Chapter Ninety-FiveWhen the car rolled to a stop in front of the main house, Vera held on to Rina, "Honey, why don't you come over to my place?," she asked, " I don't want you to be all alone here, and it will be easier for me to speak to your father."Rina gave her a tight smile, but slowly shook her head, "No, Mother." She replied, in a lowered voice, "I need some alone time. I want to be by myself for some time."Vera sighed, "Alright then, go on." She saod and Rina climbed out of the car with great relief. As she walked towards the entrance of the house, Vera lowered the window pane and called out to her, "Don't even think about getting funny ideas, dear. I'll call at the house later this evening, okay?"Rina gave her a warm smile and waved her along, "Okay Vera, I'll see you soon." She uttered softly, and as the car drove away with a cloud of dust, Rina's smile slowly faded away, and in its place, came a nasty scowl. "Ugh, she's so annoying, geez." She uttered, shuddering dram
Chapter Ninety-SixZaire slammed his phone down on the desk in front of him, as soon as he handed the call. The screen of the phone cracked and left cuts in his hand, which soon started bleeding .Zaire gave no thoughts for the blood which was running down his palm to his desk. He did not even feel the pain. Instead, he still held the phone in a tight grip and seethed with rage. He was breathing hard and trying hard to calm down.The conversation which he just had with Rina kept replaying in his head and Zaire slammed the phone on the desk once more."Damien knows about the Carter Family."This words rang in his head once more and he gritted his teeth. He stood up from behind his desk and went to a small bar in his office.He needed a stiff drink.Taking a bottle of brandy, he poured himself a small glass and downed it in one gulp. He poured another and repeated the action three times. "How much does he know about them? Does he know anything about Lucas?" He thought worriedly as he
Chapter Ninety-seven Rina smiled happily to herself when the call ended. "That was refreshing." She thought as she turned to walk back down the stone bridge. It was really nice to make Zaire speechless for once.Rina detested how pompous he was and how he'd been treating her all along. "We have the same purpose and the same objective," she muttered to herself with a snarl on her lips, "how dare he act like he's the lord of me?"Truth be told, Zaire had not always been like that. They had been really close when they met, and had formed a bond which was only made stronger when they discovered they shared a common enemy. She had just lost Lucas then.To that stupid plague called AIDS.Lucas, her so called brother who had left the orphanage with her when she turned eighteen."I'll protect you, Rina, and I'll make sure they all pay for what they did to us."But big brother Lucas had died barely three years into their plan. Turns out, he found that the lures of the city and sex were muc
Chapter Ninety-EightRina stared at the guard in horror, "W...what did you say?" She stammered, unable to believe her ears. The guard did not reply, instead he tilted his head slightly and looked behind him. Rina followed his gaze, and was shocked to see the maids bringing her luggage out.They placed it in front of Rina roughly, and gave her a smug look. To the maids, this was like an answer to their prayers. They had always wished for the day that the CEO would realize, Miss Rina was nothing to him and throw her out.Today was that day, and they decided to be smug about it."What do you think you're doing?" Rina screamed at them and tried to grab them, intending to claw them to pieces, but the guards held her back, pushing her away from them.Rina stumbled backwards and almost landed on her butt. She looked furious with her teeth bared and clenched, and her eyes red with anger. She marched angrily toward the guard and raised her hand to strike him, but was shocked to her marrow whe
Chapter Ninety-NineLana let out a huge sigh of relief as soon as the door closed behind the last employee. She sat back on her chair for a little while, trying to get back a little strength before she decided to just go home and rest instead.The day had been a hectic one, with the design team making preparations for the upcoming season and also the queen's awards. The employees were really eager to make an impression on the queen with their designs, and they tried their best to make their designs stand out."Getting a recognition from the queen is one of the dreams of the employees here," Mandy had told her that afternoon, "I hear it comes with a huge money prize, about thirty thousand dollars and also, you get to make the queen's outfits for a whole year!""That's splendid." Lana had replied , as she flipped through the designs of other companies that had actually won the heart of the queen the previous years. She scoffed in disbelief when she discovered that they all bore a simil
Chapter One Hundred Damien sat on the couch in the living room, sipping calmly from a glass of scotch. He had shed his coat and was wearing only his white button down, which had a gash on its left sleeve, and large blood stains.On the table before him, there was a small towel, which he'd been pressing against the wound to stop the bleeding. It was so soaked with blood that it looked like it originally had the red color, whereas it had been white.His face was calm and his expression impassive but he was actually in deep thought, thinking about what had happened in the office earlier that evening.He'd left his office early, intending to pick Lana up, when he'd seen Diego going to her office instead. He took the assistant aside and asked him to go home, that he'd get Lana himself."Sir, it seems like there's a bit of miscommunication between us, "Diego had said, giving Damien a defiant look, "I do not work for you but for Miss Fernandez. You can't be giving me orders, sir."Damien ha
Chapter One Hundred And OneLana blinked in surprise as Diego rushed towards her, crying and looking her all over to see if she was hurt."Uhm..Diego I'm fine." Lana managed to say as Diego engulfed her in a tight hug, "Just let go already."She tried to push at him, but he was much too strong. She realized he must have confused the blood stains on her dress for hers. Lana didn't blame him. It was a lot which made her not believe Damien, who said it was nothing.They were going to the hospital, whether he likes it or not. But first, she had to get this giant man baby off her."Diego!" She called, exasperatedly pushing at his huge shoulder, "That's enough, I'm fine.""No!" He wept, his voice muffled as he pressed his face into her neck, "Are you really okay, Miss Lana?" He pulled back and held her face in his hands, startling her as he said in a voice choked with tears, "I never should have left you alone.""Ahem." Damien said as he pried Lana loose away from Diego and, pulled her to
Chapter One Hundred And TwoRina paced back and forth in her hotel room waiting for Zaire to call her. She was biting her nails feverishly, and glancing at the phone which was lying on the small table a few feet away from her. "Why isn't he calling, jeez?" She muttered to herself in anger, "What the hell is wrong with him?"She groaned and looked up to the ceiling. She immediately screwed up her nose at what she was looking at. The ceiling was just made out of white plaster with some cheap light bulbs installed on it, or so she thought.She missed the ceiling in her room back in the main house of the Romero Estate. That one was arched and had a splendid chandelier hanging from it, shedding its light in golden spirals all around the room.The room had been massive, with its own terrace and walk in closet and bathroom, equipped with state-of-art amenities. This hotel room was quite spacious as well, but it was definitely not to Rina's taste. It boasted of a double bed, a dressing tabl
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