ROMAN“You, sir. You are her ex-husband, and the father of her daughter. That makes Miss Blake… the real Mrs. Montgomery.”Cross’s words echoed in my mind every passing second and minute that spanned into days as I searched endlessly and desperately for Sienna with the police and Ethan. As we searched for my real wife.Yet, there were still no signs of her. I hadn’t been able to sleep properly since. Everytime I shut my eyes, I saw Sienna’s face. Like she was pleading and asking for me to find her. Yet, three days and we still hadn’t seen any signs of her. The police had asked us to leave the search to them and so, we were forced to stay back and let them do their work while waiting impatiently for their call which turned out to be disappointing news every single time.I hadn’t even gone to check up on Sabrina in the hospital since the ambulance drove her away. I couldn’t bring myself to look her in the eyes yet. Because I was certain that I wouldn’t be able to hold myself back fro
ROMAN“You never listen, do you?” Ethan snapped at Candice beside me. “You weren’t supposed to come with us on a mission this dangerous! What the hell is wrong with you?”“I’m not listening to you this time, Ethan,” Candice shot back. “Sienna is my friend too. I couldn’t just sit around while she’s in danger!”“You piss me off so damn much.” He growled.I clenched my jaw and kept my eyes on the road, speeding through the quiet, abandoned streets. This was the area where we had tracked Sienna’s last message. I didn’t want either of them to come with me, but here we were, with the both of them arguing in the backseat like kids.Apparently, after Candice told me that Sienna and Sabrina had been taken, she had also called Ethan before I could even trace the location. He had then showed up at my door in full panic; eyes wide, breathing hard. And I hated that. No other man had the right to care that much about Sienna. Only me. Just me.Suddenly, a figure stumbled into the road. A woman. H
SIENNA“You really thought we’d let you escape that easily?” Gregory snarled, letting out a cruel, mocking laugh as he kicked Sabrina hard in the stomach again. She groaned in pain, curling up slightly.“Let her go!” I screamed, tears streaming down my face as I struggled against Rafael’s grip. He still had my hair tightly clutched, pulling so hard it felt like my scalp would tear.“You dumb little witch!” Gregory spat, kicking Sabrina again. Then he bent down, grabbed a fistful of her hair, and started dragging her across the floor toward me. “I’m gonna teach you a lesson you’ll never forget!”A loud thud suddenly filled the air as Sabrina swung a heavy wooden plank and smacked it against Gregory’s leg. He cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground, groaning and clutching his leg.Sabrina, shaking with rage, forced herself up. With a loud scream, she lifted the plank again and started hitting him over and over, her eyes wild with anger.“You bitch!” Rafael hissed from behind me, l
SIENNAWhen I finally woke up again, the pain in my head was worse than before. I was still tied to the chair, and my face throbbed from all the hits I had taken from Rafael. My breathing was heavy, and everything felt like it was spinning.I slowly looked around, my eyes landing where Sabrina had been lying unconscious earlier. But this time, she wasn’t on the floor.She was sitting up now, her hands shaking as she tried to cut through the ropes around her arms with a small pocket knife. Her eyes darted around nervously, scared someone might walk in. Her eyes met with my weak ones. “Oh, Sienna. Thank God you're awake,” she whispered, relief flooding her face. “I was so worried. I didn’t know how I’d escape with you still unconscious.”She finally freed her arms and let out a shaky breath. Without wasting a second, she moved to cut the ropes around her legs. As soon as she was free, she rushed over to me and started working on the ropes holding my arms.“They hit you again, didn’t t
ROMANTHE NEXT DAY-MORNING“Ugh… damn it.” I groaned, stretching on the bed as a sharp pain throbbed in my head. I dragged myself up slowly, my body heavy and sore. My feet hit the floor and I stumbled out of my room, heading down the hallway toward the kitchen, desperate to fix the hangover from last night’s drinking.“Isabella,” I called out when I ran into one of the housemaids by the stairs. One hand was rubbing my forehead, trying unsuccessfully to ease the pounding headache. “Can you make me some hangover soup? Something quick.”“Right away, sir.” She replied, hurrying off toward the kitchen.Since she was handling it, I didn’t bother going to the kitchen anymore. Instead, I went straight to the living room and dropped onto the couch, leaning back while the news played on the TV in front of me.A reporter stood by the riverside on the screen, a yellow police tape behind her. Officers were working behind her, zipping up a blurred-out body bag.“This morning, around 6:15 a.m., lo
SIENNAA sharp pain shot through my head as I slowly opened my eyes. I winced, the pounding in my skull making everything feel blurry at first. It took a moment for my vision to clear.Once I could see properly, I realized I was in what looked like an old, empty warehouse. My brows pulled into a frown as I looked around, confused and still aching. Nothing made sense. Where was I? Why was I here?I tried to move, but my body wouldn’t budge. Panic started to rise in my chest. I looked down, and my heart suddenly stopped momentarily.I was tied to a chair.My breathing quickened as fear wrapped tightly around me. I looked down at the ropes binding my wrists and legs, and a wave of helplessness hit me hard. Just as I started to lose control, flashes of what happened before rushed back to me.Gregory and Rafael.They had caught us… me and Sabrina. They knocked us out with those handkerchiefs soaked with chemicals.Panic turned to dread as I remembered Sabrina.My eyes darted around the ro
CANDICE“You worry too much, Ethan,” I said into the phone as I stepped out of my apartment and locked the door. “I already told you, I’m fine. I just took a few days off because I wasn’t feeling well. I’m going back to work today. How’s Atlanta treating you?”While Ethan went on about how he was doing fine but missed New York, even though he had only been gone two days for a business meeting, my eyes dropped to the floor near my door.A mess of flowers, apology cards, and gift boxes were arranged neatly in a pile on the floor. I didn’t need to guess that they were from Julian.My jaw tightened as fresh anger rushed through me.“I’ll call you back when I get to the office.” I said quickly, cutting Ethan off and hanging up before he could respond.Once the call ended, I kicked the gifts out of the way, stomping on some of them. My heel crushed a bouquet of white roses. A ribbon tore under my foot, and I muttered curses under my breath.“Cheating bastard.”Did he really think I would b
ROMANTHAT SAME DAY“The report was manipulated. Her husband didn’t die. He disappeared the same day her daughter was born.”The alcohol burned down my throat as I swallowed another shot. My mind was far away, stuck on Cross’s words from two days ago.“I think someone is sabotaging the truth and pulling strings behind the scenes, sir.”I poured another shot and drank it, trying to shut out the noise in my head. But the words kept coming back, over and over again. I couldn't shake them off.I was sitting on the small side table near the wine bar in the living room, using the drinks to distract myself. But it wasn’t working. No matter how much I drank, I still couldn’t stop thinking about it.There had been a mistake in Cross’s first investigation.When he told me, I was angry. I had trusted him to get it right. But later, I realized something didn’t add up. Something felt off. Cross was right. Someone was messing with the truth. Hiding things and pulling strings from the shadows.But
SIENNA“Greg… Gregory?”I watched Sabrina as she stared at the man in shock. Her eyes were wide and unfocused, and her mouth hung open like she had just seen a ghost. Her face had lost all color.“You know him?” I asked, even though it was obvious. She had called his name, so she most definitely knew him.It made me wonder whether he was one of her old henchmen? Maybe someone who had once done her dirty work and now turned against her?“Hold on, you two. The party wouldn’t be complete without me,” the second man said, pulling off his mask too. A sly grin appeared on his face.Sabrina’s eyes grew even wider, and her legs gave out. She stumbled back in shock.I looked at the second man closely. There was something familiar about him, but I couldn’t quite place where I had seen him before.“Wh…what…Rafael…” Sabrina stuttered, unable to finish her words. Both men laughed quietly, clearly enjoying the moment.“Oh, Mrs. Montgomery,” the second man—Rafael said with a mocking smile. “I never