**Damien 180.I decided to head home since I was not winning this battle of mine. Camilla had the upper hand and also a highly connected backing. This meant that I had to thread carefully. Despite the fact that I was the CEO, I was surrounded by enemies who had their own selfish genders.I was still in my office when I recalled a mysterious email on my computer. It had been from Michael Stryker, my old buddy from the army, he had once been the head of the police precinct before he was unlawfully transferred. I had no idea what he was up to but I knew that he was a valuable ally.I was not going to lie to myself. What Camilla had showed me had rattled me to the core of my entire being and I currently did not have a plan on what to do.I put a call through, Emilio and waited for him to pick up."And just how did you get this number, Moretti," Emilio said as she answered the call."You have your ways and I have mine, Emilio," I said to him on the phone."What can I do for you, Damien?" E
Isabella 181It was blissful at Ava's as the day went by. Damien still had no idea that I was absent from the house. I entered into the house with Ava as a pleasant tour guide. It was fascinating seeing all the abstract art she hung around the house. It was enlightening.She showed me the family portrait which was very old and I could make out just how young Damien had been when he just a little boy."Here, he was just four," Ava said proudly."He looks so serious," I noticed as I told Ava."Yes, he had always been rather solemn for his age," Ava replied fondly.I followed her to the huge library she had installed in the house. I gasped at the collections of rare books she had in her possession."Some where stolen from museums," Ava whispered proudly. It was as if she was a child again.I looked at her, appalled."What? They were just collecting dust from where they were kept, here, I get to show it off," She replied.My eyes caught a glimpse of something
Damien 182I sat alone in my office, the weight of Emilio's revelation bearing down on me like a leaden cloak. My mind raced with a million questions, each more terrifying than the last. How could Emilio, the man I had trusted as my father-in-law, be connected to something as sinister as the Puppeteer? And what did his involvement mean for Isabella, the woman I loved more than life itself?I couldn't shake the feeling of unease that settled in the pit of my stomach, a gnawing sense of dread that threatened to consume me whole. The thought of Isabella caught in the crosshairs of Emilio's dark past sent a shiver down my spine, filling me with a bone-deep fear unlike anything I had ever known.I had always prided myself on being able to protect those I cared about, to shield them from the dangers of the world. But now, faced with the realization that I may have unwittingly led Isabella into harm's way, I felt utterly powerless, a mere pawn in a game I could scarcely comprehend.As I sat
Growing up in the shadows of a broken home, Monroe's childhood was anything but idyllic. Trauma and turmoil were constant companions, shaping him into the man he would become - a man driven by hatred and fueled by a thirst for revenge.I could not blame him for his obsession with me because he had not believed that someone like me could be his downfall. It was great to know that he was still alive and there was only one reason he could be calling me. I had something he wanted.From a young age, he learned to fend for himself, navigating the treacherous streets with the cunning of a survivor. His parents were absent, consumed by their own demons, leaving him to fend for himself in a world that showed him no mercy.But he had refused to be a victim of circumstance, refused to let hispast dictate his future. So, when the opportunity arose to escape the cycle of poverty and despair, he seized it with both hands, enlisting in the army in search of a better life.At first, it seemed like he
Isabella 184.I was anxious to get home not because I wanted answers this time, but I could not stop being afraid for my husband. I knew that there was no way to dissuade him from his pursuit of the truth but it did not mean that I did not have to try. There was something disturbing about the puppet I had seen at Ava's place. The image of the ragged wooden stringed up puppet with an almost life like imagery of Ava's fade made me suddenly unsettled.This was because I had seen something like this before and it was way bloodier and very sick. I used to be unfairly picked on by a sister in the covenant that had taken me in. Sister Monica.She would deliberately starve me and called me a child of sin. I had no idea what I did to her to get such treatment. One day, she had beaten my knuckles red and swollen because I failed to recite a part of the book she was teaching about.I was just twelve and I had cried myself to sleep. The next morning, sister Monica was f
Damien 185.I woke up with a slight headache and running stomach. I groaned uncomfortably as I looked over at my wife. We had not officially done the whole wedding thing yet but she was my wife by choice and calling.We just had not yet officiated the wedding yet. Too much had been happening and it got the both of us distracted. Who could blame us? Our lives were in perpetual danger unless I did something about it and fast.Ever since Jackson told me about my father in law being the root cause of my problems, it had filled me with unadulterated rage and dismay.Emilio Montenegro came into out lives, unwanted and not needed. He was the long lost estranged father of my wife and he believed that I was not the perfect fit for his daughter. We had even met earlier in a bar in the city where he threatened thunder and fire upon me.I gently nugdeg Isabella awake."Morning, my Cara," I whispered softly into her exposed ear as I woke her up.Isabella woke up and sn
Isabella 186.It was still morning and Damien did not feel like going to work after what my dad had done. We walked slowly back to his car after the nasty confrontation that took place moments ago between him and my father.Damien had no actual destination in mind so he just drove aimlessly."What is going on in your head?" I asked him as he watched the road, a grim expression etched on his face."You don't want to know," He gruffly replied."Damien, you are shutting me out again," I let him know. "And that makes you no different from my father," I added and quite frankly, I had no idea where those words came from."I am thinking of punching your dad in the face, I want to wrap my hands around his neck and keep squeezing," He curtly replied.I raised my eyebrows, mildly surprised that he told me."I told you that you did not want to know," Damien said when he saw my shocked expression."That is not it, I am actually shocked that you told me," I replied."Which part? About me kicking y
Damien 187I sat at my desk, the weight of recent revelations pressing down on me like a suffocating blanket. Despite my best efforts to focus on work, my mind kept drifting back to the dark secrets lurking within Renaissance, and the role my father-in-law, Emilio, played in it all.I tried to bury myself in reports and emails, but every word on the screen blurred together, the letters dancing before my eyes in a mocking dance of distraction. I needed to clear my head, to find some semblance of clarity in the chaos that threatened to consume me.Just then, a soft knock echoed through my office, followed by the sound of the door swinging open. I looked up to see Camilla Valdez standing in the doorway, her presence as unwelcome as ever."Damien," she purred, her voice dripping with false sweetness. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."I gritted my teeth, forcing myself to maintain a neutral expression despite the rising tide of anger and frustration building within me. "Wha