overlooking the sea as he sipped from a glass of tequila.The sea wind was cold and crisp and ruffled his hair and the collar of the crisp white button down which he wore.He tucked his hand in his pocket, a calm expression on his face as he watched the sea down beneath him.It was dusk already and the dark, foamy waves of the sea crashed against the rocks situated at its bank, and spilled over the beach. During the day, he'd walked barefoot on the beach, close to the edge of the sea.The sand on the beach was fine, mixed with pieces of rocks that prickled the sole of his feet as he walked past, 0but Zaire paid no heed to it.He looked down at the beach now from his balcony, and let his blank stare gaze at the roaring waves.He took another sip of his tequila, letting the warmth of the liquid burn through his throat and spread throughout his chest. His calm and blank expression belied any of the raging turmo
Chapter One Hundred And Forty FourZaire had been following Damien all his life. He kept tabs on the Romero family as well, always looking for an opening, a leverage he could use against them.He saw when the little bastard had his first car.When he got into an ivy league. When he took over from their father.Zaire was always skulking around them, hiding in the shadows, watching every moment of Damien's life.Damien had been happy. He had loving parents, and a doting grandmother. He had his life set out for him and even got to marry a beautiful, and astounding woman in the long run.Everything that should have been his.With one tilt of his head, he downed the entire contents of the glass in one gulp and walked inside the house with it, leaving Aryan staring after him.He walked into his spacious bedroom, which seemed to be made of glass, with one part overlooking the glorious expanse of the sea.Zaire made his way to his walk in closet, divesting himself of his clothes. He walked o
Chapter One Hundred And Forty Five"Let me out, you hear me! Hey, I'm talking to you!" Rina yelled as she hit the metal bars of the cell doors holding her back. The cops, however, paid her no heed and went about their business like she wasn't even there."Agrhh!" Rina screamed, shaking the metal bars once more and snapping her head back. She winced in pain as she held on to her neck which had a brace over it.The doctors had warned her to be careful with moving it around, and now she'd almost dislodged it from its position again. She knew what she was doing would make no difference, but she could not sit still.It's been almost twenty four hours and yet she was still languishing in this cell. Her stomach growled with hunger and anger, and she glared at the police men.She'd not had anything to eat since she was brought from the hospital, and even then she'd not eaten anything.Both the food from the hospital and the one given to her in the cell looked like they were meant for dogs, n
Chapter One Hundred And Forty SixLana sat in her room poring over designs sent to her by Mandy, on her laptops. Each scroll she made, had her heart jumping for joy as she slowly forgot the bitter experience she'd had earlier that day.She had been so frazzled after listening to the recordings, that she'd gone home and cried herself to sleep. That morning, she woke up to about fifteen missed calls from Mandy the day before. "Ma'am, we made it to the preliminary round for the Queen's Glamour And Festival Awards!" Mandy had squealed excitedly into her ear that morning when she called her back. The young women sounded very excited and Lana had immediately been affected by her joyful mood.Although, she knew that they'd get selected and even possibly win the awards, her heart could not help but race in anticipation when Mandy announced the news."Mandy, that's awesome news," she said to her assistant, tears of joy filling her eyes suddenly to her surprise."Yes, ma'am. It is." Mandy af
Chapter One Hundred And Forty Seven"Miss Lana, its okay. I can take it from here."Yvette said in a worried tone but there was no mistaking the gladness that laced it as well as she watched Lana gently remove the delicious, creamy bread from the oven.Lana gave her a grin over her shoulder as she removed the thick mittens from her hands. The sweet aroma of roasted meat, and freshly baked bread filled the kitchen and teased their noses, making her mouth water."The master would be back home soon. You go ahead and freshen up, Miss Lana." Yvette said with a conspiratorial grin at Lana.Lana cheeks flamed as she heard the hidden meaning behind Yvette's words. Its not like it was a special day or something, but Yvette was adding meaning to her cooking for Damien after such a long time.It was no big deal, really.Bored out of her wits from staying at home all day, Lana had gotten tired of watching TV. Then she resorted to growing her phone for emails and also her Instagram. Her feed was
Chapter One Hundred And Forty EightThe indoor pool is completely dark, except for the soft, white lights coming from within the water.Lana steps fully into the closed dome as her mouth drops open, taking in the sight of the huge pool. This was the first time she was coming to this part of the house.Hell, no one told her the Romero villa had a fucking indoor pool.She grinned wildly as she walked towards the edge of the pool. Suddenly, she stopped, frowning slightly at the rippling water. It's dark surface shimmered with her reflection dancing in it.She could have sworn she heard splashing earlier."Ack!" Lana shrieked, as a figure erupted from the water suddenly with a loud splash. She scurried backwards quickly so her shirt won't be soaked."What the hell?" She asked, pressing the heel of her palm to her chest so her pounding heart won't fly out.Damien stood in the water, a wild grin on his face as he watched her startled expression, "You scare easily.""What the hell, Damien? Y
Chapter Two Hundred And NineteenMaya made her way to the elevator that connected the company with the parking lot, her head held high in triumph.Before she could press the button however, Gary hurriedly stood up and shouted, "I was only trying to save you from embarassing yourself, Maya!"Maya stopped, her shoulders stiff with contained fury as she turned to him, "What?" She scoffed, taking slow threatening steps back towards him, "you never learn, do you?""You know he doesn't want you." Gary gritted out, "You're better off with me, Maya. You're smart and we connect well. Why don't you make the wise decision and come to me?"Maya laughed cynically, "Is this fool on drugs?" She asked, fury blazing in her eyes, "Why would I even consider being with you? You ugly looking wimp. Can you take care of me? Do you know how much I'm worth?!""You're not worth that much more than me, you know." Gary chuckled bitterly, his eyes wide in a terrifying way, "We both work in the same company and ea
Chapter Two Hundred And EighteenWithout warning, Gary marched forward and grabbed Maya's hand, pulling her flush against him.Maya gasped in outrage as she stumbled roughly unto him, "What do you think you're doing?" She screeched, "Let go of me, you pig!""I should be asking you that question!" Gary was trembling with rage, "What are you doing, selling yourself like a whore for this gigolo?!"There was a sharp intake of breath from the employees who were pretending to be working but also watching the drama.Some were enjoying the show so much that they spoke low behind their palms, laughing and snickering at Maya.It serves her right for strutting about like she owned the place. Maya had been a pain the neck around the office, ever since Noah started working there.It was refreshing to hear her being referred to as the slut that she truly was.She was clearly throwing herself at the man who did not want her, and bared her teeth at any girl in the office who looked at him. Not like
Chapter Two Hundred And SeventeenNoah stiffened as Gary said those words. What the actual hell?!He turned sharply and glared at Gary, who had a maliciously gleeful look in his eyes.How had he known about that? Noah narrowed his eyes at the odious man, who was enjoying the look of confusion on Noah's face.Slowly, he started chuckling and soon, the annoying man straightened up and laughed outloud while Noah simmered, and the rest of the colleagues watched in puzzlement."You never thought about that, did you?" Gary continued, after he'd had a good laugh, "Well, you should have, before you thought of running your mouth." He lifted the stack of files and slammed them back down on Noah's desk, roughly, "You better start working on them," he smirked, then leaned in to say in Noah's ears once more, "Or you're not the only one who is going to lose your job."Noah's mouth tightened into a grim line, as he realized what Gary was trying to say.He had indeed started working at the company
Chapter Two Hundred And SixteenThere were shocked gasps around the office at that statement. Everyone was staring at Noah, wondering where he got his boldness from.Even if he was right, no one had ever thought of talking back to their superior. They had always collected whatever harsh treatment had been meted out to them, without second thoughts.Who did this new guy think he was? What was that he said, Manager Gary's job was what was on the line.Really, it was his own life that was on the line. They looked at Manager Gary to see how he'd receive this news.Gary had gone pale, then slowly he turned beet red. He bared his teeth at Noah menacingly, "What did you say?"Noah stood his ground, staring at the man, "This preparations were supposed to have been sent in a month ago." He went on, "The orders for the shipment were made before I even started working here. I'm sure the regional manager have this job to you directly but you did not carry it out, due to your negligence."Gary was
Chapter Two Hundred And FifteenWham!A huge stack of files was dropped on Noah's desk like a boulder, and the small desk rattled from the force of it."Listen up newbie, I want these files to be screened and the reports on my desk in the next one hour, do you understand me?"Noah slowly looked from the huge stack of files sitting in his desk, to the shaggy haired man in front of him.It was Gary Shane, the junior sales executive and Noah's direct boss in the establishment.From the very day, Noah started working at Romero Solutions And Logistics, Gary seemed to have it out for him and took extreme pleasure in giving him demanding tasks.Arching a well carved eyebrow in question, Noah spoke calmly, "All of these? In an hour's time?""What?" Gary smirked. He was chewing gum and the smacking sounds it made grated on Noah's nerves. Gary shoved his hands into his pockets and took a relaxed stance in front of Noah's desk, his eyes roving over Noah in mocking fashion."What?" He asked agai
Chapter Two Hundred And FourteenLana looked up again as she felt Adrian's hands stop their soothing motion on her neck and shoulders."You've located...he's really alive?" He asked, his brows coming together in disbelief.In reply, Lana laughed happily, covering her mouth daintily. Her eyes shimmered with happy tears and she went on speaking cheerfully, "Yes! Can you believe it? Well of course you believe it, because I always said so!"Adrian was silent even as Lana kept in talking. He'd stopped massaging her shoulders and her cheerful voice was just going on and on in his head.She looked really happy, hopeful, something he'd never seen in her in a long time.And that was because Damien Romero had been found.Wait, he was really alive?He'd always heard Lana say it and he'd seen her waiting for him, encouraged her to keep on hoping because only then Arielle could be saved but now, it seemed like Damien Romero was really going to be back in her life.Their lives.Somehow, and for rea
Chapter Two Hundred And Thirteen"What do you mean he knows something?"Lana asked, later that night in Adrian's office.When Adrian had called her at the company earlier, she'd immediately headed to the hospital to see him.Oakcrest City's hospital was one of the best healthcare facilities not only in the city but in neighboring cities as well. It was a combination of both specialists and general hospital.It provided the best health care services and even the creme de la creme of society had their check ups there. The hospital's VIP section was built solely for the benefit and comfort of wealthy people. This sentiment has gone on to be abused by the rich, who use the hospital as a getaway to evade tax hunt, scandals and malingering.The facilities in the VIP area were more like the equipments that belonged in a spa or resort than an hospital. There were lounges, perfect little cafes and the patients wore robes as their hospital wear instead.However, only the best and most professi
Chapter Two Hundred And Twelve"You were right," Director Evans said as he walked over to the single table in the centre of the small office.Apart from the single table and two chairs facing it, the office was bare, with its grey decor.There were two chairs sitting side by side near the table, which had a packet of cigarettes sitting on it as well.Director Evans drew a cigarette out of the slim pack and lit it with a lighter lying close by, "Romero is really not in the hospital. Lana did really play us all."Zaire smirked as he listened to this, while Director Evans took his seat with a satisfied sigh, "Now, there's just one little problem to sort out before we make this public," he drawled, taking long puffs on his cigarette, "Where is Romero, really? Do you think he's going to come back?""Damien Romero will never come back to his Empire," Zaire spoke with a calm smile, as he turned to back to watching the city below.Director Evans was watching him with narrowed eyes, "How do yo
Chapter Two Hundred And ElevenDirector Evans walked briskly out of the hospital and towards his parked car, smiling from ear to ear. His driver swiftly opened the car door for him and he quickly got in, making himself comfortable.The driver quickly went round and took his spot as well, "Should I go to the location, sir?""He must be waiting by now, don't you think?" Director Evans replied, "We'd better get moving then."The driver nodded and immediately placed the car on the road, and was soon speeding down the highway.The Director sat in the back seat looking very pleased with himself. He was still smiling and soon, he burst out into full blown laughter.The driver glanced at him curiously from the rear view mirror and quickly looked away focusing on his driving.He did not know what was making his boss laugh and he was not very curious by the way.Besides, he and his boss were not in a relationship where they could discuss his source of joy.But he could not help, but wonder wha