LOGINAdrian“What artery ruptured? And under what kind of pressure would blood spurt out like this?”I stopped just inside the operating theatre, keeping a safe distance from the surgical area. Blood was still spraying from the patient, and the nurses were struggling to contain it.“Tell him to leave the room! And why would you call to him like that?” Millian shouted at the nurse who had called me.I stared at him for a moment.Then I let out a loud, humourless laugh.There was no time to argue with him. I turned and hurried out of the room, heading straight for the station. I grabbed a set of scrubs, changed, and disinfected my hands before returning to the theatre.Millian was still pacing around the patient, struggling to stop the bleeding. His movements were hurried, his attention scattered. I watched him work for a few seconds, trying to make sense of what I was seeing.Then it became clear.I had made a mistake.I had trusted what I heard about Millian more than what I had seen of hi
SiennaI looked at the text I'd sent earlier. It was still unread.I knew I should mind my business, but I still wanted to make sure he had received the message. Wherever he was hiding the doctor he'd taken, I wanted him to know that the man would eventually be found.I turned my attention to the documents my colleagues had submitted. They were supposed to provide images, theories, and research for the story and script I had to write for our next segment, but most of what I was looking at was useless. I scrolled through page after page, trying to piece together something that would convince people to follow the direction we wanted.“Who is Firecracker? Or is this another criminal operation waiting to happen? Is your life longer now? Could that be referring to the length of the operation to come?” I read aloud from one of my colleagues' submissions.“Yeah, yeah. I'm a criminal operation myself, aren't I?” I muttered.I pushed my chair back and stood up to get a coffee. But the moment I
Adrian“So why is it that I'm only learning about this now?” I asked Michael, who was standing in front of me, nervously staring at the floor.“Natasha said you had to know everything. I initially thought her background wasn't particularly relevant.”“I'll be the one to decide whether it's relevant or not,” I said.“Sorry, boss. I always tell them never to withhold any information from you, whether it's good or bad,” Natasha replied. “It's the same way I told Felipe to inform you about the club downtown and everything else.”She added the last part casually, and the boys all glanced at her for a moment. I shot them a murderous look before she could notice.I nodded. “It's fine. Is that all?”“That's all,” Michael answered.“Well, it's not that important now. We suddenly can't create the luck she needs to survive this surgery. All we can do is hope and monitor the situation to make sure Millian does a good job. That way, the woman's will to live won't go to waste.”Finding out that som
Sienna“Has anyone found out who the hell Firecracker is and what that message means?” my HOD asked as everyone sat around the meeting table. I kept my eyes down, avoiding everyone’s gaze.“I was thinking it might be the name of another gang,” my colleague Bri suggested.“Do you think an ordinary gang would do something like that? This is a fully organised crime operation. To be honest, I'm both surprised and unsurprised. A doctor who could carve his initials into a patient's skull has to be involved with some big guns in the mafia. He belongs there, considering the level of audacity he has. What truly makes me angry is that he might not receive any sentence for his actions. At the rate the police are handling this, he's going to slip away.”And this was finally where I could shine.“When I went to the police station earlier this morning and had a quick interview with the inspectors, they kept saying they had no real comments except to reassure the public that they were working on the
Adrian"Are you okay?"I asked for what felt like the hundredth time, although barely thirty minutes had passed."I'm okay."Sienna finally lifted her head from my chest.I let out a quiet breath of relief and studied her face, searching for any sign that she was still struggling. I wanted to understand what had happened, but I didn't want to push her into talking about something she clearly wasn't ready to share."Why? Do I suddenly look more like a troublemaker now that you've seen me throw a proper tantrum?"I shook my head.I couldn't tell if she was trying to pick a fight with me or simply brushing off what had happened. Either way, I wasn't going to complain. At least she was talking again."You know..." She shifted in my arms before finally pulling away.She stood up, walked over to where her shirt lay on the couch and picked it up. Then she began getting dressed, leaving me watching her every move."Has anyone ever told you that you'd make a good father?"I raised an eyebrow.
SiennaShit. Would I ever be able to resist this man?I closed my eyes, trying to push away the thoughts and feelings of wanting him.But I couldn't resist him. I couldn't think of a reason to make things sour between us. I had tried for a month. I was stuck. I liked Adrian more than I had ever imagined I would, and that was becoming a problem.Was I going to leave him? I asked myself again. I searched my mind for an answer, but nothing came. I couldn't even convince myself that walking away was what I wanted.I was screwed.Was I ready to give up journalism for a man who could be a womanizer, someone who might dump me or even have me killed at the slightest mistake?No...Journalism was the one thing that had given me peace. It had given me a way to fight for justice, something I had struggled to find for most of my life. It was how I had finally put my father's killer behind bars and given my mother and brother the peace of mind they had deserved for years.I couldn't throw all that
Adrian“Why the hell do you keep showing up?” she snapped as I turned the corner to her place. “You’ve got a girlfriend—what the fuck are you looking for? Not that I expect loyalty from someone like you.”I let out a low chuckle, the sound slipping past my lips before I could stop it. She was chaos
SiennaI glared at the man—whose name I still didn’t even know—untied me. My anger simmered, but exploding felt pointless when the person I was furious with was watching me like this was exactly the reaction he expected.The moment my hands were free, a dull ache spread through my wrists. I ignored
Adrian“Tell the guys to leave. Dominic’s not showing up tonight,” I said to Michael, one of my right-hand men. “Handle the guy, but don’t kill him.”He nodded, and I slipped into my Bentley.Finally, I could focus on the woman beside me.Sienna looked nervous as I shut the door. Surprising. She ha
SiennaWorking for eight days straight has to be a violation of my human rights—except I can’t sue anyone but myself. Even my own boss had been telling me to rest. But if I, Sienna Carter, didn’t get to the bottom of this story and publish it, today would have been a bad day for me. I would’ve been







