Chapter 119A few days later...Knox strode into the restaurant and he spotted Nina immediately. She was sitting at the far end of the restaurant, sipping from the glass of wine she was holding as she stared out through the glass door. He walked up to her and pulled out the chair and sat down."Did I keep you waiting?" He asked her, and she dropped the glass, shaking her head."Not really. I just came here too. Are you ordering something?" She asked him, and he shook his head."No, I'm fine," He replied to her. It felt uncomfortable being around her, but she deserved to be treated like a human, just as Aliyah said earlier."I was shocked when you asked to meet here...""I'm sorry, but don't think about something weird. I just want us to see because...""I know. I'm not thinking about anything," she shook her head and smiled, but behind her sweet smile was the dying Nina."Hmm," he nodded his head, even though he felt a bit guilty."How are you feeling now? And...the baby," he asked, br
Chapter 120"I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. I had to attend to something inside the room," Aliyah apologized as she walked into the living room to join Knox, Mason, Tate, and prosecutor Lee, a young man that was hired by Knox to look into the case."It's fine. Babe, meet Prosecutor Lee. He has been in this field for a few years and he's quite skilled. He will be handling the case henceforth," Knox introduced Lee to her, and she said hello to the young man."Mrs. Knoxville, can you explain in detail what happened on the 13th of June to me, please?" Prosecutor Lee asked, ready to jot down whatever she was going to say."Yes. That night, Knox got a call from her granddad's maid that he was shot, so he rushed off, leaving me alone at home. After he left, I felt a presence, or a movement rather. It felt like someone was watching me from the window, so I got extremely scared and decided to call Knox right away and tell him about it... I could only dial the number before I passed out aft
Chapter 122 "What are you saying?" Mason asked after Knox explained everything that happened back there to him. "What do you not understand, Mason? I just told you that I don't think she is the one. You needed to have seen how she was crying over there. She was bittered and for a sec, I asked myself if she was really the one..." "Don't be fooled, Knox. She..." "She had no idea I was following her. If she knew I was following her, then it would've been another case. Ugh! I think I'm going to lose my mind," He mumbled, running his fingers through his hair frustratingly. "At this point, I don't even know what to think anymore. It feels like the whole world is against me, and I might as well lose my mind soon," He stated frustratingly, sinking into the couch. He had driven to Mason's house after he left the hospital earlier. "Let's just wait for some more time. I already planted the cameras in her house and car, so it should be easy for us hence," Mason assured
Chapter 122"Are you sure about this?" Knox asked after he got the address of the house Janice was said to be living in. After he got a call from Lee, he drove straight to the restaurant in a remote area where he asked them to meet."Yes, I'm sure about it. There is something I'm still confused about. Why would she do such a thing? I mean, why would she set her Dad up?" Lee had a confused expression on his face as he stared into space, trying to gather the pieces together, but in the end, everything fell apart once again."We are going to figure that out," Knox replied to him."I met with the doctor and asked for another autopsy for the dead lady. I would be there with them, so there won't be any foul play," he said, and Knox nodded his head."Alright. That's great. So..." Knox's ringing phone disrupted them, so he excused himself and answered the call which was from Mason."Hey, man. I think I found something. Janice went to the hospital to meet the doctor. She is currently there now,
Chapter 123Aliyah paced restlessly in the living room, dialing Knox's number for the fifth time, and just like earlier, it was still saying switched off. She could still remember that his phone was fully charged before he left home five hours earlier, so how come his phone was switched off now that she wanted to reach him? She asked herself, releasing a deep breath as she sank into the couch tiredly and frustratingly."Did something happen to him? How come he hasn't called me since?" She didn't mean to be bothered, but because this has never happened before, got her worried sick about him. "Don't worry about him so much, Aliyah. Maybe he got busy," her subconscious mind said to her, but a part of her was scared that something must've happened to him where he went to.Her phone rang with Mason's number displayed on the screen, and with the string of hope left in her, she quickly answered the call, hoping he would tell her that Knox was with him."Hey, is Knox back home yet? Why is hi
Chapter 124A banging headache welcomed Knox when he opened his eyes, so he closed it and groaned painfully, slowly touching his forehead. For a moment, he tried to recall where he was, and what happened. Well, that didn't take much time before he realized what happened, so he snapped his eyes open, realizing that he was still tied to a chair, but this time, he wasn't in that deadly hollow pit."I think he's awake. Call the boss," He heard a faint masculine voice, followed by thick footsteps that soon faded away, and about three minutes later, he heard multiple thick footsteps again. His body felt so weak that he couldn't even move a finger, he wanted to raise his gaze to once again check the environment he was in, but he couldn't raise it, so he just sat there doing nothing."Do you need food? Are you hungry?" He finally managed to raise his gaze when he heard her despicable voice, and the bitch was right there, standing elegantly and looking at him with a smirk lingering at the corn
Chapter 125Twenty years ago..."Are you ok? You should eat something, Janice. You need to take your drugs," Janice's Mom, Mrs. James urged the sick nine years old Janice to eat. The little paled Janice was laying on the bed, weak and her mouth looking dry."I'm not hungry," Janice said in a low tone, and she sighed briefly."You haven't eaten since afternoon, baby. You should eat, please," Again, she urged Janice."Where is Daddy, Mommy?" Janice asked, and she was forced to sigh deeply, dropping the plate of food she has been, on to, on the center table."I called him already, and he said he would be back soon. He should be here in a few minutes," She replied to Janice, glancing at the wall clock. Staring into space, tears brimmed in her eyes and they soon found their way out. Unlike every other woman out there having a sweet and peaceful married life, hers was different. Her marriage has been filled with pains and struggles from the moment she said 'I do'. Maybe she shouldn't have s
Chapter 126Present..."For twenty years, I've been delusional... No, I wasn't. He made me like that. Even though I saw everything with my eyes, I couldn't do anything. He told me that my Mom fell and died. He fucking lied to me, not knowing that I saw everything. Do you know the nightmare I had to suffer every fucking day of my life? Do you have any idea what I had to endure all those years, and when Grandpa heard about it, what did he do? He covered up for his son and didn't bother to get justice for my Mom!" More tears streamed down Janice's cheeks as she narrated, her voice was filled with pain, her eyes were filled with pain, anger, and the thirst for vengeance.Knox stared in shock, his mouth hanging open. He couldn't believe his ears. He could feel his heart hurting, his blood went cold, and his soul left his body for a moment, and he swallowed nothing. The imagination never hit him for once that she was going through this shit. How could his uncle have done something so cruel?
Chapter 148 Two weeks later Aliyah tossed on the bed for the umpteenth time, lazy to get off the bed. Her eyes felt heavy and her head wasn't exempted from the feeling. "What's this?" She mumbled as she finally managed to sit up on the bed, rubbing her fingers gently on her forehead while groaning in pain. Knox has traveled on a business trip since three days and she was left here by herself all alone. Her Mom only comes by once in a while, and now that Tate's fiancee is pregnant and also they were planning to get married, he didn't have enough time to come by. Mason has been busy with work and his girlfriend too, while Janice and Lee traveled on a honeymoon trip to Italy, so she was left here all alone by herself. "I should've just gone with Knox," she regretted her hesitance to go with Knox when he asked her to. "It's just five days you are going to spend there, so it's fine," She had said to him when he asked her to come with him, but now it felt like he has been gone for thre
Chapter 147A lot has happened in the last few weeks. James and Janice have sorted things out, and even after all the hatred, James realized his mistake and asked Janice for forgiveness, and to make up for everything that has happened in the past, he said he was going to take the blame for all the things Janice has done in the past. Janice was going to turn herself in, but he refused. To him, it was all his fault and he should take the blame for everything and let Janice live her life like nothing happened. Besides, she still had a whole lot ahead of her and he didn't want to be in jail.James was put on trial after series of investigation which all proved that he was the culprit, and found guilty of murder, taking the blame for his daughter and going to jail in her place so she could have a good life ahead. Lisa was also given life imprisonment for the murder of Rebecca's husband and an attempt to kill her husband and stepdaughter, Aliyah. Everything has gone back to the way it used
Chapter 146Aliyah stared at her reflection in the mirror, and as she thought about what happened in these past few months, then she could only be grateful that everything although would remain in her heart forever, was always going to be memories to her.Knowing that everything was over now, she was finally at peace. No reason to worry when her husband leaves the house, no need to worry that some assassin might break into the house and harm her. There was nothing to worry about, but most importantly, having her parents alive and healthy was what she was most grateful for, but it hurts knowing that her stepdad died protecting her Mom. He never deserved to die.The sound of the shower in the bathroom finally stopped after a while, and the door opened, revealing Knox. His body was dripping wet and his hair was damp. He had a white towel wrapped around his waist and a little bulge down there."Hey..." He smiled brightly as he walked over to the closet and picked out his robe, dropping it
Chapter 145"I'm scared, Tate. Are you sure about this?" Shirley asked after they alighted from the car."Come on, I told you that there's no cause to be scared. I'm here for you... We are in this together," Tate cupped her cheek in his palms and assured her, looking into her eyes. As planned, Shirley was going to move in to live with Mrs. Andrews. This was the only thing she could do, she was determined to do it earlier, but now that she was here, her fear was already taking over her. What if her plans fail later? What if she ends up getting thrown out of the house? What if she insists that she can't marry her son? What will become of her."I told you there's nothing to worry about. Why do you look so scared like my Mom is a masquerade," He pinched her cheeks playfully, but deep inside he knew that there was really need for her to be worried knowing the kind of tough person his Mom was."Come on, smile for me," He uttered, and she forced a smile."Wait while I go get your things from
Chapter 144A few days later Knox pulled over at the parking lot of the restaurant and stepped out of the car. He then proceeded toward the entrance door, and found Janice waiting for him as soon as he walked inside. She had texted him yesterday and asked them to meet at the restaurant this morning so they could talk about something important, and that had made him curious since last night as many negative thoughts won't stop coming to his mind. Did she change her mind about turning herself in? That was one of the questions he kept asking himself, but he would soon find out about it, anyway."Hi! Did I keep you waiting?" He asked when he got to where she was seated, pulling out the chair across from her and settling in it."Not really. Good morning," She forced a smile at him, tucking her hair behind her ear. She was cladded in a short black armless gown and a pair of black heels like someone going to a funeral."Why is she dressed in all black? Is she planning to do something evil?"
Chapter 143It was a beautiful morning and a special day for Lee and Janice as it was their first day going out as official couples. Janice stared at her reflection in the mirror, trying everything she could to hold back her tears. It was a great day for her, a day she should push all the negative energies away and focus on her man so they could have fun to the fullest, but knowing that this moment won't last long for them was something she couldn't hold herself back for."It's ok, Janice. You already said you were going to enjoy the remaining days to the fullest. You said that you won't let anything tamper with your joy," She assured herself, fighting back the tears that already brimmed in her eyes."Yeah... There you go," She whispered as she leaned forward and cleaned her tears, adding some makeup to cover up her eyebags."Yes! That is perfect," She forced a smile at her reflection, then took a deep breath."Enjoy your day, baby girl," She said to her reflection and finally left t
Chapter 142A few weeks laterArnaldo has long woken up from coma and has been recovering over the last few weeks, but Rebecca was yet to recover although she has woken up too. Knox has been doing well too.It was a beautiful Saturday morning, and the day set for Arnaldo to go see Lisa in the prison along with Aliyah and Knox.Sitting in front of the mirror and staring at her reflection, Aliyah sighed as the thought of everything that has happened in the last few months played in her head. How they were able to survive until now was still like a miracle she couldn't comprehend, and she could only be grateful to her maker for being there for her all along. If anyone ever told her that the one behind the shit that has happened to her was her stepmom, she would've been the last person to believe it. The woman has always been good to her, and although she was never comfortable being around her, she never gave her any reason to doubt her pure heart toward her. She didn't imagine that she c
Chapter 141Aliyah paced restlessly along the hallway, her eyes filled with tears. Her hair was disheveled as a result of constantly scattering it. She looked horrible, but that was the least of the things she cared about at the moment. Her husband and Mom were in the ER fighting for their lives and she was hoping they'd survive it."Just this once, please... Please spare them for me. Please don't take them away from me," She fell to her knees and prayed silently, hoping he'd prayers would be answered. At least just this once.The sound of her ringing phone pulled her attention, and if not that the call was from her dad's maid, then she wouldn't have answered it. "Ma... ma'am Aliyah... There is a problem. Mr. Arnaldo... Blood... He...he was shot," The feminine voice quivered at the other end, and her heart sank into her stomach. Her jaw dropped."Wh... what did you say?" She stuttered, her lips trembling as she stared into space. No! This is not happening, please. Not now."I came ba
Chapter 140 Mr. Arnaldo paced restlessly along the hospital hallway, worried about Rebecca who was in the ER, fighting for her life. Why was this happening? Who was behind everything that has been happening? He asked himself, running his fingers through his hair, but couldn't come up with any answer, so he sighed deeply. Knox was also present in the hospital, and Aliyah too was worried. She was sitting on the bench and burying her face between her palms, crying her eyes out. She has just lost her foster Dad, and it hurts. "Babe, you need to be strong, ok?" Knox tried to comfort her, sitting beside her and wrapping his arm around her shoulder, but more tears came streaming down her cheeks. "What should I do, Knox? Why is everything falling apart?" She cried, and he wished he could provide an answer to her question. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly, slowly patting her hair assuring her yet again that everything was going to be fine even though it was obvious that t