Lucas's POV He should be dead, Lucas thought as he pried his eyes open. The light in the room was blinding, forcing him to close his eyes instantly.He could feel the plush bed he was lying on and hear the beeping of the machine above his head. He knew he was in the hospital because of the odor in the air, but how? he pondered.He attempted to open his eyes once more, this time as slowly as he could. Lucas could hear distant voices but was drawn towards the source of sound in the room as his eyes focused on the television."The storm yesterday was sudden, as even the weather forecast had not predicted it," the newscaster said.A storm? What happened the day before? He kept asking himself that question. He would not be aware, though, because Elton Ross had shot him.The newscaster read out the news while appearing exhausted. "The west part of the city experienced a total blackout due to the storm," she stated.His eyes scanned the room he was in, taking in the size and his surrounding
Scott's POV"I don’t see why we need to merge with Kai Motors. We are merely claiming that they are better than us and that we cannot make our cars... That’s what the world would think when they hear about this merger!” Helen White said it in a little loud voice."I seriously think you need to think about this decision. It might influence the public image of the company, and we know what losing trust in a corporation could do to a company." She added.As much as Scott Hayes appreciated the woman, he didn’t appreciate her tone. She has been his secretary since he took over the post as President/CEO of Hayes Holdings Group, and he valued her thoughts, but sometimes she went beyond and breached the barrier between employee and employer.Scott arched a brow at her. "Let the world think whatever it wants to; I don’t care,” he said.Helen opened her mouth to respond, but he lifted a finger, shutting her off. "... and I really do not care about what your opinion is in this matter. If you don
Lucas's POVAfter spending six days in the hospital, it was evident to Lucas that he was now Nathaniel Hayes, or residing in the man's body.Over the days, he watched different people come into his room and drool over him, babbling about how pleased they were that he was now awake.Every media house in the country was broadcasting the news of the remarkable recovery of Nathaniel Hayes. No one could explain how someone who had been in a coma for ten years suddenly recovered without any first indicators, not even the doctors."All good." Dr. Maxwell muttered after checking over his vitals. The doctor had told him that it was as if he had just woken up from a normal slumber and not a coma.Lucas nodded and started to button his black designer shirt. He was being discharged from the hospital that afternoon, and Dr. Maxwell wanted to be careful by doing extra rounds of tests to make sure that he was okay.He stroked his chest, feeling the scar from the gunshot wound beneath his hand. "I ca
Lucas's POVNicholas Rivers sported a smile, exposing his attractive white teeth as he moved up to Lucas. He laughed out loud as he arrived at where Lucas was still standing and put his arms around Lucas’s shoulders in an embrace.Lucas remained frozen at the moment, wondering how the hell Nathaniel and Nicholas were buddies. He didn’t dare to return the hug, as he felt humiliated and irritated at the very fact that the man was standing in front of him, smiling."It feels too good to be real. I’m delighted you’re back, Nathan!” Nicholas muttered as he released Lucas.“We prayed for your return every single day,” he added, mimicking a concerned face.Someone scoffed beside him, and he turned his glance to Samuel, who had a smirk on his face as he stared at Nicholas."Hard to believe that you prayed with you being busy engaging every lady in town," Samuel replied, his words filled with hate.Nicholas rolled his eyes. "It's common courtesy to congratulate someone when something good happ
Lucas's POVNathaniel Hayes had a well-disciplined life. His day started at exactly five o’clock in the morning. Lucas was roughly made aware of that fact every morning when the alarm clock near his bed went off, disrupting his sleep. If he didn’t get up, then someone came to rouse him after fifteen minutes.After waking up, he headed to the built-in gym in the mansion to work out for roughly an hour. Scott joined him on some occasions to merely run the treadmill and talk before leaving him to continue as he went to work.He realized that Scott bonded well with his brother, Nathaniel, during those rare moments that they worked out together. He also saw that Scott was a damn talker in the morning while he still had his full energy like he was doing now."I'm saying, maybe it’s time you come back to the company you know. Keep yourself busy. I hate to confess this, but I know nothing about operating a company." Scott whined, coming to stand above him as he watched Lucas lift the weight,
Scott’s POV“ Nathan!” Scott shouted as he watched his brother storm down the hallway. To say he was not concerned as he watched his brother rush down the hall was an understatement.He remained fixed on the spot he was standing in, mainly because he was wondering what the hell had just happened. He could also feel Elton’s shocked eyes on him, as well as his secretary's, but he couldn’t explain what had just happened.He tried to cast his mind back to find out what had triggered that type of reaction from Nathan, but still couldn’t find any. Because, one, Nathan has never done business with Elton, and he knew his brother shouldn’t even know who Elton Ross was; he just woke up from a ten-year coma. So why had he stormed off?"What is going on?” Elton asked him, bewildered.Scott released a deep breath and shook his head. "I have no idea, Mr. Ross," he mumbled, turning to face the man.Elton frowned, looking down the hallway that Nathan had disappeared into before turning back to him. "
Scott's POVNathan gasped the moment they entered the office, causing him to turn around to see what had happened, but instead, he saw his brother standing by the door with wide eyes."It's fucking huge!” Nathan mumbled.Huge? Scott thought, looking around the office with a frown. "Do you mean the office?” he asked in an uncertain voice.Nathan nodded, walking into the office as if it were the first time he was stepping foot inside the office. He watched his brother trace the edge of the large mahogany table like he had done with the table in his room.It was strange for Scott to see Nathan this excited over an office he had literally grown up in. Nathan had spent hours in this same office, working alongside their father and discussing deals. The fact that he had forgotten the office was sad.Scott offered Nathan a brief smile when his brother flicked his gaze towards him. He leaned against the back of the couch and folded his hands over his chest, watching Nathan."You got that table
Nathan's POV "Scott, can you please stop hovering around me? It's annoying," Nathan complained, turning to face Scott with irritation written all over his face.Scott rolled his eyes but didn't make any effort to leave the walk-in closet they were both in. Instead, he leaned against one of the shelves, arms crossed, and continued to stare at Nathan.It was funny how Scott felt the need to follow him everywhere to assure him that he didn't have to go to the charity gala. Since they left the office earlier that day, Scott hadn't left his side. If Scott had not noticed, he was not being forced to attend the gala. He simply wanted to go based on his own personal reasons.Nathan sighed, "I guess you're not going to leave me alone," he grumbled.Scott smirked, "damn right bro," he replied.Rolling his eyes, Nathan went back to what he was doing. If Scott would just leave him be, he could figure out what to wear for the party." Remind me again who's the older twin…" he sassed." You of co
Lucas's POVLucas heard familiar voices all around him, but his brain couldn't figure out who was speaking. They had tried to be as quiet as they possibly could, but was failing miserably.He tried to open his eyes, but they seemed to have a mind of their own and were taking their sweet time to do so.His interest piqued as he overheard someone speak. "He's awake! His eyes are shaking. Shouldn't we call the doctor…"Who's awake? Lucas thought. It had to be him that they were referring to. He was lying down on a warm bed too.He attempted to move his body, and while it was impossible at first since his body felt heavy like a log of wood, he was able to finally shift his hand.The folks in the room were conversing quicker and moving around, judging by their heavy footfall. He was now curious about what was going on around him.Lucas tried again to open his eyes, and this time he was successful, but he had to close them again, almost immediately, when blinding light entered his eyes."C'
Nathan's POVNathan shifted his sitting position so that he was half lying down on the plush couch as he watched Elton Ross being carried out of the court and down the stairs.The reporters waiting for an interview outside the court rushed towards him and tried to get near the man despite the officers holding Elton on both sides attempting to stop them."What can you say about the final verdict?!" Someone shouted, prompting more questions from other reporters." Did you plead guilty or not guilty! Are you responsible for the death of your son in-law?!"" What do you have to say about your daughter's murder!"Nathan sighed. Shaking his head. Elton Ross had this coming for him for a very long time. He watched the man lower his head in shame. He rolled his eyes and switched to another channel, but they were still reporting the same story about billionaire CEO, Elton Ross ordering the murder of his son-in-law, Lucas, and how he had pleaded guilty to the other four counts laid against him
Elton's POVTo others, Piper was just another person who succumbed to the cruel grasp of death. The notion of being responsible for his daughter's death occurred to Elton, but he took a deep breath and buried it.'Now was not the time to deal with trivial matters, Elton'. He reminded himself mentally."Thank you, doctor. How is she?" He asked, alluding to Margaret.The doctor exhaled and shook his head. "She's not well. Her body is frail, and she is deficient in some nutrients, which we are currently injecting into her. I assume she took your daughter's death the hard way," he stated.Elton sighed. "You might say that." He mumbled. He admitted that he should have taken her to the hospital sooner, but assumed she could handle the loss and grief on her own.Margaret has experienced loss before. She lost her parents at a young age. So this shouldn't have taken a toll on her especially when she wasn't close to Piper, but perhaps, the bond between mother and daughter was too hard to ignore
Elton's POVElton Ross stood still, staring at the lifeless body in the ironically beautiful casket. He couldn't believe it had been almost two weeks since he received the news that shocked him to his core. His only daughter had been shot dead by none other than a henchman he had hired.The plan had been simple: shoot once to scare Nathaniel Hayes. But the plan, which had been simple, had grown so complex the moment the henchman had decided that killing Nathaniel Hayes instead would scare the man, and that had brought Elton the most regret.He could still see Piper's smile in his sleep, her smirk, and deep calculative frown, when things didn't go her way, which she had inherited from him. Her seductive stare as she was about to ensnare a man in her fingers.He always woke up dreaming about her and the dreams always ended with that disappointing stare from his daughter. He had killed her.How could he forget her nagging? She had gone to him a few days before her death to protest abou
Nathan's POVHayden laughed and said, "It's funny how you guys could do things that even the police force wouldn't think of." He said, nodding to August.August rolled his eyes but stayed silent. He had the sensation that the man moved mostly in the dark and kept hidden unless it was essential to reveal himself, which explained his location behind the door.Leslie scoffed. "If you want to survive in a large family like ours, you have to learn to do things on your own. After nearly three hours, they left in different directions. I have a feeling they might not even know the members," he remarked."They fucking wore masks inside the house and blindfolds inside the car while leaving. I was only able to catch a glimpse because the compound was surrounded by a huge wall…" August revealed from where he was half hidden."Give me a coordinate, and I'll get satellite footage of the building and its surroundings. Except, they are hidden underground." Chris murmured.While Chris was talking, Myl
Nathan's POVEveryone huddled together in the living room. Nathan was sitting on the couch, while Scott sat on the armrest, half leaning against him."How are you?" Hayden questioned him.Nathan frowned. He last saw the man months ago. If Hayden needed to notify them of something, he would always call, or Scott would go down to the station. This was the first time he had seen the detective in a long time, and the way that Hayden was acting gave him the impression that he had conclusive evidence and was only waiting for their agreement to proceed with his plans."I'm fine." He responded. "You were shot at, and Scott said you've been asleep for two days; don't you think it's best you get checked out at the hospital to be sure you're in great shape?" the police officer inquired.Nathan arched his brow; he hadn't considered it before, and now that detective Hayden had mentioned it, he wondered why he hadn't woke up in the hospital instead, especially given Scott's overprotective and cau
Nathan's POV“So, is this a visit or what?” he inquired, smiling. He didn’t want them to notice how tense he was. Too many Hayes in one house was enough for one person to notice something unusual about him and begin connecting the dots.It wouldn’t be long before they discovered that he wasn’t the real Nathaniel Hayes.Noah narrowed his eyes at him, then shifted his focus to his brother, Nolan. Nolan was the one who spoke first.“You were shot, Nathaniel. I didn’t expect you to forget that.” Nathan blinked. He remembered the experience vividly. He remembered nearly avoiding the gunshot because he had shifted slightly, but he didn’t see how this solved the question of why they were all there.August sighed and approached him, laying an arm over his shoulders. “Someone made the mistake of attempting to kill you, Nathaniel. You didn’t expect us to fold our hands and keep them out of it, right? And no,” he replied, shaking his head. “It became our business the moment someone pointed a
Nathan's POV“So what do we do if they are everywhere, dad?” the child said. The man stated, “We fight for what we have.”If the child was Nathaniel, and he had called the man dad, then it was clear that the man had to be Oleander Hayes, Nathaniel’s father. This was his first time hearing the man’s voice. Why did it have to be now? He wondered. Now that he felt Nathaniel’s consciousness gradually leaving him. He wasn’t sure if he was going to wake up as Nathaniel Hayes again or if he was going to return back to his body as Lucas.Nathan stepped up to the lamp, hoping it would give him an indication as to what was going on in the room. But when he looked closer, it had no switch. The lamp was turned on without a switch.Weird, he thought. How could a lamp be on without a control switch.“ Fight?” the child; Nathaniel asked. “ can’t we do something else, like run?” The question attracted Nathan’s attention. His first instinct when there was trouble had been to run, but Oleander had
Nathan’s POV The drive home was calm in the car, but the country was not silent that night. He was calm but his mind was running in circles, wondering what had just happened.One minute, he had been talking to Piper, the next, the gunshots went off and he was collapsing on the floor with Piper’s blood around him.He gazed down at his now blood stained sleeves and gasped in shock. He quickly pulled off his jacket and started unbuttoning his shirt when a hand stopped him.He tried to bat the had off, but the person held on strong. “ Let me help you Nathaniel!” Amber muttered.He sighed, calming down when he recognized Amber’s voice and allowed Amber to help him. Amber unbuttoned his shirt and shrugged it out of his body, dropping it together with the jacket on the front seat. They remained quiet after that.Nathan with his eyes closed, leaning on the seat and Amber making and answering calls. He didn’t feel his phone vibrate, so he assumed that Amber was the one with his phone and wa