David's POV “Court number 104!” The judge called out in a bored tone.That was my number so I sat up, turning back to search for my lawyer through the crowd.Thayor Brandson didn't disappoint, waving his hands wildly through the air as he dashed to the front to accompany me.Thanks to my foresight, I made sure to wash my hands clean of anything that could potentially tie my hands to this case whatsoever.That includes getting a good ass lawyer who was able to argue my case enough, as well as properly greasing some palms along the way and here we are…on my way to bail.“You ready?” Brandson sidled up to me, selling cigarettes and bourbon.I tried not to feel apprehensive about that, hoping he wouldn't go and fuck this up for me now.“Yeah, I'm good with this.” He nodded, pulling me along but I hesitated. “Are you sure…you're good to go like this?”The guy was clueless. “Is something wrong with the way I dressed?”“No, I was talking about the fact that you're still high, and I'm pretty
Donald's POV Lounging in my office space, temporarily free of work, I watched football while practicing throwing the net into the trash can in the corner of my office.“Oh!” I exclaimed in disappointment when the wadded-up ball didn't quite make the target.Ripping off another paper, I tossed it into the can and this time, it sank in. I let out a yell of triumph, delighted at my win.I was in a very good mood.After the cops had taken down my statement, I slept better than I ever thought for the first time in months.Knowing that David was going to get what was coming to him made a certain type of peace come my way that I didn't think I had.Right now, I was relaxing without a care in the world, my feet up on my desk, a bag of snacks in my drawer.The day was turning out to be good…until it wasn't.“Donald!” I wasn't sure if I heard my voice being yelled out distantly but that became certain when the door to my office was pushed inward all of a sudden, taking me by surprise.Jake ba
Rose's POV “Can you please hand over your CV?” The store manager asked, peeking at me from atop his glasses.I mustered up a flat smile, handing it over. He hemmed and hawed, muttering under his breath as he flipped through.It all felt like passive-aggressive movements and after a while, it started to get to me. “Is something wrong?”He looked at me, his eyes lingering on my chest for way too long. I felt uncomfortable under his gaze and I was minutes away from pointing out that his attitude was rude but then again, I clamped my mouth shut.If I was going to get this job, then I could overlook some things.The annoying part was that this wasn't the first time that I had noticed him looking at my bosom and I wasn't even wearing a revealing top but for some reason, he just couldn't take his eyes off my breasts.“Oh, not at all…” he said at last. “Although, you didn't say why you left your previous job. May I ask why?”Technically I didn't leave my previous job. I still had the title o
David's POV The real ringing of the phone disrupted my sweet and peaceful sleep. “Urghhh!” I groaned angrily, pushing the covers up my head to drown out the noise.If I had hoped for the ringing to stop, sadly it didn't. It became so annoying that I had to angrily push off the bed and stalk towards the bedside table where my phone was, barking into it. “What?!”It was Brandson.“Where the hell did you put your phone? I've been trying to call you for a while now!” He sounded pissed.“What happened, did someone die?” I groused.“No but apparently, there is a demand on your head. You're wanted at the station this afternoon.”“Why? Didn't the cops have enough fun raiding my house and destroying thousands worth of dollars properties in the process, what the hell do they want now?”“I don't know but I heard from the grapevine, is that they just want to ask some questions because the case is slowly running out of steam and they're trying to grasp at whatever straws they could get.”“Is thi
Donald's POV I sat at home, tuning my television to the news. Already, it seems that David was called in for questioning by the cops today and the press managed to find out.Currently, they were stationed outside the police station waiting for him to step out. Biting down on my fingernails, I waited anxiously for any morsel of news.I kept hoping and praying under my breath that the cops find something on him or maybe he slips up and tells them something they weren't supposed to know.My room was scattered and in disarray, as I anxiously paced the length of the room for the past thirty minutes, checking my phone and the television repeatedly for any new updates.Then I heard a shot from the TV, which made me look up.Right there, was David majestically walking out from the station.At first, he seemed surprised by the constant gaggle of reporters around but then he quickly masked his expression and smiled, even daring to wave at them.I kept waiting for the cops to trail behind him
David's POV Just as I was leaving the investigation room, John stood up, calling me back.“Mr Knight…I still have one more question that I need to ask you.”Sighing in exasperation, I rolled my eyes at the ceiling, choosing to humor him one last time. “What's next, are you going to throw conspiracy theories at me now or claim that maybe I had a hand in 9/11?”John's stoic face didn't budge. “I just have one more question and then I promise we'll call it a day. Can I go ahead to ask that?”I shrugged. “Sure. It's not like it's going to hurt me.”John smirked. “Over the past couple of months, there have been suspicious amounts of money moving in and out of your account… how do you explain that?”I froze, the smile slowly dying out on my face. “What did you say?” “I asked you how you managed to get large amounts of money into your account,” John repeated. “I checked your salary, the one you were paid back at the company, and trust me it's not even 5% of the amount of money you were get
Rose's POV For the second time in less than a week, I spotted David walking out of the police station free escorted by some cops as he and two other guys walked towards a high-class Mercedes parked a couple of meters down the streets.It was all over the news and blogs as they made reports about it, some people speculating that he had gone there to begin the proceeding of what they think is an investigation.On one hand, I was glad that they were all focused on David because it gave Donald and me some reprieve from being talked about on major channels.However, I wasn't too happy about it because it seemed like David was much smarter than I gave him credit for.For every avenue, he foresaw it and made provisions in the event that things would not go how he wanted and I'm a little bit jealous about that…if only I was smart enough to also do that.If I was smart, I wouldn't be here eating 3 days old loaf of bread and baked beans that I was pretty sure were about to expire for the secon
Donald's POVAfter my conversation with Nalini, we spoke at length about the measures to take and how to go about it, and she promised to give me feedback within the week.With each day that passed by, I kept waiting, working myself into anxiety. It was tough but I managed to hold on for a while at least until I saw David's appearance on the television once again. I was busy working on a file that the company needed for a merger with another minor bank when the news caught my attention.Interested, I turned it off listening to the reporter drone on about how David was brought in for questioning for the second time in a week and how he also managed to go unscathed.My teeth ground against my jaw in anger and I banged on the office table, exclaiming in frustration. “Damn it!!”How was it that our law enforcement agencies were this inept in investigating someone? The answer is clear as day that he was the one who did this so why aren't they locking up somewhere and throwing away the key
Donald's POV The ‘beep beep’ of the monitors woke me up from my deep slumber.I open my eyes slowly to meet the white, sterile ceiling of a hospital. I knew it was a hospital because it had that familiar disinfectant smell to it…also because it makes sense, given the fact that I was shot at three times a couple of hours before and yeah, I remember every bit of that story.It was like a clip of a very bad movie except this happened to me, the distant yet eerily familiar feeling of being shot invaded my senses and I had to inch my hand up to see if I could check out the wound. “I wouldn't advise you to do that.” A pretty blond nurse wearing scrubs walked in, a clipboard in her hand.“Hel…Hello..” I croaked out, realizing that my throat was as dry as a desert.She must have come to the same realization because she walked over to my bedside, reaching for a cup of water and she handed it over to me.I greedily slurped it down like a greedy man dying of thirst, only stopping when I emptie
David's POV Just like I expected, the media circus around Donald's death blew out of proportion.As I'm packing my bags, the entire area in which Donald was shot had been taped off by the police.Apparently they were opening a case into the incident, searching for who shot him.I would like to feel relaxed on that point but it's just my luck that the homeless guy I usye turned out to be something else.For the rest of the day, I kept on trying his number but he never picked up soon enough, the number became unavailable which I took to mean that he had either discarded of it or he doesn't want anything to do with me anymore. When Boone asked me about the progress report, I lied to him stating that I had taken care of the homeless guy but I knew it was just a matter of time before the police found him and he blurted out the truth…which was why I was booking the next available flight and getting the hell out of this cursed city.The moment I left the borders of the city and I was on my
RoseTo think that it was Donald's death that brought me and my family together, it was mind boggling to say the least.I received the call from my sister early the next morning and to say I was surprised, is an understatement.“Hello, Tanya. Wh-hat's going on?”She was breathing heavily which made me worried. “Have you seen the news, Rose?” She asked.My brows furrowed in confusion. “The news?” I repeated. “No. What news? I'm just waking up!” I say, flipping the covers away from my body so I reach for my laptop.Suddenly the speaker went mute as I could only hear muffled words float through. it seems like she was talking to someone else.I ignored her, checking up on the latest news.I quickly scanned through a number of them, realizing that no one stood out to me. “Tanya, I don't know what I'm supposed to be looking at here but nothing is making sense to me. Can you talk to me and tell me what happened? Is it Mom or Dad? Are they okay?”Immediately, my mind jumped into the worst sce
RoseI knew the exact moment I fell for David all over again was when I heard the words, ‘you’re free to go’.That faithful Tuesday morning, I was laying face up on my cot, thinking of new ways to distract myself from a boring and predictable day when the buzzer sounded.Unlike the last time when I ignored the guard, I turned around to look at him but this time he wasn't holding a tray of food in his hands.He had the bunch of keys in his hands and he was walking slowly towards my room, an unpleasant in his eyes.“Hey, you. Get up!” He boomed loudly, startling me.“I was already up…” I grumbled, flipping my legs around the tiny cot. “Where's my food?”He didn't respond, only grunted and shoved me not too gently toward the bars, handcuffing me. “Move!” He ordered and I obeyed, shuffling my feet.We did the same walk routine, similar to when I visited Donald but this time…it seemed different.“Where are we going?” I twisted my head around to ask him but he just shoved my head forward.W
David's POV Contrary to what Donald thought, I was right there behind him the whole time.He was so easy and gullible. Just one mention of Rose and he came running exactly like I thought.All I needed to do was play the pity card and he sucked it up like a starving man drinking water.It was quite hilarious if I was being honest.I wanted the first location, simply because it would be easier to dispose of him when the homeless guy was done with the job but Donald being a hard ass…he insisted we change it, probably suspicious of my actions. Well, at least he was smart… just not too smart to avoid dying though.My phone buzzed with a text.Donald: Where are you?Me: I'm right behind you. I'll be there soon.When I sent the text, I burst into laughter, muffling the sound.I kept checking my watch, waiting for the homeless guy to show up. This was not the agreement. He was supposed to be here a couple of minutes ago, do the job the moment Donald showed up and get out of here.I gritted
Donald's POV I was woken up by my phone buzzing needlessly.Groaning, I twisted around in bed to reach for the phone only to see a name I never thought I'd see flash across my screen.Immediately my eyes flew open, sleep deserting my mind and I nearly jumped out of bed.Wait, why the hell was David calling me?To make matters worse, shortly after the call ended he dropped the text followed by another.David: Hi, I know I'm the last person you want to talk to right now but I need your help. David: Please respond, it's urgent.I debated, responding, wanting to shrug it off but I sat up on the bed so I could think logically.From the little I've known and observed about David, I know that he's a snake and he's very cunning, always thinking three steps ahead of everyone else which is why it bothers me so much that he's texting me.What the hell does he want from me?While I was contemplating on whether to pick up or respond to his text messages, he sent another.David: Please.Because I
David's POV “Hey guys, do you have any news yet?” I asked barging into the basement. All through the night, I could barely sleep a wink as I tossed and turned, my brain producing new ways on how to help Rose.After I went to visit her, I became spurred on to double down on my efforts and for the past two days, my team and I have been up through out the night, working tirelessly on breaking into David firewalls.At this points, I didn't care about whether it was illegal or not, all you wanted to do is to get Rose out of that filthy place.“We don't have any leads yet.” Shawn spoke up. “We still haven't gotten those parts that we needed and decrypting the messages by hand is taking us way longer than it should. At this point, we'll probably get done by the end of the year.”Groaning, I slapped my hands over my face. “That's not going to work. You're sure there's no other way to get this going faster?”If I could get my hands on some incriminating messages that David exchanged with his
David's POV Popping a chewing gum, I sucked it back in, tapping my feet impatiently on the brakes.I decided to make use of Boone's advice, doing the extra work to cement the plan that I have already started and that begins with…A loud honk from a passing car jolted me out of my thoughts and I popped my head out, raising my middle finger as a response.“Fucking asshole!” I muttered under my breath, stealing a glance at my watch. It's been over an hour and this guy is nowhere to be found.He's got to know that he's playing with his life.I am a gentle and mannered man until I was pushed to the wall forced, to do certain things…one of which is to make good on the threats I told him.A couple of days before I decided to meet with the homeless man who placed the tip in the police station for the cops to find, I spent some hours out of my day to watch him and like clockwork he always appeared at the same time every day.It was tad boring and predictable but it saved me time to look for h
RoseThe minutes turned into hours and the hours into days, each day more horrible than the last.My nightmare of being trapped in here was slowly coming to pass and I was too helpless to do anything to stop it.Reaching out to my family wasn't an option and none of the guards agreed to let me use their phone to make one more call to Donald, leaving me stranded.The food was probably the good thing about the place.I don't know who the chef is but he's doing a really good job of keeping me happy…temporarily though.I sighed for probably the hundredth time, staring vacantly at the ceiling.You know, when you first have your freedom taken away from you, you think that the first few hours or days at the worst but it's not. It's actually quite easy because there is a list of ways you can distract yourself but as the day grows longer, that's when reality sets in and the sadness begins.The possibility that this could become your new normal starts to haunt you and in as much as your mind w