Andrew's POV“When did you and Rickard become close?” I retained a stern expression when I asked Elena.“What do you mean?” she feigned ignorance.Rickard and I have never been close. If it were up to me, I would have severed all ties with him but for some reason, my dad wants us to get along.“Why did he call you? What does he want?” I asked with an exasperated tone.I stared at Elena with an interrogative look, getting impatient as she had not said anything yet. The atmosphere was very tensed as I couldn't think of anything that connected the both of them, aside me of course.If Rickard wanted something, he usually came to me directly. From what I heard, he hadn't even visited me for once since I was admitted.“Why did who call me?”“Rickard!” I let out a screech “Babe, what are you talking about? Rickard did not call me, I am not sure he has my private number, so how is it possible for him to call me then?” She said as she came closer to me and rubbed my cheeks with her soft hand.
Gwen’s POVI returned home at a late hour after a fun day with Jane. It reminded me of the good old days at school when we were inseparable.I tried to persuade her to spend a day or two with me at Granny's place but she insisted she had work which she needed to attend to urgently"Someone appears to be in a good mood," Granny observed as she noticed a large smile on my face“Oh Gran.. Gran, I enjoyed my day today, I didn't realize that I had missed Jane this much” I said as I threw myself on to the sofa.I met my granny in the sitting room. I stared at her as she tried to sort out some papers.“How is she? And her…. uhm, what did you say she does again?” Granny said as she placed her left hand on her chin.“She runs a flower shop”. I said. "Business has been going well for her, and I am pleased because she puts a lot of effort into what she does," I added with a smile on my face."That is good; I am glad to see you smiling again. Granny laughed as she said, "I almost forgot what your
Elena's POVI couldn't get what happened between me and Andrew at the hospital yesterday out of my head.The nerves of him to request for my phone. Who the hell does he think he is?I needed to be extra careful now that he has suspicious of me and Rickard.I couldn't afford to be on Andrew’s bad side. As much as it sickened me, I had to make amends as I still needed him around.Thankfully Penny informed me that he would be discharged from the hospital today. I hated the fact that I had to visit him there everyday.I got to the hallway and saw Aunt Kathrine. She and the doctor had just left Andrew's room to get some papers signed.This woman should get a life, why is she always here?“Babe!” I said with an elated smile.“You look better today. I heard the good news from Penny that you will be discharged today” I added as I hugged him.“You didn't come back yesterday” Andrew said as he unwrapped my hands around him.“My meeting took longer than expected. I was tired and I knew you would
Andrew's POV“Elena?” I called out as I knocked on the door to my bedroom.I came to pick up some documents so that I could discuss about business with some of my partners. Since Elena had invited them to the party, I decided to take advantage of this opportunity.I heard Elena and someone talking in the room, but when I tried to open the door, I discovered it was locked from the inside. Everyone else was downstairs enjoying the party, so I wondered who was upstairs with her and in my room.“Elena?” I called out wiping the beads of perspiration off my forehead."I am coming, babe," She said from inside.The door was then opened, and I immediately entered and began to scan the room."What do you think about my outfit?" She said as she turned in a circle. She wore an emerald green shirt gown, which I guessed was the latest design in town given how obsessed she was with such things.“Who was in the room with you?” I questioned her as I looked around the room.“What do you mean? I am here
Gwen's POVI walked at a slow pace to blue door. I was already regretting why I agreed to attend Ricky's concert.It was a 30-minute walk from Grandma Mary's place. I was dressed in a black hoodie and blue jeans. My hair was braided into two French braids.I could hear the sound of music from about a mile away. “Pit bull” I chuckled.I scanned the venue as soon as I arrived. It was not big, but it could hold at least 100 people. There were approximately 50 people present, including myself.“New record Ricky” I murmured to myself .I watched them perform and liked some of their music. I stood on the dark side of the room to avoid being noticed by Ricky."Let me buy you a drink, beautiful," a voice said from behind me.I turned around and saw a man in his mid-thirties who appeared to be drunk."No, thank you," I said, disgusted."C'mon, it is just a drink for a beautiful woman; I mean no harm," he said as he grabbed my hand."Let go of me," I yelled as I struggled to get free of his gri
Gwen's POVI fixed my gaze on my reflection and my already protruding stomach. It has been three months since I discovered I was pregnant.The size of my tummy was bigger than it should have been because of my twins. I was wearing a dress that once belonged to my grandmother since none of my clothes fit anymore.I smiled, rubbing my hands against my stomach. I have already grown to love them even without seeing them, except for the ultra scan, of course.“Gwen! What is taking you so long?" Granny yelled from downstairs.I rushed downstairs and met Granny who was already agitated.“Are you sure this outfit looks good on me?” I asked, taking a second look at my appearance."Well, it looked good on me back then, but I can not say the same for you," Granny said, laughing loudly. She was clearly trying to tease me.It was a knee-length floral gown with short sleeves. Ordinarily, I would not wear such clothes, but I had to make due with what I had because I had not made time to go shoppin
Andrew's POV"Yes, okay. Send them in." I said and hung up the phone.Two men entered my office, dressed in black tuxedos and dark shades. They walked up to my desk in confident strides.“Mr Andrew?” One said, extending his hand for a handshake."Yes," I replied, returning the gesture. “Have a seat” I offered."I am Agent Daniel, and that is Agent Oliver," he said, pointing to his partner for proper identification."We are currently in charge of unsolving the robbery and attempted murder case in which you were involved in Turks and Caicos."“What happened to Agent Bruce?” I asked. He was in charge of the case before now."He has been transferred, sir," Agent Oliver stated."All right, officers, do you have any leads?" I asked curiously."Based on our current investigations, we discovered that the bullets you were shot with came from an Armalite rifle," Agent Daniel explained, placing a picture of the gun on my table.“Okay, and this is a good thing, how?”. I asked, not sure I understo
Andrew's POV"Are you in here, Baby?" Can you believe how fun my day turned out to be?” She asked as soon as she entered my study.The photograph of Gwen fell from my hand and I used my feet to step on it. If Elena should see this photo, I wouldn't hear the end of it.She moved closer to where I was sitting and kissed my lips.She sat on my study table, facing the chair I was in.Her head was buried in her phone. Thank goodness, that was the perfect opportunity for me to push the photograph away."The housekeeper informed me that you had returned from work early today. What is going on?" She asked, her gaze still fixed on her phone."Two agents from Turks and Caicos visited my office today," I explained.I am not sure why I told her, but since her collection had also been stolen, I felt she had every right to know every detail.“Really? Have my collection been found?” She inquired, finally lifting her head from her phone.“Not yet, but the agents have new leads,” I said, staring at he
Gwen's POV“Rickard Gilbert. You have been found guilty of all of the charges against you. You are hereby sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labor” The judge gave his final verdict.I sighed with relief as I realized that all of my problems were gradually coming to an end.A month has passed since the incident. During the struggle between Andrew and Rickard at the warehouse, a trigger was pulled and a bullet went through Rickard's left leg.The case didn't hold immediately because Rickard needed to recover before he could face the court.Jake and Dr. James both testified against Rickard, and Fred presented the court with evidence indicating Rickard pulled the trigger on Brody.Elena's statement also helped with the case but unfortunately, she slipped into a coma.She was closely monitored by the police. As soon as she regains her consciousness, she will also pay for her crimes.Hopefully, she receives a lighter sentence because she was the only reason my sons were healthy and wi
Gwen's POVNanny Rose's memorial service was held in her hometown, and Granny and I attended to pay our final respects.We boarded the next flight to Oklahoma and returned home later that evening. The house felt incredibly empty without the children and Nanny Rose.It seemed like I was in a completely different place. I walked to the sofa and shut my eyes tightly.It has been quite an awful month for me and I don't think I will recover any time soon.As soon as I picked up my phone, I received a call from Andrew asking me to come to the hospital. My heart skipped a beat because I knew the hospital spelled bad news.Granny insisted on tagging along but I didn't let her. She has also been through a lot, which has had a negative impact on her health.I tried reaching Ricky to drive me there but he wasn't picking so I decided on taking a cab there.******“What's wrong Andrew?” I asked as soon as I saw him in the waiting room.There were numerous police officers patrolling around the area
Rickard's POVI stormed into the room where I had kept the children captive. Their instant sobs and screams became a nuisance to my ears.“Would you both shut up for fuck sake?” I yelled, throwing a wooden chair across the room, and the kids shook with fear.I made the room comfortable for them, I mean, I still remain their favorite uncle right?"I want to go to my mummy," Ethan stated, rubbing his cheeks with both hands.“Shut up you little brat, mummy is not coming” I yelled, slamming my hand against the wall vigorously.Elena rushed into the room as Ethan's sobbing became louder."Oh, poor child, do not cry," she said, stepping closer to Ethan. She sat on the room's bed and cradled Ethan in her arms.“You really don't have to scare them like this Rickard. They are our key to a good life” Elena said, staring at me intently.I scoffed audibly.“Since when did you start to care about the children and their well being?” I asked sarcastically."I am not a monster, Ricky, I have always h
Gwen's POV I watched how Andrew's face turned pale. I had no doubt that Rickard was on the other end of the phone. Andrew lowered the phone from his ear and stared at me without saying anything. “What happened?” “He threatened to harm the children, but I won't let him Gwen, I promise” Andrew said, taking my hands into his. "I know you won't," I replied, smiling lightly at him. He was the only person I fully trusted to bring my kids back. He was their father, he had the money and influence and I knew he was willing to give Rickard all his properties. He loved the boys that much. “Let me drive you home Gwen” Andrew offered. “I came with Ricky, it's only right I go back with him” I declined politely. “Alright Gwen, I will meet you at the house” Andrew said, softly planting a kiss on my cheeks. I got into the car with Ricky and he drove me home. On the way to the house, I could not stop thinking about how Rickard learned about our plan to ambush him. It only meant one thing, so
Andrew's POVI impatiently stared at the footage that captured how Rickard bulged into the house and came out with my children.“How could you be careless? You were assigned to look after my children," I yelled angrily, slamming my hands against the table.My phone began buzzing just as the chief of police was about to speak. It was an unknown number. I had an immediate suspicion that it was Rickard calling.I picked my phone and placed the call on loud speaker. The chief of police quickly asked his assistant to connect my mobile phone to the cellular location system in order to track down Rickard's exact location.“Hello big bro” Rickard said over the phone.“You scoundrel, where are you? Where are my children” I yelled vehemently over the phone.“Oh big bro, why are you being aggressive? The kids are having a little fun time with their favorite uncle” Rickard said sarcastically over the phone.My anger surged, and I could feel my blood crackling. If I ever get my hands on Rickard, I
Gwen's POV“No! No! No!” I continuously kept on saying. With every word I said, I took a step back.I almost lost my balance if not because of Ricky who supported me from behind.Nanny Rose lay on the floor in her own pool of blood, and the room's window was wide open.Ethan and Evan were not in their beds, and I could feel my heart breaking into little pieces. I released myself from Ricky's grip and ran towards the window.“Ethan! Evan!” I yelled at the top of my voice.Granny rushed into the room and was taken aback as soon as she saw the scene. She quickly took out her phone and dialed the ambulance.Ricky dashed out of the room to inform the cops about the kidnapping.I was left in shock and I kept on calling out to my boys, magically hoping that they would appear in front of me.I sat on the floor and burst into tears. My children were my weakness and if anything should happen to them, I don't think I would ever move on.I wished I had put them to bed myself, then maybe all this
Gwen's POVI sat beside Andrew staring at him quietly. His chelation therapy had been going on for more than four days, and he was already doing well.The pale color of his skin was gradually vanishing and he was regaining his actual skin complexion.The doctor said that if he continued to respond well to the treatment, he would be discharged in less than a week.I tucked his hands into mine and gently squeezed them.“They won't get away with what they did to you, I promise” I said softly.Suddenly, I heard the door to the room unlocked.“Fred, is that you?” I said, slightly turning my face in the direction of the door.“Attorney Frederick,” I exclaimed, getting up to my feet. “You are here?”“Well yes, I flew to Oklahoma as soon as I heard the news. How is Andrew doing?” Attorney Frederick asked, moving closer to Andrew's bed.“He is responding well to treatment sir. He will soon be back on his feet” I spoke calmly.“Did Rickard really do everything he was accused of?” Attorney Frede
Rickard's POVI continued to clench my teeth. If I had not followed Andrew out of the house, I would probably be in jail by now.“Damn it” I exclaimed furiously.I sat on the bed in the small room and dug my hands into my hair. How could I have been so dumb not to notice that i was being followed.“Fuck!” I yelled, smashing my phone across the wall.“There is no use smashing your phone across the wall Rickard. You sold us out” Elena glared furiously.“What the hell are you even saying? You should be glad I brought you along with me” I said angrily.I instantly regretted my decision. I should not have told Elena about Andrew's discovery. I should have gone into hiding and let her pay dearly for our crimes.Now I was stuck with her and her constant nagging. I was sure that going to jail wouldn't be as bad as being in the same space with Elena.Perhaps I should just turn myself in to the police.“God damnit” I murmured to myself.“We are fucking low on cash Rickard. How are we going to s
Gwen's POVI asked Fred to drive me home after leaving the hospital. On our way there, I paid for our flight tickets to New York.My plan was to subdue Dr. James. He will not go scot free for conniving with Rickard to lie about Andrew's health.I will ensure that he and Jake are transferred to Oklahoma prison so that when Rickard and Elena are apprehended, they can testify against them.My flight was scheduled for 9p.m that evening so I decided to go home first.When I arrived at the house, the scene reminded me of when Sophie escaped. There were officers patrolling around my house.I asked Fred to wait for me in the car while I went to get some of my stuff in the house.“Gwen, what is going on?” Granny said as soon as she saw me walking in. She carried that worried look across her face which made me wonder when all this will come to an end.“Remain in the house Granny and make sure you keep a close eyes on Ethan and Evan.” I said before dashing upstairs.Granny wouldn't just settle f