bChapter /b99

    AUTHOR’S POV

    “bI /bbwas /bstolen, Talia. I was stolen from my birth parents.” Alina dropped the bombshell.

    Talia’s mouth fell open, eyes widened in pure shock.

    “bSay /bwhat now?!”

    She couldn’t believe her ears. She so badly wanted to ask if Alina was joking, but she knew from the serious expression on her friend’s face that she wasn’t.

    “That isn’t even the worst part.” Alina continued, her voice barely above a whisper.

    “What do you mean?” Talia questioned, her own heart now racing.

    What could be worse than that?

    “My parents are involved in something dangerous, an incident that wiped Lucian’s entire family in the past. They have ia /ihand in it.” Alina finally told her friend.

    “What?” Talia said, barely above a whisper. “You are kidding, right? Maybe you heard wrong. I mean, I know your adoptive parents are scums of the earth, but I would never picture them being involved in murder.” She was trying to wrap her head around everything she was hearing.

    “I more than anyone wish this was a cruel joke or a very horrible dream, Talia, but it isn’t.” Alina said, her chest heavy with dread.

    “Is that why you feel as though Lucian is going to hate you?” Talia asked suddenly.

    “Yes. Wouldn’t you if you were him?” Alina asked back. “You find out that your fiancée’s parents have a hand in the destruction of your entire family,that is enough to make anyone want revenge on the family responsible, Talia. And unfortunately, I am a part of that family.”

    “But what happened had nothing to do with you,” Talia tried to protest. “You didn’t even know until today.”

    But Alina wasn’t listening, “What if the reason Ss and Elena agreed to this union with Lucian was because they are trying to use me as a safety in case things blow up?” Alina spoke, her voice trembling.

    “Baby that isn’t your fault at all. You are just a victim in all of this too.” Talia assured her, her tone soft and supportive.

    Alina was silent for a few minutes, her head a mess as her thoughts threatened to drown her,

    Talia nced bat /bthe time. It was gettingte, and she knew it was only a matter of time before Lucian came knocking on her door in search of Alina.

    “Uhm, baby… why don’t you go home, and then tomorrow bwe’ll /bcontinue this conversation and look for a solution. You know how your fiancé bcan /bbe when bhe /bcan’t find you.” Talia said, worried for both Alina and

    55 vouchers

    herself.

    “I am not going back home tonight, Talia. Not like this. I definitely cannot face Lucian.”

    “But you

    have to, Alina, or else he would know something is wrong and try to investigate, which would be a bad idea. Because it would be better if he hears the news from you rather than find out by himself,” Talia advised gently.

    “Don’t worry about him showing up here. I already told him I would be spending the night at yours.” Alina told her.

    She knew the reason Talia was anxious about her being therete was because she was terrified of Lucian.

    “Really?” Talia asked, skeptical.

    “Yeah.” Alina nodded.

    “And he just agreed?” Talia said, her tone heavy with doubt.

    “I mean, I may have told him that you were going through a lot at the moment and you needed me, so yeah.” Alina said with a shrug.

    Talia let out a sigh of relief. Alina may have lied, but at least that was going to keep Lucian away from her doorstep, so she didn’t mind.

    The silence between them stretched on for a few minutes before Alina finally spoke.

    “Do you remember the strange number that called me a few months ago?” Alina asked, fear heavy in her tone.

    “The one that you asked me to trace but I came up with nothing?” Talia confirmed.

    “Yes, that one.” Alina quickly nodded.

    “Yes, I remember. What about it?” Talia’s tone and expression disyed confusion.

    She didn’t know why Alina suddenly mentioned that, or what it had to do with the present issue on the ground.

    “I think whoever was on the line is involved in this whole thing.”

    Talia frowned. “Why do you think so? Did Ss or Elena mention it?”

    “They keep referring to whoever nned this whole thing as ‘he! They didn’t mention his name, but I can feel it in my bones that the person that called me back then is the same person Elena and Ss are working for.” Alina’s voice was heavy with conviction.

    “Crazy thing is that this person is a ghost. I’ve tried everything I can and even reached out to some of my contacts abroad, but we cannot find anything about him, nor can we track the number.” Talia said worriedly.

    This would be the first time she would face such a problem in her line of work. She was known as Hacker Zero in the ck market; one of the best. She could find anyone or anything as long as they existed. But

    17:52 bThu/b, bSep 18 /bN

    somehow, bshe /bcouldn’t find this person.

    “It’s like he doesn’t exist.” She whispered.

    55 vouchers

    “Oh, he exists alright. That call was real, andtely, I’ve been feeling like someone is watching me.” Alina told

    her.

    “Have you told Mr. ckwood about this?b” /b

    “No.” Alina responded softly.

    Talia ask her why and give her reasons why she should but she decided not to. Alina wasn’t a child. She would tell him when she was ready and it’s a good thing she had a bodyguard on her all the time.

    “Has he called you since thest time?”

    “Thankfully, no.” Alina responded. “What should I do about Lucian? I don’t know what to do, Talia. Should I tell him what I heard?” She asked, confused.

    “It’s the right thing to do.” Talia responded.

    “I can’t tell him. He’s going to hate me, Talia. We are in such a good ce in our rtionship right now. If bI /btell him, everything will be ruined.” Alina panicked, her hands trembling.

    “Okay, calm down and breathe, baby,” Talia said, shuffling close to her and grabbing her face gently. “We don’t want you having a panic attack now, do we?”

    Alina shook her head as she took in a deep breath.

    “Now, I still think you should tell him. It’s better he hears this from you than finds out on his own. You know he will.” Talia advised.

    “But even if he finds out, it’s not like he would know that I already know about it. I could just pretend I didn’t know about it.” Alina said, nodding her head at the thought.

    “Sounds like a good n. But would you be able to live with the guilt though? I mean, if you can, then by all means, do not tell him.” Talia shrugged.

    “I can’t think about this right now, my head aches.” Alina groaned in frustration.

    “Alright baby, iwe /ican talk about something else. But one thing I know is that Mr. ckwood loves you. I am sure there is no bone in his body that can hate you. I mean, you’ve done things that are worse and he kept chasing you and loving you.” Talia pointed out.

    It was the truth. Alina had insulted, humiliated, and degraded Lucian any chance she got in the past, yet never stopped him from loving her.

    With that thoughtb, /ba little hope ignited in Alina’s heart.

    “I will tell him.” She finally spoke.

    it

    b17:52 /bbThu/bb, /bbSep /bb18 /bbN /b