CHAPTER 34ANDREW'S POV I didn't expect this stunt from my father but then again, he was never predictable. I knew he wouldn't like the idea of another woman being near me because he had been trying to get Trisha and I be together. Even though I had told him I wasn't interested, he didn't show any signs of giving up. He always wanted to have his way, every fucking time.I had seen him control my brother's life like that and Alex was so keen on pleasing him so he became a puppet. I swore I would never be one. I loved and respected my father, but there were lines I wouldn't let him cross. This was one of them."We're leaving." I said to Lorena, pulling her along. My father's men stood in front of me, stopping me from leaving."What is it about this woman that you're not telling me? If she is merely collateral for her father's debt like you say, then there's no reason you should refuse my mercy. I said she doesn't need to pay me anymore." He repeated."This isn't about you father. You m
CHAPTER 35ARIANA'S POVI developed a phobia for water years ago. I never went near a pool, not even the one in the compound. I didn't like taking long walks on the beach either. Damian had tried to make me do that several times but I was always too scared of the water.I had no idea why. My doctor told me it could be the result of past trauma that had something to do with water but how could I develop that problem when I didn't even remember the traumatic experience that led to it? I remembered nothing about the accident in Cuba. I only heard about it from my family. I didn't remember being on a boat and I definitely didn't remember being with a baby. Somehow, my family never mentioned a child when they talked about the accident.But I had had dreams about it, vague and fleeting. I almost never remembered them when I woke up but I'd notice my cheeks stained with tears every time and my hands shaking.So when Sarah told me about a baby, I didn't think she was crazy or that she was a f
CHAPTER 36JONATHAN'S POVWorking has been my coping mechanism. It was the only way I had survived and the only thing in my life that I had control over. Being the heir to three generations of wealth and a chain of companies, a lot was expected of me and I dared not rebel. It had been that way since I was little. My parents began to groom me to take over the business when I started to walk. They taught me how to talk, the people to meet, friends to keep, how to think, even how to dress, anything that would make me into someone who'd be worthy to handle the business after my father. They made sure to drum it into my skull that all eyes were on me and I obeyed. It hadn't helped that I was an only child. So I'd buried myself in my studies and made sure to accomplish impressive feats. I didn't date a lot in high school and in college because I didn't want to get distracted. I strived to make my father proud. And he was proud of me, until he wasn't.I met someone I liked when I took over t
CHAPTER 37HAVANA, CUBA.ZOILA'S POVRagged breaths, adrenaline rush, sweaty bodies and open mouthed breathless gasps.I loved these kinds of chase. I loved the thrill it gave me and the satisfaction after catching who I was after, and I always caught them. My colleagues called me the Cheetah because I'd caught more criminals on foot than others had done on moving cars and I never stopped running until I'd got them.Our footsteps echoed on the wet tarred road and splashes were made where my foot stomped. He was a few feet away from me but I was gaining on him."Keep an eye out Suarez, he's making his way through the street." I said to my partner through my walkie talkie."Be careful Martinez. He's got a weapon.""Well, so do I." I replied and increased my pace."Get away from me, you creep!" The culprit yelled, pushing trash cans and anything he could find to stall me. But this wasn't my first rodeo, I flew over them with ease and dodged whatever else he hurled at me."Stop running Ar
CHAPTER 38ANDREW'S POVI wanted to fill Alex's shoes when he died. I wasn't interested in my father's business so I lived a carefree life knowing Alex was there to handle things, and he was good at it. He never had any problems dealing with gamblers and druggies, he never hesitated to send his men after you when you didn't meet up a deadline the for payment of your loan, he didn't have any problems with becoming more and more like Dad. I did.While I went to parties and traveled the world being the family's prodigal son, Alex stayed and worked hard. I didn't live like that because I wanted to, I just didn't want to do business that way. I had other plans.I wanted a clean, legal business. One that didn't support drug dealing, cheating people on the gambling tables and victimizing the poor debtors with exuberant interests on their loan. I wanted a business out of the streets. But that was father's life and he was slowly sucking Alex into it.And then Alex died.His death put me on th
CHAPTER 39ANDREW'S POV.Lorena had mentioned that she hadn't been to many places. Her parents must have been so protective and strict with her, probably to protect her from her father's creditors. What kind of life had she lived exactly? She said she had been homeschooled too.Was that why there weren't any records of her? I was curious. She wasn't registered, that meant no birth certificate, no identity, nothing. Or was she an immigrant?There was no record of her being adopted so her parents had to be her biological parents. I wanted to understand all of this but I had no idea how to approach her and ask. There was so much to Lorena Tanner, and I was going to unravel her.I asked her to meet me here because I knew she hadn't really experienced what it was like to have a fun time with friends, party, dance, get drunk even or just share a laughter.I had no idea why, but I wanted to do these things for her. I wanted to make her laugh, take her dancing and show her the world she hadn'
CHAPTER 40ARIANA'S POV.My head ached and throbbed even more when I tried to open my eyes and sit up. I couldn't move. A faint beeping sound filtered into my subconscious and I tried to focus on the sound. Where was I? Why did my head hurt so much?I tried to open my eyes again and as they fluttered open, I stared into a white ceiling with bright lights. I moved my head to the side and saw an ECG machine and a needle connected to my veins. A plastic bag hung above me and the liquid flowed steadily from it into my body.A hospital? Why?And then the memories came flooding in. Everything. Everything I had forgotten and everything I knew now. They swamped my mind and made it hard to focus. I felt a surge of diverse emotions ripple through me with each memory that unfolded. Pain, fear, and a sense of loss. Confusion boggled my mind. I held on to my head and felt bandages wrapped around it. I had hit my head during the fall."Ariana! You're awake!" Sophie exclaimed, rushing to my side. "I
CHAPTER 41LORENA'S POVI am getting sick of this drill. Why can I not just go out and come home without having anything dramatic happen to me? I was having a great time dancing and watching Macho expertly mix drinks that tasted so good. It was a great experience and I was enjoying every bit of it. It was so good that I had to put off going to the bathroom until I couldn't hold it anymore.I asked Connor where the bathroom was and he pointed me towards the ladies bathroom. Through the loud music, he offered to take me there but I declined, not wanting to interrupt his fun time. He was showing off his moves on the dance floor , trying to impress a girl, so I let him be. It was just the bathroom, I could find it myself. I walked towards the bathroom and located it without difficulty. Thankfully, there wasn't a long line. I washed my hands and dried off before coming out."Hey, are you Lorena?" A drunk lady asked me."Yes, why?""Some guy told me to ask you to meet him out back." She s