Andrea's POVAfter about 3 weeks of being locked up in the Monster's mansion, I was released with three days of rest before reporting for work at Robles Corp. To be honest, my stay there wasn't all gloomy and stormy but it certainly feels good to be back in the apartment, with the exception of having to play the silent treatment with Lana. I knew she had been worried about my whereabouts but there was no way I could tell her that. I couldn't afford to get her involved in this, being already way in over my head with my little brother involved. I'd probably have had to sell myself for her and that would have been a nightmare, to be enslaved to Antonio. Sadly, that was already the case...just in a slightly less traumatizing way.On the other hand, Lana's return to Jackson had me up in arms. Just the thought of them together fused with the memory of his birthday party made me livid. I was worried about her well-being. Jackson, as everyone knew him, was said and proven to be a no-good spoi
"Lana, let go. I'm fine. It's nothing....""Nothing? Your once flawless skin is suddenly covered by dark patches after you disappeared for almost a month and you're telling me it's nothing? Get dressed. We're going to see the doc...""No!" I aggressively yanked my arms out of her grip. "I'm fine. It's nothing so please leave me alone. It's no big de...""No big deal? You think I can't tell these are from healing bruises? That means something did happen and if you won't tell me what, I'll find out myself," she said angrily and stormed off, taking her phone out of her pocket."Lana!" I immediately went after her, while putting a t-shirt on. "You're exaggerating. It's nothi....""Don't give me that Andrea. You...""Fine, it's simply none of your business," I boomed, cutting her. The air in the living room instantly became thick and suffocating. The astonishment and sadness drawn on her face was soft and yet heart-wrenching. "How can you say that? I...""Lana, you wanted me out of your b
"Now, she has really crossed the line with me. I'll make her stay here as miserable as possible," Lauren mumbled to herself as soon as she was sure Antonio was out. Little did she know that he was yet to completely shut the door. He chuckled under his voice at what she said before thinking to himself, 'I know you will Lauren. You're my ticket to getting back at that wild cat.'***Around the promised hour, Antonio picked up Lauren from the office and made their way to the warehouse. Immediately the Audi came to a halt, the door flew open instantly, making way for the brightness of day that was shun out by the tinted windows. They were welcomed by a man dressed in a black sleeveless turtleneck shirt, a dark themed soldier camouflage pants with multiple side pockets, black wellington boots, wore a pair of black leather gloves, and had on a black headband. Arnold was followed by two others dressed similarly who stood at the entrance of the building, one holding a black briefcase with a g
Alright Lily. It's time for me to go," said Lana to her adopted sister and best friend, Lily.Lily gave a dull smile. "Send my love to mum, dad and Jay for me.""You should have come with me, you know?" Lana said picking up her bag from her seat behind her. "They've all missed you like craaazyy," she empasized the last word while hugging her."You know why I can't Lana. Let's just drop it.""C'mon Andrea, it's been 11 years. You...""Lana please? Let's not do this. You should board the plane now," she said cutting her speech."So what will you be doing during the Christmas holidays?""The usual, home alone, online with followers, you know? Okay, now get going already!" Lily insisted with a chuckle. She knew Lana was feeling reluctant to leave and was just stalling because she felt bad leaving her by herself for the Christmas holidays. 'Knowing her, she'll likely start shedding tears if we keep talking. I'm not ready to change my mind, not yet. I definitely can't go back...at least not
Antonio's Mansion...About an hour after the encounter at the airport...Antonio sat in his study trying to work but found it hard to concentrate. The incident from earlier, at the airport, just wouldn't give him a break in his thoughts. He constantly staggered upon the memory, still so stunned that someone had the audacity to disrespect him like that. He didn't really care whether people saw or not. He just couldn't allow Lily off the hook without teaching her a resounding lesson. He opened up a drawer in his desk to take out her purse and took a look at her ID card."Liliana Andrea Cabrera," he read out her name. "She's also of Latin descent." He was scanning the remaining content when he was suddenly interrupted by a knock at the door.Antonio picked up a little remote on his desk and pressed a button, opening the door. It was a woman in a red blazer with a fitting short skirt. She wore a white blouse with a very low neckline underneath the blazer, exposing much of her cleavage. He
"Marcus Elton is indeed the traitor, just as you suspected. Private Detective Donovan acquired these pictures of him meeting up with your ex, Rachael. As seen in the photos, he's handing over a folder which is similar looking and certainly the same as the missing folder containing the Advertising department's fake ideas for the festive season. However, we cannot pin down any particular company Rachael is working with because the ideas seem to have been distributed among three different companies," Lauren said as he went through the pictures. "What would you like to do about it now Boss?""Well done. Now we have almost everything we need. I informed the detective earlier today of another task he needs to complete in order for us to completely pin him down.""What are you talking about Boss?" Lauren asked surprised that there was more to do on this case."Don't worry about that. He can handle it. About the guy Marcus pinned the theft on and fired, I hope you've already paid him his sala
★★★Lily's apartment..."WHAT THE..." Lily boomed, burning with fury. "This person knows who I am yet posted my purse with its content on MY website...TO SELL?!"She stared blankly at the screen for a while, thinking of who it could be. She thought of Antonio but doubted he'd have any time to play games like this. It had been posted about an hour ago. 'Maybe someone else found it and wanted to play with me. Maybe it's a fan?' she desperately hoped.Suddenly, a message was posted in the comment section of that post. 'I will buy it.' Lily panicked. "What if the person sells it?" She immediately picked up her phone and placed a call to the seller's contact provided under the post."Who are you?" Lily asked the moment the call was answered."For someone who gave a lecture about Mr Manners, you seem to be slacking," Antonio responded nonchalantly."Oh God! What wrong have I done to deserve this? Of all the people who could have ended up with my purse, why did it have to be him?" she said o
Meanwhile...Bronx Estate...The Perkins residence..."But I don't understand...""Mum calm down. We have to respect her decision. When she's ready, she'll surely come around," Lana assured her mother, Veronica, as they unpacked her stuff."Tell me what really happened the last time she was here. What really happened with her mum?" Veronica insisted on knowing. She really loved Andrea like she was her very own daughter. She and her husband adopted her at age 12 and has ever since, lived under their protection and in the comfort of their arms. Never did they make Andrea feel like a stranger, at least on purpose. However, it wasn't easy getting her to open up or feel at ease. She was always scared to walk outside at all. At day, she feared meeting her mother and at night, she feared robbers and other bad people.11 years ago...One night, Lana's dad, Martin Perkins, decided to take a walk with his two children, Lana, 13 years of age, and Jake, 6 years. On their way, they saw a woman scr