Edward didn’t know where to begin. He was disappointed in himself and also felt mortified. The whole family was depending on him, and he had messed up. This wasn’t how he predicted things to turn out. In his mind, he had assured that everything would be fine. The cartel would successfully destroy Rylan and they would get their company back. But that was all a dream. And as all dreams died when you woke up, this one did too. As Karen walked into the living room, he was reminded of the promise he had made to her. He had assured her that he was going to do everything in his power to make sure that Rylan was going to return the company to them. But that had failed. Karen had placed her trust in him, and he had let her down. Edward gulped hard as he watched her take a seat on the couch. The last person to come into the room was Federick. He walked in with his hands on the pockets of his pants and with a grim look on his face. With his company gone, and nothing much left for him, he had d
Karen McCullough’s mind was racing with thoughts as she lay on her bed. She had a lot on her mind. Every time she thought of a solution, a countermeasure was brought up. She was in some sort of dilemma, and it seemed the solution was never going to be found. She had single-handedly given the company to Rylan from her father. That wasn’t exactly true, but that was how she felt presently. With nothing but silence as a company, as she stared at her ceiling, she wondered where it all went wrong. Maybe it was from the very beginning Eve met Rylan. Or perhaps it was when she had instructed her father to fire him. Her hate for him had taken control, and she couldn’t resist the temptation of trying to get rid of Rylan. That had worked out at first, but now he was back and he had successfully gotten everything he wanted. His retribution had been completed, and he owed it all to her. Karen sighed and looked at the clock in her drawer. It was a few minutes past midnight. She wondered if her fa
Rylan wasn’t a fan of hospitals. He hated the smell of antiseptics and blood. It had been a phobia when he was little, and he thought he had overcome that fear until he stepped into the building. The air was filled with antiseptics which made Rylan wrinkle his nose. In his hands was a “get better soon card” and a bouquet. He was here for one reason. To confront Ernesto Valdez. After striking a deal with Daniel, it was only eight when he came to see Ernesto. He had been the one who had put him in here. Ernesto was lucky to suffer. Rylan hadn’t expected him to. If Devon had been able to finish the job he had been paid for, Rylan wouldn’t have been here. But he had still won regardless of the outcome. The cartel was no more after him, and he could focus on other things. The building of the factory was about to kickstart, and he didn’t want to miss it for anything. He had to be present for that. Daniel had proposed to see him at his club, and Rylan had feared it would be another shoo
Michael Meyers loved jobs like this one. It was so easy, and yet he was paid a whole lot of money to do it. It made him excited. As he ran through the records, he leaned on the desk close by looking for something in particular. A particular file that his client had requested to see. In the shadows of the room and with no lighting but the torchlight he held, he looked through the records. He wondered why the hospital hadn’t updated their records with these. He had hacked into the database a few minutes ago, but couldn’t find it. Now he had to look for it the hard way. He didn’t complain. It was still going to be found. The client’s choice was interesting. They were looking for a particular person. Rylan Daystar. Why would they do that? Michael had heard of Rylan. He was well known on the streets of Los Angeles. If there was secret information about him, he was sure that it would be very valuable. People will pay so much money for such information. But it was confidential so he cou
Michael Meyers tapped the steering wheel impatiently as he waited for his client to arrive. They were supposed to meet at the cafe this morning, but his client seemed to be running later. He looked at the watch on his wrist and realized that it was fifteen minutes past 11 am. Their scheduled meeting was at 10:30 am. Michael clenched his jaws and his eyes went down to the object on the passenger’s seat. It was a big brown envelope. And in that big brown envelope was the file he had stolen from the hospital. The Rylan Daystar file. Michael had been stunned by what he found. He never expected that. He thought that Rylan Daystar was a normal rich kid who had been spoiled from birth, but that wasn’t the case. There was more to the story than Michael expected. He looked up and saw a black Cadillac coming his way. The plate number was concealed, and Michael immediately knew that it was his client. His stomach churned in excitement. It was payday. He had thought at first that this job had
Daystar Industries was bigger than Karen had expected it to be. Maybe it was because she had never been here before. The side of the building was bigger than that of her dad’s company. It made her wonder where Rylan would have gotten his wealth from. She needed to know. It was incredible that this building was here long before then. It seemed to have been standing before Rylan had become its new owner. And she knew how and why. All her questions were finally going to be answered. She needed all the information she had on Rylan right here. As she stepped out of the Cadillac, she walked briskly into the building heading towards the entrance. As she stepped into the elevator, she could feel her stomach flutter in excitement. Her mind was on Rylan. She couldn’t wait to see him. After so many months of trying to avoid him for her to carry out her plans, it was time she confronted him. The elevator played a strange soothing melody as she went up. It was relaxing, and that was a feeling Ka
Rylan gazed down on the streets of Los Angeles from the glass wall of his office. He had hands behind him as he was lost in his thoughts. His kind was racing. The truth haunted him. It couldn’t be possible. Could it? It was Karen who had brought this to him, so he had every reason to be doubtful about it. The first time she had done this to him, he had been forced into a divorce. Now she was back again looking for another way to make him uncomfortable. Rylan turned around and stared at the file which was still on the desk. There was something about it that made him feel queasy. Rylan could remember asking Arlene about their father when he was little. She had always told him that his father had run away from them. His grandfather on the other hand never spoke about it. He was always silent when it came to the ‘father talk’. His grandfather had always acted like a father to him. But that hadn’t been enough for Rylan. Eventually, he had gotten over it, but now he was back thinking about
BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. THIRTY-ONE YEARS AGO. The night skies were lit up by the flash of lightning sporadically. The heavy rain didn’t help matters either. Outside the Daystar estate, a cab pulled over at the gate. A woman dressed in a black raincoat stepped out of the vehicle and paid the cab fare. She waited until the cab drove off before walking to the gate. There was a lock at the gate and the woman inserted the pin which prompted the gate to open. She stepped into the estate and was met by nothing but the big mansion which was lit up in the darkness. In her hands was a crying baby wrapped up in cotton clothing. As she looked into the baby’s eyes, she could feel guilt pouring down on her like the rain. It was hard for her to do this, but she didn’t have a choice. It was a sacrifice she had to make. He deserves a better life, she said to herself. And with that, she walked towards the mansion. ***Arlene sat with her father by the fireplace as one of their maids served the tea.
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