Prince Rick Carusi felt a strong pain in the cheekbones of his face from having been pretending to smile for over an hour. While the elderly priest read a huge book on the altar, Linder and the prince battled boredom and the sleep that was taking over their eyes. He also had to conceal a couple of yawns that slowly escaped to avoid being rude during his wedding. "Miss Ágata Stanton. Do you swear to love and respect Prince Rick Carusi of the Mariano Islands until death do you part?" asked the priest with trembling hands and a tired voice. Ágata turned to look at the prince with a huge smile on her face. Her lifelong dream had always been to marry a member of royalty. "Of course, I do," Ágata said with much excitement. "How beautiful love is when it begins," said the priest, laughing with some difficulty because he couldn't help but cough a little in the attempt. Prince Rick responded to the priest's laughter with a forced smile. His nerves were racing. He was very close to marry
The gunshot caused Baxter and Lucius to cease their struggle for the gun. They both stared at each other with wide-open eyes and expressions of astonishment on their faces. Baxter took a couple of steps backward, and Lucius fell to his knees as his chest began to bleed excessively. Lucius placed his hand on his own chest to try to stop the bleeding, but the blood kept flowing. Soon, there was a pool of blood on the room's floor. "Oh my God, what have I done?" said Baxter, very scared. Lucius couldn't support the weight of his body and collapsed onto the floor, losing control of his functions. At that moment, Baxter's mind went blank. He couldn't think or reason clearly. He even completely forgot his main mission, which was to assassinate Curtis. He could only think about running away from that place as fast as possible, his suit soaked with Lucius Garner's blood. As Baxter fled the room like a coward, Curtis fought against the effects of the painkiller to drag his body to where
Ágata still wore her wedding dress as she cried in her room, lying on her bed with her legs across her mother's lap. She was inconsolable, even though Beth was stroking her hair lovingly. However, Beth's mind was elsewhere. She could only think about how Baxter could be so foolish to fail such a simple mission. "It's ruined, Mom. My wedding is ruined. It was supposed to be the best day of my life, and Baxter managed to ruin it," Ágata said between sobs and tears. "Don't worry, my love. What matters is that you are now the wife of that prince," Beth said to comfort her daughter. "Why would Baxter do something like this? What sick and twisted mind could think of hurting someone like Curtis?" "It's a great mystery, daughter... a great mystery," Beth replied, thinking about what would happen now with Baxter being a fugitive from justice. Just then, Beth's phone rang. It was an incoming call from Baxter, and she knew it because she could see her lover's name on the phone screen. Beth
The machine measuring heartbeats slowly came to a stop until only a sharp sound indicating zero heartbeats could be heard. Doctors did everything in their power to revive him, but all efforts were in vain. Lucius Garner had just passed away due to hemorrhagic shock. "Note the time of death... 5:11 in the afternoon," the doctor in charge of the surgical intervention instructed. The same doctor placed his hand on the deceased's face and closed Lucius Garner's eyes forever. "How unfortunate," one of the nurses said. Death was always regrettable in that clinic, but Lucius Garner's death left everyone with a bitter taste in their mouths. Doctor Craig Spencer stepped out to the waiting room, and Curtis was the first to rush towards him. "Doctor... Doctor... Please tell me how Lucius is," he pleaded. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stanton. Your friend has just passed away," the doctor informed with great sorrow. Curtis immediately collapsed to his knees, feeling his world crumble. The doctor could
After Lucius Garner's burial, everything became much more tense at the Stanton mansion. A simple dinner turned into a silent staring war where Curtis and Beth waged an intense battle.The Stanton siblings, Amber and Kim, remained in uncomfortable silence while those two glared at each other with hatred and a desire to kill each other.The news of Baxter's death only convinced Curtis further that she had been the one who ordered his assassination. From that moment on, nothing would be the same. Curtis would never let his guard down again."Agatha. My daughter. Could you please pass me the wine bottle?" Beth asked, breaking the silence that filled the dining room."Of course, mom," Agatha replied, obeying her mother's request."Are you celebrating something, Beth?" Curtis asked directly, intertwining his fingers."I have nothing to celebrate, but I also have nothing to lament. Poor people die almost every day," Beth shrugged and pursed her lips."Be very careful with what you say," Curt
At the same time that Ámbar and Curtis were making love for the first time, Ander found himself in a very different situation.He stood in front of Annie's house while a light rain fell and strong lightning illuminated the night sky for seconds.Remorse and guilt had led him to this place to apologize and seek forgiveness no matter how difficult it might be.Ander sighed and gathered courage to cross the street. He walked up to Annie's house door, and once there, he began to throw small rocks against the window glass of Annie's room on the second floor of the humble house.It took a couple of rocks for Annie to finally open the window and peer out.Everything was in complete darkness, and nothing could be distinguished in the street due to the rain and the thunderstorm."Who's there?" Annie asked softly, trying to prevent her father from hearing her.Despite being very upset with Ander, Annie hoped it was him and that he had decided to come for her, like a scene from Romeo and Juliet.
"It's incredible that someone like Inspector Ascanio could be kidnapped," said one of the officers as he drove the patrol car."We don't know what could have happened. We shouldn't jump to conclusions," replied the officer in the passenger seat.They were sitting in the front seats of the patrol car while Ander Stanton was handcuffed and seated in the back.Ander was just as intrigued as those officers. Inspector Ascanio was a very tough person. He didn't seem like the type of person to disappear without a trace. It was all very strange.The rain had stopped, and now the night was much colder. The patrol car was traveling over puddles of water all along the road.One of the officers periodically glanced at Ander's face through the rearview mirror."You're one of the Stantons... aren't you?" asked that officer with a lot of curiosity."What do you say? Do we have a Stanton in our patrol car?" exclaimed the other officer impressed, "I don't think so. He doesn't look like someone importa
Amber opened her eyes to realize she was lying on Curtis's bed. She was completely naked and immediately knew she had made love to him. Luckily for her, it was still night, and she could return to her room without Carson suspecting anything had happened."It can't be, it can't be," Amber got up quickly and began searching for her clothes, but they were scattered everywhere. Even in the hallway, there were some pieces of her clothing.For some reason, she was alone in the room, but she didn't have time to stay and ask questions. She just wanted to return to her room with Carson as soon as possible.She finally managed to gather all her clothes. A quick glance in the mirror to make sure there were no traces or marks on her skin from that wild encounter with Curtis. She adjusted her hair, and she was ready to leave.However, the door to Curtis's room opened before she could touch the handle.Curtis walked in holding a champagne glass in each hand, surprised to see her dressed and eager t
Campbell watched with concern the news of his mother's arrest on his cell phone as he prepared for the flight where he would escape with Dany.Dany noticed Campbell's demeanor and immediately took his hand to comfort him."We can't look back," Dany said, "I know just the thing to cheer you up."Dany went to the airplane minibar and grabbed a bottle of champagne, perfectly chilled. Without hesitation, she uncorked it in front of Campbell, letting the bubbly foam cascade everywhere, soaking the red carpet beneath their feet.It was all laughter, hugs, and kisses until a voice amplified by a megaphone wiped the smiles off their faces instantly."Campbell Stanton, step out of the plane with your hands on your head," the police chief's voice echoed through the megaphone.Campbell and Dany peered out the window to see an entire army of international special police agents on the runway, aiming their firearms directly at the plane.Curtis returned to the Stanton mansion safe and sound, as he
Charles Ballmer laughed maniacally. He couldn't believe that he had finally ended the life of the wretched Curtis Stanton. He had always known he would kill him since the day Curtis had used him as a stool alongside Araña years ago.His escorts also laughed, pleased to see that their boss had finally gotten what he wanted. However, things changed in an instant. A shot came out of nowhere, hitting one of the escorts directly in the forehead, killing him immediately. Another shot hit the leg of another escort, and that's when everyone finally reacted, starting to shoot in all directions without knowing where the shots were coming from.Charles Ballmer crouched down and quickly sought shelter from the gunfire while continuing to give orders."Shoot! Shoot at anything that moves!" Charles shouted, hiding behind one of the containers.Curtis was also crawling on the floor, completely unharmed by the shots Charles Ballmer had just fired at him.Immediately, the dock was filled with internat
The limousine slowly came to a stop in front of the Stanton mansion, and Agatha looked through the window while accompanied by Angeline."Welcome to your true home," said Agatha as the gigantic gate opened to allow the limousine to pass.Both were personally greeted by Curtis.Agatha quickly got out of the limousine and ran to hug Curtis."What the hell are you doing here? I told you to stay on the island and take care of Angeline," Curtis reprimanded."He came back, Curtis. He managed to find me," Agatha confessed, terrified, with a look of fear in her eyes."That's impossible!" Curtis exclaimed."I know, I know. But he did it. He reached the hotel and chased me up the stairs. He said Angeline was his daughter and that he had the right to know her," Agatha said, unable to stop crying."You are safe now," Curtis comforted her with a kiss on the forehead."Daddy!" Angeline exclaimed, hugging her father's leg while Alfred carried Agatha's suitcases."Hello, my love," Curtis greeted with
“Curtis?” said Beth, peeking onto the balcony, “I finally found you. I've been searching all over the mansion for you.”“I was reminiscing about the view from this magnificent balcony,” Curtis replied.“Remembering old times, I imagine.”“Exactly in this spot, I stood the day Baxter went crazy and killed Lucius for no reason,” commented Curtis, fully aware that Beth was the culprit. However, he never pointed the finger at her directly.Beth immediately understood the accusatory remark and simply smiled to keep up the pretense.“It’s a real shame that such a beautiful place brings such bitter memories to your mind,” Beth responded.“No, not at all. It’s the perfect occasion to remember the inexplicable things that only happen in the Stanton mansion. Ander died and no one knows a thing about what happened. It’s exactly the same with Lucius and Baxter,” Curtis remarked sarcastically. “These elegant walls hold mysteries that the world has no clue about.”Beth only responded with a feigned
Agatha couldn't believe it. That man had found her and surely wanted to harm her and her young daughter. She could expect anything from Prince Rick at that moment. It was impossible to trust someone who had abandoned her and stolen all her money."Let's go, Angeline. We need to go back," Agatha said, terrified, taking her young daughter by the arm to return to the elevator."Agatha!" Prince Rick shouted, rising from his seat when he saw that Agatha wanted to flee from him.However, the elevator had already closed again and was on the upper floors. No matter how many times Agatha pressed the buttons, the door simply wouldn't open.Agatha watched with concern as Rick quickly crossed the entire lobby to reach where she was."Let's go through the stairs," Agatha said, picking up her young daughter and carrying her to move much faster.She was forced to walk a bit further to her right to enter the door leading to the hotel's stairs. She tried to move as quickly as possible without drawing
The next day, all the media outlets were abuzz with a story that went global in a matter of minutes.Ander Stanton, the youngest member of the powerful Stanton family, had been found completely charred inside the remains of a limousine that had been intentionally set on fire. He was found alongside a girl, also charred, who, for some strange reason, had a chain tied around her neck.This news plunged the Stanton family into mourning and called into question the performance of the city's police authorities. The citizens were alarmed. If something like this could happen to someone as important as Ander Stanton, what could an ordinary citizen expect?"That's common in this city. People are murdered like that every day. It's just that now it's someone rich, and that makes the difference," said an old woman being interviewed on television while Charles Ballmer and Beth Aldress watched.They were both completely naked and sitting in a hot tub. Charles was enjoying a cigar while Beth just re
Ander lost all the harshness in his voice and his bravery vanished as if by magic. Now he was just a scared and cowardly child, trembling like jelly in front of what seemed like a ghost from the past."Annie..." Ander sobbed, a mix of lament and high-pitched cry.He began to sweat profusely, and tears streamed down his face like waterfalls as he remained in disbelief. He couldn't believe what his eyes were seeing.Annie was there, staring at him face to face. However, she seemed unresponsive. Somehow, Charles Ballmer had managed to destroy her feelings and emotions. Everything that Annie once was had been erased from her mind forever. Now she was just a kind of pet that only served to wag her tail when her master, Charles Ballmer, came home tired from work."What did that bastard do to you?" Ander said, crying like a child.He took the chain that bound Annie's neck and noticed it was made of very resistant material. Perhaps that was why she had never managed to escape. Or maybe Charle
Ander woke up again in the middle of the night due to a horrible recurring nightmare that he had over and over again. Annie's face and voice tormented him during his dreams, preventing him from resting. Since it happened, Ander hadn't been able to sleep peacefully on any of the following nights."You're a damn coward," he told himself to gather the courage to go on with his life.His idea was to convince himself that he had chosen well by showing loyalty to Charles Ballmer. After all, Annie had brought that horrible end upon herself. However, the nightmares and the bitter taste in his mouth didn't go away with anything. Maybe it was something he had to learn to live with.The next day, everything returned to normal at the Stanton mansion. Beth walked proudly around the mansion, not missing any opportunity to rub her triumph in Curtis' face.However, Curtis was locked in his room with no desire to come out. He just stared out the window while everyone else enjoyed the pool. Maybe they
"Congratulations," said Campbell innocently."I think you should be grateful he didn’t get your wife pregnant, idiot," Beth snapped angrily, while Campbell felt ashamed."My personal life with my wife is none of the business of anyone present," Curtis commented immediately, although, to be honest, he was still in shock."You’re right. We don’t care about the child of a bastard and a traitor," Beth said venomously, not caring that she was talking about her own grandchild."He will own everything you see," Curtis defended himself with a sharp comment."That reminds me," Beth stood up and began walking around the office, "the new company directors have been talking, and...""And what?" Curtis questioned."And we’re thinking of kicking you out of the business," Carson immediately attacked.Curtis smiled, letting out a bit of air in a half-laugh."That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard," Curtis said, smiling."We want to remove you from your duties as president of Stanton Enterpr