Valerie decided to visit Sterling's Enterprise again, with the hope that Conrad Patterson would tell her it was all a joke and she was still the CEO. She went there with that thought on her mind, but the atmosphere that welcomed her brought her back to reality. "You! You are here again." The arrogant secretary said."That is not the right way to approach a person." Valerie corrected and the secretary let out a sarcastic laughter."What is the right way? Tell me. The right way didn't get you anywhere, remember?" She added.Valerie ignored her"Where is Conrad?" She asked."Hahaha, what an irony. You just spoke about the right way to address someone and now you call the boss by his first name?" The secretary asked, clapping her hands in an annoying manner."Okay, where is the CEO?" Valerie rephrased."Good, I like you. You learn fast. The CEO is in his office doing CEO duties in a much better way than the former CEO." The secretary said. Valerie didn't reply to her rude remark, she ig
Jason and Larry Vanguard were at the Vanguard's company. They had just arrived a few minutes ago, Larry as usual, didn't say anything to the staff, but Jason kept making derogatory remarks about any staff he came across.Larry walked into the administrative office and the sight he saw left him shocked, and standing by the doorway. Jason soon joined him at the door and was shocked too. Ethan was casually sitting on the chair, with his legs crossed on the table. He was staring at them with a raised brow and a smirk."How did you get in?" Larry asked, finally walking in. Jason looked around the office before quietly walking in. "Ethan?" He called, as if he wasn't sure who he was looking at. Ethan cleared his throat and took down his legs from the table."Are you shocked to see me? You should know that this day will come sooner or later." He said. He stood up and tucked his hands into his pocket."That doesn't answer the question. How did you get in?" Larry asked again. "You should p
Ethan watched Desmond cautiously as he called his police friend. He knew things were about to get real now. "Whatever police officers you bring, they are going to salute me." He said to Desmond as soon as he ended the call."You have been living in your dreams since you walked in here today. What is wrong with you, really? And why aren't you leaving?" Larry asked, looking pissed."Just like I said earlier, I came and I would leave at my own convenient time. Why do you all feel so worked up, uncomfortable and anxious having me around here? Am I not supposed to be family?" Ethan asked, with a smug smile."I know who my family are, and you are not one of them." Larry said."Am I supposed to feel bad about that?" Ethan questioned with a fake look of surprise on her face."And you are trying to tell me you would be saluted by the officers? What a joke! I would probably make it a little more worse by telling the police officers what you said about them." Larry said again."Do whatever you
Darren Hart was preparing to go back overseas. He had gotten some more experience and fame since he successfully treated Skyler. Now he had a very important research work to do out of the country. Before leaving, he felt it wise to come see Ethan.Ethan was at the family house and that was where Darren came to see him. He met Elizabeth first and she was happy to see that a responsible man was there to see Ethan. As at then, she had no idea he was Skyler's doctor. She welcomed him in and went to call Ethan.She came back to the sitting room to meet him."Do you want water? We have some cold water. What do you want?" She asked, concerned.Darren gave her a cheerful smile."I'm okay ma'am. I actually don't intend on staying so long. I just need to see Ethan. I have a flight to catch." He explained."Oh, I see. Ethan should be here any moment from now." Elizabeth said, and at that moment, Ethan walked in."Oh there he is." She added."Doctor Darren. It is a pleasure to have you here." Eth
Ethan was just about to walk into his bedroom when he got a phone call from Natasha. Natasha never calls except there was a pressing issue, so he picked up the call immediately."Hello Natasha." He said."There is a problem, a huge problem." Natasha started. "Spill." Ethan said."Sterling's Enterprise is on fire. The whole building." Natasha revealed.Ethan felt his whole body become cold. His mind immediately went to Valerie."Where is Valerie? Was she inside the building? Is she safe?" He asked half yelling at Natasha as if she had caused the fire."I don't think she was." Natasha responded.Ethan opened his closet door to look for a simple shirt to wear because he needed to see Valerie. His brain was in turmoil."Do some more investigations. Find out her exact location. I am on my way." Ethan ordered."Yes sir." Natasha said and hung up the call.Ethan hurriedly wore the shirt and rushed out of the room."What is it? Why are you in such a hurry?" Elizabeth asked on seeing him."Va
Renee had a really amused look on her face. There was no way the family would get a regular invite and Valerie who was worthless would have a VIP invite. It was impossible."You would probably wake up some day, Ethan. But I like it. You know....you and Valerie dreaming together. Since you both can't achieve anything in your life, then you should stick to being delusional." Renee said. She gave both of them a quick glance and walked out on them.Valerie groaned and stomped her feet heavily on the floor out of frustration."Calm down." Ethan said, holding her back."Don't touch me!" She screamed at him. "This is your fault. You made me look so stupid, how could you?" She fumed."How? I didn't." Ethan responded calmly."What was all that nonsense about me getting a VIP invite? How is that even possible? I can't even get a regular invite and you chose to embarrass me by saying I'd get a VIP invite? What the hell are you on?" Valerie fumed, with a deep frown on her face."Because I am the
Valerie woke up really late and also with a headache. She wondered why no one tried to wake her up. It was 10am already. She rolled off the bed and walked out to the living room where Elizabeth and Skyler were having a discussion. The moment she walked in, they both became quiet."Good morning, Valerie." Skyler greeted."Good morning mother, good morning Skyler." Valerie responded with a small smile."Are you okay, dear?" Elizabeth asked, with a look of concern. She had noticed Valerie's slight unease as she smiled."Yes mother, I'm okay." Valerie responded. She was already having a little outbreak of sweat."Are you sure? You don't look okay." Skyler said. She stood up and walked to Valerie."I have a little headache. I'll be fine." Valerie said."I have some pain relief. Skyler go get her breakfast. She should eat before taking the drugs." Elizabeth instructed. Skyler immediately went to the kitchen to do as she had been told. "Come sit with me, dear." Elizabeth said softly.Valer
Martha Vanguard had done a really good job in preparing her family for the Unveiling ceremony. Her husband picked his newest car, and that was used to convey them to the event.Jason and Larry looked dazzling, both of them wearing suits, Jason in a black suit and Larry in a white suit, with their haircut freshly trimmed. Larry had shades on and his hands were stylishly placed inside his pockets.Some minutes after they arrived, the Sterling's arrived too. Clifford Sterling was driven in his own private vehicle while his wife and Renee arrived in a different vehicle.Renee had a black dress on, matching Jason's black suit. She immediately located him after she got in. Jason also looked happy to see her."Why didn't you let me come pick you up myself?" He asked as he took her hands in his to give her a kiss."It's an unveiling ceremony and not a date." Renee reminded him with a smile."Oh." Jason gasped and rolled his eyes playfully. "How could I have forgotten that?" Renee laughed."W
The laughter of children running around in the backyard hung in the air. Valarie was behind the grill, roasting the chicken. Stacey walked into the yard, holding a toddler in her hands as well as her husband beside them. Immediately the two women saw each other, they started to smile. “Oh my gosh Stacey, I didn’t think you could make it,” Valerie said after pulling away from their hug. “Is this your son?” She nodded in response, “He’s about the same age as Emilio and Emilia. Speaking of which, where are they anyway?” She asked. “Oh just over there,” Valerie replied, pointing in the direction. It had been two years now since she had brought these wonderful fraternal twins to the world, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. She would never have believed life could be so refreshing after all the hardship that she and Ethan had endured in the past. Strong arms wrapped around her waist and lifted her off the ground. “Oh my goodness, Ethan,” she called out playfully. “When w
Several months laterValerie was standing by the balcony, overlooking the city. The past few months have been nothing but perfect and she couldn’t help but wonder if she was dreaming. Even if she was, she would rather not wake up from it because this was a blissful dream. The sound of footsteps coming from behind her met her ears, she turned around to face Ethan. “I knew I’d find you here,” he said affectionately, wrapping his hands around her waist as he rested his chin against her shoulders.She melted into his frame, a warm smile spreading on her face. “Yes, the view from here is quite lovely.”Ever since Ethan had reclaimed the Vanguard manor, he moved in with Valerie. She loved the change of environment so much. The Sterling manor was sold because after Clifford lost the presidential elections, he was neck deep in debt and had to pay. His sponsors had ruthlessly abandoned him like he was vermin. Leaving him stranded and bankrupt.. Valerie was not even at the slightest intereste
The wedding bells chimed as Valerie got down from her car, the important people in Armoria were here to witness the union of the legion commander and his wife. Her dress was a body holding white silver tube gown which embodied the contours of her waist. It was embellished with pearls and attached to the bottom were gatherers which she was helped with while moving. People began to turn but her eyes ignored all of them, locking on to Ethan's who was at the end of the road, hands folded in front of him as he was in his charcoal gray suit. By now she was already a few more weeks in, but the baby bump wasn't too visible yet. All heads turned to face her and people began to whisper, she was just one of the most expensive designer brands in the country. Something many brides could only dream of wearing. Her mother Therese, who was also on the verge of shedding tears, walked her down the aisle, handing her over to Ethan. They locked hands, turning to face the priest that would join them
The Vanguard's were all gathered around the living room with panic strikes expression on their faces. Martha looked like she had just seen a ghost. Larry descended from the staircase with a stoic expression on his face, briefcase in hand. “Just where do you think you're going?” Desmond's voice boomed.“I'm leaving this place before Ethan comes back here to throw you guys out on the streets and disgrace you in the neighborhood, I don't want to be a part of it.”A gasp escaped from his parents lips. “Larry, how could you say such a thing!” Martha scolded him. “Ethan can't do that! He can't! I've called the lawyers already, everything is under control.” Larry scoffed, shaking his head slowly. “You guys don't realize it, don't you? You stole from him, you took what rightfully belongs to him and his father, this house, this manor, it belonged to my uncle! Not you, nothing you do will change that!” He tightened his grip on the bag and walked away, sparing no second glance. Tears prick
At the funeral, Therese was standing in front of Renée’s coffin, trying her heart out when Valerie rolled her wheelchair towards her mother. “Mom,” she called. Therese froze. Could her ears be deceiving her? It couldn't be. She immediately turned around and saw that it was her daughter. “Valerie, you're back,” he replied, joyful tears filling her eyes as she crouched down to hug her daughter. Renée was being buried in the family manor. Guests from all over had begun to arrive and Clifford was too busy trying to network and interact to actually even notice that his second daughter had returned. “I wish she and I hadn't fought. Then she wouldn't have come back to Armoria, none of this would have happened.”Therese grabbed her daughter's face and rubbed it. “Don't say that. It is not your fault, Clifford is the one to blame. He's the one that pushed her into this predicament.”Valerie scoffed. “Why am I not surprised?”“Honey, I think there's something you need to know. Your father a
“My baby, how is my baby?” Valerie asked desperately. “We ran all the scans and your baby miraculously survived. The angle at which you were shot didn't have any contact with your uterus or developing baby whatsoever. And thankfully you were shot from a distance so the bullet didn't do much damage, a little bit of rest and healing and you'll be alright. The only issue is the amount of blood you lost, so will be placing you on some supplements and as well as giving you some dietary suggestions.”Hearing this news from the doctor felt like the light at the end of the tunnel. At least she could finally smile about something. “I just wish Ethan was here and then my family would be complete,” he whispered. Lucy backed away from her. “It's going to be okay.”The lieutenants had no idea that Ethan was still alive, because Natasha hadn't communicated it to them yet. “When can I be discharged and go home?” Valerie asked. “Right now I can see that you're safe for travel so you can go today
“Natasha has made all the necessary arrangements, you can return back to Armoria with ease,” Ethan said, walking towards the door. “What about you?” Darren asked. “I know where Cyrus and his men are, I need to go there and finish them off before they leave Chelmen.”“Wasn't it solo missions like this that even led you to this predicament? Now you have survived, you might not be so lucky next time Ethan.” He paused, placing an arm on Darren's shoulders. “This time, I will be.”Darren watched as Ethan exited the house. He stood by the street at the designated spot and then a black car pulled over and an elderly looking man came out of the car. “You must be Ethan Vanguard,” the man greeted in a thick accent. “Everything you need is in the trunk, and here are the car keys. Please return the car, the last people to use they didn't,” he said, voice dripping with sarcasm. Ethan smirked. “Best believe I will, but it may have some blood stains.” The man's eyes widened upon hearing what E
Skyler jumped out of the car, “hey what are you doing to my mum!” She cried, running towards him. Irene was right behind her while Raul also got down and followed suit. Elizabeth raised her teary eyes to face her daughter who quickly pulled her up from the floor and hugged her. Skyler could see Desmond's driver holding a bag, presumably her mother's bag. Then he stepped out of the gate and then tossed the bag on the floor. This gesture angered Skyler so she lunged forward, managing to give the driver a good slap before Irene held her back.“How dare you bring your filthy selves to our house and try to harass my mother!?”Desmond smirked. “I can see that you haven't changed one bit, you still talk too much. This house belongs to me since your brother is dead now.”His words felt like a physical blow to Skyler. “Don't you dare ever say something like that again, Ethan isn't dead!”“Oh but he is, haven't you seen the news?”Irene walked forward. “Even if Ethan is dead, what makes you
Valerie was on a stretcher and right beside her was Antonio. They were both bleeding out and were rushed to the emergency unit. Just outside the hospital was Melissa, along with Jax, Kieth and Lucy. After Antoni had been shot, his men surrendered, and the police came and cleared the crime scene, making multiple arrests as well as ransacking Antonio’s mansion, an opportunity the local FBI had been dying to get. The three lieutenants were spared from the arrest because the chief of police, who despite recognising what they did as illegal, was happy that they had helped bust Antonio. Now with the overwhelming amount of evidence they had against him, there was no way he could escape jail time. In the emergency room, the nurses huddled around each of the victims. Antonio's wound was to his upper back but the bullet went through and came out of his chest. While Valerie was in the stomach. “We’re losing him, we’re losing him!” The doctor screamed as the life support machine beeped loudly.