ARIANA’S POVRob rose to his feet with immediate alacrity and he seemed to tower over Detective Parker who sat there looking scared for his life.“I suggest you leave my house this instant, Detective Parker”, Rob said thunderously.“Mr Stone, you do realize that if you do not submit…”““You do know who I am, right? I wouldn't want to get my friend, a mafia Lord, involved. But if you continue to use untenable arguments to hurt my wife, l'Il let you, and your family know what it's like to experience the wrath of a mafia gang”, Rob threatened in a cold voice that immediately shut the Detective.He silently packed his documents into the file and exited the house.As soon as he left, I flung myself into Rob's arms, embracing him. I knew he was just making a threat and messing up with the mafia is the last thing he wanted to do. I was grateful and relieved all at once. I felt seen. Noticed and most of all…loved.Rob said nothing but enveloped me in a hug and when I pulled away from him, he
ROBERT'S POV I had heard tales from my parents about how stubborn and formidable Mr Vanderbilt could be. He obviously had not climbed the corporate ladder by being nice. To have come from nothing to the second richest man in Chicago, he must have had to made ruthless business decisions.It was standing before him and trying to convince him to drop the case against Ariana that made it all real for me. I then knew that those tales about him were not fables but reality.Mr Vanderbilt was stone cold.“I know Ariana is your wife Robert but stay out of this. There's nothing you could say that would convince me to drop this case”.I sighed exasperatedly. He was tough as nails. Why on earth would a man want to see his daughter prosecuted for a crime as cruel as murder?I could not wrap my head around it.“You realize that if you continued with this and Ariana is found guilty, you would be losing two daughters?” I asked him. “If she is a murderer, then she's no daughter of mine”, he said fl
ARIANA’S POVIt felt like my world ended at that moment. I suddenly could not breathe and began to feel my heart beating rapidly against my chest. I swooned and felt Rob hold me steady. “What? What do you mean?” I asked.“Nate is Flora's son”, my father repeated.“What do you mean?” It was Rob this time around.I finally raised my head up long enough to look at him. I saw a shadow pass over his face. There was more than one question on his mind and my heart began to break into a million fragments. I was finding it difficult to wrap my head around this new information. Flora had a son? And my parents had withheld that knowledge from me? I stumbled again and this time held on to my father's desk for support.Life seemed to be dealing me blows from different angles.“Flora fell pregnant a year before her death”, my father said in a low tone.“You mean you've been hiding that child from me for years? Flora was hiding him from me too?” I nearly screamed.Rob started to walk towards me bu
ROBERT'S POV Damn! Ariana runned away in front of everyone.What was she thinking? Was this her form of revenge? Why couldn't she think of the little boy? A part of me wanted to stay back and handle the situation. Talk to Nate. Say something to him. Anything. But I ran after Ariana. Determined not to let her go. Thankfully, she had walked there and was now walking hurriedly to wherever she had parked her car.“Ariana, Ariana please stop”,
ARIANA’S POV The headline was a disaster. No PR manager could save me from this. Unless the investigation proved I was not Flora's murderer, I was doomed.Unable to bear it any longer, I abandoned Rob in the office and ran downstairs. It could only be Emily or Detective Parker that had told the press. They were out to get me and it showed.Rob did not come after me thankfully. I needed space from him. I had no idea why I had even run to him in the beginning. I had to learn that he would never love me as much as he loved Flora. They had a son together. I had avoided him for days since the encounter at my
ROBERT’S POV I was going crazy searching for Ariana. She was not answering my calls and I could not even reach her through any other means. Barbara had not seen her either and the thought that she was probably doing something to harm herself was driving me crazy. The media was having a field day with their story. Many news channels were doing commentaries on the case. Not only were the two richest families in Chicago involved in a paternity crisis, we were also under fire for an assumed unsolved murder.We were currently having a meeting with the board of directors and the PR Team.The Vanderbilts were present but Nate was nowhere to be seen and rightfully so. Better to keep him away from the paparazzi. They were a circus. The meeting dragged on for hours and we finally agreed that both companies will host a press conference to address the questions of the public and make sure the investigation of the murder was a transparent one. When the meeting ended, I cornered my in-laws.The
ARIANA’S POV It had all happened too fast and even now as the ambulance arrived along with the paparazzi that could never pass up an opportunity for a good story, I stood there as if in a trance.I had asked Josh to drive away as soon as the accident happened because the press would have a field day if they found the two of us together. I rode in the back of the ambulance to the hospital with Rob. Fortunately, he was still conscious even though he was delirious. I could smell the alcohol on his clothing and was a little mad at him for risking his life that way. What was he thinking? Had he not been using his seatbelt, he would be dead by now.We arrived at the hospital and he was quickly wheeled into the ER while I stood outside pacing up and down. Alone and angry. Where was Rob even headed to?I was relieved when the doctor finally cleared me in to see him and when I entered the hospital room, I felt sad seeing him connected to the machines and on drips.“Hey baby”, I whispered, si
ARIANA’S POV“Have you lost your mind?” I asked in disbelief, my voice rising by several decibels.The nurses and orderlies were slowing their steps now to eavesdrop and watch what was happening.“I would advise you remained quiet Mrs Stone until we get to the station…”“You have some nerve thinking I’m going anywhere with you…”I began to protest as Detective Parker handcuffed me.“Do you know who I am?” I demanded several times, angry and feeling embarrassed. What in God’s name was the meaning of this embarrassment?I continued yelling at the detective as he led me out of the hospital and into the police car waiting outside.I was filled with rage. Rob would wake up and find me gone and he would not know the reason. I had to find who was setting me up this way. As I thought this, I instantly remembered with utter dismay that my parents had given the Chicago Police Department license to humiliate me in this manner because they felt I had murdered my own sister.At this thought, I sat