The grey haired man wearing a brown tweed coat entered the private room.
"Mr. Fredric, welcome. It's so nice to see you." Osmond stood in greeting.
"Hello. How is everybody? I trust everyone is enjoying this fine weather today?" Dillon Fredric entered and sat comfortably next to Diana. "You must be Diana."
Diana nodded stiffly.
Vanessa and Osmond eyed Diana in warning.
"And you must be the new Mr. and Mrs. Ward, hello."
"A pleasure to meet you Mr. Fredric." Henry greeted politely.
"Oh the pleasure is all mine. I'm happy to be joining all of you today." Dillon Fredric was chatty and approachable, especially to the rich.
He was already eyeing the woman next to him and was already satisfied with what he's seeing.
She will definitely be an upgrade from his previous marriage.
Instead of the Forrest Research Institute, Lucas told Kyle to take them to the supermarket instead. "Wait. I still have to go back to work." Diana told Lucas. "It's okay. I already applied for the rest of the day off for you." Lucas reassured her. "Huh? But wouldn't that be weird?" Lucas chuckled. "Diana, even if you didn't want to broadcast our relationship, my supervisors and assistants know about it. I don't want them treating their future madam badly." "Future madam?" Diana's breath got caught in her throat. 'He's really thinking that far ahead already?' Lucas grinned seeing Diana's face. "Sooner or later, everyone will know. Try getting used to the idea, okay?" Lucas squeezed her hand. Diana heaved a long sigh. "Doesn't feel like I have much of a choice now, is it?"
After having lunch, Lucas showed Diana around his home. He mentioned to her that he has a pool and that it would be nice to have a swim since they don't have anything else planned for the rest of the day. Diana wanted to decline since she didn't bring any set of extra clothes with her. But as if reading her mind, Lucas took her to one of the rooms in the house and told her that she can use that room whenever she's there. Diana was surprised at this, but was delighted that she can actually go for a swim. Opening the closet, she saw several brand new clothes, ranging from sleepwear, casual, formal wear, even work clothes and formal dinner wear. A chest of drawers even has underwear, socks and other items that she may need. There was even a shelf with a lot of shoes in different kinds. She found a two-piece swimsuit that is brand new, with the tag st
For the rest of the week, Diana was staying in Lucas's home. Her room was barely used, only for changing clothes and taking showers when Lucas is also in the other shower at the same time. Diana would avoid doing it early in the morning with him as they still need to get to work and she didn't want to be drained of energy before work. Lucas didn't insist on it as well, anyway when they get home from work, they can always engage into it whenever they want. Heather asked Diana one time where she was at, seeing that she didn't come home that night. Diana called her and told her of the recent events except for the intimate details. But Heather smartly knew that her bestfriend's relationship with the boyfriend had already progressed. She wasn't too worried about it though. Diana is capable of handling herself and from Lucas's reputation, she knows he's sincere with his relat
Chantal and Henry arrived just then and noticed that their friends were crowding someone. When they got the person's face clearer, they saw that it was Diana. "Why is she here?" Chantal spoke. "Chantal! Henry! You guys are here. Yeah, we just saw Diana here too." Leah said. "So, where's your boyfriend Diana? Or don't tell me, you got a new one already? Is it someone rich this time? Which old businessman are you trying to seduce this time, huh?" "Let me pass." Diana spoke coldly. She has no time to deal with their stupidity today. "Geez Diana. How low could you fall? You made it seem like you can take care of yourself by not even caring whether you get disinherited or not. And yet, you're here trying to cling to some old businessman? What's the matter, your boyfriend can't give you what you need, right?" Chantal taunted. "Hey
At the Forrest Research Institute, a memo was passed on, informing them of an incoming seminar to share the latest discoveries. All staff from different departments were encouraged to participate, including Diana's department. This seminar would expand their knowledge in science and will be able to update their protocols. Various scientists andresearchers were invited to share their knowledge. Some of them are even from abroad. The President of the Institute and his board members were also present. In the auditorium, the setup was similar to that of a room in the cinema. Diana and her colleague sat in one line of chairs during the seminar so as to make it easier to acknowledge them when they present a question to the speakers. The same goes for other departments, they sat in groups. Diana was especially interested in a
At the Anderson Family's residence, a woman was painting on a canvass. A bronze clip held her long curled brunette hair at the back of her head, showing her youthful face. She's a middle-aged woman but she didn't look like it. Her brown almond eyes, long curled eyelashes, softly arched eyebrows, tall and straight nose and full lips still made her look 20 years younger than her age. She was a natural regal beauty. Her soft and slender hand held a paintbrush, applying paint on the canvass. It was a picture of a baby with angel's wings. "That's beautiful, Hon" her husband Philip, deep soothing voice, was close to her ears. His warm breath sent tingles down her spine. He hugged her slim waist from behind, resting his chin on top of her head. His wife was considered tall in the industry she works at, but he was still taller than her. Her head at least reached his clavicle. "Hmmm.. I think so too." The woman smiled at her husband. Apart from h
"Wow. 2 days in a row. That's a new record." Philip joked with Nicholas seeing as the man is there to visit them again. Nicholas laughed nervously. Philip could sense that something is different with Nicholas today. Nicholas went in and found Rosemary at the dining table. Andrew already went to school. "Nicky! You're here again?" Rosemary went to hug Nicholas. Nicholas however was more quiet than usual. "Aunt, uncle. I have something important to tell you." "Okay--what's this about? Why are you so serious all of a sudden." Philip asked. Nicholas picked up his phone from his pocket and scrolled his photos. When he found the group photo he took last time, he zoomed in on Diana's face and showed it to Rosemary and Philip. "Who's this? Someone you like?" Rosemary was intrigued.
On one Friday night at the big mansion, three pairs of elders sat in conversation at the dinner table. These people are usually busy managing the family's business or their own household. But for some reason, they decided to convene. They were talking about the latest updates concerning the business and even the latest gossip. In particular, the rumor that the eldest grandson is finally in a relationship. Hugh Ingram, Lucas's father came to know of it when a board member mentioned Lucas's behavior back at the seminar. The board member congratulated Hugh in advance for having a smart and talented future daughter-in-law. Of course the board member also thought how beautiful Diana was, but at least he had the common sense to not include that in his praises or else it will be misunderstood. Hugh was confused and surprised upon learning of this but kep
Lillian, Ernest and the rest arrived at the airport and were quickly assisted through the process. They were able to leave the airport and head to their residence easily. Adrian looked around and saw that everything seemed strange in his eyes. Nothing was familiar to him. It was when they were finally close to the mansion when he recognized the structure. He had dreamt of this place so many times. It had become hazy at some point. But now, he could see that this was more or less the place he lived in before he was taken. It had some new additions along with other changes such as the paint and the landscape design. But the overall structure was the same. As they entered the gates, he saw that there were a lot of people outside of the house. They were lined up even in this cold weather. Most of them seemed to be wearing uniforms under their black coats. The only ones who looked different than the others were the three couples and two young men. âAh.. Everyoneâs here.â Emma smiled
Adrian and Violet were apprehensive when they saw the big plane that they were going to ride on.Fortunately for them, they were flying through the private plane of the Lovell family, else, they would be even more embarrassed by the way they were acting.To their memory, this was their first time being on any plane.That simply was not true for Adrian, as the family had gone on vacations before that needed the plane. Itâs just that this memory may have been forgotten by Adrian already.As for Violet, this was her first ever flight.They at least knew what a plane was.They were only anxious as to how they would feel once theyâre already up in the air.Lillian and the rest tried to distract them from these thoughts.Hugh and Leroy offered them some wine and snacks.Emma and Priscilla showed them the movies they could watch on the screen in front of their seat.Lillian especially made sure they felt warm and comfortable, giving them blankets and pillows, showing them how to recline thei
âYes, Dad. AlrightâMn..Goodnight.â Lucas said to Hugh on the phone.Hugh had called him to let him know that they would be heading back in the morning with Adrian and his friend, Violet.Hugh and Leroyâs secretaries have received updates regarding a background check on Violetâs family.Theyâve decided to let Violet stay with the Lovell family as a guest.In the residence, thereâs usually only the elders living with their staff. Usually, it would be busier during holidays and if there are any special occasions. In those times, everyone would gather in the residence and stay in their rooms reserved for them.Lillian and Ernest have held out hope that Adrian would return to them so they never thought of letting anybody else use it.Lillian would personally clean it and it was only in the later years that she let her staff help her.She wanted to preserve whatever remaining scent Adrian had left.There were times when she would burst out in tears, realizing that she could no longer recall
Soon, the driver, John Garcia, pulled up outside of the hotel where Lillian and the rest were staying.Adrian was no longer as anxious as he was half an hour ago, still he could still remember the bullets trying to penetrate through the car and the explosion after those goonsâ cars had collided.Detective Jones glanced at him, noticing how pale Adrian was.Still, he commended him for not breaking down and not getting in their way.And also, because of him, they were able to rescue so many people who have been missing for years.Perhaps the Mayor might even think of rewarding Adrian because of his contribution.At the moment though, it was inappropriate to bring it up, given what the man had just experienced.So after escorting them to the hotel, Detective Jones left them, joining the other Officers with the rescued people.It was a field day for the reporters, gathering outside the police department.On the televisions of most households, they showed several people with their heads lo
As John Garcia was driving the car forward, everyone in the car held their breaths.They already knew that those people were Mortimerâs men. They could only play along for now, hoping for them to think that Adrian was in the other cars.But thenâthat possibility is very low.The black car theyâre in was far from ordinary upon close inspection.And like clockwork, shots rang.Adrian ducked, covering his head with his arms.John Garcia gripped the steering wheel while Howard Dawson and Detective Jones cocked their guns.A voice of one of the policemen came on the comms. âKeep going. Follow the second group!âNo matter what, they couldnât let Adrian and the people who had just been rescued be in Mortimerâs hands again.John Garcia didnât hesitate and quickly sped on.Mortimerâs men have picked the road where thereâs only farm crops on each side, the road only leading one way.The city was still quite far so blending in or hiding in some alleyway would still be impossible.For now, they s
The drive was calm, with John Garcia, the driver not making any stops if he could help it.The car could drive even without gas as it can run on solar power.It could be recharged at a charging station, could store gas and could be powered through solar. This is all thanks to the upgrades done by the Lovell Technologies.With the drive being calm, Adrian fell to sleep.Even Detective Jones dozed off as well, his head hitting the window a couple of times.An hour into the drive, the car suddenly beeped in alarm.Adrian and Detective Jones groaned, having been woken up by the alarm.âWhat is it? Whatâs happening?â Detective Jones asked.âThere seems to be an accident up ahead.â John Garcia answered, pointing at the GPS shown on the screen in front of him.âIs there another road we can take?â The bodyguard, Hoyt Cole asked.âThis is the only road back to Westbury..â John Garcia answered.âMaybe the road is not totally blockedââ Detective Jones said.âAlright thenâweâll keep going..ââSta
After canvassing the full layout of the building and accounting the number of people inside, Detective Jones and the other Officers made their strategic plan.An hour later, they made their move.Adrian was made to stay in the car while he viewed their perspective from the tablet device.He was given eyes for different cameras. Two more Officers were also monitoring it from their tablet devices.They compared every person found to the sketches from Adrianâs description of the people held captive. And also of the ones Adrian said were the people who ordered them around.Adrian watched as the trained Officers infiltrated the area covertly.CCTV cameras were hacked and made to play the same view over and over again.They knocked out the guards with tranquilizers, making sure they wouldnât be waking up so soon.They were separated into groups. One made way to the sleeping quarters of the captives, another entered the main building, and another surrounded all possible exits.There were onl
Adrian held her hand, squeezing it.At that moment, Hugh returned to the room and was startled by the silence.âWhat happened?â He asked. His eyes wandered to Violet who now had her head lowered, her hand covering her eyes and her shoulders shaking.âIs she crying?â His brows furrowed.âViolet just remembered what happened that time when she was taken away.â Emma summarized it for him.He nodded. âBy the wayâIâve just received information just now. Violetâit has something to do with you. If this is not a good time, I wonât say it.âShe looked up, quickly wiping her tears with the cloth napkin.âNo, please, I want to hear it.âHugh nodded.âWhat is it, Hugh?â Emma asked.âItâs about her family.âThey all glanced at Violet, gauging her reaction.âI rememberâmy mother died that time.â She said.Hugh nodded, confirming what she had remembered.Her heart fell. Deep inside, she was hoping that she was wrong. That she remembered it wrongly.Tears continued to fall down her cheeks. The napkin
Knock. Knock.âIâll go get it..â Emma said.She opened the door and saw her younger brother, Adrian.âAh.. Adrian.. What is it?âAdrian was startled.He stepped back to check if he knocked on the correct room or not.âYou have something you need from Violet?â She smiled.His brows shot up. âOh. UmâI was going to bring her to the dining room.ââAh.. I see. Well, just in time. Weâre done here as well.â Emma smiled. She turned her head and called over. âCome on you two..ââOkay!â Priscilla said. âLetâs go Violet..âPriscilla brought Violet over.Adrian was struck for a moment when he saw Violet.He had never seen her so dolled up.Her hair was beautiful and so is her overall look. Her face was even more beautiful than usual.Violetâs head hung as her cheeks blushed bright red.Adrian cleared his throat.âLetâs go..â Adrian tilted his head.âMn.â Violet nodded.