Chapter One Hundred And Eighty SevenThe men arrived at the room, breathing hard. Pushing the bed aside from the wall, Damien ran his hands all over the wall the way he had seen Lana do in the footage.He let out an erratic breath as the wall opened up in front of him and Paul. It even seemed more ominous than it had in the footage.Takong out his cellphone, he activated his flashlight, illuminating the whole of the passageway."Mother of pearls." Paul muttered in astonishment as they stared into the long dark space.It was a freaking passageway.Why had Lana walked into the wall? No matter how much Paul thought about it, he thought it was extremely brave of the young miss, especially since she did not know what was on the other side of this passageway.Without further ado, Damien bounded into the wall."Romero!" Paul called out after him but Damien did not stop. He kept running down the passageway, till he turned a corner and went out of sight.This was becoming more crazy, Paul th
Chapter One Hundred And Eighty-Eight Anila soon returned to the little room. She was holding a tray on which sat a steaming bowl of soup as well as rice. There were little plates of side dishes on the tray as well, and soon the room was filled with the delicious aroma of the food. She gave Lana a broad smile as she placed the tray before her. "Here you go," she said affectionately, "Eat, so you can have strength." Lana stared at her, then at the food, biting her lips uncertainly. Adrian was also in the room, leaning against the wall close to the room. He stared at Lana hard, a strange look on his face. It was a cross between worry and anger. "Why aren't you eating?" Anila asked worriedly, when Lana did not pick up the spoon "You don't like mushroom soup? C'mon, you've always loved it before." "What?" Lana asked puzzledly, as Anila stretched the spoon towards her. What was the woman talking about? She did not like mushroom soup and don't even remember the last time she had i
Chapter One Hundred And Eighty-NineLana stared at him in alarm, unable to say a word. The fact that she was pregnant was still ringing in her head.It made her knees weak and she had to hold on to Adrian for support.She was pregnant?!How on earth did that come about?Lana rubbed her forehead which was clammy at the moment, in confusion.Her thoughts went back to the night she had spent with Damien by the pool.That was like a month ago.Lana could not believe she had gotten pregnant that night, although it wasn't far fetched. She had not being on the pill for as long as she could remember. Her sex life was looking dead and she figured she did not need it.But now she was pregnant?And not only pregnant, her baby was in danger?!Her shaky hands covered her stomach once more. It was so flat but a life was growing inside there."Lana, did you hear what I said?" Adrian said, shaking her gently, "We have to leave. Now!"His voice made her snap out of her thoughts. She looked up at him i
Chapter One Hundred And NinetyLana was frozen in place, almost palpitating. Adrian needed no seer to tell him what was going on. He knew this was the man behind everything.Grabbing hold of Lana's hand, he darted to the right and they broke into a run, disappearing into the thick bushes by the side of the house."Get them!" Zaire barked and the men with him bounded into the forest.Zaire drew his out his gun and also ran into the forest with them.His jaw was clenched tight with fury.She was here all along!He knew there was no way she'd have escaped Monero on a ferry. He had eyes on every boat that had come into the place and also left for the past week and his hunch was right.She was here all along, hidden by that stupid wretch of a cleaner. Once he finds Lana, he would make sure he finishes Anila off as well as her stupid son.That was actually supposed to be her fate, had his plan gone smoothly previously. Anila was supposed to be killed and the house sold, so nothing could lea
Chapter One Hundred And Ninety-OneA deafening roar came in reply and there was a blur in the next instant.Someone rammed into Zaire, and he toppled off Lana and unto the bridge. "You dare to hurt her?!" Damien screamed in rage as he grabbed a fistful of Zaire's shirt, and delivered swift blows on his face repeatedly.Lana grabbed hold of her dress and watched the scene in horror, shaking in every part of her body.Damien had really come for her!Teaes burned her eyes as she watched him pummel Zaire who was offering no resistance, and then fear settled in."Damien." She called weakly, then raised her voice in alarm when Damien did not stop hitting Zaire, "Damien! Stop! Stop, Damien!"At the sound of her horrified scream, Damien paused in his assualt and his shaking fist was inches above Zaire's battered face."Stop, please! Please, do not get blood on your hands!" Lana pleaded once more, stretching out her hand to him.He immediately let go of Zaire who dropped like a sack of potato
Chapter One Hundred And Ninety-two "Let's die together."Zaire pressed the gun to Lana's head. He was really prepared to end it right there and then with her.He was so glad he had gotten rid of that pompous bastard. He would get rid of Lana as well and they can all meet in the after life.His fingers tightened around the trigger , with his teeth gritted in determination. A flurry of movement came behind him, distracting him but before he could assess it, he was hit across the back.This was followed swiftly with another blow to the side of his head, his jaw almost dislocating with the force of it. He collapsed with a sharp cry on the floor, his body racking with pain.From the corner of his eye, he saw the red haired guy, holding the same stick he'd used on Damien. Adrian threw the stick to the floor, and grabbed Lana, yanking her to her feet."Let me go." Lana whispered, struggling to get Adrian off her."Lana, c'mon!" Adrian said, looking back at Zaire in alarm. Zaire was still w
Chapter One Hundred And Ninety-Three"I said, bring back my son!" Vera screamed as she threw the vase at Lana.The vase of lilies clattered to the floor, inches away from Lana's feet and broke into smithereens.Lana stood as still as a statue, her eyes never leaving the floor, on which was splattered the soil from the vase and the soft white lilies.They had returned back to Oakcrest city just the week before. She had insisted on going to Oakcrest, instead of Emerald City.Infact, she had insisted on a lot of things.One of which was that Damien was still alive.When Paul had rescued her in Moreno, he had called in the authorities and for three days and three nights, they searched the river for Damien but his body was nowhere to be found.Lana stubbornly said she was not leaving Moreno until his body was found and the search stretched until a week, when she could not take it anymore.She was seriously ill from the air in Moreno, and this was posing a health risk for her child. However
Chapter One Hundred And Ninety-FourFar north, along the shores of a small coastal town called St. Hayes, located in Moreno, a man laid unconscious in one of the small abodes belonging to the fishermen.This was the third week he had been unconscious, even after being rescued from the frigid waters of Moreno, even after the doctors had checked on him and saved him from the claws of death.But today was going to be different.The man awoke to the soft glow of the evening sun on his face, the sea breeze playing with the soft blonde curls on his head, which were almost down to his shoulders by now.He was lying on his back on a very hard surface, and covered up to his neck with a blanket.He blinked to clear the grogginess from his vision, and after some time the room slowly came into focus.It was a large room, airy with multiple windows, covered with delicate curtains through which the soft golden glow of sunset filtered through. The bed on which he was lying on was located in the m
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