When Charlie had called her back at the station, Jennet had been in a pretty dark place, one shrouded with guilt and anger. But when she stepped out to meet him waiting in front of the police station like he had said, and this time with a proper BMW saloon car, her mouth nearly fell to the ground from shock.Charlie had been all smiles and sweet spice. “Hello, beautiful”. He had held out a hand to help her down the flight of stairs leading down from the entrance of the building.“I didn’t think you were this close when you said you were in the neighborhood”. Jennet said.“Maybe our stars are aligning again, Jenny”. He gave her that boyish smirk that could melt her heart over, and her mind raced back in time, to when she had almost fallen in love with him.Lord forgive me. Jennet held her heart and conscience in her hands for extra safety. She had wronged the man beside her, the same person who was being so nice and kind, and who had always been so sweet to her.Even now as they sat in
Brown hesitantly lifted the lid of the cardboard box, his heart pounding wildly against his ribcage. He had almost let out a sigh of relief, after the package didn’t explode in his face, when he discovered a sight that froze him in his tracks. A miniature brown coffin lay inside the box with a note secured to it by a red ribbon. Brown lifted the coffin and placed it on the desk.“What the hell?” One of the officers gasped in shock.Brown gulped down nervously and pried the note loose from the coffin. He lifted it up to the light instead, with his hands as though it weighed a ton, and squinted to read the words drawn in neat cursive.“The soul that sins shall die.” His breath caught in his throat and a wave of anxiety engulfed within his soul. With trembling hands, he dropped the note, his eyes scanning the room frantically, every shadow now a potential threat, every creak of the floorboards became a haunting echo of his fear.***Mark slowly emerged from the haze of unconsciousness,
Castillo shrugged his shoulders and resumed speaking. “We picked him up at the party, as agreed, and..”“You shot my father”. Mark finished off the rest of his sentence for him.“What?” Castillo asked with a confused frown.“After you shot my father, you took Mr. Shapiro. That’s what happened, isn’t it?” Mark shot him a vengeful glare.“What’re you talking about, man? Look, you’ve got it all wrong”. Castillo argued in his defense. Mark looked up to inspector Conrad inquisitively.“That’s what he’s been saying all day”. Conrad shook his head.Mark nodded gently, processing the information he had just received. He slammed his hands down on the desk and shot up to his feet, leaning over to look Castillo directly in the eyes.“Liar!” He accused him.“Why the hell would I lie now?” Castillo queried. “I had my instructions straight, and that’s all I followed. Kidnap Cornelius Shapiro and demand a ransom. Why would I kill Gabriel Darius when I could easily have abducted him and mined a fortu
Time flew by in a flash, and evening descended upon them. The place was starting to fill up with customers looking to get a quick dinner before heading home from work. The quiet and tranquility that they had enjoyed when the crowd was less had been rudely snatched away from them.“I think we should get going,” Charlie suggested and rose up to his feet.They stepped out of the restaurant and on to the street, only to be welcomed by a gust of cold winds. A family of dark clouds had covered up the sky, blocking out the orange light of the setting sun.“Would you look at that,” Charlie shook his head with a smile and turned to find her shivering slightly.“Here you go,” he took off his jacket and hung it over her shoulders. “Thank you,” Jennet hugged the jacket tightly, looking away to hide her blush at the gesture.They walked on in silence, comfortable with enjoying each other’s company. Jennet got so comfortable in fact, that she failed to notice how far they had walked, when she noti
Bennet sat in his office, nursing a glass of rum while smoking his Cuban cigar. Sending Gabriel Darius to the hospital the way they had, felt like a win for him, albeit very little. But at least, it would give the man something else to think of other than taking him down for courting his son’s wife.The wench had come to me, and not the other way around. Bennet shook his head and emptied his glass in one gulp. He filled it up to keep himself company while he assessed the records sitting on his desk, when the door creaked open and Mr. Right marched into the office, bodyguard in tow.“I tried to keep him out, sir,” his secretary apologized, and he acknowledged with a wave of the hand.“I see we disturbed you, huh?” Mr. Right apologizes sarcastically, taking a seat across from Bennet.He reached out to pick up the glass of rum on the desk, and took a sip from it, closing his eyes as he savored the taste of the drink, if only to spite Bennet.“What do you want?” Bennet swallowed back his
Elena watched Larson as he shifted his glasses till they sat perfectly above the ridge of his nose. He flipped through the documents on his desk quietly. “I had my secretary print out the documents you sent to me via email,” he turned to address Elena and she replied. Mark’s brow quivered in curiosity, but vanished before Larson could notice. Elena wondered what his reaction would be when he eventually learned of the adjustments she had made to the divorce papers.“I believe that at this point, it’s only out of mutual consent that both parties are seeking to separate from each other?” he looked from Mark to Elena through bespectacled eyes.“Yes,” Elena nodded, and felt her heart beat differently at the idea. Why did she suddenly feel uncomfortable with getting divorced from her husband? Even the concept of their marriage seemed so far away, like a very distant memory, but why did she feel uneasy at the thought of it finally coming to an end?She stole a quick sideways glance at him a
Mark drove away from Larson’s office, a smug and satisfied look on his face. He had beaten Elena at her own game and baited her in with his new offer. The greedy wicked soul didn’t waste any time in jumping at the opportunity, and he was as sure as the sun was to shine, that she only asked to think over it because of good old courtesy.You just wait until I make you choke on that greed of yours. Mark drummed his fingers excitedly on the steering wheel, as he brought his car to a stop in the parking area of Quantum Edge Technologies. The inheritance move had been a last minute lifeline handed over to him by David, after he had spoken to him briefly about his plan over the phone.“I hope to God with all my life, that you know what you’re doing, Mark,” David’s words rang through his head, and a smile kissed his lips. Yes, David. My plan is in full swing now. He smiled on his way to his office, humming a sweet tune and nodding cheerily to anyone who greeted him.David was sitting quietly
Mark picked Karen up from her workplace, completely enamored by how easily beautiful she was in her suit. She didn’t have to try so hard like any other lady he knew. Being beautiful was just something she could do with her eyes closed.He called the manager and made a reservation for them at The Spice, an Asian themed restaurant that had just recently opened and serviced only high paying clientele.“Went all out of your way to impress me, huh?” Karen teased Mark as he helped her into a seat before turning around to take his opposite position.“What do they say? You’ve gotta put in some work, right?” He joked with a wink.Their evening went seamlessly well, flowing from topic to topic without ever seeming like too much.“So, how’s work coming?” Mark asked Karen.“Well, I’m still trying to pull the company out of the mess it’s currently in. That’s not been half easy, believe me. But we’re making progress,” she ended with a smile.“You know, if you take up my offer of a loan, you should
EPILOGUE : A YEAR LATER The courtroom was filled with apprehension and tension. From a mile away, one could observe and note the seriousness of the faces, how enraptured they seemed to be. The silence in the courtroom could be broken by just a pin drop, and everyone was rapt with attention, staring at the judge, the jury, the hideous criminal with beautiful eyes, slender waist, a beautiful body and the prettiest of faces, but with a heart darker than the devil's. The entire city was out for her, and everybody in the room was dying for justice to take its course. The entire courtroom was filled to the brim, and even from the outside, people were peering through the windows. It was the largest court in the city, but the turn up had been so massive that people had to look from the windows. That was the kind of reception that Karen Shapiro had garnered. A lot of people had heard her story, the murders she had committed, and how she had controlled the underworld of crime. She wa
In the days that followed, Jenett Darius felt as if she was living in a dream. She could barely respond to questions that were thrown her way, and she knew it made the chief of police genuinely worried because of the agreement she had made to testify against Karen Shapiro in the court. How was she going to be able to do that when her purpose of living was no more? When her son was no more, the child that she had birthed hadn't even lived to experience the remorse that she was feeling? The removal of the guilt that had filled her chest by turning herself in? On a sunny Monday morning, she was shocked to find the chief of police opening the door to her cell. She jolted awake, and so did Margaret Woods. She had barely spoken to Margaret since she had heard the news of her son's death, and all she had wanted was for death to snatch her too. But no matter how much she wished for it, it never seemed to come. Death knew that it wasn't time for her to go, and it was playing its part by r
But Karen Shapiro was in no state to do what she had conjured in her mind. She was brought down by a simple Roundhouse kick, and her head was pinned to the floor as the cold metal of the handcuffs clamped on her wrists. Karen Shapiro was bundled back into her room, just like the common criminal she was. ********* When Mark Darius came to consciousness, he instantly found out that his side was hurting and that he was in a hospital. The dream he had been having was the same one that had tormented him during the previous nights, Karen Shapiro pursuing him endlessly with a knife, her screams making him terrified and making him perspire profusely. By the time he managed to sit up in the white, comfortable bed he was in, he was covered in a sheen of sweat. He also acknowledged immediately that the bed he was lying in wasn't his, and that his room didn't have a speck of blue in it. He had always been a green and orange color person from the start. And those were the colors that flound
When Karen Shapiro came to consciousness, the first thing she recognized was the continuous beeping of the heart monitor machine next to her and the needle that was in her skin. Her head felt as if it had been pounded upon severally and her eyes wanted to close of their own accord. Where was she? What had happened to her? For all she knew about her being in a blue and white room that stank of drugs and antiseptic, she knew within her that she was missing something. Something was wrong. She wasn't supposed to be in the room that she was, and she knew it. But she couldn't place it. At that same moment, the door opened, revealing a nurse in a white uniform that bore kind, brown eyes. Her hair was covered with a nursing cap, and when she smiled, it was cheerful and broad, seeming to light up the whole room. It made Karen Shapiro smile slightly even though she clearly didn't want to, even though her head felt as if a thousand nails had been drilled into it. The nurse proceeded
Swallowing, he spoke those dreaded words that Jenett Darius heard in her nightmares for days, those words that seemed to stick in her mind, that had left a firm imprint in her soul. “I'm afraid your son has been found dead amongst the bodies of the dead in the aftermath of the Splendid bar shooting. He was alive when the ambulance left the bar, but he was confirmed dead on arrival at the hospital. He died from several gunshot wounds.” He paused, and Jenett Darius could only hear the blood pounding in her ears and the hammering of her chest. She couldn't believe it, she was hoping it wasn't true. But it was reality, the cuffs on her hands were real and the chief was still standing in front of her. “I'm sorry that I'm the one that has come to you bearing this sad news, Miss Jenett. I wish I could take it back, but it has already happened.” When she didn't speak, he ventured further, touching her lightly on the shoulder. It was clear that he wanted her to say something, to at least
As soon as he struck Karen Shapiro on the head with the heavy box, he knew that he had only a few seconds before he would totally black out. And that was why without wasting a precious second, Mark Darius made his way to the phone in Derek Campton's hand. Without skipping a beat, he dialed the popular emergency line, his hands trembling. The amount of blood he had lost was going to determine if he got to live or not, and Mark Darius knew that he had lost quite a lot of blood. “911, what's your emergency?” Smiling, Mark Darius was slowly embracing the darkness that was enveloping him. He was fighting to stay alive, he was fighting death, the darkness, and even though it looked bleak, he was sure that he was going to win. He was going to say his location before the darkness enveloped him completely. It had been quite a long day, and Mark Darius wanted nothing more than to lay down and rest. He had been fighting a battle which he didn't know how it was going to turn out, and t
“I can drive you to the station. I believe one of the staff can help to look after Atticus. He's eating, and as far as food is involved, he's good to go.” Sergei stared at her, slightly worried. He was just a little bit different. Even in the urgency of the moment, he was rethinking things, making sure that he wasn't leaving out any detail. He was very observant, and she could see why Mark had maintained his service throughout the years. “Are you sure? You should rest, take a shower. I assure you that Mark will be alright. He knows how to take care of himself, fight his battles if you know what I mean.” She nodded, knowing that she would do anything to know that Mark was safe and sound. He had fought for Atticus, and it was up to her to do the same for him. She would gladly do it without blinking or hesitation. “I'm certain. I need to be sure that Mark is safe and that Karen hasn't killed him yet.” Sergei nodded, finally acknowledging her pleas to follow him. He had carefully c
She didn't know why, she couldn't fathom the reason. It was probably what she had deserved, but the fact that she had been so close to getting away hurt her everyday of her life. After she closed the box successfully, she turned around to see a smiling Mark Darius, the smaller of her boxes with its edges that were made of metal in his hands. And before she could move or raise her hands in defense, the box had been slammed on her head, sending her into a darkness she had never encountered throughout her life. ********** Farida Atticus stared at her son, then smiled. Out of everything that had happened to her in the past few weeks, he seemed to be the only good thing that had emerged from it all. For the fact that he had managed to come out of the devil's lair that was Karen Shapiro's home unshattered and unharmed, there was every reason for her to be happy. Yes, her life had been a mess because of love, but there was one thing Farida found herself acknowledging. She st
But it was clear that Mark Darius was having none of it. His mind was made up, and he stared at her, his gun very much active in his hand. He was going to use it, no matter what she said. “I can give you the contract right now.” Mark Darius smiled instead, as if he knew of her plans to bolt and do something unpredictable like she had done a few minutes ago. He looked purely ready for her, her antics and whatever she was going to try next. “You should've thought about that before trying to shoot me, Karen Shapiro.” And with those words, he fired. It was a single shot, and the bullet pierced her upper arm in a jolt that sent her to the floor, holding her now bleeding hand. At that moment, Mark Darius let out a cry. He had fallen to the floor, and the gun was out of his hand. Staring at him in pain, Karen Shapiro could see that he was in pain. He was clutching his side, his knuckles completely white. Despite her bleeding arm, the sight of Mark Darius in pain seemed to give her st