It all seemed like a crazy fever dream. There was a girl, claiming to be her sister in her house who also said that her mother was alive and for some reason, she believed her?
"So you're telling me she isn't dead and the woman I have mourned for years isn't my mother? The grave I go to every three years isn't hers?""Yes. Isn't that wonderful? I'm alive and she's alive. Yay," she said, throwing her hands up in the air and putting them down awkwardly as she noticed no one shared the same sentiment."Why are you here? Why didn't she come for me? Why?" Alice asked all at once, her mind a whirlwind of confusion."Relax. I'm here to answer whatever you may need. It was too dangerous for her to not be dead, and you were in a safer position to be here than to be with her. She didn't have the means to take care of a baby, let alone a child and a toddler. She did what she had to do. She's not at fault in all this. Please don't get angry at her. Please, for"Don't you dare hit my wife," Travis said, his voice low and sharp as a blade. "Or you'll find yourself behind bars with the rest of them. I won't hesitate." Alice's father froze mid-motion, his hand trembling in the air. The fury in Travis's eyes wasn't just anger—it was a warning. "You would have me arrested?" he asked, as if the idea was inconceivable. "In a heartbeat," Travis replied, stepping forward until they were nearly nose to nose. "You think I care who you are? No man lays a hand on Alice. Not in my presence. Not ever." The tension in the room became thick, suffocating. Alice stood behind her husband, her breath caught in her throat, her mind spinning. The image of her father about to strike her—it had nearly happened. Again. And this time, someone had stopped him. Her father looked between them, something ugly passing through his eyes. "You've changed," he said bitterly. "You've become insolent. D
It all seemed like a crazy fever dream. There was a girl, claiming to be her sister in her house who also said that her mother was alive and for some reason, she believed her?"So you're telling me she isn't dead and the woman I have mourned for years isn't my mother? The grave I go to every three years isn't hers?""Yes. Isn't that wonderful? I'm alive and she's alive. Yay," she said, throwing her hands up in the air and putting them down awkwardly as she noticed no one shared the same sentiment."Why are you here? Why didn't she come for me? Why?" Alice asked all at once, her mind a whirlwind of confusion."Relax. I'm here to answer whatever you may need. It was too dangerous for her to not be dead, and you were in a safer position to be here than to be with her. She didn't have the means to take care of a baby, let alone a child and a toddler. She did what she had to do. She's not at fault in all this. Please don't get angry at her. Please, for
Years ago..."You can't do this to yourself. You told me you were done with him. You said you weren't seeing him anymore," Caroline said, her voice echoing."You cannot tell me what to do!" Victoria shouted."I can tell you what to do if I see some things you're doing don't just make any sense. He's not good for you, and you know it. Dan is dangerous company.""Since when do you know what's good for me? For years and years, I've lived in your shadow. Why can't you be more like Caroline? Why are you like this when Caroline is like that? Sweet, little, perfect Caroline!" she spat, her voice laced with anger."You know I don't think like that. We shouldn't care what people say. They're always going to talk—again and again.""You don't get it, do you? You stole my life! You stole what was supposed to be mine!""What the hell are you talking about?" Caroline asked, confused."You stole him away from me. You stole And
"Octavia, she left the hospital today—and she's not paralyzed. She's still okay.""What? That's not supposed to happen. He assured you that she would be either dead or paralyzed, and now you're telling me that she's not even brain dead?""She didn't look like it. She's perfectly okay."Octavia screamed. "Is there anything he can do perfectly? He can't even get rid of tabloids properly—and now this? He messed up! Each and Everytime, you ask him to do something,he doesn't do it properly. He always leaves gaps.""He always messes everything up," She said, picking up items from the showroom."I think Travis is onto us," Victoria added, her voice laced with worry."I understand that he's crazy rich, but there's no way he's going to get any real information. We're safe. You have to quit worrying.""Just be careful, Octavia. You may have to go off-grid, just in case anything happens.""I can't go off-grid, Mom! I have
The warehouse was a place where the world went to forget.It sat at the edge of a dead road, choked by weeds and strangled ivy, hemmed in by chain-link fences that had long since given up on keepin g anyone out. Its roof sagged, heavy with rust and time, and the broken sign above the main loading door bore only three legible letters: "C—O—R".Inside, time had slowed to a crawl.Pillars of dust swayed gently through the sun-shafts leaking in from above—sunlight fractured through shattered panes of glass in the ceiling, casting a kaleidoscope of dull gold and rust-red onto the cracked concrete floor. The air was thick with the scent of old grease, cardboard rot, and forgotten sweat. Somewhere high in the iron skeleton of the ceiling, pigeons cooed and shuffled, unsettled.Stacks of crates formed uneven walls throughout the massive space. Some were burst open, their contents half-spilled—tangled wires, rusted gears, frayed documents. Old tarps flappe
"You're back," Alice said softly, a smile breaking through the still-healing tiredness on her face.Travis paused in the doorway, the sound of her voice wrapping around his heart like a warm blanket. "I told you I would be," he said, pushing his wheelchair in slowly, locking eyes with her. "I can't stay away too long. You know I get separation anxiety."She chuckled, her hand reaching out slightly from under the covers. "Is that what this is? You looked more like a man worried someone was stealing his wife's pudding.""Pudding theft is serious business, Alice," Travis deadpanned, but his lips were already curving upward. "And I happen to love my wife's pudding."She rolled her eyes playfully. "God, I missed your ridiculousness."He wheeled closer to the bed and took her hand gently in his. "I missed your everything."A silence settled between them, soft and comfortable. Her fingers curled slowly around his."How was work