LOGINSalma“You are under arrest for making a false report to a peace officer,” the baritone voice of a meaty police officer said to me, pulling a handcuff from his pocket. Brandon put his body between the police officer and me as we stood in front of the Ritz-Carlton hotel. “What is this about?” Brandon asked while I was still trying to process what was happening to me. “Salma Gascon intentionally lied to a peace officer, implicating Senator Schuamer for kidnapping her.” “That is ridiculous,” Brandon said exactly what was on my mind. I had absolutely no reason to lie to the police about that. “Do you have a warrant for her arrest?” Brandon asked. The cop pulled a paper from his pocket and opened it, shoving it in our faces to read. It was an arrest warrant. This was real. “I don’t understand… what false report…” “More details will be revealed when you get to the station,” the cop said, “right now I have a warrant for your arrest and if you refuse to come with me, it will be cou
SalmaI watched as Brandon and a round Italian woman greeted each other. After they had exchanged greetings, Bianca shifted her gaze to me and squinted her eyes as she stared at me. “You’re her daughter, aren’t you?” I was confused. “Daughter? Who?” I was about to explain that she must have mistaken me for someone else because my mother was long dead. But Bianca suddenly clapped her hands and exclaimed, “You’re Selene’s daughter! Do you not remember me? She brought you here when you were very little.” No wonder the place looked a bit familiar. My memory about coming here as a child was right. “Did you know my mother well?” Bianca laughed. “Your mother and her best friend used to hang out here all the time when they were in college,” Bianca replied, “it was very sad losing Helen and then your mom…” But the conversation at our table was interrupted by a voice I was hoping I would not have to hear today. “Brandon! Salma!” Elaine disrupted us, “I told Levi that it was really you,
BrandonShe was quiet after that, sticking her head out of the window and allowing the wind to whip around her face. I tried not to be distracted by her slender neck which she stuck out the window, but there was one question on my mind that I had to ask her. “Are you not worried?” I asked her. “About what?” she asked without sparing me a glance. “Your job,” I said, “you’ve been away for very long. Won’t they get someone else to fill your position?” I heard her sigh. “If my job is not waiting for me when I go back,” she said, “I’ll take it as a sign to dedicate my skills to charity only.” “Charity?” I glanced at her for so long that when I returned my gaze to the road, I had to swerve suddenly to avoid traffic, causing the car to bump a little. “Yes,” she said, “charity. I wanted to go to Sudan before all this.” I nodded. I remembered that well. I had stopped her from going by filing a lawsuit to prove Leona’s paternity. “I’m sorry I stopped you,” I felt a little guilty that
Brandon “Salma?” I was a bit surprised to hear her voice on the other end of the phone.“What’s wrong?” I asked because she sounded spooked. “I… can we have lunch?” she asked, “I just… I just realised I haven’t had anything to eat today.” I could sense the real problem was not hunger, but something deeper. She did not want to be alone. I had a deep feeling it had something to do with the fact that she had just been kidnapped. And while she tried to pretend she was fine, I had a feeling she was far from it. “Uhm… Okay,” I said, “do you have somewhere in mind?” She hesitated, “No… I haven’t been in Texas that long to know where all the good spots are.” “I know a nice Italian place uptown,” I said to her, “it’s a bit of a drive though, would you mind?” “No,” came her immediate response, “the farther the better,” she muttered, but I heard her clearly. I got dressed quickly and took the elevator down to her floor. I got off and gave her a call. “Hey?” I called her. “I… I’m waitin
SalmaI stepped into my room at the Ritz Carlton hotel and everything was the way it was supposed to be—elegant, classy, luxurious. I had been staying here since I had flown Leona to Texas. I had been practically living at the hospital though, and so I barely had the chance to enjoy the room. And now that Leona’s health was improving, I still could not enjoy it. For some reason, the space made me feel anxious. And the more I stood there, rooted at the door, the more the room began to look like the one I had run away from five years ago. The space began to feel smaller and smaller until the walls began to close in on me. I knew it was all in my head, but it felt so real that it was like torture to my senses. I shut my eyes and left them closed for a couple of minutes and when I reopened them, it was all back to normal. I realised I was still very wet from dancing in the rain. It was time to have a hot bath. I took a step away from the door and further into my suite. My heart began t
Brandon For several minutes I could not speak. I suddenly became aware of my wet clothes and the fact that water was seeping through my body onto the floor. “I… What do you mean?” I asked because I was genuinely surprised. Just two weeks ago, they came to protest in front of my company along with the other protesters, but they were protesting against Leona-S. They had been trending on social media because one of their twins died and the blame fell to McClean Pharmaceuticals. “I don’t understand…” I said, my voice trembling more from unbelief than from the cold. “Brandon,” Allison had a look of worry on her face, “are you okay?” “I think he needs to sit,” I heard Salma say. They helped me to a chair, but the world had kind of blurred in my sight. If the Wang twins were fine, why would their parents demand a settlement of a hundred million dollars as compensation? “Brandon? Brandon?” “I think we should call a doctor…” “I’m fine,” I finally snapped out of it, but I was far from
Brandon I chuckled nervously as Mr. Summers made a joke I did not find funny at all. Things had been a bit awkward between us since he had flirted with Salma right in front of me. The tension had increased when he had tried to make me sell Leona-S to some shady people. In fact, I had avoided him s
Brandon“Why can't you tell them you're at the hospital?” she asked me, her voice was still a whisper. “I just can't, okay?” I said, “Let's talk later.” I hung up the call and checked to see if Leona was still by my side as she had the tendency to disappear when she felt like it. “Do you have to
Salma I saw the punch coming but made no effort to sidestep. What I did not see coming though was the human shield in the form of Kane who took the hit for me instead of my pretty face. I heard Ariel gasp. She had just punched an attending and that would have severe consequences for her. “Dr. Ka
SalmaMy blood went cold when I heard Brandon's name but I had a surgery to concentrate on. Even though I did not like the idea of Brandon with my little girl, she was safe with him for now.The second I was out of surgery, I searched for Dr. Allison so I could speak to Brandon. She gave me my phon







