LOGINPOV: RichardThe air in the room didn’t just cool; it froze. My mother stood framed in the doorway, the clinical white light of the hallway casting her silhouette in sharp, unforgiving lines. Behind her, the four men in charcoal suits moved with a synchronized efficiency that made the small hospital room feel like a cage.Oma didn’t pull her hands away from my side. I felt her fingers twitch against my blood-soaked shirt, a momentary flicker of instinctual fear before she steeled herself."Mother," I managed, the word catching on a jagged breath. My knees were still pressed into the linoleum, the pain in my side throbbing in time with the heavy tread of the bodyguards."Look at you," my mother said, her voice a low, melodic purr that carried the weight of a death sentence. She didn't look at the wound. She didn't look at the blood. She looked at me, her son, kneeling at the feet of the woman she had spent months trying to erase. "Crawling on the floor like a wounded animal for the sak
POV: Richard"Oma, Please, just hear me out." I laid the phone on the blanket, please give me a chance to explain. Things are not the way they seem right now, believe me."Richard, don't explain anything to me." Her voice wavered. Now she was crying openly and not trying to hide the tears. Sitting there and the tears falling freely, her hands trembling lightly. "Don't get the ball rolling, Richard. Don't."Even though she didn’t want to listen, I still it was necessary to explain. I was so afraid that I was losing her, so I insisted."I was drugged I started. “I was assaulted on the road and I didn't know what was happening to me. That woman, whoever she was, was brought to the room I was unconscious in. I didn't know she was there. I didn't know any of this until you showed me that phone, I have never seen her" I explained."You slept with her." Her gaze was fixed on me. "She told me Richard. She sat right there in that chair and told me everything.""When?""Today, she came to see
Richard’s POVI phoned Ned immediately from the back door and he picked right up after a single ring. “Hello Ned?”“Yes Richie. How are you doing? Where are you now?” he asked.“Just come for me at Evans's place, " I cut in.“Alright, boss? But before that, I think we have good news for now?”“What is it Ned?” I asked wide-eyed, expecting nothing short than Oma."She is awake.” He said excitedly.“What? She is awake?” I almost shouted.“Yes Richie. From the nursing notes, it seems she opened her eyes at 1:45 this afternoon and she is a bit fine now”I stood there, leaning against the wall, staring at the sky, and feeling anxious to see Oma. The news actually made me somehow relax inside so that I could almost ignore my aches. ‘Goodness! She is awake.’ I repeated, my own aches almost completely forgotten."I'm waiting for you,Ned" I uttered. The pain was still there, and the effects of the drug weren't completely gone, but that Oma was conscious was the main thing, everything else c
(Richard’s POV)I staggered downstairs, the lobby itself was empty. Even the staff member behind the front desk, who was on the sofa, briefly raised his eyes when I came out of the elevator, but then he went back to his work without any signs of excitement despite seeing me bleeding profusely.It was the hotel staff's typical habit of feigning ignorance of any kind of anomalies without any show of them. I ignored the man and went out into the daylight. The sunlight was blinding. I had to stand there on the pavement a while before my eyes got used to the brightness of the sun. The street was very busy with people from the lunch crowds moving in all directions, and at the junction to the left, there were many vehicles that were waiting for their turn to move forward. The city was going about its normal business; it didn't even know that someone with a gunshot wound was struggling for his life here, or that I was the way I was, because of the sedative that was still working. I had ma
(Richard’s POV)I returned home at four in the morning but couldn't sleep. I sat on the edge of the bed, my shoes still on, staring at the floor as my mind circled.After a quick shower and a change of clothes, I headed downstairs. I ignored the food my housekeeper had left, opted for coffee instead, and watched the city wake up in the grey dawn. Delivery trucks rode on empty streets, and the first commuters began to appear on the sidewalks below.At 7:40 a.m., my phone rang. It was Sandra, my PA."What is it?" I asked, picking up on the second ring."Sir," she responded, as she spoke with that professional caution she reserved for bad news. "There are three men in your office now. They’ve been here since seven. The security let them into the lobby before realizing they weren't on the schedule, and now they’re refusing to leave.""Who are they?""They claim to represent a creditor group, specifically for the Jones family. They mentioned 'outstanding' balances which the company owes.
POV: RichardWe moved out of the building and the second I stepped outside. The night air was cold and damp, the pavement still shiny from the rain. I pulled the scrub top over my head as I walked, balled it up, and tucked it under my arm. Dr. Damien was a few steps behind me; his keys already out as he moved like a man who wanted to be home before he had time to regret what he’d just done.We were halfway across the parking lot when I heard the click of heels on a wet concrete. I knew that sound before I even saw her.Nora was leaning against a black car two spaces from mine. Her arms were folded, with a calm expression, and she was dressed as if she’d just come from a high-stakes meeting. She looked perfectly comfortable standing in a dark hospital lot at three in the morning. This wasn't a coincidence; obviously, she had been waiting."Richard," she said.I didn't stop walking as I responded back. "Nora. I had a long night?"I reached my car and pulled the door open. She pushed o
When we walked out of the courtroom. The flashbulbs and the reporters hampered around Richard and I, calling his name. His hand was on my back, steering me forward through the small crowd of news reporters.Thank God we were at the winning side in the courtroom.While we moved towards our car. Imm
“Don’t panic, you are in control,” Richard said squeezing my hand.“I know but I can’t help but feel a little bit scared.” I respondedHe patted my shoulder and said softly, “I understand but there is not much to worry about. My father is going to understand today that I was properly trained for th
"Are you ready?" Richard asked.I’ve been a soldier’s daughter my whole life, Richard, I said with determination, my eyes meeting his with a newfound steel. It’s time I started acting like the commander. Richard smiled once again, and planted a light kiss on my forehead. “Then let’s go”.The Hall
Miller looked around the shop. His eyes lingered on the discarded walking stick, then on a smear of red on the edge of a mahogany table. He walked over to it, touched it with a gloved finger, and looked back at Bonny. The silence stretched, thin and brittle."Seems like a lot of excitement for a Tu







