Farida Atticus sat silently in the darkness of the car, her heart hammering violently in her chest. She couldn't believe it, that her son was going to be the object of a negotiation. Shaking her head, she found herself wondering how she had gotten to where she was at the moment, how her life had turned into what it was. She blamed love and what love had done to her. Love had made her trust a man like Mark Darius, a man whose life was a walking red flag. Love had made her put her trust in a man whose life was nothing but a series of troublesome events rolled into one. A man whose life was war itself. At that moment, she could only pray for her son. She knew that losing him was out of the question. What was her life going to be without her beloved son? What was her life going to be without the person she lived for? She couldn't imagine living without him, there was no life without a child she had built her life around. Even though she was in the car, she could tell from the char
“And what if you don't have him? What are you going to do, Mark Darius? You're nothing but a weakling and a coward, and this is why I said playing the hero doesn't fit you. You hide behind your riches and think everything can be solved with wealth?” Mark Darius was irritated. He stared at her, then shook his head. He knew what she was doing. She was trying to rattle him, she was trying to make him lose focus. She was probably trying to make him forget about the purpose of why he was in the splendid bar. And he was going to make sure he proved her wrong. He was going to remain focused, no matter how much the distractions were going to come. “Exchanging words with a power hungry fool like you is the last thing that I want to do. You have something that belongs to me. Give me Atticus and we can settle this and get out of this place.” He could see that she was offended by the term “power hungry fool” but he didn't care. He also knew that he was supposed to play by her rules, but th
“Come on Mark Darius, open up, it won't bite. I'm surprised that you're scared of a common envelope. There's no bomb inside, I assure you. A bomb would destroy all of us, wouldn't it?” Acknowledging that she was right, Mark Darius started to reconsider his decision of not touching the envelope. She had taken her seat, solely enjoying the air that came from the air conditioner next to her chair. He could see that in front of him was a selfish woman and a woman who would go at any length to have the upper hand in a battlefield. And to think that a surprise lay in front of him, a surprise he didn't want to be part of. He had no choice. If he wanted to save Atticus, then he had to be brave. And being brave meant opening the envelope in front of him, not caring about the consequences or the dangers. Tearing the seal of the envelope, he opened it slowly, retrieving the printed document that was inside it, with a pen by the side. When he began to read it, his mouth lay open in surpr
Mark Darius had always known that Karen Shapiro was a selfish, power thirsty and ambitious woman, but he didn't believe that she could go as far as she had gone. Was this the purpose of all she had been doing? Was this the reason for her constant attacks? Was this why she had been trying to kill him all along and had gone ahead to kill innocent people? To kill people that he loved and had always cherished? He was furious, but he knew better than to show his anger. He was to remain calm, he was going to try and resolve it. The contract was clear. For him to receive Atticus safe and sound, he had to give her all of his assets, his company included. From that day, they would cease to belong to him, and everything he had ever owned would belong to Karen Shapiro. He was shocked by the level of pettiness he was witnessing. Things were slowly beginning to unravel itself even though it had taken quite a long time to do so. “Was this why you killed them all, Karen?” She smiled, then
Karen Shapiro watched in satisfaction as Gonzalez released his grip from the child who was already starting to weep. “You can go home to your mama now, boy. Get out of here.” But she could see that he was paralyzed with fear. He stopped in his tracks, staring at her gun, his hands trembling terribly. He was biting his lip in fear, and for a moment, Karen Shapiro felt a twinge of human sympathy. After all, he was just a little boy. Filled with happiness that all of Mark Darius's assets now belonged to her, she dropped her gun, then approached the crying Atticus. “Come on now, don't cry. Run along to your mama. Go on.” As soon as the boy crossed the door that left the VIP section, he was swamped by Mark Darius's men who had been waiting to receive him. Without skipping a beat, Karen Shapiro brandished her gun at him again, telling him to move a step closer. When he resisted, she smiled at him. “I think I need to let you know that there are about two snipers outside of this
Mark Darius felt the muzzle of the gun against his skin but he didn't feel fear. The strength he saw in his men, their courage and their bravery in continuing to stand by him even in moments like these told him all he needed to know. He wasn't going to fear while he had such a caliber of men fighting for him. Even till death, he was going to be proud of the man he had become, of the following that he had raised. When the gun struck his side again, he groaned in discomfort. He stared at Sergei, hoping that his personal guard would meet his eyes. “You guys should head home, come on..” This time around, Sergei met his eyes. Without fear, Mark Darius nodded, knowing what was going to come next. When Sergei's eyebrows went up in question, he nodded once again, a slight nod that Karen Shapiro didn't recognize. The sound of Sergei's gun going off set the room into the confusion and chaos that Mark Darius had been yearning for. Without skipping a beat, he lifted an elbow, plunging
She had the upper hand, and she knew that Mark Darius could only resist the power of her men for a few more minutes. Not only were they outnumbered, her men possessed more weapons. Karen Shapiro found herself wondering if shooting Mark Darius meant that was the last time she was going to see him alive. *************** When Derek Campton heard the first gunshot, he knew that it was only a matter of time before his client was going to be caught up in the crosshairs of fire. He knew that Mark Darius wasn't the perfect shot, and that was what worried him. Just then, he heard the roar of a car, and when he looked in that direction, he smiled. The private detectives that had been sent his way had come at the right time. Quickly racing to the car, he acknowledged the first two men that stepped out from the car with their guns at the ready. It was Connor and Gary, the two men that he had undergone detective training with. Just like him, they were very good shots, and he secretly ho
But deep within her, Jenett knew that her son needed her. Since he lost his tongue and couldn't speak, she was the only one that seemed to understand him. How was he going to live without her when it was clear he needed her at this time of his life? She had to live for him. She had to live to regret what his life had become, she was going to be the one to basically babysit him, her grown up son. It was her punishment for raising such a delinquent of a son. It was the universe way of getting back at her, for how woefully she had failed at taking care of her child. And she was going to receive the punishment with open arms, whether she liked it or not. Just then, it became clear before her eyes. Why was she going to suffer the punishment of babysitting her child when the monster that had created what she was now suffering was walking Scot free? Why was she suffering while Karen Shapiro still walked the streets, alive and well? At that moment, she vowed to also have revenge. A