After a couple of minutes, when Mark had been taken away the group began to disperse and Katerina made her way to Tyler. “Hey…” he brought her closer, kissing the top of her head.Elizabeth set to work, irritated when her house was in disarray. With an order, she informed the maids to sweep every inch of the room very well and tidy it up.As she was about to leave, she stopped and turned to look at Tyler. “Thank you …for keeping Katerina and the rest of us safe. There's no telling what that madman would have done if he had managed to subside you.”He offered her a curt nod, accepting her thanks. “Of course, I'd do anything to keep her safe.” Elizabeth wrapped her shawl securely around her frail body as she hobbled away.Soon enough, it was just the two of them. “I was so scared that they were gonna hurt you!” Katerina burst out.“But they didn't, look at me… I'm fine.” He waved towards his body. Katerina's eyes latched on to the bruises on his knuckles, bringing his hand close so she
“Sir, I have something to show you!” Tyler heard Skyler shout from behind him.Turning around, he abandoned the laptop he was working on. “What is it?”Skylar was a young tech kid who was brilliant with 21st-century technology, and fascinated by it.Tyler discovered his talent young, noticing that all the kid needed was resources to tap into his brilliance.Providing him with everything he could need, along with a stable income, shelter, and food on the table was all he needed to win the kid over.“You asked for information…if I saw anything that alerted you, I should let you know.” Skylar moved away, allowing him to check. It showed him a wire transfer made to an account repeatedly, over the same timeline as the one he had been looking for.A couple of weeks before his parent's house went up in flames.“Can you find out whose account it was, maybe trace it to the owner?” Tyler asked, his interest piqued.Skyler shrugged. “I can try. It is possible that it could have been bounced thro
His head snapped back, hitting the floor with a thud. Blood spurted from Osbourne's nose, spraying Tyler in the face. Unfortunately, the man was stronger than he expected, struggling to throw him off. Osbourne managed to blindside Tyler with a blow to the head, pushing Tyler off his body.Tyler was able to recover fast, jumping up to his feet. His eyes widened and he was able to duck his head in time to avoid a swipe at his face with the poker.Osbourne's eyes were wild, darting about crazily. “Who the fuck are you?!” He spat out.Tyler watched him carefully, noticing he was trying to dance back to reach for his cell phone.Oh, hell no.Placing his arms up like shields, he danced around Osbourne, swiping at his head.Osbourne reacted like he expected and Tyler feinted to the right, pushing his legs out to take his opponent's own from under him.It worked and Osbourne fell to the floor.Tyler jumped on him, raining down punch after punch at his face. Lastly, as Osbourne tried to craw
Tyler decided to put that to the test. He strolled out of the living room without a word, the kitchen his next target.He searched for the sharpest knife that he could find. There was a new set of knives that were unopened and Tyler took one out, flipping it over to test its weight.It'll have to do.As he walked back out with no sign of emotion on his face, the fear vibrating off Osbourne was tangible.“Hold on-” he tried to say but Tyler slammed the knife through the same thigh, only higher up. The car was straight through, a bit sickening since you could hear the flesh separating from the bone.“For fuck’s sake man!” He yelled, groaning in pain. Tyler jerked it out, holding Osbourne's neck. “Lady chance. I have nothing to lose if I kill you, I can as well get the news from someone else.” It was a lie but Tyler hoped that Osborne wouldn't see past his bluff. Holding the pointed part of the knife, he pressed it harder into Osbourne's neck, breaking the skin and allowing blood to flo
“I can explain.” Tyler moved his arms a bit but the gun only pressed deeper into his scalp.“Uh, uh, uh!” Matt warned. “Put your hands up slowly, and don't think about making any moves!”Tyler wasn't that stupid. At such close range, if Matt pulled the trigger, the chances of him surviving were close to nil.While he wanted to catch the guys who murdered his family, it didn't mean he wanted to make Katerina a widow in the process.Tyler did as instructed, interlocking his fingers behind his head.Watching Matt's reflection in the mirror, he saw Matt jerk his head forward. “Get out of the car. Remember, no funny moves or you're dead.”Tyler was as calm as ever, doing as he was bid.“Toss your gun over to me but pick it up with your thumb and forefinger.” Matt barked, keeping five feet away from him. “I don't need to remind you to move slowly.”Pulling the gun from his waistband, Tyler discreetly flipped the safety off before sliding it across the floor.Only one bulb was lit in the gar
“What the…” Tyler let out a string of expletives that would make a sailor blush. Whirling around to face Matt who was lounging in his chair, Tyler pointed towards the monitor. “Do you have any more information on the Kincaid family?”“Why should I?” Matt shrugged, placing his boot on the desk. He leaned forward to catch a glimpse of the name, squinting. “Nah, I don't think I know them. Why?”“I know them.” Tyler gritted out. Mark's face flashed towards his mind, the man's slimy attitude now making sense. He fisted his hand on the desk, deep in thought. What if Mark knew who he was the minute he stepped into the environment?That would explain why he stormed into the house, guns blazing.While he was deep in thought, unknowing to him Matt was plotting an escape plan.His friendliness was just a facade, and he wanted to take Tyler down wondering who he could be to storm in here and take over like he was in charge.Watching Tyler carefully as he lounged without a care in the world, Matt
Tyler leaves on the water, the hose in his hand until it drenches Matt entirely the cold seeping into his bones. He sputtered, now awake jerking his head sideways.Tyler turned off the hose, placing it close to him. “Good. You're awake.”Matt's eyes were unfocused, showing signs of disorientation as he struggled to remember the events that happened earlier. “What…where am I?”“Don't fret, we're still in your house. The basement to be specific.” Tyler says casually, patting him on the shoulder.As expected, the moment he heard the basement Matt started to push against his restraints.They didn't give way, years of being in battle had taught Tyler how to tie the perfect knot, difficult for a victim to pull off.Taking a sip of his water, Tyler eyed Matt. “The only reason why you're still alive is because I need something from you.”“How do I know you won't kill me once you've gotten what you want?”A sharp, sinister grin appeared on his face. “You don't but then again, your chances of
The Petra Group.That name kept ringing in Tyler's head incessantly on his drive back to the office, so much so that it was a bit impossible to get the name out of his head.Impatient and tired, he activated the system in his car. It was an AI system just like Siri but it was embedded into a car's system to help facilitate its user better.“Alexa, please call Skylar for me.” He said, changing gears while he expertly handled the wheel cruising down the road.It was on speaker so he could hear it ringing, and then Skylar picked up on the third ring.“Sir!” He sounded breathless as though he had run a mile.“Any headway yet?” Tyler asked, smoothly sliding into another lane.He was only five minutes away from the office.“Not yet, sir. I haven't found much when I'm running multiple searches at the same time.”“Luckily for us, I made a breakthrough with the Colby guy. I'll be on my way to you soon with a drive that I need you to hack into, once I make a quick stop at the office first.”“Ok
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