The next day I set about making sure my plans were in place, with the help of Ricardo who was slowly becoming my friend. I managed to secure a young hacker girl who would help me hack into his computer and give me the sensitive information I needed.Once she realized that I was rich, of course, her price went higher than I expected but my freedom was equally important, especially when David called for a meeting in the evening.He'd said he had something serious to discuss with me but I knew that all he wanted was to extort more money from me, which was why this was very important. The one good thing that came out of the meeting we were about to have was that I could give Nalini the time to get what she needed.However, I still had my doubts about entrusting something as serious as this to a teenager. “Are you sure you can do this? I asked her while we were sitting in my car during my lunch break. “He can never know that you did something on this computer.”As a typical teenager, she
Donald's POV For the first time in weeks, I felt lighter than I ever had.The USB in my hand held all the answers I needed to get out of my current predicament. David and his extortions would soon stop, which would give me some breathing space.I went to bed that night, feeling better, and had the best sleep in a long while.However, with how great things went I wasn't expecting everything to crash and tumble before I woke up. The shrill ringing of my phone on my bedside table woke me up. I woke up from my bed, asleep and partially disoriented, reaching for my phone.Since I wasn't quite awake yet so I miscalculated the distance, almost ending up falling over to the floor.“Huh…ello,” I slurred into the phone, my eyes drifting shut.“Hi, is this Mr Greene?”Immediately my eyes snapped wide open at the unfamiliar voice. “Yes, this is him. Who is this? What happened?”“Um, hi! My name is Eleanor Drake, from County Hospital and I'm so sorry to wake you up but we need you to come down
Donald's POV I tried to talk to my grandfather but the morphine passing through his system was too much for him to stay conscious. Soon after, his hand went lax in my grip, making my heart skip a beat for a moment…fearing that the unthinkable had happened.Thankfully, my fears disappeared quickly when a nurse walked in shortly after to take his vitals. According to Dr Helen, she had predicted that George may give up the ghost any time soon which prompted me to stay back.My phone kept buzzing against my thigh as time passed, numerous calls, text messages, and even videos asking me where I was but I ignored them all, not daring to move an inch from that chair.My resolve to stick by his side was slowly weakening a couple of hours later, as my stomach growled for sustenance. I was contemplating dashing down the hall to the vending machine to grab a couple of snacks to munch on when Gramps woke up.“Don…ald,” he croaked out, moving his weak limbs to reach me.Instantly all thoughts of
Donald's POV The news of my grandfather's death spread fast like wildfire, partially because of how well-known he was around the wards. Almost everywhere I went or passed by in the hospital, I could hear people whispering or talking about it behind my back. Still in a daze, I exited the room allowing the nurses to do what they needed to while I grabbed some fresh air.I was currently numb, my entire body and brain feeling alien to me like I wasn't in control of it. While I knew it was inevitable, a part of me still couldn't believe that it had happened, not sure I was ready to face it yet.I retreated to a secluded spot on the rooftop, where I didn't have to see or speak to anyone. If I had one more person tell me ‘I'm sorry for your loss’, I might just go crazy.When I pushed the door open, it let out a loud squeal old and cranky from disuse.Stepping onto the rooftop, I felt the cold, chilly evening winds whip at my hair and skin.However, it was a pleasant yet uncomfortable distr
Donald's POVStanding by the window, my hands firmly tucked into my pants pocket, I stared at the dark gloomy weather outside.I had hoped that it would be sunny today, helping to lift the sad mood but unfortunately, fate had other plans.It's been two weeks of back-to-back work, social engagements, and other business related activities.If I was being honest, I was grabbing everything I could in sight to help take my mind off the fact that I was supposed to be grieving George.But how can I do that when I don't have anyone to help me transition from this?Even my parents weren't involved in this, aside from a courtesy message to me they hadn't bothered to check in on me or find out how I was doing.Not even once.It only serves to remind me how alone I was.The only silver lining that came with this was a ton of publicity that Rose’s company was coming under and David decided to give me a respite, allowing me to take a much needed break after the last payment.“Mr Greene? The ceremon
Donald's POV Losing someone you care about has to be one of the most painful things in the world. Once the church service was over, the next ceremony took place at the burial site.It wasn't quite far from where the church service was held and the procession was exactly as I would have preferred it to be.It was quiet, with a lot of deep reflection except for the occasional murmuring and sobbing.About two people came up to me to whisper their condolences while crying. I took it all in stride hoping to not fall apart.There, it was more of mingling and talking to people than a somber and morose event except for when they started to lower his body into the ground.I tried as much as I could to hold back the tears but the thought of a sweet vibrant man like George Everton being contained into a 6 ft box and lowered into a spot forever was too daunting for me to bear.I burst into loud, chest heaving tears grateful that I had my sunglasses perched on my nose.It got so bad that I had
Donald's POVAfter the procession at the burial site, there was a reception at Rose's family house.To be honest, I was surprised when a couple of days before the ceremony she reached out to me saying she wanted to support me in any way she could.When she said that, I knew that she wasn't word-talking, probably she had been coaxed into saying something like that.It was later that I overheard in the break room that her family was behind it, pressuring her to talk to me, not aware that we were planning on getting a divorce.It made sense to me then because I knew that her family didn't really care for me except for me being Rose's arm candy at events and my expert ruling in the company as a financial head.However, having a family was one for looks, they cared a lot about how the public might perceive them which was why they didn't bat an eye when Rose married me despite my lower status.They were just thrilled that their daughter was finally off the market, and could finally grace so
Slowly waking up, I could feel someone's hand weighing me down.Spinning around, I turned to see that it was a familiar feminine body.Rose's dark hair was spilled across the white sheets, fanning it like a decoration. The movement of my body must have alerted her that I was awake because her fingers ran over my body, creeping downward.Immediately I reached down to grab her hand, placing her forefinger between my teeth as I pinched her lightly.Giggling under the sheets like a naughty schoolgirl caught doing something bad, Rose wrapped her legs around my thighs.Without saying anything, I already knew what she wanted unfortunately I was going to have to turn her down.“Not now, you little vixen,” I murmured, facing her fully.Instantly the sheet came down to reveal her face, the corners of her lips turned into a sad look. “Why not?” She started, whining in that annoying tone that I hated. “You know I can't get enough of you, sexy beast!”As always her words didn't fail to flatter me
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