“You've got one last chance,” Tyler growled, fisting his hand in the man's face. “Who are you working for?”The man whose name was Edgar just smiled, showcasing blood-painted teeth. “I'll never tell you!”Incensed, Tyler reared his fist back and slammed it into Edgar's face. His head snapped backward and a fresh spray of blood spurted from his nostrils.Edgar was the man who set fire to his house 8 years ago and the elusive son of a bitch he had been chasing for the past few years. When he finally found out where Edgar was, Tyler didn't waste time rooting him out.Tyler drew out a knife from his boot, stalking toward the man. “You're testing my already thin patience, Edgar. Answer me correctly or I'm going to make your life a living hell. Who did it?”Edgar threw his head back and laughed like Tyler just told the funniest joke. “You can't do shit! You're just a fucking orphan.”8 years ago, he was…but not anymore.Tyler drove his boot into Edgar's groin, watching him writhe like a bug
Katerina couldn't believe what she was hearing, blinking rapidly to make sure it wasn't a fluke, even looking around for the camera. Dylan was the first to recover. “I'm sorry, what?”Katerina's eyes were fixed on the gorgeous stranger with the mysterious tattoos running down his arms and his jet-black hair that appeared blue when it caught the sunlight, to think that Mark was handsome in the face of this man was laughable.This stranger had rugged looks that were born out of severe circumstances but his eyes…his eyes were kind. Fixing those gorgeous blue eyes on Dylan, peeling them off Katerina momentarily he finally replied. “I said you don't have to beg this man here. I'll do it, I'll marry her…and I'll do it for free, I don't want any money.”Hearing those words for the second time still felt quite strange.“And who are you?” Katerina spoke up, much to everyone's surprise. “My name is Tyler.” He stretched out his hand which Dylan shook nervously. “Tyler Redwood.”Dylan took a st
The party was in full swing, guests mingling about as they talked within themselves, groups of interest formed with people of interest gathering their heads about how they discussed their topic of interest.Katerina's mother, Rose stood by the fireplace around her siblings, listening to them prattle on about their latest accomplishments. “That Corvette is one in a million, I heard not even the Prince managed to get one in his garage…” Her sister, Grace huffed, puffing her shoulders up in pride.Garret refused to be bested. “I think my uncut diamonds are also a good gift in itself.”“Not as much as the Corvette, you know how much Mom loves classic cars,” Grace said..The wine glass in Rose’s hand shook slightly as she brought it up to drink but they noticed, latching their beady eyes on her. .“What?” She was forced to ask, growing uncomfortable under their stare.“Where's your daughter?” Garret asked. “I thought you said she would be here.”“With her husband.” Grace chipped in. It was
Katerina could only stare at her mother in disbelief, sliding a look at Mark. The asshole puffed out his chest, a smug look on his handsome face as he pretended to be busy with his phone.Men like him have no character or substance, which is why they rely on their money to do most of the talking, swaying people's minds, but not hers.Tyler stood rigid beside her, probably waiting to hear the worst… that she would dump him and run to Mark, never in a million years has she met someone like Tyler though. Underneath his scary exterior which has most people flinching away from fear, he's the sweetest man she knows.He's soft, patient, and kind but most of all…he saw her for who she truly was, underneath the multitude of scars that graced her body.With an apologetic look, Katerina pulled away slipping her hand into Tyler's. “I'm sorry but I won't do it.” She announced, flooring the entire room. Her mother's gasp was the loudest of them all. “Katerina, are you thinking about what you're sa
See, don't care.” His careless remarks only fanned the flames. “You little…” Mark squeaked out. “Pretending to be tight and flexing your muscles doesn't make you the Big Bad Wolf. When my lawyers slam you with a lawsuit the size of Manhattan then you'd know-”“Oh, shut your trap!” He snapped. “I'm pretty sure I didn't do any lasting damage- which sucks- but on the bright side, you'll heal faster unless you want another go at…” Tyler caressed his knuckles, egging him on.Mark shrank back but a glance in Katerina's direction and he took one step forward even though his arm throbbed wildly. Thankfully, Elizabeth Petrova stepped in before things could get any worse, stamping her cane on the floor. “Will you both stop it!” She scolded like they were a pair of kids whose hands had been caught in the candy jar. “This is no way to settle an issue.”“With all due respect ma'am, I don't see any issues here.” Tyler rumbled. “Katerina is my wife and I won't stand idly by while a man is trying to
Tyler pulls the intercom closer to him, running his tongue over his teeth. “Shelby, I'm so sorry for the disturbance but I need some information. Any chance you can help me out with that?” he asked Holding his breath for a positive response, Tyler looks out the window as he hears a rustle over the phone line…Shelby was his secretary turned friend who had been working for him for over five years. She's one of the best people he knew in tech and if there's anyone who could dig up information about anybody, it'd be her.“Sure, of course, I can. Just tell me who it is.” She responds after a minute.Tyler carried out some research and he found out that Herbal Rise Company was owned by the McLarens.But that was the official record. The unofficial record went back years and it required a lot of investigation to uncover. Four families came together to create Herbal Rise but only one family serves as a representative.“Herbert McLaren,” Tyler told her. “He's the CEO of Herbal Rise and I want
“Mr Redwood?” Davis's voice came through the speaker, loud and clear. “Tyler Redwood?” A pause before he answered. “Yes, that's me.”“Oh, wow.” It dawned on the COO who he was talking to. “I'm so sorry for the delay. I'll be down in a minute.”“Thank you.” Tyler spun to face Mark and Becky who had identical answers on their faces. “He'll be here soon.” He told them.“That is such a big lie.” Becky snorted, covering her mouth with her hand. “Mr. Adams is one of the top men in this company, rest assured he won't leave his fancy office for someone like you. No offense or anything, but you look more of a beggar than a businessman and I believe the former.” she saidThe front door opened as she was talking and a short man dressed finely in a suit strolled in like he owned the building, from his posture and demeanor, it was clear that the man had money.It all clicked when Mark wrapped his arms around the man. ”Uncle, I thought you'd never show.” Mark beamed.Tyler rolled his eyes at the fa
Adams's office was nothing less than he expected, state of the art technology and decor..“Apologies for the delay. I had no idea you were waiting out there.” Davis apologized once again, clearing the clutter on his desk to make space.Tyler easily waved off the statement, having forgotten about it. “It's fine. I'm here for something important.”“Please…get on with it.” Davis urged, steepling his fingers in front of him while he trained his gaze on Tyler. “Something tells me you didn't come for a social call.”Tyler's lips spread in a brief smile before he launched into the order of the day. “I have a proposal for you. One that I think would benefit both you and me.”Davis's eyes sparked with interest. “I’m all ears, please.” he said“I've gone through your portfolio and the drugs you make, I have to commend your efforts but I'm thinking of something bigger. Have you ever thought about casting your net wider?”Davis shook his head. “Not really. I don't see why, considering that we're t
EPILOGUE Katerina's plan worked perfectly.Bianca fell into the trap and spun for her by pulling out the gun.Luckily for Katerina, her SOS signal went out in time and the cops showed up in time. Katerina was able to wrestle the gun away from Bianca, throwing in a punch.The police raided the house and as expected, they found some of the things they planted. Of course, Bianca firmly refused to accept that they were there, stating that Katerina planted it.Of course, the idea was disputed since the cameras had her stationed with Bianca the entire time.Mark took the fall as unsurprisingly his parents threw him under the bus to save their skin.Thanks to Katerina, Tyler's family massacre case was reopened and they were able to place the crimes on Mark and his family. Mark served time for abduction, kidnapping, and intent to murder, along with his fraudulent crimes.Giorgio got to bow out from the whole crime rivalry gang since the crimes committed by Mark and his family were now out in
“So I'm going to go inside and distract them, making sure their fingerprints touch some of the gadgets stuff while you guys go around and plant these things in their houses, okay?” Katerina went over the plan one more time to be sure that everyone understood.She picked Heinze and another guy called Jake to spearhead the mission, making sure plants were in places that the cops could easily access but weren't too obvious either.Once they all understood their parts of the plan she grabbed a gun, tucking it at the back of her Jean, firmly clipping it on the waistband of her pants.There's no way she's heading in there without protecting herself. “Once I give the signal, I want you to call the cops, okay?” She instructed one of the men that were staying behind, about to walk away.“Katerina, can I talk to you?” Giorgio called out just as she was about to leave. She paused. “We don't have enough time for that.”“Just a minute.” He insists and she walks over to him. “I'm really proud of
Mason and Katerina sat down in the doctor's office, anxiously waiting for a news report on Tyler.Mason himself was a nervous wreck, his left foot tapping incessantly against the floor. He kept glancing at the door waiting for the doctor to show up.The surgery they performed on him took over 10 hours, so much so that Mason had to give up on waiting around and head home.A day later, they were back here awaiting reports from the doctor. Katerina couldn't help for but feel anxious but it wasn't only because of Tyler's issue. After Giorgio agreed to her insane plan, they started working towards it. Since they only had a small window before Mark's case was taken to court, they had to work twice as hard as they needed to.Now that she was in on the plan, Giorgio revealed how he systematically arranged for Tyler's parents to get killed and anytime she thought about it, it made her want to puke.This small reveal only showed her how sick and demented she would get to lead a crime mob lik
Giorgio's eyes widened the moment those words escaped her lips. “Wait, what?”“Let me do it. The other time in the restaurant, you asked me to take over from you….” She squared her shoulders. “So I'll do it. If taking over from you is the only way to stop this nightmare from reoccurring, fine, I'm in.”“Katerina, no I can't ask you to do that.” He sighed.“I don't understand what's changed, less than 2 weeks ago clamping from me to take over from you.”“Well, I was too desperate to find someone to fill in my shoes so I could take a break but now I'm realizing that you may not be the best person to be to do that. You're not equipped enough.” He explained.“Okay then, why don't you teach me?” She wasn't willing to take no for an answer.“You're still not getting it!” Giorgio grunted. “This isn't something that can be taught, you have to spend years on the job before taking over. You have to be cold and calculated to do what is wrong without flinching and you're not there yet, Katerina.”
Katerina barged into the mansion that Giorgio and his men were hiding in, pulling the bulk of his men's attention towards her.Alarmed by the sight of a stranger, they raised their weapons aiming it at her.However, Katerina was too pissed off to let it go. “Get me your boss, he and I have some business to talk about.” She ordered, daring to speak despite over a dozen guns being focused on her chest. “Well?” She arched a brow after a couple of minutes passed and nobody moved.Fearless, she took a step further. “If you guys want to bury a bullet in me, then I suggest you start or else…I'll need you to bring me to Giorgio.”She was about to do something crazy to get their attention when the person to whom she spoke stepped out. “Katerina…” he rumbled.For some reason, he wasn't so surprised to see her here. Her face was set in a grim stance. “Can we talk?”With one look in their direction, Giorgio casually ordered them to pull down their rifle and then he tilted his head to the side, i
“Holy shit, what happened!” Katarina exclaimed, scrambling up to her feet.Esther was crouched over Dylan whose eyes were closed as if he was asleep, a large bullet wound on his chest.She gasped, standing frozen in the middle of the yard.Which reminded her…Katerina spun around in a slow circle, taking in the destruction that those guys had caused.All around them was chaos. The moving truck which contained her clothes and some furniture had toppled over to the side and the back door was riddled with bullet holes.Some of the movers were hit during the shootout and their colleagues were trying to help them stem the flow of blood pouring out from the affected areas.“Katerina, I need your help!” Mom yelled, trying but failing to make a pitiful attempt at CPR.Her mind snapped back to reality reminding her that she needed to help Dad.“Come on, we need to get him inside?” She urged.Mom's head rose up, her gaze slightly disoriented. “What do you mean?”“In case those guys come back, w
“I think you need to move it in this direction. No, stop! That cannot go in there…what are you doing?”The cacophony of voices bounced around in Katerina's head pulling her out of her slumber.With a groan, she placed the back of her palms against her forehead, trying to shut out the noise but apparently, her window had been left open.Slightly grumpy for being abruptly woken up, Katerina flung back the covers, angrily marching towards the window to shut it when a movement from the corner of her eyes caught her attention.It seemed like there was a loading truck pushing in items and… Was that her luggage?She squinted to make out the design of the bag and to her shock, it was the bag she'd gotten on vacation with Tyler last year.How did…A thought flashed into her mind and she quickly scrambled towards her walk-in closet.Her room back at the house was like a mini-mansion. Two huge rooms split into her bedroom and her walk-in closet connected by an adjoining door which made it easy
“First of all no one is shipping me anywhere and what the hell are you guys even talking about?” Katerina walked into the room, watching their faces light up like they knew they'd done some wrong. “Is anyone going to answer me?”Dylan stepped forward, his hands stretched in front of him in an effort to placate her. “Honey, listen I don't want you to take this in some way but your mother and I have been talking-”“You mean to say ‘discussing’ we haven't finalized on it yet.” Esther interrupted, sliding a side eye to Dylan.“Whatever.” He waved it off. “what I meant to say is that we've been thinking about you and your general well-being and uh… some things that have given us concerns.”“Concerns like what?” Katerina asked, folding her hands over her chest.Esther and Dylan exchanged a glance, something meaningful passing through them. Dylan spoke up first. “I think with everything that is going on… you've been going through a lot of things for the past couple of months and for everyone
In a coma…Those words kept ringing in Katerina's ears as she stared up at the ceiling, mentally counting the tiles on each row.After that, she'd move to the next row and repeat the process all over again until she was tired.Anything to keep my head off suicidal thoughts or worse…. reliving both of Tyler's traumatic accidents.Mason had yet to discover fully from the shock, having staggered out of the room. When Katerina stopped him to ask, he simply mumbled that he was heading out in search of fresh air but she knew it was a lie.Just like her, he couldn't spend another moment stuck in a never-ending nightmare.Unable to stop torturing herself, Katerina replayed the doctor's words again in her head, picturing the exact moment when it sank in.“I'm sorry, we tried our possible best but sadly, it wasn't enough. He went into cardiac arrest and then anaphylactic shock, leaving us with only one option… we had to induce him into a coma.” The doctor's voice was devoid of emotion but I gu