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From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 119. The Decision
"There is absolutely no way that I am getting married to Chris." Ivy refused vehemently. "What? Why not? Aren't you two friends?""Maybe, we might be. But marriage is not in our journey.""How would you know? I say we give him a trial.""We? You're not the one who's going to live with him. Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do but I don't need help in choosing a new husband. I'm vey much satisfied with the one I have at the moment.""Bianca, don't be like this. You should know I would never suggest him if he was a bad person.""No actually, I don't know!" Ivy yelled out in frustration. "Listen, I get that you're tying to act all motherly and stuff, but not in this aspect. Please." Thinking she might have been too harsh, Ivy lowered her voice and added. "I really appreciate you looking out for me, really I do. It's just that Chris and I can't be together. It can't be possible in a million years.""And where is this husband you claim to have?" Sarah had a slight frown on her face
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 120. The Theory
"Mr Chris, I think you need to calm down with her. She's not going to fall for you if you keep speaking to her so harshly –""Isn't that why you're here?!! Your job as a mother is to convince her, so if you can't even do that, then what good are you?!""I'm sorry sir, it's not my fault. It's that friend of hers that keeps poisoning her mind.""Friend?" Chris frowned, he didn't know of any friend with Ivy. "Yes sir. That Rachel girl that keeps coming here." Sarah said. "Rachel?" What game was she playing at? Chris knew that was the fake name Cassie was using, and he had been suspecting her ever since she stopped visiting his house and she didn't report how things were going with Ivy anymore. The last time they spoke, she said he hired her to get between Ivy and Van, and since Van was no longer in the picture, she had no business with him. "Yes sir.""I'll deal with her. You do your job better, or else!" He stormed out of the kitchen, using the back entrance to prevent Ivy from seein
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 121. The Meeting
"Good morning everyone," Ivy had been planning on how she was going to tell them that she was leaving, but even after taking the whole night to come up with a way, she still had nothing. So she just decided to say whatever came to her mind. "Good morning dear, did you sleep well?" As usual, Sarah was the only one who spoke to her. It was like they appointed her to be the spokesperson for the family when they were talking to her. No matter what she said or did, her so called father acted like she was a total stranger. He only interacted with her once in a while and it was casual things. Like good morning or goodnight. And sometimes just a nod to answer her questions. She was sure Rosie hated her, she never spoke to her or even looked at her. It was like she didn't exist to her. Then Laura was distant, but s canhe still talked to her sometimes. Then, ever since Ivy promised to leave, she had been a bit more friendly with her. It was only their mother, Sarah, who had ensued the role
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 122. Reconciliation
Ivy thought Sarah would break down in tears or at least look heartbroken by her statement, but none of that happened. Instead she frowned even deeper and slapped her hard on the cheek. She eyed Ivy with an intense hate-filled glare, then she took the glass from the stand and walked out of her room. Ivy sat on the bed, cradling her cheek that had turned red from the impact. Never had her mother or grandmother hit her before, no matter what she said or did, she would always just scold her, then they'd make up later. If you had just been reunited with your long lost daughter, would you lay your hand on her just days after she returns? Definitely not. She had gotten her answer. Ivy spent the rest of the day up in her room, she didn't even go down to eat with them. Once it was evening, she carried her already packed bag and headed downstairs. Sarah seemed to be having a heated conversation with her husband but Ivy acted like she didn't see either of them.When she got to the front do
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 123. Payback Time
"Your friend is missing, what are you going to do about that?"Sandra knew that Ivy had left the Millers, Chris called her in the middle of the night and was whining about it. "So? Weren't you supposed to keep an eye on her? What does her disappeance have to do with me?""Don't you think Mr Chris might think it's your fault?""Oh? And why would he think that? Unless a certain bitch told him that I kept instigating her to leave the house." Chris had also told her that Sarah was constantly reporting her, he said she kept demanding that he punish her. Little did she know that Chris didn't believe a word she said. Since Sandra was the one who recommended them, Chris was telling her out of concern that they might plan on betraying her. "Did you just call your mother a bitch? How dare you!""Oh please Sarah, am I wrong? Isn't that what you are? A psychotic bitch who would do anything for money. And what, my mother? You stopped being my mother— and a good mother, even- ever since that day.
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 124. Set Up
Ivy felt her blood boil, after everything she had done to them, how and why would Van give her his number again?"Hey babe, when can I see you? We need to talk." She read the message out loud. "From Cynthia.""What?""Van, what the hell? After everything, your still in contact with her? Why on earth would you give her your phone number?""I swear I didn't. I have no idea how she got it.""How am I supposed to believe you? Van, so much has happened between you two.""Ivy, please. I swear to you.""How are you going to prove that you're telling the truth?""You can block her, go ahead. Check my phone, you won't find any text or call history between us."Ivy didn't want to doubt Van but her heart wasn't sure anymore. The only thing that was certain to her was the fact that she loved him, and love wasn't enough. Trust was also needed. She trusted Van, but it had its limits. "If you don't believe me, why don't we get a confession out of her ourselves?""What? How?""She wants to meet up
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 125. Promise Of Love
Seeing Van again after a while made her heart flutter, he was really handsome. That was probably the reason she refused to lose him. Men like him were almost never easy to find. She stalled for a few minutes, waiting for her companions to show up. Her plan was simple, meet Van in a private place. Wait until the men she hired were around. Then accuse him of rape. Surely Van would never want to go to jail, and that way, they would be able to work out some kind of compromise. When she heard the knock on the door, it signalled that they had arrived, and it was time for her to do her part. She had intentionally worn light clothes that would be easy to rip apart. "Help! Anyone please!" She cried out. Van stared at her with obvious shock on his face and Cynthia couldn't help but to smile. There was no way he was getting out of this one. Her companions finally broke the lock on the door, forcing it open. "What the hell is going on here?!" Ralph, her friend and former driver demanded.
From Prison Bars To Gold Bars. 126. She's Back
"Good morning Sandra."Sandra looked up from her phone and stared at the person in front of her. "I thought you already crawled under a rock to die or something.""I'm not going to let your mean words get to me. That's not why I'm here, I have a proposal for you." Cynthia sat on the chair opposite Sandra. "Did I ask you to seat?" An annoyed frown formed on her face. "You know Cynthia, you can really be dimwitted sometimes. I'm sure I made myself pretty clear the last time we saw, I want nothing to do with you. Is that too hard to understand?""Yes Sandra, it is. Even if you say you never loved me, it doesn't change the fact that you and I had something, something special.""To you, or to me?""Sandra, I know you're intentionally being mean to me because of Chris -"Sandra scoffed. "Because of Chris? Please, why the hell would I have to change who I am for that scum bag? What, are you afraid of him? Well it's not surprising, you are a big loser so it's only natural for the average per
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186. The Fire
When Ivy heard the first round of gunshots, she felt like her heart had stopped. A cold, paralyzing dread wrapped itself around her chest, making it hard to breathe. She knew she was supposed to run or at least try to hide, but her fear kept her rooted in place, her legs frozen, her mind screaming but her body refusing to respond.She saw Anae fall—her body jerking back with the impact, then crumpling lifelessly to the ground. Blood spread out beneath her like ink on paper. Ivy wanted to scream, to run to her, to do something—anything—but her limbs betrayed her. Tears streamed down her cheeks, silent and hot, blurring her vision. Her entire body trembled as the horror unfolded before her.She was afraid—more afraid than she had ever been. She had always known the risks, knew that pushing for the truth, for answers, would make her enemies among the higher-ups. But she had never truly considered what the consequences might look like. Not like this. Not in gunfire and bloodshed. Not in A
185. Set Up
It was obvious Anae was skeptical about helping them—Van could see it in her eyes, in the stiffness in her shoulders, in the way her fingers hovered near the concealed blade on her hip. Maybe she thought they’d been sent by the company to find out what she knew—and eliminate her, once and for all.But something about Van made her hesitate. Something about the way he stood, not too close, not too far. The way he spoke—not pushing, not demanding. And his eyes… they didn’t carry the coldness of a corporate enforcer. They held a kind of warmth Anae hadn’t seen in a long time. It made her want to trust him, even if her instincts screamed otherwise.Not only was he attractive—his perfectly lined jaw, the softness of his expression, the kind of eyes that looked like they'd seen too much—but he also had a way with words. He didn’t speak like someone trying to convince her. He spoke like someone who understood. After being isolated from people for so long, Anae found herself aching to feel hum
184. Anae II
The road to Albany was long and uneventful, and the silence in the car grew heavier with every mile they drove. Ivy couldn’t stop thinking about the name Anae Voss. There was something haunting about it—sharp and distant, like a forgotten memory trying to claw its way back.They arrived on the edge of the city just after ten AM, when the streets had started coming alive slowly. Van had a location: a converted warehouse on the outskirts, near the old rail yards. The neighborhood looked half-forgotten—graffiti-covered brick walls, boarded-up storefronts, old industrial fences rusting under the weight of years.“She's in there?” Ivy asked, eyeing the building.“She was, forty-eight hours ago,” Van said. “No guarantees. But according to the result of the extensive research we did, someone’s living off-grid inside.”Elias shifted uncomfortably. “She won’t like being found.”“Then let’s not give her a reason to shoot first,” Ivy muttered.They approached cautiously, parking a block away and
183. Anae
The hours crawled by.The city outside Van’s office never really slept, but up here on the twelfth floor, it felt like time was holding its breath. The room had settled into a heavy, anxious quiet. Van worked at one of his monitors, his face lit in ghostly blue. Ivy sat near Elias, trying to keep her mind from spiraling.She kept thinking about that moment in the car, the way the SUV had clung to their tail like a shadow. She thought about her aunt, about what might have happened if they hadn’t realized they were being followed. And she kept hearing Van’s words in her head:You have to assume they might have weapons.She hadn’t told her aunt anything. And now she couldn’t. Not until she knew it was safe. If it would ever be safe again.Elias had dozed off briefly, but his sleep was shallow and restless. He stirred often, his lips moving with unheard words. Ivy watched him, her heart aching. He looked younger like this. Softer. The fear and guilt stripped away for just a moment.Van br
182. More Secrets
“What?” Ivy thought she didn't hear him correctly. “It's okay. It's safe.” That was the only explanation he gave as he grabbed his jacket and headed out. They drove down the highway for a while before he swirled off to a street that Ivy had never been to. She thought about about saying something to lighten up the mood but eventually decided against it. They drove through the unfamiliar neighborhood for about thirty minutes before he parked in front of a simple looking building. On the door of the building, a ‘keep away’ sign was hanged, but of course it didn't keep Van from pushing the foor open. It was stark, utilitarian, but something about it felt like a bunker. A safe haven in a war zone.The three of them walked in, with Van leading. Seated on the couch was a dark skinned man with a cigarette in his mouth. “You weren’t followed?” he asked immediately.“I don’t think so,” Van said. “I was very careful on the way.”The man nodded, ushering them inside. “Lock the door behind
181. A Mafia Lord?
The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, revealing a dimly lit corridor lined with glass-walled offices. Van’s was at the end, a deep black door keeping the contents behind it a mystery. Elias was the one who knocked on the door and when Ivy saw the person who opened it, her face contorted into a frown. The lady standing before her was dressed in a black fitted mini dress that outlined the curves and edges of her body well. In Ivy's opinion, the dress was much too short and too revealing to wear to work, so she concluded that she wasn't a staff. “Are you coming in?” She asked and Ivy realized she had been staring. Smiling politely, she walked into the large office with Elias following right behind her. It didn't take long before she spotted Van, he stood by window with his back turned to them. Even without seeing his face, it wasn't hard to tell that Van was a very attractive man. He was on the phone, and judging by the way he was waving his arm around, Ivy suspected that h
180. The Chase
The headlights behind them hadn’t wavered for miles. Ivy tightened her grip on the steering wheel, trying to keep her breathing steady as she turned onto a quieter side street. The car behind them turned too. Her heart skipped. Once could be coincidence. Twice… She stole a glance at the rearview mirror. The vehicle maintained a steady distance, close enough to keep them in sight, far enough not to alarm casual onlookers.“Elias, I think we’re being followed,” she said quietly. Elias immediately snapped his head toward her. “What?”“I think they’ve been on us since the main highway. I tried to shake them a few turns back, but they’re still there.” she explained. His face drained of color. He ran a hand through his hair, fingers trembling. “It’s them. It has to be. Ivy, if they catch us—”“They won’t,” she said firmly, although her voice cracked on the last word. She pulled the car over and let a black SUV speed past—only to have it slow down a block ahead and pull over too. Confirmed
179. Missing
Moses sat in his office, the steady ticking of the antique clock on the wall matching the rhythm of his thoughts. He stared at the documents sprawled across his desk, none of which made any sense anymore. The Hartley meeting had been a disaster—he didn't expect things to escalate that much. But he wasn't even botherd that much by it, what he was more concerned about was the fact that since that day, Bianca had disappeared from his life like a ghost retreating into the shadows.He hadn’t seen her. He hadn’t heard from her. Not a call. Not a text. Not even one of those curt voice notes she used to send when she was annoyed with him but still too fond to stay silent. The silence was deafening, and more than anything, it was suspicious.Bianca’s parents, especially her mother, were not ones to sit back and allow things to fall apart without putting up a fight. If her mother hadn't already tried to "talk sense into her,"as she would put it,then the world had surely turned upside down."Wha
178. Elias
Flashback Two years earlier.The rain had been relentless that night—cold, insistent, and loud enough to mask the sound of approaching footsteps.Elias Grant stood alone in his office at JK Enterprises, the screen of his laptop casting a soft glow across his face. Financial reports, transaction logs, security footage timestamps—all of it laid bare in front of him. He had finally seen enough.He had been CFO for six years. Long enough to earn the family's trust, long enough to know which stones not to turn. But curiosity was a dangerous thing.Especially in a family like the Wilsons.The numbers hadn’t added up for months. Offshore payments disguised as consulting fees. A Cayman shell company with a fake board. Richard Wilson’s name never appeared directly—but his fingerprints were all over the transactions.Elias had started to put together a private dossier. He never told Ivy. Not yet. She was too close, too vulnerable. And he didn’t trust the board—or anyone else.That night, he co
