Karen McCullough stepped out of the car and gazed at the red carpet before her. She couldn’t believe the amount of paparazzi that were present. The party seemed grand and it was odd that her family had been invited. There were a lot of stars here. She could see indigenous people at the event. Whatever Rylan was celebrating was grand. “Are you okay?” Edward asked coming to her side. “I think she has stage fright,” Eve teased, coming to stand by her side. Karen had to remind herself of why she had brought Eve along. This was the first time she was going to meet Rylan. And she wondered what would happen if they ran into each other. “Are you sure you want to be here?” Karen asked. “I don’t mind you going home if you feel queasy about this.”“I’m fine, Karen. Can we stop and go to the party already?” She asked. Karen nodded and they walked towards the red carpet. This was the first time that The McCulloughs were making a public appearance since the takeover of McCullough Industries. F
A few hours earlier…Seth Mannen was seated in his small cramped office as he thought of his next move. Did he have another move? He doubted. With Carlos now in town, there was nothing more he could do. Carlos was handling all their businesses superbly. He had brought in ideas Seth had never thought about. Seth was glad that his eyes had even opened after the final meeting he had with the shareholders. He hadn’t heard from them since. Noah, Cody, and Leon all seemed to have disappeared after that. They all got their share of the money and left him there. No one had stayed with him to fight Rylan. They all were content with what they had. This was sad because none of them understood the pain he had been through to get the casino running. He had been there when the casino had been nothing. It could barely pack up to ten people a day, and then slowly it became filled. That was when everybody else came to invest in it. The only person that had been there from the start from Lana. She had
Seth Mannen felt he hadn’t heard Lana cheerily as she spoke. So he asked for confirmation. “What?!”Lana nodded. “It’s true.”Seth felt it was a joke. It was still possible for her to sell her share to him. All they had to do was get an agreement and sign all the necessary documents and it was done. But Seth found it hard to believe. Her share was the biggest in the casino. So why would she want to sell it now? Was it because the casino was gone? He doubted that. It had to be more. Whatever deal she had with Rylan, it had to be big enough for her to do this. Did he offer her a job in one of the companies? Maybe it was from one of the companies he stole. And knowing Lana, she had accepted in a heartbeat. Whatever it was, he still couldn’t trust her. “And why would I believe you would want to do that?” Seth asked. Lana sighed. “It’s because I owe you for everything that I have done in the past,” Lana replied. “If I had stayed with you guys, we would have probably saved the casino.
Seth Mannen and Carlos Borges stepped out of a black Cadillac. They were here for the party, and they hoped they weren’t late. Locking up Lana had taken more time than they had intended. Seth had been lucky to have been smart enough to call Carlos’s men. They had come in and had taken Lana hostage. This time, Seth was going to be present when they killed Lana. The other times he had watched from afar too scared to get his hands dirty. Not anymore. Tonight was going to be the last night of Lana’s miserable life. And that was a promise that Carlos had made. Seth wasn’t sure about the idea of the public seeing him and Carlos together. It could draw attention to them which Seth didn’t like. So far, Seth had managed to stay hidden in the shadows. He had escaped all the recent crimes he had committed. The only person who could tarnish the clean image the society had of him was Lana Pierce and she was going to be dead tonight. She was locked up somewhere she couldn’t escape. And without Ryl
It seemed impossible for Rylan Daystar to get a day off. There always had to be trouble brewing at a corner waiting patiently. Tonight was supposed to be his night off. He wanted to enjoy the party and meet a few guests. That was it. Now, he had a call from Williams claiming that Lana was gone. “Are you sure about this Williams?” He asked. “I’m positive,” Williams confirmed. “She snuck out of the house in the morning and hasn’t been home since then.”Rylan sighed and rubbed his forehead. It seemed Lana was becoming more reckless with each passing day. She always had a way of getting herself into trouble every single time. If she was doing this because he was mad at her for telling the cops about Tristan, then it was the dumbest thing ever. “Please tell me her tracker is on,” he said. “I’ll check that and get back to you, sir.”“Thank you, Williams.”And with that, the line went dead. Leah, who had been standing beside him, listened with curiosity. The only thing she could fathom w
It was late at night, almost 10 pm but Mrs. Lopez still found herself in the forensic lab. Sometimes she felt that they weren’t paying her enough for the work she put in to get some of the crimes solved. This was the third consecutive night that she was in the precinct with nobody around. She had just called Detective Reynolds over. It seemed she was the only person who was trustworthy in the precinct currently. And it was embarrassing that it was coming from an officer who had just joined them here a few months ago. Jain had a rough start to life in the Los Angeles police department. Mrs. Lopez had been watching her closely and she noticed how she had been bullied everywhere she went. Even by her partner Stanley Rogers. Mrs. Lopez wasn’t a fan of Stanley that much anymore. How he treated Jain disgusted her, especially at her first crime scene. Mrs. Lopez was the only one who had all the secrets of each officer in the police station intact. She was the only person who had access to e
“Mrs. Lopez. Are you sure about this?” Jain asked. “I’m certain, Detective. I had to run the test a couple more times after I called you to ensure that I didn’t make any mistakes. This bullet matches the bullet from a gun which is used specifically by everybody in this station. Including you, Detective.”Jain ran her fingers through her hair in shock. The killer was in this station. Now she understood what Mrs. Lopez had been talking about. The people that were meant to protect the citizens were criminals themselves. What was the police force turning into? Whoever it was, there was no way she could find that out easily. There were hundreds of officers at the station. Was it possible to find out that one person from here? And worst of all, she didn’t know if it was male or female. Looking for the criminal was like looking for a needle in a haystack; it was impossible. “I can’t believe this,” Jain said. “Does anybody know about this?”Mrs. Lopez shook her head. “Only both of us, Dete
Rylan Daystar walked into the room rolling up his sleeves. He hated the fact that he had to leave the party earlier. It seemed to be a recurring theme. Every time he chose to go to a party, something always happened. Lana had been kidnapped by Seth Mannen. He was sure of it. If he was innocent, he would have said so. Rylan didn’t know how to feel about this. He was still mad at Lana, but he couldn’t turn his back on her. Judging from Seth’s actions in the past, it was obvious that Seth was going to kill her. He tried several times but always failed. Maybe that was because he chose to stay far away from it. Rylan never knew that Seth would eventually want to get his hands dirty. It was surprising. To him, Seth was a weak man who knew how to hide in the shadows letting other men work for him. Now he had Carlos Borges with him, there was going to be trouble. Rylan couldn’t let anything bad happen to Lana. Carlos Borges working with Seth meant that they were planning something gruesome. K
VENICE, ITALY6 MONTHS LATER. “Stay away from me!” The man yelled as he ran through the dim streets for shelter. Behind him, a man dressed in a black suit with a black mask was running after him. In his hand was an FN 5’7. The man in black pursued him endlessly. When the Italian man stopped for shelter, he pulled out his gun from the pockets of his leather jacket and aimed at the man in black. “Rylan. Watch out,” Williams called in his ear. “Holy shit!” Rylan yelled on his breath as the man pointed the gun in his direction. Two shots were fired and Rylan managed to dodge the bullets before they could hit him. “Are you sure this is our guy?” Rylan asked. “Affirmative. Dominic De Rossi,” Williams replied through the comms. “I just hope you’re right.”“When have I ever been wrong?”Rylan rolled his eyes and fired back at Dominic. The shot whizzed past Dominic’s head and he scrambled to his feet immediately. Rylan saw this and decided to go after him. They were on the main stre
“They let you in?” Jain asked. “Of course they would.”Jain sighed and drank her cappuccino. They were both seated at a table in the cafe. It was at their favorite spot—the table by the window. It had been two days since Rylan had spoken to Frederick. He could still remember the shock on his face when he told him he had forgiven him. It wasn’t something that Frederick had expected. Frederick was aware that he despised him, but there was no need to keep that grudge anymore. The battle had been won. The best thing he could do now was move on and that was ok his agenda. Jain shook her head in disbelief. She was baffled that they would let Rylan into the prison to speak to Frederick McCullough. Well, he was Rylan Daystar. “So what did you tell him?”Rylan lifted his cup of cappuccino and took a sip from it. His eyes went to the parking lot outside the window. The morning sun washed all the cars there with its glorious light including his black Audi. “I told him that I forgave him.”Ja
The door opened and a figure dressed in suit stepped into the facility. The sounds of footsteps echoed through the hallway as the figure made its way toward the door. When it arrived, a guard was waiting by the door who was heavily armed. He opened the door and stepped forward. He had a grim look on his face. “Welcome, Mr. Daystar.”Rylan smiled at him and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Where is he?” He asked. “Waiting for you, sir.”Rylan nodded and stepped forward. He was in a prison facility, one of the most dreaded in the country. Rylan was here to see someone special to him. He would call it a mockery, but there was something he would love to say. This was the last thing on his bucket list before he could tag this mission as a success. They arrived at a room and the guard opened the door for Rylan. Inside the dimly lit room, a figure was sitting at a table dressed in orange. Rylan clenched his jaws and stepped into the room. He turned back to the guard who was still sta
“I thought we were going to head back home?” Jain asked as they headed into their Airbnb. “Well, Los Angeles is a two-hour flight back, and my pilots are off duty for the night,” Rylan said, closing the door behind them. Jain sighed and rubbed her neck nervously. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been in a room alone with a man. That had been with Jacob; five years ago. Rylan took off his suit jacket and hung it on the cloth rag before folding his undershirt. “If this makes you uncomfortable I could get a different room for myself.”Jain turned to him. “You could do that?” She asked. “I mean, there’s no need for that.”Rylan arched an eyebrow at her as he folded his sleeve once more. “Okay. If you say so.”Jain nodded and proceeded to the fireplace. She was gazing at the crackling fire as she held her shoulders. It brought her soothing warmth. There was a center table in the small living room and on it was a bucket of ice with a bottle of champagne sitting in it. “Wou
WASHINGTON D.CRylan dropped his fork and reached for his napkin dapping his lips softly. Jain who was watching him had a glass of red wine in her hand. They were surrounded by people who also stayed in an expensive diner. One only Jain could dream of having. Rylan had changed her perspective on things over the last few days. She had managed to see the world through another pair of lenses; the expensive kind. Jain never knew that Rylan could be such a sweet person. She could vividly remember the first day she had met him. She and Stanley had been trying to solve the shootout that seemed to have happened to his club. When she had first laid eyes on him, she knew he was trouble. From the way he talked and moved, she assumed that he was as narcissistic and arrogant as the rest of all the billionaires in Los Angeles. But now as she sat across from him in an expensive diner, she couldn’t believe that she had been wrong the whole time. She had missed judging him, and that was fine by him
The party was lavish. There were lots of special dignitaries who filled the scene. The paparazzi wouldn’t stop flashing their cameras at them. This was the biggest party in the city. It was an awards party which would explain why there were so many famous people. A black Lamborghini arrived at the scene and halted on the red carpet. The door lifted and a figure stepped out of the car. It was Rylan Daystar who was dressed in a charcoal black suit with floral patterns and a shawl which was tied at his waist. He looked like a Frenchman. He moved to the other side of the car and opened the door. A woman stepped out of the car all dressed in a white gown. It was Jain, and she had a new look. Her platinum blonde hair which was always long was cut short now making her look dangerously beautiful. Rylan smiled as he watched her close the door of the Lamborghini. A valet came forward and Rylan threw the key to him. “Make sure you take good care of her.”“Yes sir,” the valet said, getting in
Rylan opened the door and stepped into the house. He had a grim look on his face. Arlene, who was seated on the couch engrossed with the television, looked up and saw him walk in. She immediately turned off the television and smiled at him. “Rylan. You’re back.”Rylan nodded. “Mom I’d like for you to meet someone,” he said standing aside from the door. Arlene raised an eyebrow at this. “Come in,” Rylan appeared to be speaking to the door until a figure stepped into the room.As Arlene saw the figure, she immediately flashed back. There was no way this was happening. He was real, and he was still alive. He was Paul Richmond. Arlene tried to speak but no words could converge. Paul looked at her and smiled. “Hey, Arlene,” he greeted. Arlene tried to look away but she couldn’t. His voice brought back so many memories. Like when Lauren had first told her that she was pregnant die him. Or when he had tried to combine her right outside the Vice chancellor’s office to come with him. Th
“I’m telling you son, the Los Angeles Angels might win this,” Paul said as he stepped out of Rylan’s Lamborghini. “Well, I hope you’re right, Dad. Because I have put a lot into this,” Rylan said, shutting the door of the car. Paul came to his son and wrapped his hand around his shoulder. “Trust me, son. You’ll see.”Rylan scoffed and they walked towards the entrance of the stadium. They had their seats reserved in the executive box. Rylan was here to watch his football team win the title. He was supposed to be here with Leah, but she told him she had some other pressing business to attend to. And so he decided to go with his father instead. There were now a few things left for Rylan before he could cross off his bucket list. Everything was going according to plan. “I saw you receiving the key to the city,” Paul said. “I couldn’t be more proud of you, Rylan.”Rylan turned to him. “You saw that? How?”Paul chuckled and patted his shoulders. “I was there.”Rylan’s eyes almost bul
“Do you have jitters?” Detective Jain Reynolds asked. Rylan turned to surprise. “Of course not.”“Well, you’ve been talking about your thigh for the last two minutes.”“I’m just anxious.”Jain turned to him. “About what?”Rylan kept silent for a few minutes to think about it. “About this, I guess?”Jain scoffed at his words. “You’ve been in front of a crowd a million times. This is the same thing.”“Well not exactly. I’ve never been in front of a crowd filled with police officers.”Jain laughed at his words. “Rylan Daystar is being intimidated by a crowd of police officers. Who would have thought?”Rylan rolled his eyes and placed his hands before him. They were both standing in a room alone. In a few minutes, they would be taken outside to be handed the key to the city. Rylan wasn’t exactly sure why he was there. When Jain had first told him about this at the cafe? He quickly declined the offer. The city saw him as a hero. But he wasn’t. He had so many flaws that would prevent