Chapter: CHAPTER 5“I can't leave…” A muffled sound boomed in the quiet room.Nora turned immediately at the sound of the voice, shock, and excitement bursting within her. Never in a lifetime had she thought that she would hear her mother’s voice clear and sharp again.But all she saw was an old fragile and frail woman back in her confused, delusional state. She turned back bitter and dejected, the only string of hope she had was lost. How could she have imagined that her mother would be lucid again?She was now at the mercy of a stranger. Who she believed had a hand in the underworld- she was a hundred percent sure. That did not amaze her, after all, she just discovered the hidden identity and operations of Darius, Landon's father.Tyler’s men dragged her out of the room, doing the same with her mother. “Please be careful with her. She is very weak.” She pleaded as they walked out.“And wear her coat.” She screamed again.Landon collapsed on the bed when it was just him. He was glad to have gotten rid
Last Updated: 2025-06-22
Chapter: CHAPTER 4Tyler leaned back in his chair, his expression blank and unreadable as he listened to Landon speak with rapt attention.He let him believe he was convinced, watching the excitement in his voice and the sparkle in his eyes as he continued to explain why Nora was a better hostage to her even stating Nora’s benefits to him as a woman.His voice brimmed with confidence, his pitch exaggerated with excitement of his brilliance.“You don’t understand, Tyler,” Landon insisted, almost rising to his feet. “She won’t resist. She has no choice! I have leverage over her; her mother is in my hands.” He leaned forward, his lips curling into a satisfied smirk. “She’ll do anything to keep her mother safe.”“Not only that, she is also good in bed.” He winked at Tyler. Tyler threw his face away, remembering their fleeting moment of romance.However, Nora felt her world collapse upside down. The breath in her throat ceased for a moment and she almost choked, her body locked in place as the weight of his
Last Updated: 2025-06-22
Chapter: CHAPTER 3Nora stood rooted in the ground, at a loss of what to say. She fixed her eyes on the ground, unable to look at him and to prevent him from discovering her trembling sight.Tyler frowned when she didn’t say a word, he pushed her back into the room and came into contact with her mother. He eyed them before asking, “What are you doing here?”“Ehm…” she struggled to find the right excuse to give. “I'm a nurse here… I mistakenly entered the wrong room.”“Oh! And the woman?” “She is my patient.” She lied and fortunately, her mum didn't say a word.“Take her to the toilet.” He commanded and Nora had no choice but to do that.Tyler switched on the bedside lamp, and the moment he saw her face, he was momentarily stunned, falling into silence.Just as Nora was getting more nervous, he suddenly smirked. "Well, that works out. I need someone to check my wound."With that, he casually pulled open his shirt, revealing his broad shoulder. The wound wasn't deep, but under the dim light, the blood sm
Last Updated: 2025-06-22
Chapter: CHAPTER 2Nora took a moment to calm herself down despite the surge of adrenaline rushing through her. She was disgusted at the mere sight of looking at them alone but a small smirk formed at the corner of her lips.“Okay but do you mean the one beside my bed, Josephine?” “Hmm, the one by the right stand.” Nora paused, that meant she needed to make a turn to the right. A thought appeared to her and she dropped to her knees, crawling her way through the bed stand.From a reflection, she saw that the two had gone back to their irritable affection. She reached the bed stand and held the wood for support before turning, holding it still.She opened the large cabinet and seeing that they were still engaged, intentionally she let the contents fall to the ground causing them to panic.“What are you doing Nora?” The nurse screamed out.“I'm so sorry, I didn’t mean to.” She fell to her knees, picking up the bottles on the floor.“Just bring the medicine,” Landon spoke out, not wanting the plan to fail
Last Updated: 2025-06-22
Chapter: Chapter 1Nora turned uneasy on her bed, sweating profusely. Her body was drenched in sweat and it didn’t seem like it was going to get better.“Where the hell is Josephine?” She murmured to herself, anticipating the arrival of the nurse assigned to her. Or even Landon. She needed a miracle person to step in and adjust the room temperature.‘I can't take this anymore.’ She frowned in frustration, deciding to do that herself.She groped the bedspread tightly, still hoping for someone to walk in. But after a moment she decided to do it herself, secretly praying that she would not be caught.Her eyeballs moved gently under her eyelid and she slowly opened her eyes. The direct beam of sunlight on her made her shut her eyes back.‘No wonder it was so hot.’ The bed had been moved to face the only window where light radiated in and unfortunately for Nora, it was doing exactly that.Nora sighed in frustration, she needed to open her eyes despite how unsafe it was for her. She was just starting to reco
Last Updated: 2025-06-22
Chapter: CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-THREEDEVAN.The day we buried Marcus, the sky stayed stubbornly gray, as if the world itself understood there were no words grand enough for the moment. It came with no dramatic storms, no cleansing rain, just a heavy, muted stillness that pressed against my chest.The funeral was quiet and intimate, exactly as Marcus would have wanted it. Clarissa stood beside me, her hand tucked into mine, our fingers interlaced so tightly it felt like we were holding each other upright. She was dressed in a black flowing gown, simple and understated, her face pale but composed. Only I could feel the slight tremor in her hand, the way her thumb rubbed absent circles against my knuckle whenever the grief surged too close to the surface.The twins slept in their pram nearby, unaware of the enormity of the moment, their tiny chests rising and falling in perfect rhythm. I watched them often during the service, grounding myself in the sight of their peaceful faces.Marcus had died so they could live without f
Last Updated: 2026-01-07
Chapter: CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-TWOCLARISSA.Outside the hospital room, machines hummed, phones rang, and the nurses and doctors spoke in urgent voices. But inside my room, time had split cleanly in two, becoming fractured and I was suspended in the fragile, breathless space in between.My two tiny miracles lay in my arms, impossibly small and yet impossibly perfect; a boy and a girl. My son slept with his tiny fist tucked beneath his chin, his breathing soft and rhythmic, like he already understood the comfort of rest. My daughter was more curious, her eyes fluttering open and closed as if she were memorizing the world one blink at a time. Their warmth seeped into me, stitching me back together in places I hadn’t known were torn.“Oh,” I whispered, my voice trembling. “You’re real.”Devan sat beside me, one hand resting on my knee, the other hovering as though he were afraid to touch them too firmly, afraid they might vanish if he did. His eyes were red, his face drawn, but when he looked at the babies, something insi
Last Updated: 2026-01-07
Chapter: CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND THIRTY-ONEDEVAN.The hospital corridors blurred into one endless stretch of white; the walls, floors, and ceilings all bleeding into each other under the harsh fluorescent lights. The air smelled of antiseptic and quiet panic, that strange hospital mix of sterility and restrained fear. I had changed my mind as I climbed into my car and watched the ambulance carrying Marcus leave, and instead of returning home to Clarissa, I decided to accompany the ambulance to the hospital, half praying and half hoping he was still alive. Fortunately, Isabella had driven Clarissa down to the same hospital alongside Freda, all of them oblivious to what had happened. I walked through it like a man already half-buried, my body moving on instinct while my mind fractured under the weight of what I already knew.Marcus Montclair was gone.The doctor had said it gently, like softness could soften death.“I’m sorry,” he had said, hands folded, eyes steady. “There was nothing more we could do.”Nothing more. Those word
Last Updated: 2026-01-07
Chapter: CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND THIRTYDEVAN.The alarm kept screaming, slicing through the mansion, but even that was drowned out by Clarissa’s cries from the labor room; raw sounds of pain and life colliding. My chest felt like it was being pulled apart in two directions at once.“Devan!” Isabella shouted from down the hall. “Security just flagged another breach!”“I know!” I snapped, my voice hoarse. I stood frozen in the doorway of the labor room, my hands shaking. Clarissa lay on the bed, sweat-soaked, gripping the rails as another contraction ripped through her.“Don’t leave,” she gasped, her fingers reaching for me. “Please—”“I’ll be right back,” I said, lying through my teeth as I kissed her forehead. “I promise. You’re not alone.”Her scream followed me as I backed out, the sound carving something permanent into my bones, then I heard it: a dull, distant crack. It was not the sharp snap of a door nor the sound of a dropped object. That was the clear sound of a gunshot.Every instinct in my body went cold.“What w
Last Updated: 2026-01-07
Chapter: CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-NINECLARISSA.The pain I felt tore through me without warning, white-hot, vicious, starting low in my back and ripping forward like something alive. My breath left me in a sharp cry before I could stop it. My hands flew to my stomach, fingers digging into the taut curve of my belly as my body arched instinctively.“Clarissa?” Devan’s voice snapped tight with alarm.I couldn’t answer right away. The contraction wrapped around me, crushing, relentless, stealing the air from my lungs. My vision blurred at the edges. When it finally eased, I gasped, dragging oxygen back into my chest like I had nearly drowned.I looked up at him. His face had gone pale.“It’s time,” I whispered.He didn’t argue, didn’t bother to ask any questions. He was already moving.“Okay,” he said softly, gripping my hand with both of his. “Okay, I’ve got you. I’m right here.”Another contraction slammed into me before the echo of the first had faded.I cried out, my fingers tightening painfully around his. “Devan—”“I k
Last Updated: 2026-01-07
Chapter: CHAPTER TWO-HUNDRED AND TWENTY-EIGHTMARCUS.The cold air in the warehouse seeped through cracked concrete and rusted seams, carrying the sour smell of damp metal and old oil. Every step I took echoed too loudly, as if the space itself wanted to announce me. I stood beneath a single bare bulb, its weak light swinging slightly, carving the shadows into long, warped shapes that stretched and recoiled with every sway.I had chosen this place carefully. It was forgotten, off-grid, and familiar enough to tempt him. I checked my watch once, then again, not because I needed the time but because waiting sharpened the fear in me into something different, a blade instead of a fog.I had already sent the message.“FINAL ASSET. FINAL TRUTH. COME ALONE.”It was a lie, of course. Or rather, a truth bent just enough to be irresistible.Bruce never could resist the promise of absolute leverage. Footsteps reached me before voices did; heavy, unhurried, and confident. I exhaled slowly. The door groaned open, and light from the outside spi
Last Updated: 2026-01-07
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