My eyes widened as I opened the text and read the words over and over, a triumphant smile making its way out of my mouth. Mom: Send proof that you have the money to help your mother out. I’ll decide when and how for you to get the money to us after that. Cash only. “I still don’t know if you’re excited or just completely horrified.” I jumped at the sound of Damien’s voice, as I had forgotten that he was there with me. “I just got a text from the people who took my mom away, look.” I showed the phone to him and waited for his eyes to scan the phone before he handed it back to me with an understanding nod. “We better get into action as soon as possible. People like this rarely trust others, and I’m sure he probably thinks that you’re only trying to deceive him. I’ll make a call to the bank and get the money so that we can show them that we’re serious about this.” I stared at him, partly shocked that he wasn’t fazed by the amount of money we were suppos

“It’s so refreshing to see you for two whole days in a row, don’t you think?” Katarina laughed as she carelessly flung her arms around Damien’s neck in a loud display. “It feels just like old times, this rare sight.” “Alright, Katarina,” Damien said, pulling away from the hug and taking her hands off. “I’m sure you’ve met my fiancée, Lauren.” “Ah, yes!” Katrina exclaimed. “The one who’s old enough to drink, or so she claims. The entire family is just dying to meet you.” “Why are you here?” Damien asked as she walked with us down the long hallway. As if he could sense the tension I felt, he took my hand and made small, soothing circles on the back of my hand to silently assure me that it would be okay. “Last I checked, I was told that it would be a family-only gathering.” “I’m almost like family to you, Damien. It’s quite insulting that you don’t see me that way. Your sister invited me, anyway,” she replied in her defence. At the sound of that,

I didn’t know what to feel as I watched Shirley and Conrad celebrate that he had just given her a ring and asked her to marry him. I felt a gentle squeeze on my knee, reminding me that Damien was still sitting beside me. “If you want to leave, we can stand up and make an excuse,” he whispered in my ear, but that was the last thing I wanted to do. It would be an admission of defeat, and I had to get used to the fact that Conrad was never going to regret what he did, and neither was Shirley. “It’s fine,” I assured him, turning back to the couple as everyone still cheered and congratulated them so that I could tell them with a smile, “Congratulation, you two.” “Thank you,” Shirley answered for them as she looked at the ring on her finger and made a squealing sound, hugging Conrad once again. “It looks like we have two weddings to plan. Which one do you think is coming sooner?” Deirdre asked nobody in particular, looking around the table and waiti

I stared at detective Spencer for almost a full minute before I could gather enough strength to speak. It was one thing for his family to not approve of the relationship I had with Damien, but a whole detective who barely knew the happenings inside of Damien’s life telling me that was something I had to be cautious about. “I don’t understand. If there’s something you think I should know before going through with this marriage, you need to tell me. You’re a cop, so it would be on you if you hid something that could possibly be a danger to me,” I reminded him, glaring as if that would intimidate him into vomiting every answer I needed. “Let me ask you one thing, and I need you to be honest with me,” he said, and I nodded. I wasn’t even sure that I would be able to lie to a detective without getting caught out. “Do you love him? Are you here because you’re in love with him, or is there something else involved that you both don’t want anyone to know?” he asked.

“What are you doing with that?!” I exclaimed, attempting to make my way towards the door and run for my life if it came down to it. “Relax, Lauren. I’m not going to hurt you if that’s what you think,” he chuckled lightly, pointing the gun away from my direction but still scaring me with it anyway. I didn’t even get to ask why he would have a gun before figuring the answer out by myself – he had the money to get something like that, legally or illegally. “You’re not going to attempt to shoot those people, are you? You do know that it’s not just one person, right?” I asked, starting to regret letting him know that this was about my mother. His getting a gun prepared was a recipe for disaster that I didn’t want to know the taste of. “I’m going to drive you all the way and pretend to be a taxi driver. I’ll drive away, but I’ll scope out the area and find somewhere close enough but not too close,” he suggested. “You can’t do that,” I disagreed with a shak