IVAN~•~ Even while far away from her, it was impossible to keep my eyes off her because I did not want to. It was torture being by her side every moment, not knowing if or when she would be snatched by someone. I could only hope that she listened to me and stayed in a place. I made sure I did not go too far from her - or, I did my best to make sure - but I could not keep up for long. Vladimir insisted we walk around the beach and I met all his grandchildren before he let me go. "Where is your lady?" He asked while he put his hand over my shoulder. I merely managed a chuckle and shook my head in silence. I was not about to expose Camilla to more danger than she already was. "You're not with a beautiful woman?! My boy! What has gotten over you these days? You should relax more, Holloway Empire is as big as it gets. You'll do great, your father had faith in you." I knew he did and it was the reason I never wanted to let him down. As we walked down the beach, something in me asked

AUTHOR~•~She had watched from the terrace as the woman got into her husband's car and the driver drove her out of their driveway. She had seen the lady carry along with her a big suitcase. She had seen the look on the woman's face. The pain in her eyes made it evident that she wasn't returning. Sarah smiled to herself as she watched the car run off into a distance, away from her home, away from her family. She did not know what had happened while the woman and Ivan were away, but whatever it was, it had caused Ivan to return to his senses. Sarah turned around and found her father standing at the foot of the door. He had a tray of coffee and fresh toast in his hands. Sarah swallowed hard. She knew how her father could be when he caught her slacking. "What are you trying to do? Waste our time?" He growled. Sarah maintained her remorseful expression and bowed her head. "No, Papa. It's just…" "Parlami quando ho risolto i problemi, non sprecare il mio tempo mentre li risolvo. Don'

AUTHOR ~•~Elina Washington looked at her phone again for the umpteenth time. She had been expecting a call from a certain stranger, but nothing was coming forth. It had been impossible to get any sleep last night, not without thinking of the hundred possibilities, hundred different things that could have happened; one of them being that he had been caught! Elina shook her head as she rose from the stool in front of her grand piano. She covered her chest with the silk robe of her night dress and paced about the piano room.She had told the man not to call on one condition; that he had failed. But she knew his type of man. Whether he was successful or not, he would have asked for something, even if it was half of the original price. Yet, here she was, confused and scared because she had not heard a word from him.Ding dong. The sound of her doorbell echoed around her house. She turned in the direction of the metal door of her piano room. She had not been expecting anyone. The man

IVAN ~•~ "Why, hello Ivan!" Sarah called out as she stood in front of me with a small smile on her face. My eyes drifted to the pistol in her right hand before it traveled to her face. To say I was confused and shaken would be a grave understatement.I needed to understand what was happening. I looked around the dimly lit room. There were two huge wooden doors at the front, the room was filled with iron barrels that reeked of petrol, sweat and dust. I found a lighter on top of one of the huge barrels and my eyes widened. Shock came before fear, fear was followed by confusion, and the confusion was accompanied by grave anger. I turned sharply to her, my eyes held a lot of questions, I knew I did not have to voice them out. Sarah shook her head and pulled her gun back into the right pocket of her black leather jacket. My wife had her blonde hair in a messy ponytail, her eyes held an expression I did not quite understand. "Sarah," I managed to speak. She turned her back towards me a

IVAN~•~ Sarah fell to the ground beside her father. I watched as blood oozed out from the back of her hair and formed a small puddle around her. Ian smiled and kissed his teeth as he looked down at me. "Two down, one to go." His voice echoed in my ears as he stepped forward. He trampled upon the dead bodies to get to me. When he stood in front of me, he lowered himself to stare me straight in the eyes. I did not know what I felt at that moment, I did not even know if I felt anything at all.All I wanted to do at that moment was to reach out to my daughter and hold her. The revelation that she was not really mine, to know that nobody had ever been on my side, all of that made me want to die here. Life was no longer worth it. How was I supposed to walk around knowing that everyone I had trusted the most turned out to be traitors in the end? Would I ever come out of this trauma with a clear mind and heart? How was I supposed to ever trust anyone again? Out of everything, what hurt