Marie stood up and led Bethany through the house, down a hallway that opened up a door leading to the lawn laid out outside. Bethany could see a large backyard with a swing set and a small sandbox. And there, in the middle of the yard, was her daughter. The sight of her nearly brought Bethany to her knees. Her daughter, her little girl, was sitting on the grass, playing with a toy horse, completely unaware of the turmoil unfolding around her. She looked so happy, so content, and that only made Bethany’s heart ache more. As she approached, her daughter looked up, her face lighting up in recognition. “Mommy!” she squealed, dropping the toy and running toward Bethany with outstretched arms. Bethany’s heart broke and healed in the same instant as she carried her daughter up in her arms, holding her tightly as if letting go would mean losing her forever. She could feel the warmth of her little body, against her, it was a moment she never want to let go of. If she could freeze i
William D’Cruz can be seen pacing about in his office, looking very restless for someone of his caliber. He clenched his fists and jaw in determination. It had been months, years even, of failed attempts to bring down his brother. Everything he had ever done was leading back to one truth; his brother, Terrence Bentley, was untouchable, his company Blue Net Group was untouchable. The company had become an impregnable fortress, its walls fortified by layers of security and a network of allies who owed Terrence everything. But William D'Cruz was far from defeated, he felt he must find his way to make sure everything he had worked so hard for must come to pass. He threw himself into his chair, opened his laptop, and began scrolling through a series of encrypted files. His fingers then scrolled and stopped over a document labeled 'Plan Disfunction'.He had created dozens of these so called ‘plans’ and each one had ended in disaster in other words, a dead end. Terrence had buil
William D'Cruz lowered the gun but didn't let down his guard. "You’re lucky I didn't put a bullet in you," he muttered. "What are you doing here at this hour?" Thomas Miller closed the door quickly, locking it behind him. "We have a problem," he said, his voice barely a whisper. "Your brother… he knows everything. I don't know how, but he’s watching every move you make. I think he has someone on the inside, someone who tipped him off." William’s eyes narrowed. "Inside where? My team is airtight. No one would risk crossing me like that." Thomas Miller shook his head, swallowing nervously. "Not your team, his. Someone inside Blue Net itself, feeding him intel on anyone who tries to bring him down. You’re not the only one who’s tried, William. But Terrence has… ways of dealing with people who come too close." William D'Cruz felt a chill run down his spine. "What are you saying?" Thomas Miller ’s voice defeated, “He calls them his 'shadow operatives.' They’re people you’d nev
Two nights later, William D'Cruz found himself in the corner of a lounge, holding a drink as he watched bodyguards and bouncers patrolling, other people walked in and out of the bar. His eyes never left the door, finally after what seemed like an eternity, the one he was waiting for stood in front of him, Anna Kim. She entered with care as she was scared of being seen there by someone she dreads, Terrence Bentley or his men. So her eyes kept sweeping through the entire room before she took another step. William D'Cruz waited a bit and then approached her, making his movements casual, almost accidental. He slid onto the stool beside her, giving a slight nod. "Anna Kim," he greeted smoothly. "Interesting choice of place." She stiffened but didn’t turn to look at him. "Who are you?" "Just someone with an offer," he replied, his voice low but confident. "Someone who knows what it feels like to feel trapped in Terrence’s world." Anna Kim’s expression wavered, but she kept h
Few days later Anna Kim swinged into action, she was scared but she felt this was the only way to gain her freedom, to be free of her terrific boss (Terrence Bentley). Over the next several days, Anna Kim worked carefully and quietly, sneaking around, doing her best by slipping bits of information to William D'Cruz when she could one at a time. Although she knew this was betrayal and that if she was caught, it won't be so easy to come out of it. So whenever she passed the smallest of details to William and every time she entered Terrence’s office, her heart raced, terrified that he would see through her lying face and just shoot her down right where she stood. But then William has assured her that they would be very careful and that Terrence’s watchful eyes wouldn’t catch on. Even after such assurances from him, she was still filled with anxiety that whenever she stood in front of her boss, she became clumsy. But then every thief eventually gets caught and unfortunately for
The next day, early morning, as the sun casts its first light, Terrence Bentley was very much awake, he needed to do things, especially with his employees being all nosy and his most trusted worker betrayed him for his brother, he needed to be up and running and to make sure he doesn't overlook any details. A few hours later, he was sitting in his office, his back against the wall of windows that overlooked the Blue Net headquarters. He was very much lost in thought, until a knock was heard at the door, it brought him back to reality. "Come in," he called, The door opened, and his son, Logan Hudson Bentley, walked in looking bright and sharp. Logan was very ambitious and determined, even cold much to Terrence's satisfaction and of course loyal, it is his son after all. Logan had recently been promoted within Blue Net’s security division and had proven himself capable of handling even the most delicate issues that came with the family empire. Logan looked at his father, s
In the basement of where has turned to her prison beneath the headquarters of Blue Net Group in Amsterdam Netherlands, Anna Kim sat on the cold concrete floor, the dim glow of a lightbulb was her only source of light. There was nothing to prevent the cold as she was shivering from it. Her little hope of William coming to save her began to waver at each passing hour. She hadn’t seen another soul since they had thrown her in there, but she knew Terrence’s eyes were on her, there was no place his eyes couldn't reach. As she sat there in silence, the heavy steel door creaked open, and Logan walked in, his tall figure strodded gently in there. He looked down at her, his eyes fixed on her and was filled with a mixture of pity and disdain. “Anna," he greeted, his tone was quite gentle; "How has your stay been?" She glared up at him, refusing to let him see the fear in her eyes so she uttered; "I know why you’re here, Logan. You want me to turn against William. But it won’t happen.
Logan’s eyes narrowed, his tone growing colder. "Stubbornness won’t save you, Anna, the longer you hold out, the worse this will get." But she refused to give them any details, she wasn't going to speak so as not to lose her remaining hope. "I’m not giving you anything, if I say a word I am dead, and I will keep this so that when William comes for me, I will tell him how much I held our little secret.” Logan’s patience snapped, his face twisting with frustration. "You think William actually cares? You think he’s out there, planning some grand rescue for you?" He leaned in and continued; “He’s gone, Anna. He has left you to rot in here because that’s all you are to him, a tool, a means to an end. So stop pretending you’re anything more than that as it's demeaning and it doesn't speak well of you.” "Then why are you so afraid of him?" She blurted out loudly in anger. "If he is as selfish as you say, then why are you so desperate to stop him?" “Logan clenched his hands, he was