When Jenett went back to the sitting room, Karen Shapiro was walking around the sitting room, touching the furniture and laughing at the pictures of Brown as a child. There was also a picture of Gabriel Darius, and as she touched the picture, Jenett could see the waves of emotions wash over her face time and time again. She turned as soon as she acknowledged their presence, then grinned at Brown. Jenett Darius swallowed uncomfortably, then averted her eyes, fixating her eyes at the tiled floor instead of looking into Karen Shapiro's cold eyes. The floor was definitely way comfortable to look at. Karen Shapiro's eyes seemed to suck you in, reminding you of your promises,reminding you of your loyalty to her. Jenett Darius was scared of Karen, but she knew she had to be brave. She had to be strong, at least for her son. She had to find and gather whatever strength she had for her son, Brown. “Well, if it isn't the great Brown Darius. You've changed a lot, I can see that life ha
Not seeing her son for days meant that Farida Atticus was slowly giving in to her body's requests. When she was sad, her body wanted sugar. Her body wanted junk, it wanted fat, it wanted carbohydrates. And that was why, for the umpteenth time in her office that day, Farida Atticus had ordered another plate of ice cream with two tacos that were nearly wrapped to back it up. She stared at the food in front of her, slightly irritated. That's what love had done to her. Love had succeeded in making her a fool, in making her look stupid even though she was smarter. Even though she clearly knew how to make better decisions. Love had turned Farida Atticus into something else. She was irritated by herself because this wasn't where she had envisioned herself. In a fix, her son went missing, all because she had decided to fall for a certain wealthy man whose charms were too impossible to ignore. All because she had decided to let love lead for once. All because she had decided to think
Karen Shapiro drove her car, smiling at Gonzalez in the backseat. Her mind was racing. Since leaving Jenett's house, she had found herself thinking. She wanted to box Mark Darius into a corner. She still had feelings for him, and hence she didn't want to kill him. Now, she was focusing solely on what had brought her into the cat and dog chase in the first place, which was the company that she was sure rightfully belonged to her. She wanted to make Mark Darius sweat. She wanted to make him know what it felt like to be hunted. She was the hunter, and he was the hunted. She was the predator, and he was the prey. She wanted to make sure that he regretted ever crossing her path or even playing games with her. “What are you going to do with them, Karen?” It was Gonzalez's booming baritone. Whenever he spoke to her, she found out that he smiled more. But she had always pretended not to notice. She wanted their relationship to remain formal, afterall she was the one taking care of thei
When Mark Darius opened the door to his apartment, he stood in shock, staring at the letter in front of the door of his home. The letter was wrapped in a red box, and even though he was known for being brave, he was afraid. The red box reminded him of the moment when his car had been destroyed. It made him remember how scared he was when it had happened, how terrified he had been for days. Since the kidnap of Atticus, Mark Darius had discovered that he was in fact, attached to the young child. He also found out something else. He was done hiding and concealing his hate for Karen Shapiro. For her to go as far as kidnapping a young child in order to get to him was very petty. Way too petty. The fact that he also loved Farida Atticus and was more than heartbroken to see her break down constantly in tears was what solidified his hatred for Karen. How could she? It was a game of cat and dog, yes, but involving a woman he had barely known for two weeks? Kidnapping her child? It w
Karen's orders had been clear as day. His job was to go in, scare Farida Atticus and then return to the hotel where she was to meet him. But Brown Darius didn't want to scare her. He was angry. He was angry at the world because everybody seemed to have a tongue. He was angry at the world because nobody knew what he had gone through, and nobody cared. He was angry at the world because he knew that nobody cared about his journey, about how far he had come. There were people who had tongues everywhere, people that didn't even know the gift that they had. People who didn't know how lucky they were. That was why he was angry at the world. That was why he didn't just want to scare Farida Atticus, he wanted to injure her. He wanted her to also feel his pain, he wanted her to also feel the pain that he had felt that night at the hospital after Scar had cut his tongue. When Karen Shapiro had shown him the picture of a battered Scar, he hadn't known what to feel. He knew the story was
Karen Shapiro stared at her phone screen, annoyed. She had been trying to reach him for sometime now, but it was clear that he was ignoring her texts. She had even tried to call him, but it was all the same outcome. She had only sent him to scare her, but she was afraid. She knew that within, Brown Darius was a very dark human being. She had seen it in his eyes. He was a man that hated not having to use his freedom of speech, a man that hated the fact that there were even people out there with tongues. It was crazy because she knew she was right. When she had given him the motorcycle, she hadn't liked the look she had seen in his eyes, the gleam of satisfaction. He was clearly a sucker that had been deprived of attention for so long, and now that he had seen it, she felt he was going to abuse it. But Karen Shapiro knew that there was no one else perfect for the job. The scars on Brown Darius only made him more scary than usual, and she knew that only him could make her scared.
“He wrote that Mark had to do what he was supposed to do in order for me to see Atticus again. He also wrote something about you taking important steps to get Atticus back. What are those important steps, Mark? Look at me!” But Mark Darius couldn't look her in the eye. Karen Shapiro wasn't only having the upper hand, she was tormenting and torturing those that cared for him and loved him as well. Karen Shapiro was taking her game to the highest level, and she was daring him to play. He was ashamed, because he knew that truly, the ball was in his court. For him to rescue Atticus, he had to act according to Karen Shapiro's wishes. He had to do as she said. “What are the steps, Mark?” Steeling himself for what was going to come next, he frowned, knowing that in as much as he loved her, he also wanted her to see his own perspective, and hear his own side of the story. “She sent me a red box yesterday, Farida. She said I should come to the bar next Friday to discuss how we could
Derek Campton waited in the darkness of his car, staring at the house of Karen Shapiro that had been brought to his notice by his client. He rubbed his hair in worry, looking at the house, staring at the men that came out of it and entered after smoking or urinating. He had been staring at the house for hours. As soon as he had heard the name Karen Shapiro, he knew that his client was onto something. Karen Shapiro was the same woman that he had been after for years, a woman that had disguised as a man. A woman that had killed some of his clients and even cheated them when she was meant to compensate them. He had heard the name before. If not for anything, she was a menace. A menace not only to the society, but to the people that even worked with her. It was a crazy thing to see, how according to Mark she had abducted a little boy, involving him and his mother in a game that was played between both of them. Derek found it highly offensive. Why involve a little boy and his mot