The nurse, whose name was Jeannie, was a petite, fine lady in her early or mid-thirties. She had round, wide-set eyes that crinkled when she smiled; it looked like she smiled a lot; her hair was held in a ponytail above her head; and her lips were curled in a warm smile. “Good afternoon.” She greeted me warmly as she met Kathy and me. We were seated on one of the benches in the reception. Another nurse whose name I had forgotten to ask had offered to call Jeannie Daniels for us, and minutes later, she appeared. “I was told you wanted to see me.” I nodded and stood to my feet. “I did. Is there any place more private where we can talk?” Her brows shot to the sky, and a frown appeared on her face. That frown did not suit her. “I’m sorry.” I added it immediately. “Forgive my manners; my name is Andre Lynch, and this is my wife, Kathy Lynch.” Jeannie nodded. “Is there anything I can do for you?” She looked at the watch on her wrist. “I have a patient to attend to in ten minutes.”“We

Seeing Freda again rattled my nerves. I could barely concentrate on my work; every time I tried to think, I heard her in my head. Her cold voice sent shivers down my spine, and my heartbeat accelerated. I had been bluffing earlier when I said I did not fear her; it was only the rush of adrenaline speaking.Now that I was calm and settled, I felt fear. It seeped through my bloodstream and attacked my heart until all I saw were illusions of Freda taking my children away from me. She had on a sinister smile, and every time I tried to fight back, I would only sip deeper into the quicksand—a trap that she had set for me to keep me from reaching my children. The more I tried to move, the deeper I sank. And her loud laughter roared everywhere around me. It was a nightmare that I saw even with my eyes wide open and would continue to see if I did not act quick enough. A warm hand touched me, jolting me from the daydream that I had fallen into. “Hey, are you okay?” Sally asked. “You look quit

CHAPTER SIXTY-FIVE“I am ready to drink myself into stupor.” Sally declared as we headed back to the car. “You know, when I said family, I meant all of you.” She said, looking from me to Darby and Cameron and the twins, who sat in each of their arms.I smiled. “I know, Sally, and to us, you are our family too.” I glanced at Darby and Cameron. “Right guys?”Both Cameron and Darby nodded. “We are all we’ve got now. Each other, and we always have to watch each other’s backs and tell ourselves when we are walking into an obvious trap or doing something stupid like going to drink oneself to stupor.” I said, giving Sally a pointed look.Sally rolled her eyes. “I just came from burying my mother, Lana, in case you had not noticed. I need something to take my mind off everything for a while.” I scoffed. “And you think drinking yourself to stupor is the best idea?” I argued. “It’s the worst. We’ll come up with something we can do or a place we can go on our way home.”“Yeah?” Sally taunted. “

The boardroom was a beehive. The noise could be heard from a mile away; everyone wanted to speak at once, but no one wanted to listen. It reminded me of kindergarten, where there were no rules and every kid just cried and played.The noise died once I opened the double doors and stepped in. Every head in the room turned in my direction, and one by one, they began to settle. I was like the teacher whom every kid feared in high school. Gates, who had met me at the lobby, slipped into one of the chairs reserved for secretaries and guests who were not part of the board and settled into it while I strolled to my seat at the head of the table. Their eyes followed me as I moved, like surveillance cameras.I placed my hands on the table and skimmed my eyes over everyone in the room. Before, I would have thought of something to draw confidence from, but now, my anxiety gives me enough confidence. How could they go and betray me like this? I called an emergency meeting without my knowledge, an

They all watched me, whether expectantly or hatefully; I didn’t care. All that mattered was that I had fully gotten their attention and probably their respect. Because one thing men in business feared was a woman with balls. They would never mention Freda’s name in the same sentence as mine, and they would not call a board meeting without approaching me with it first. We had come to an unspoken understanding.“We have been able to get ourselves a major deal with a very prominent company, and you will like the advantages they are giving us.” I said it with a smile. “A company bigger than Ranhold?” McCoy asked; he was still pissed. I could see that.“Yes.” I answered. “A company much bigger than Ranhold and with ten times more reach. They have offered us a deal, and we are going to accept it.”“What company is this?” Lou asked. Lou was of Chinese descent, but rumours had it that his father was an American, and honestly, when I looked really well, I think I saw his American side. He hel