PRESENT DAYThe phone rang shrilly in the almost empty room, and Rooney, a one-time criminal who was very notorious for having committed several crimes in the past years, but somehow, always managed to get out of prison in record time, answered it on the third ring.“Yes?” He said into the phone in that gruff and gravelly tone that never ceased to make people afraid to cross him.“Rooney?” A female voice came from over the phone.“This is him. What ya want?”“Do you know who is speaking?”“I do. What ya want?” Rooney asked again. He had never been known for his warm or patient nature.“Okay. I just wanted to make sure. Listen, it’s time.”“Time for what?”“Time for what we discussed some months ago.” The female voice said.“Sure thing. I need my money before anything else, though.”“And you’ll get it in full and then some if you execute what I want perfectly.”“That’s good news to me ears. So it’s time for me to do it then? Do you want it to be done today, tomorrow, or sometime next w

To Derek’s relief, Barry was admitted and stabilized within minutes of his arrival at the hospital. They were regular visitors at the hospital after all, so it was not always a hassle to get Barry admitted anytime he had a crisis.It was only after Barry was settled that Derek looked down at himself and realized that he was dressed in his pajamas. In his haste, he had neglected to change into more presentable clothes.Luckily enough, it was night, or rather early morning, depending on how one looked at it, which meant that he could quickly rush home and change into more presentable clothing before day.“I’m so sorry about what happened, boss. I came as soon as I could.” Jerome his bodyguard told him, coming up to meet him in the corridor of the hospital.Jerome was a huge and beefy man with a very stern expression, but he had a soft spot for Barry and always found time to play with him whenever he was less busy.“Ah, Jerome. You’re here. Thank goodness. How did you know I was gone?”“

The film crew was having a quick break when Ava noticed that Denise was having what appeared to be a heated conversation with Derek’s bodyguard. Ava remembered the man from when she was married to Derek, and they had even been friends back then.Derek was nowhere in sight, which was just as well, because she wasn’t interested in seeing him, especially since for the past few days, she had been having conflicted feelings about her decision to continue to keep him out of her child’s life.“You have no fucking right to talk to me in that tone. It is not my fault that your boss is a deadbeat father who would leave his son bedridden in a hospital, knowing fully well that I’m working. Anyway, the boy has a nanny, not so? Well, get the nanny to stay with him. You don’t very well expect me to leave the set in the middle of filming.” Denise yelled at the man, whose expression remained impassive.“There always has to be some drama where this lady is concerned.” Steve, who was seated close to Ava

It took several days... Much longer than it was supposed to take, for people to realize that Derek had most likely been kidnapped.In the message that his bodyguard got that same morning of his disappearance, it had been stated that Derek was going to be unreachable for several days because he did not want to be disturbed.However, everyone who knew him also knew that there was no way he would leave his son so abruptly without giving instructions on what was to be done for the boy, or at least sorting his medical bills.“I can't believe this! How irresponsible can the man be? Who the fuck leaves a sick child in the hospital and disappears in the middle of the night when he knows that the boy’s mother is working and would not be able to come to be with him?” Denise fumed.She was pacing the entire length and breadth of the hospital room in which Barry was admitted and was constituting such a huge nuisance that Barry’s nurse had to ask her to step outside. The child looked very relieved

"I can't believe that this is happening. I swear, I don’t know what you're talking about. Perhaps someone is trying to frame me or something. I had nothing to do with Derek’s disappearance. I swear it. Derek and I didn’t always see eye to eye, but I’ll never hurt him. Amanda, you have to believe me!” Denise said, her voice sounding frantic as tears gathered in her eyes.“Unfortunately, I can't, Denise. All fingers point to you. It's only a matter of time before everyone realizes it and they will the minute the news of your child's true paternity breaks out."“Oh, my God! I can't believe this is happening to me. Are you going to tell people about Barry?"“Calm down. I'm not a gossip. You told me about him because you trusted me, so I'm not going to expose you. Barry's real father might not have any such reservations though, but that's beside the point. I have a solution to the issue on ground. Wanna hear it?” Amanda asked, her eyes glinting mischievously.“Okay.”“As you well know, Der