ANNIE’S VIEW POINT.Giovanna was a better cook than I expected. She chopped vegetables at chef speed and accuracy, being completely focused with her quantities. She measured everything, down to water. I was surprised she was this conservative when making meals. She seemed like a carefree person that went where the wind took her, but she was different now. Like a whole new person. I appreciated that she was serious with making food for my brother, but I had to know why she was acting like her life depended on its perfection. “Hey, Gia?” I called, seeing her look over her shoulder while stirring ingredients for the jambalaya. She smiled warmly, leaving the other pot of potatoes to boil and placing a lid over it. She turned and wiped her hands on the towel she kept in the pocket of the apron she insisted on wearing even though this was a casual meal. She had also insisted on making a three course meal from the start and despite the time limit we had, and the assumed impossibility to do s

SERGIO’S VIEW POINTThree days ago, I had gotten permission from my daughter to use her fiancé as a negotiator and temporary consigliere. I had to say, I wasn’t too happy to have had suck up to the revolting yet fascinating man. I was an honest man, so I couldn’t lie to either of them about my plans. Luckily, I had been able to keep my intentions private and expose only a small part of the full story. The only person aware of the entire hoax was Isabella, who was a questionable ally, having spent so much time with Igor. She had escaped his possession three weeks ago, which shortly after Yves had been attacked by Igor. It had been a measly and very shallow execution of strength and display of lack of fear, but it had somehow had a great effect on my business. And knowing Igor, there was absolutely no way he or his men had discovered Giovanna’s importance from surveillance; so it made me wonder if Isabella knew about her and had told Igor. Even Mr. Clever French boy hadn’t figured it o

RAPHAEL’S VIEW POINTThe world seemed to stop when Annie dropped lifelessly to the floor. My head went blank and blood rushed to my ears, blocking out every sound that didn’t tell me Annie was alive. When I didn’t get a single signal after a few seconds, I was in complete denial. I found myself wondering how and why my instinct had let me down now when it had never done so before. I was about to run carelessly to hold her in my arms but it seemed God had been on my side. A man dropped down after her, blood spilling from the hole in his head. Reading the situation and realizing there was still hope, I felt my senses perk up again, a new confidence in myself being discovered. In that split moment before the man had come to sight, my life had flashed before my eyes. I had judged my every decision, except not marrying Giovanna. If the supposed death of my sister wasn’t enough reason to leave her, I knew I was fighting for the right cause. I found myself grinning despite having killed a

RAPHAEL’S VIEW POINT.Natalie, Gaia and I had a long chat before Giovanna arrived. We had been talking about our childhoods’ most embarrassing experiences and laughing about how immature we had been. Gaia had had the most adventurous, and made Natalie and I laugh so much that our stomachs hurt. I had checked on Annie a few times during the conversation and she had been fast asleep, until the moment Giovanna came into the home and announced her presence. A confused “Annie?” followed by an excited “Gia!” could be heard before the two began conversing. Gaia, having no idea Giovanna was coming, perked up in excitement. I went to freshen up in a washroom I had found while searching for Gaia, before deciding to wait in the kitchen for her, knowing I wasn’t going to be able to keep myself calm in front of others. I had disposed of my façade near Gaia but I wasn’t going to let down my guard until I could confirm her trustworthiness.“You’re not going to see her?” Natalie asked when Gaia had