Mag-log inZion opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out."He's been in surgery for over an hour," I said quietly, not looking at Zion. "He lost so much blood that he turned pale. His leg was swollen twice its size."Zion turned to face me now, and the tears he had been holding back finally spilled over. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."I didn't say anything. Lisa stayed quiet, not wanting to interfere, but I knew how angry she was at Zion for his greed, which had put Zane in a difficult position.Aldwin stepped closer to Zion, lowering his voice so only the two of them could hear. "You're going to sit here and wait. And while you're at it, you pray that your brother wakes up. And when he does, you're going to explain to him why you did what you did tonight. Not to me – I don't want to hear anything you've got to say. To him."Zion nodded, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He walked over to the row of chairs and sat down two seats away.Aldwin walked back to where Ray was waiting.The
"What are you doing here? How did you find me?" Zion asked, shocked to see Ray standing outside.He craned his neck to look around, immediately sensing that Aldwin might be close by. Had they been following him? He thought."You'll leave with me right away," Ray said, ignoring his questions. "Your father's orders," he added, seeing Zion's silent reluctance. He dared not refuse.Zion turned to look at the brunette who was watching."Leave," he said plainly.The brunette stared at him, confused, her brows furrowing."Didn't you hear me? I said leave. Now," Zion said sternly, seeing that the woman was hesitating.She dressed herself properly, then opened the door to leave. "Asshole," she said, slamming the door."Where is he now? My dad?" Zion asked, turning back to Ray."Come with me," Ray said, and began walking away."Why can't you just say something?" Zion called out as he stepped out of the car. "Of course you don't expect me to just leave my car here," he called again to Ray, who
The next few minutes felt like hours.They brought Zane out of the car. They moved him onto a backboard and secured him with straps. Even from the top of the cliff, I could see how still he was – how his arms hung limp at his sides, how his head didn't move when they lifted him.Please be okay, I whispered, praying silently as they carried him out.The paramedics moved fast now that they had him on a flat surface. The woman cut his shirt open with a pair of trauma shears, while the man checked his pulse and shone a penlight into his eyes."Pupils are reactive," the man said. "He's got a pulse, but it's weak."The floodlight was bright enough that I could see everything. And that was when I noticed it.Zane's face was pale. The colour had drained out of him completely. His lips were almost white, and there was a blue tint around his mouth that made my stomach drop."Let's get him on the monitor," the woman said.They moved him onto the stretcher in the back of the ambulance and hooked
Lisa lowered herself to the ground, ignoring the dirt. She gently leaned into the car through the window she had just damaged."Ouch!" she gasped, as a sharp edge of glass cut into her skin."Take it easy," I said, and felt bad that I was only standing there watching.Lisa stretched her arm blindly, her fingers scraping against the dashboard before finding Zane's shoulder.I heard Zane cry out from inside."Did that help?" I called."No," he gasped. "It made it worse," he mumbled."I can't reach the buckle!" Lisa gasped, her shoulder wedged against the doorframe.She slid deeper inside, her fingers finally brushing the hard plastic near his hip. She pressed the release button with her thumb, but it wouldn't budge. The dashboard had crushed forward and pinned Zane at an angle, jamming the seatbelt tight."Stop," Zane groaned. Lisa pulling on the belt was making it worse. "It's stuck. Just leave it."Lisa pulled her arm back out, panting, and looked at her hand with blood streaking from
"This is it," I said, indicating for Lisa to stop. "We are here.""Here? I don't see your car," Lisa frowned, but parked the car at a corner, leaving the headlights on, which illuminated a twisted tear in the metal guardrail.We stepped out of the car, walking toward the blinking tracker. As we got to the edge of the broken barrier, my fear was made real.I looked down the steep, rocky cliff. My eyes scanned the snapped branches and crushed bushes, and to my bewilderment, a faint, eerie beam of light flickered – my car, the one Zane had been driving, was upside down.My brain shut down completely in seconds, and the only thing I wanted to do was get to my son. I felt cold arms around me, pulling me away, stopping me from what I was about to do. And just then, my senses snapped back."What are you trying to do?" Lisa asked, still clutching me tight. "Do you want to kill yourself?""Let me go. I need to get to Zane," I said, struggling to break free from Lisa's hold, but she was determi
I pinched my phone screen to zoom in and see the location on the blinking tracker."Get in!" Lisa called as she drove to where I was standing.I hurried around the car to the passenger side. Lisa zoomed off the moment I shut the door."Where is he headed?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the road."He's heading north, up the West Side Highway.""He's going toward the bridge. That's almost twenty minutes away from here. How did he get there so fast?" Lisa said, before stepping on the gas pedal, increasing our speed."What exactly happened? Why did Zion run away?" Lisa asked."He didn't have his way with Aldwin this time." That was what I understood from what Zane had explained in a rush."What do you mean?""It seems he made a request… wait." A sudden realisation hit me. Could that be it?"What?" Lisa asked, itching to hear the reason."Zion came to me earlier, asking who Aldwin would choose as CEO. I told him I had no idea about that or if it was even a thing. He didn't seem please
“He knows,” I said the moment Ralph answered his phone.“What do you mean he knows?”“He knows, Ralph. He has proof. I don't know how, but he was able to find out.”There was a brief silence on the other end, it felt more like Ralph was processing what I had just said.“What did you tell him exact
Aldwin's words still hung in the dining hall as he left me there and headed back to his room. He picked up his phone and called Lizzy. “Notify the board. I want everyone in the boardroom by nine,” he said in an urgent tone, completely ignoring Lizzy's greeting she had barely finished when she pi
“I will.” I played dumb, like I didn't know what that meant. Especially when it was coming from Aldwin. “Now.” His deep voice echoed. “Aldwin, I'm tired. I'm not in the mood for…” “It doesn't matter. Just do as you're told.” He was pulling down his pants now. “Can I pass on this…” “No you f
Aldwin was in a tuxedo. He had clearly been home earlier. I walked into the dining room quietly, trying to read him. “Have a seat.” A smile perched on his face. I took the seat closest to him, hoping to sense what he was up to.“Why are you home at this hour? It's clearly not to have dinner with







