“Sean, do something!” Chloe hissed through clenched teeth, wanting to die of mortification.Why do crazy shits like this always happen to her?It wasn't enough that her mother died but now she has to be subjected to listening to her former best friend and her fiancee's former girlfriend stand on the stage and talk shit about them?Urgh, please kill her now.Sean was torn on what to do.On one hand, he didn't want to cause a scene by forcing her off the stage but if he didn't take her off the stage, she might end up giving the media a lot to talk about.Chloe's fingers were curled up in her dress, digging into the soft material.Seeing her like that, his decision was made. This was supposed to be a happy day for both of them…after all she'd been through, Chloe deserved that.Sean stood up, walking towards Amelia intent on taking her off the stage in a none so gently manner of she refused to cooperate.Unfortunately, she saw him coming and was prepared for this scenario. “Stay back!” Sh
Sean whirled around, turning on Amelia. “What the hell is wrong with you?!” He breathed angrily, his hands balling into fists by his side. She batted her lashes innocently, a smug grin on her life. “I have no idea what you're talking about.” Sean walked her toward the nearest wall. “Talk or else I'll squeeze the truth from your windpipe!” “You wouldn't dare…” she looked around, bravado oozing from her pores. “Not while there are cameras rolling anyway.” Sean came to his senses then, knowing she was right. The last they needed was a bad video circulating after what just happened. Punching the wall with his fist close to her head, Sean snarled. “You think you're so fast huh? Guess what? I'm on to you!” “It's funny…after everything, we've been through you're so quick to cast me aside.” Her eyes turned sad, trying to draw him in but he refused. “Cast you aside?!” Sean's tone dripped with disbelief. “I loved you, Amelia! I would have done anything for you had you asked but no… you
Chloe hugged her knees tighter when she heard the crunch of twigs behind her.Well, her solace lasted for so long anyway.Squaring her shoulders, she didn't bother to wipe the tear tracks off her face.It's funny how your entire world can come crashing down in the space of seconds. One moment she was so happy, she thought she would burst from the seams with it, and the next horror like she couldn't comprehend settled in her bones.To think about it, the worst part was Sean sitting there without saying a word.At the end of it all, Chloe knew at the back of her mind that it was a fantasy.Nothing was that simple…not when it came to her.“Chloe, can you hear me?” Sean called out as he neared. “It's me, Sean.”Chloe kept her lips glued shut until he had the decency to appear in front of her. “What took you so long?” she croaked out.Sean hurried to her, kneeling in front of her. “I'm so sorry, I had to fix the mess Amelia caused.”“You mean the mess you caused?” She raised her head to lo
His heart was heavy, Sean beat on the ground, looking for any means possible to assuage the pain he felt. One that was rapidly spreading with every minute that passed by in which Chloe was not by his side. Sean wanted to blame everyone. Moriah, Amelia, and even Caesar but ultimately he knew that they were just placeholders. How to fix this? Chloe was right. There was a 50 percent chance that Amelia's baby belonged to him- even though he hoped not- and if that was true, what does that mean for his relationship? As it stands, he might be forced to choose between them. Fucking hell! “Well, well, well. Look who's lost everything in a matter of seconds.” Clement's annoying cackle pierced Sean's thoughts. Sinking his fingers deep into the earth, Sean debated on ignoring him. “But then again, that's what being cocky will get you.” Clement droned on, puffing his chest as he looked at the pathetic excuse of a brother who was bawling his eyes out because of a woman. “It's sad really. T
Chloe wrapped her hands around her body, shaking badly.She managed to avoid being seen by people around, sneaking out to flag down a taxi.The driver looked her over before stopping. That is when she took a good look at her outfit. Grass stains edged the white lace and mud-stained her feet. From the reflection of the car window, Chloe saw twigs in her hair and how scattered it was.Trying to smooth it down, Chloe ratted out her address and got into the car.The cab driver kept glancing at her through the rearview mirror but Chloe ignored it, fluffing her hair around her face to hide it.When he pulled up near the apartment, Chloe caught sight of her sister, Maeve pacing up and down.Meanwhile, Chloe flew into her sister's arms, wrapping her hands around her neck and hugging her tightly. “Where were you?!” Maeve moved back, starting at her sister, relief the size of a well in her chest. “I was looking all over you, I thought something had happened!”Immediately, she flew out of the c
If there was any other word to describe how he felt apart from devasted, Sean would have discovered it by now.As it stands, not only has he lost the claim to the CEO position but he's also lost the best thing that has happened to him in a while.Chloe.She refused to pick up his calls so that he could at least explain his side of the story to her. It wasn't until he got back to the hall, that he found out that her purse, with her phone included, was abandoned there.Her sister, Maeve was also a no-go area. At least, she had the decency to tell him to his face.Chloe just fell off the face of the earth.No social media, no contact. It was scary in a way but that gave Sean more time to focus his energy on important things.Now that his head was clearer, he took his time counting down the days he last laid with Amelia.According to his calculations, she must be fatter than she says she was, that's if the child is his.Confused and a walking shell of his former self, Sean took advice fr
Magnus held the last Cuban cigarette he had in between his fingers, parked on the other side of the road.The tip was lit, smoke billowing from its ends. Magnus took a deep breath, trapping the nicotine in his lungs for some seconds before he let it out.A cloud of smoke flowed from his mouth, temporarily obscuring his vision.He waited in his car, waiting for anyThe thing about being a PI is that it will reach you with patience. Getting people to reveal their deep, dark secret isn't easy. It takes time and with lots of patience, you can wear them out eventually discovering their hidden secrets.Sean Lambert’s money was sitting pretty in his account and any moment from now, the man himself would be calling to request an update.The bad part is, that Amelia Cruz was way smarter than Magnus gave her credit.For the past week, she'd been careful not to visit any suspicious places or talk to suspicious people.Taking the route that led to her house, Magnus parked several feet away, a bin
Two days ago….(Before the visit to Chloe's home)Moriah kept tapping her pencil against her mug, deep in thought.Her gaze darted towards the clock as she checked the time. He was late.She knew it was a deliberate attempt to make her wait and get more antsy.Fucking Clement!The door opened and the man he was thinking about walked in, his face all smug.“Took your sweet time getting here, didn't you?” She spoke up, stopping the pen. “Well, you know what they say, Mother, beauty takes time,” Clement smirked, taking a seat in front of her.“Really? So does scheming and plotting against your brother.” Moriah retorted. Anger bubbled up in her lungs but she managed to restrain it. “How could you, Clement?”“Is this why you called me here?” He had a bored look on his face but Moriah knew that it was just a front to mask his true feelings. “To whine about your favorite son?”The pen in her hands snapped due to the force she applied on it but Moriah calmly drew her hand back, adopting a ca
“So you’re going to do the wedding before you start to show? Why not do it after?” Maeve asked as they lay upside down on the couch. She had a permanent smile on her face these days and Amber liked to joke that she was receiving great sex from Ivan. They had been under the covers for way too long and finally announced their relationship over Sean’s takeover dinner last week, of course none of them were surprised even Mrs Lambert had teased them about it. Sean had passed all the requirements and Clement was serving Jail term for the next two years. Sean knew if he came out he would seek revenge again but he was going to gloat in the beauty of having a wife with him, at the end of the takeover night when he was crowned CEO, he went down on one knee and proposed to Chloe.“Sean wants it soon,” Chloe answered, fidgeting with her sheets.“Sean wants it or you want it? You don’t listen to what he says and he does all you ask!” Amber retorted and they laughed.“I don’t think there’s any ne
The beep from the EKG monitor was the only sound present in the room. Sean had sat just as he was seated throughout the night, holding Chloe’s hands as she received the treatment, the doctors had done a mini surgery and removed the bullet. He also cleaned up the injury and she was still unconscious, Chloe’s eyes had only fluttered open once in the night and the only thing she had said was “Sean” and she went back to sleep.“Are you sure I shouldn’t switch with you? You’ve been keeping watch throughout the night.” Maeve asked him her concern was clear in her eyes. Sean scoffed and shook his head.“No. This is my fault, all of it is my fault and now she is probably fighting for her life.” Maeve sighed. “She's not fighting for her life. The doctor said she’s safe, all that’s left is for her to receive proper treatment. Allow the nurse to stitch up your wounds and let me spend time with my sister.”Her final words did the trick, Sean nodded and stood up, pushing back the chair. “If she
“Your stupid boyfriend is here! How did he locate us?” Drake panicked as the police officer’s voice sounded from the speaker again. He didn’t know how to act or what to say.“Don’t ask me” Chloe muttered under her breath, feeling her chest bustling with emotions, she was finally going to be away from the shackles of captors and ropes!“You have bad taste in men.” He concluded and she raised an amused brow as he continued. “Listen to me, just agree that you wanted to stay away, that way nobody gets hurt. Not you, not me.” Chloe pretended to be lost in thought. A few seconds before her head snapped up and she looked at him.“No, I won’t be doing that, I'd rather die than let you go scot free and I mean that in every possible way.” She snapped at him and immediately he pulled out a knife again and wrapped his left hand around her neck, he placed the knife on her neck and led them downstairs, Chloe groaned in his hands, acting up to hide this year that she felt when he pressed the knife a
Sean would remember to give Amber a hug when next he saw her because apparently, she had the foresight to dial 911 and halfway through their pummeling, the cops showed up. The whole place was surrounded, escaping was out of the plan, Clement wanted nothing but to pluck out his brother's eyes but the cops had their own plan which involved he conflict ending peacefully.Everyone of them including Maeve and Amber were placed in the vehicle and driven off to the station. Only Drake and Chloe were not there which made pissed Sean off especially when he had his eyes on her less done twenty minutes ago.His first instinct had been to drag her out of his arms but holding on to Camille had made that impossible. Camille now sat at the corner of the van looking out the window wondering how she had managed to end up in this exact place again. Maeve was all cuddled up on Ivan in a cozy position, and he made a mental note to ask Ivan what was going on between them later.“Amber,” he muttered an
Waiting for Clement didn’t take long, he came forty minutes later, the sound of his car was the first thing they heard and it was Drake who brought their attention to it. Amber, Maeve and Ivan immediately left, then Sean followed with Camille and stood behind the large banister at the living room exit, hiding his view.Sean's heart was racing at a mile per minute and he prayed that nothing went wrong so they were able to get Chloe. Camille wanted to say something but he pressed his hand over her lips firmly. “If this goes wrong because of you, trust me I will invent ten thousand ways to slowly kill you, so shut up!” He hissed.“If you don’t have something reasonable to say then I swear I will shoot you right here right now” Clement growled as he walked over to where Drake stood with Chloe, he bent toward her and held her chin. “Hello Chloe, I trust they’ve been treating you poorly.” “You don't need to worry about me, it seems you have bigger problems,” she said to him, and he chuckle
The gun remained on Drake's head and the knife remained on Chloe’s neck as the three of them walked into the building again. If Ivan knew better he would have taken the risk and fought her out of Drake's hands, but who was going to believe a man hardened by life’s many struggles would hesitate to cut his prisoner's neck wide open. The knife to her neck was causing Drake to feel sick in the stomach but his fate would be much worse if he let her go without Clement’s consent. “We’re in here!” Maeve called shakily from what looked like it used to be the living room of the mansion, when the three of them came into full view and Ivan saw that Sean had Camille he dropped his weapon. “What in the hell happened here?” He gasped, subconsciously shielding Maeve from any stray bullets that may be fired.“Sean, Maeve!” Chloe cried out loud, all her emotions concentrated into that one word. She wanted to say more and even run into all their arms but Drake placed his palm over her mouth. Ivan watc
Their plan was in motion and the girls had proved to be more useful than not. Sean had suggested Trevor stay back while the rest of them spread out in Aviline, a slim in downtown New York.It was a spot where the low or the lower class lived, just like Trevor had described.The young man was more useful than not and Sean was going to make sure he fulfilled his promise, but first…“Have you texted Clement?” Sean asked Ivan and he nodded, in response, bringing out the phone to show him the text.Amber and Maeve were standing a few feet away from them, lost in their own discussion. It was going to surprise Chloe to come out and see that her sister had made a friend in Amber who she originally hated a lot.Ivan flashed the phone in front of him reading the chat out loud.“Yes, you said ‘Chloe is missing, have you heard anything from anywhere that suggests foul play?’” “Well I guess that’s convincing enough. Andrea is back in the house as back up. She will call the cops if we don’t show up
“If you honestly say a word, I’ll stuff my hands in your mouth.” Dufus threatened and she was quiet, she had lost strength and zeal, her despair was crawling over her and she wondered how long this torture would have to go on for.After Drake left, he didn't come back and instead they sent this Dufus guy to take over because she hadn't seen him since then almost like Drake couldn't stand the sight of her.From the beats and pieces of conversations that she heard she realized that she was being moved, as they handled her roughly, pushing against her as she got in the car, shoving her roughly into the new space before pulling off a blindfold.This new place that they took her to was even worse than the last, dank corners with rusted irons scattered about. The smell was horrible and she could see that a section of the ceiling was leaking, leaving a puddle on the floor. The conditions were worse than jail and her heart bubbled with hatred for Clement.If she ever saw him, she would proba
They settled in a corner of the pub, Ivan and Sean on one side and Camille sat pretty opposite, she had the air of someone who felt in charge and her cockiness was enraging Sean.Ivan noticed and patted him on his arms, urging him to remain calm. Ivan leaned forward and pushed one of the beer bottles Fatima had brought, towards her. It was her third bottle.“So, you are here to see your former captor, get a closer look?” Camille asked as she took a large gulp of the lukewarm drink, Sean had taken a bottle and decided he had enough but she was still going at three. It definitely pointed to some kind of celebratory mood.“No actually, we need your help on something,” Ivan told her and Sean watched as his friend delved into an Oscar award-winning act, his face twisting into a concerned one.“Recently, one of our friends went missing, we didn’t know if it was a voluntary ghosting or an actual case so we are being more on the low profile side. She was last seen in this area, I was hoping s