“What?!” Lana gasped through the phone. “I’m sorry, but it has to be this way, Lana,” Rylan replied as he looked down at the streets. He was standing at the glass wall as he scanned the busy streets of Los Angeles. He was at his office, and it felt somewhat awkward. It had been a while since he came here. The whole week, he had been stuck at home trying to make Lana get better. Now, she was strong enough which meant he could finally get back to work. “Don’t do this, Rylan. Please,” Lana begged. “You have to understand. This is for your safety,” Rylan explained. “I can’t let you out of the house until it’s safe. Who knows? Seth could still be looking for you.”He could hear Lana sigh on the other end of the line. He was aware that she wasn’t a big fan of Willaims. And the feeling was mutual with Willams. Having to stay home with him felt like a nightmare. Everything was going to be fine. He just needed to let her know of that. “Seth thinks I’m dead. You don’t have to worry about t
“Hello, Rylan.”Rylan couldn’t believe his eyes. He was bathed in disbelief. Eve stood before him dressed in a yellow sunflower dress which brought out the color in her ocean blue eyes. Her black hair fell on her shoulders making her look gorgeous all together. Rylan gulped hard. She looked stunning. “How’s this possible?” He asked. Eve chuckled and sat on the table. After she had sent the mail to Rylan, she thought it was a bad idea. She couldn’t believe she was sitting with Rylan now. After everything she had done to him in the past, she couldn’t believe she would have the courage to meet him. Rylan was dressed in a black suit and his amber eyes gleamed in the afternoon sunlight which washed across their table, courtesy of the window beside them. His face was frozen like he was staring at a ghost. She was aware of his surprise. Looking at him now, it was hard to believe that he was the one tormenting her family. He looked so innocent and gorgeous. “You’re looking good,” she teas
Lana stepped out of the cafe with a bag of donuts and a cup of cappuccino in her hand. She was craving for these, and was finally happy she could get them. Rylan’s home was currently feeling like a holding cell for her. He had warned her against going out, but she had sneaked out when Willaims wasn’t watching. Now, she was going to head back there. It was crazy, but she had no other place to go. She was aware that her life was in danger. If Seth realized that she was still alive, there was going to be a lot of trouble. He would come back for her, and this time she felt he would do this himself. Seth had been currently moving nerving people, making them do his dirty work for him. It was sensible, because with the cops still watching all of them, getting his hands dirty right now could put him in a lot of trouble. Lana knew she had to rush home before Rylan knew that she was gone. If Williams told Rylan that she had gone out without his permission, there was going to be a lot of troub
Thomas Brown took off the yellow helmet and wiped the sweat off his face with the back of his hand. He was exhausted, but he couldn’t stop. They were almost done with tearing down the place. This had been going on for two weeks now and it was finally time for them to be done. Thomas opened his bottle of water and gulped down the contents. He used the remaining water to wash his face.“It’s like a summer day, isn’t it?” One of the workers stepped out of the bulldozer. Thomas nodded and sighed. “It sure is.”The man chuckled and took off his helmet too. His dirty blonde hair was soaked in sweat, and so was half of his clothes too. “This is a good thing right?” The man asked. Thomas closed his empty bottle and looked at the man in confusion. “What do you mean?” He asked. “I mean, tearing down the casino. You know we used to come here once in a while,” the man replied teasing Thomas at the end. “That was a long time ago, Jerome. I’m done with that stuff,” Thomas reminded him. “Tha
Seth Mannen rang the doorbell as he stood on the porch of a huge mansion. He was here to see someone important. He had made the trip from Los Angeles to San Diego just to be here. He was here to see an old friend of his. This was where he was going to get help from. He couldn’t do this alone anymore. It was time he got here from somebody he trusted. And that was Carlos Borges. The door swung open and a butler appeared at the door. He was dressed in a black suit and was almost going bald. “You must be Seth Mannen?” The man asked. “Yes.”The butler stood aside to make way for him. “Please come in.”Seth nodded and stepped into the huge house. The butler closed the door behind him and walked to Seth’s side. “Follow me, if you may. Master Borges is waiting for you.”Seth nodded and they walked to a hallway that led to a single door. The door swung open and the butler waved him in. Seth stepped into the room and realized it was a dining room. There was a long table in it with many cha
“ I have something for you, Master Rylan,” Williams said, coming into the room. They were in his study room. A place he rarely came to. Why? He never had time to settle down and read, but now there were extra people in the house, this was the only place to hear private conversations. Rylan who was busy on his MacBook lifted his face to meet Williams who was standing before his desk now. “What is it, Williams?” He asked. Williams pulled a file and a voice recorder from behind him and placed it on the table. Rylan looked at them in confusion. They didn’t seem to correlate with each other. Rylan pushed the MacBook aside and drew the file closer to him. “What is this?” He questioned. “It’s news about your parents, sir.”Rylan’s eyes lit up in surprise as he heard that. His parents? He had been looking for them ever since Arlene had told him the truth but had found nothing. There was no evidence that they were still alive. The only files he found were the ones from college and they w
Karen McCullough found herself at the door of Rylan’s office. She was here to visit him. She knew that Rylan had found new information about his parents, which stated that he was closer to not finding them. This made her want to look at him at first and laugh it off. It was the last thing he could do now. She had to deal with another disappointment when she heard that Rylan had been able to counter their cease-and-desist. The lawyer they had sent to him was furious at them for having involved him in such a petty act. He was infuriated that he would get sued if Rylan was serious. Karen didn’t know that it could be that serious. They had planned to deal with Rylan's factory, but it had been a disaster. Rylan seemed unbeatable at this point. There was nothing more she could try than play with his mind. With him distracted by his parents which he would probably never find, it would give her family enough time to think of her next move. Rylan’s secretary was phoning his office and they
Rylan Daystar was surprised when he heard that certain Carlos Borges was outside waiting to see him. It wasn’t something that just happened. He had heard of Carlos and his involvement with the Valdez cartel, but that had been a long time ago. Carlos had broken off from the cartel but that didn’t stop him from going on a rampage on his own. Carlos had terrorized the city of San Diego which event prompted Ernesto Valdez to withdraw most of his troops there. Carlos had taken over the streets of San Diego and even the cops didn’t know about it. Rylan opened his door and stepped out of his office. He found Carlos Borges talking to his secretary in a flirtatious manner. Carlos was dressed in a black Italian suit which was almost similar to the one that Rylan was wearing now. He hated the fact that his style was being copied. Rylan, now in his white undershirt, folded his arms and watched his secretary, who didn’t seem to notice his presence. “Mr. Borges,” he called a few moments later. H
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