Donald’s POVI had about a couple of weeks before we would officially take the matter to court and begin the process in front of a judge and all of that but before that took place, I had one more trick up my sleeve.I wanted to avoid this going public for several reasons but the one that topped my list would be that I wouldn't want to put Rose and her family through that type of scandal.This was my one last appeal.If nothing came out of this, I would understand that the gloves were off.Canceling all my plans today in the office since yesterday, I was free to do what I wanted.Namely, visit Rose's parents.I made sure nothing from them before coming so they wouldn't bring up some ideas to cancel.Sure showing up at the house was a bit risky, but it's not like I had any other choice.When I pulled up to the gate, the security guard asked me to wind down and I did.His face reflected his surprise when he saw me, most especially because I stormed out angrily the last time. “S-sir…welco
Rose’s POVI didn't know when the news dropped but it got some attention.Whether it was real or not the only way I got to know about the story was because a lot of people were linking me to it.It turns out that David has been lying about a lot more than his nightcaps, and his pesky inheritance.While everyone was busy sleeping a blogger was leaking the truth about David saying that he had come into some raw cash and assets a couple of months ago…. Which if it were to be liquidated would be worth over a billion dollars.At first, when I saw the news flying around the media, I scoffed at it and tossed it out of my thoughts but I started to think about it and slowly, the pieces started to add up.The whole change I experienced with Donald started a couple of months ago and come to think of it, the new house that he just bought and well aware of how much the company pays him for being a diligent CFO but I'm quite sure that it wasn't worth that much.Plus the expensive hotel that I visit
Donald's POV “Mr Greene, can we have about a moment?”“Mr Greene, over here!”“How do you feel about going to the court seeking divorce from your wife, sir?”Reporters everywhere were yelling out my name in the hopes that I might turn to one of them and respond but I was in no mood. My sunglasses were on my face, shielding me from the onlookers pitying glances.Today was the last day of the quiet proceedings whereby the lawyers would give us a verdict.Either Rose won the case or I did.In the car, I couldn't stop fidgeting, tugging down on my sleeve repeatedly while the car cruised down the road.“You worry too much, you'll be fine. Trust me.” Jake told me, relaxing in the smooth leather car seats, sipping his whiskey.Relax?“This is my life we're talking about here, okay? If Rose wins the case, she automatically takes half of my money, properties, and companies… so forgive me if I'm a little bit nervous.” I spat out a little bit harshly.Jake didn't have anything to worry about b
David's POV I was on my couch, scooping warm spoons of soup into my mouth while I was watching the TV when I got news about the verdict from the divorce court case.I had made sure to set an alarm for most of the popular news channels so I would be amongst the first people that got to know.Rose insisted I come with her to the courthouse but that was the last thing I wanted.Aside from the fact that I could be used to tip the investigation in Donald's favor, it also brought a lot of spotlight on me.I had to be prepared if things would go sideways, the last thing I wanted was for people to be curious about me and what I do.Leaving the country has to be extremely discreet and I definitely couldn't do that when I've got a hundred eyes pinned on my back.When my phone was pinned, I already knew what it was. Reaching for the remote, I paused the television show that I was watching.Setting my soul carefully aside so I didn't spill it or hit it mistakenly, I grabbed my phone.For some re
Rose's POV I was sitting on my chair, my heart raised with expectations. I couldn't help but mutter a prayer under my breath, clutching my palms together as I looked towards the Judge, hoping the next words out of her mouth would be in my favor.“Mr Donald has won the case and….” The rest of what she said faded into the background and I sat there stunned, unable to move.Did he win?He fucking won?I couldn't believe it. I looked at Anderson, watching him assault the jury that he had bribed off with a couple thousand dollars hoping to get him to sway in our direction.The entire hall burst into chaos, as a couple of people were jubilating while the others were arguing amongst themselves, wondering what happened to my part of the l case.I could hardly believe what had happened myself.It's crazy because it had never crossed my mind that I could potentially lose the court case and because of that mindset, I went all out, not caring who I destroyed in the process and I hurt a lot of pe
Donald's POV “Sir, I need you to come see this.” Nalini popped her head up after spending hours bent over a computer.I raised my hand to indicate that I needed a moment before joining her. I rounded up the work I was doing, making sure to save it before pushing off my chair to walk over to her.Walking up behind her, I bent slightly so I could get a good look at the screen. Scanning the contents I was seeing, nothing stood out to me so after a couple of seconds, I was forced to ask…. “Nalini, what am I looking at here?”“You asked me to dig into Mr David's account…here it is!” She pointed out with a flourish.Oh, yeah….That reminded me.The whole issue with Rose and the court orders has been dissolved.It's been only a couple of days after and the news was still ablaze, each major media blog carrying a new story with different narratives. I've tried to stay off social media as much as possible, even going as far as ignoring my work but then when I got a notification from HR that D
Rose's POVI waited for a couple of days so the news about how I lost the divorce court case would die down before I stepped out of my house again.I put on my mask…. sunglasses on my face, a hoodie to cover my hair, and baggy sweatpants to hide my shape, making it seem like any other human walking down the street.Ever since I had tried calling David in the bathroom at the courthouse, he stopped picking up my calls and even blocked me from reaching out to him. My worst fears came to pass and this time, I couldn't take it lying down, so I decided to go over there and confront him in person.Thankfully, I still had the spare key to his house that he gave me one other time and his address was fresh in my memory.I was planning to surprise him and then milk him for any other amount of cash that I could, for the emotional damage that I went through.The drive down to his place was quick but I had the cab driver stop a couple of blocks away from his house, so he didn't see me coming and l
David's POV Panting from exhaustion, I stared at Rose's still body, pondering on what to do.Damn!I cursed under my breath as I paced the length of the room, raking my hands through my hair in agitation.I wasn't planning for this to happen or to even see Rose anymore…she's like a distant memory I'd shoved out of my mind.To have her show up here at my house without invitation was initially annoying but now that she's unconscious on my phone, it has morphed into full-blown rage.The urge to kick her in the stomach briefly overwhelmed me but I tamped it back, trying to focus on the more important things here.Like packing my bags and getting the hell out of hereI was just working on the finishing touches when she came in but judging by the look of things, I'd have to wrap things up much faster.As if on cue, I began to hear a buzzing in my right ear and it grew to piss me off even more because I twisted and tossed a couple of things around before I eventually found it.Turns out it
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