LOGINWRITER'S POV"Kill her, Malone!" Ken shouted, his voice loud and cruel.Malone froze."No!" Hannah cried, shaking her head quickly as Malone lifted the gun toward Vera."He's trying to ruin you, Malone. Don't listen to him," she begged."You can't shoot our mother. You can't—""Don't you dare tell me what to do! Our mother? Please! Go wash your mouth!" Malone snapped, his voice shaking with anger.His shout shook the room, and Tim swallowed his words, fear written all over his face. Vera stood still, her heart racing. She knew Ken never played fair. They were trapped."Stop this madness, Prince Kenneth," she said firmly, her voice filled with pain. "Are you really going to turn your own son into a monster like you? Will you be proud of yourself after this?""Don't try your cheap tricks on me! Have you forgotten who I am? You think locking me up was that easy? I have people! I can always buy more! Justice doesn't exist! The whole system is a joke!" Ken yelled, stepping down the stairs
VERA'S POVIt started raining hard that evening while we drove home. Jack and Nathan had gone to search for Malone, but they couldn’t find him, and it got too dark to keep waiting around in the graveyard. A police report had already been made in case things got worse. I didn’t know how to describe what I was feeling. The pain inside me was loud, so loud that even Hannah’s voice beside me sounded like extra noise in my already noisy head.From the moment she told us Malone was missing, I felt like throwing up. A sharp pain started in my lower stomach, and I curled up in the backseat, dropping my face to my knees. Hannah sat next to me, trying to comfort me without waking her sleeping baby. Timothy sat quietly on Jessica’s lap in the front seat, both of them watching me through the mirror with sad eyes.When Max pulled the car into the driveway, I had to blink many times just to see clearly and carefully get down. Hannah was now talking to someone on the phone, telling him I would be ok
VERA'S POVIt was a cool evening when she was laid to rest. I stood quietly beside her grave, not really sure how I felt. She hadn’t been the best mother, but she still said "bless you" when someone sneezed. That had to mean something. Still, I never understood how she could watch me suffer at the hands of her boyfriend. It made me doubt if I was ever truly her daughter. But even with all that, I never wished death on her. Not this soon.We were slowly becoming friends, trying to fix things between us. She really cared about Jessica, even though she stayed distant. She hadn’t been sick, and she wasn't the type to take her own life. Yet, she died so quietly. According to Jessica, she lay down beside her one night and didn't wake up the next morning.Thanks to Jack, we had gotten the chance to make peace. But I thought she'd do more. Maybe say sorry. Maybe try to be a better mother. I thought she would at least try to be present, to make up for all the time lost. Instead, she chose eter
WRITER'S POV"Stop right there, Malone! Don’t walk away from me when I’m still talking to you!" Vera’s voice rose, sharp and filled with anger. Her eyes were blazing as she stared at her son’s back.They had rushed to the police station after Jack told Vera and Maureen about what had happened to Malone. Seeing how panicked Vera was, Maureen had offered to come along for support. Jack had politely asked her to stay back so they wouldn't have to explain she was Monica's twin, not a ghost. She understood and wished them luck.They reached the station just in time, before Malone was sent to a cell. Jack took charge, speaking to the Police Chief and doing the paperwork with Harry, the young officer who had helped with Ken’s case and Vera's stalker. Eventually, they were allowed to take Malone home.On the drive back, Vera tried talking to Malone, but he said nothing. As soon as they got home and Jack pulled up, Malone jumped out and headed inside, ignoring his mother.Boiling with frustrat
JACK’S POVI felt Vera shiver beside me, and when I turned to check her face, it was clear, she looked scared and confused. Slowly, I looked back at Maureen, who was now standing and blowing cigarette smoke into the air.“What are you talking about? I’ve always known Monica. I never even heard of you. I used to visit her dorm, and her roommate was a guy. A gay guy, to be exact,” I said, confused, my forehead wrinkled as I tried to remember everything clearly.“We met at our school parking lot,” Maureen started calmly. “You tried to park your white pickup truck and hit my black BMW. You kept apologizing and promised to fix it. But I was having a terrible day, so instead, I slashed your tires.”She turned around now, facing us while her back touched the window glass. A soft smile pulled at her lips.“And I told you, ‘Now we’re even, so no hard feelings.’ Then we both laughed like crazy. We had our cars towed to a nearby repair shop, and while waiting, we shared pizza and ice cream. That
VERA'S POVJack held my hand as he led me into the clubhouse. I’d heard about this place, people talked about it a lot around Downtown. It was popular with the locals, especially the rich and wild ones.But as soon as we walked in, my stomach twisted.A masked woman came right up to Jack and said his name like she knew him well. She even had the nerve to pull off her mask and show her pretty face. I hated how jealous I felt. It was like someone scraping sharp nails across my chest.When I first got to this town, people warned me about the clubs, the sex workers, and the high-end hotels, but nobody said these women were this bold. Or maybe I was just reading too much into it. Maybe I was just mad because she dared to act like she belonged in Jack’s world, like I wasn't standing right beside him."Jackson Taylor," she said, smiling like she was proud to know him. "I didn’t expect to see you here again."Jack didn’t smile back. "I’m here strictly for business. Excuse me."He gently brush
VERA'S POVI couldn't stop crying no matter how much Jack tried to console me. My heart was heavy and unforgiving towards whoever that has been haunting me like that.That thought brought my mind back to Nathan. I haven't seen him since the day I told him that he's the one that has been sending those
JACKSON'S POVI sat down quietly in my private jet as it flew to the Philippines. I had to take care of some business, and I could have told Vera but she's still angry with me.What would she be doing at that moment? I wondered as I looked expectantly at my phone. Should I call her and find out? I als
VERA'S POVHannah is such a darling, she helped me clean up the mess in my kitchen and parlor. She got me a cleaning service at her husband's agency, I had to do it since that was the only available office.I buried myself in the job, leaving my house as early as five in the morning and returning home
JACKSON'S POVI can do it, I kept reminding myself. If I was able to do it in the past and a few days after she left, I can still do it and I won't have anything to do with any woman again.It wasn't going to be easy to talk Tim out of mentioning her, but I will also try my best. I just have to make s







