When Jenett went back to the sitting room, Karen Shapiro was walking around the sitting room, touching the furniture and laughing at the pictures of Brown as a child. There was also a picture of Gabriel Darius, and as she touched the picture, Jenett could see the waves of emotions wash over her face time and time again. She turned as soon as she acknowledged their presence, then grinned at Brown. Jenett Darius swallowed uncomfortably, then averted her eyes, fixating her eyes at the tiled floor instead of looking into Karen Shapiro's cold eyes. The floor was definitely way comfortable to look at. Karen Shapiro's eyes seemed to suck you in, reminding you of your promises,reminding you of your loyalty to her. Jenett Darius was scared of Karen, but she knew she had to be brave. She had to be strong, at least for her son. She had to find and gather whatever strength she had for her son, Brown. “Well, if it isn't the great Brown Darius. You've changed a lot, I can see that life ha

Karen Shapiro drove her car, smiling at Gonzalez in the backseat. Her mind was racing. Since leaving Jenett's house, she had found herself thinking. She wanted to box Mark Darius into a corner. She still had feelings for him, and hence she didn't want to kill him. Now, she was focusing solely on what had brought her into the cat and dog chase in the first place, which was the company that she was sure rightfully belonged to her. She wanted to make Mark Darius sweat. She wanted to make him know what it felt like to be hunted. She was the hunter, and he was the hunted. She was the predator, and he was the prey. She wanted to make sure that he regretted ever crossing her path or even playing games with her. “What are you going to do with them, Karen?” It was Gonzalez's booming baritone. Whenever he spoke to her, she found out that he smiled more. But she had always pretended not to notice. She wanted their relationship to remain formal, afterall she was the one taking care of thei

Karen's orders had been clear as day. His job was to go in, scare Farida Atticus and then return to the hotel where she was to meet him. But Brown Darius didn't want to scare her. He was angry. He was angry at the world because everybody seemed to have a tongue. He was angry at the world because nobody knew what he had gone through, and nobody cared. He was angry at the world because he knew that nobody cared about his journey, about how far he had come. There were people who had tongues everywhere, people that didn't even know the gift that they had. People who didn't know how lucky they were. That was why he was angry at the world. That was why he didn't just want to scare Farida Atticus, he wanted to injure her. He wanted her to also feel his pain, he wanted her to also feel the pain that he had felt that night at the hospital after Scar had cut his tongue. When Karen Shapiro had shown him the picture of a battered Scar, he hadn't known what to feel. He knew the story was

“He wrote that Mark had to do what he was supposed to do in order for me to see Atticus again. He also wrote something about you taking important steps to get Atticus back. What are those important steps, Mark? Look at me!” But Mark Darius couldn't look her in the eye. Karen Shapiro wasn't only having the upper hand, she was tormenting and torturing those that cared for him and loved him as well. Karen Shapiro was taking her game to the highest level, and she was daring him to play. He was ashamed, because he knew that truly, the ball was in his court. For him to rescue Atticus, he had to act according to Karen Shapiro's wishes. He had to do as she said. “What are the steps, Mark?” Steeling himself for what was going to come next, he frowned, knowing that in as much as he loved her, he also wanted her to see his own perspective, and hear his own side of the story. “She sent me a red box yesterday, Farida. She said I should come to the bar next Friday to discuss how we could

When Mark Darius left his bed that Friday morning, he knew why he felt sick and why his body felt weirdly heavy. It had been at the back of his mind for days, the fact that the day had come when he was supposed to meet with Karen Shapiro. He couldn't believe it, that even though he had been okay a few weeks ago, he was far from being okay at the moment. His life was a mess, and for days, he hadn't been able to make it to his office, finding excuses to make up for not being there. He was supposed to meet Karen Shapiro in the Splendid bar by evening time, and he decided to visit Farida in her office that afternoon. The fact that she was still going to work despite what had happened told him of the strength of her character. She was strong, she was brave. The fact that she had also decided to take his advice not to go to the police was soothing. It meant that he could settle the matter without involving the eyes of the police, and endangering Atticus or Farida in any way. When he