“Oh, my dear son…” Cozbi said as soon as she pushed the door open. Without hesitation, she rushed over to Alex, her hands reaching for his disheveled hair, smoothing it down as though it could erase the turmoil he had been through. “Look at you. Nathan really did you bad, eh?” she exclaimed loudly, her voice laced with exaggerated concern. Alex squeezed his eyes shut, pretending to be still asleep. He wasn’t ready to face his mother, not now, not with everything going on. Loulou’s presence, though comforting to some, always made him feel like he was under a microscope, judged for his every weakness. “Welcome to London, Loulou,” Vanessa said with a thin smile, trying to mask her discomfort with the woman’s presence. Vanessa had always admired Loulou’s strength, but there was something about her intensity that could suffocate a room. Still focused on her son, Loulou ignored Vanessa’s greeting and turned her full attention back to Alex, gently shaking him. “You! Are you even feeding

Cozbi leaned back, her gaze intense. “That’s my boy. Don’t you ever forget why you are doing this! Revenge for us. Your dad sent you away to Africa when you were still in my womb. He made sure we saw hell and he almost tried to kill us, Alex. If he was alive, oh madha kunt sa'afeal lahi… even the devil would have been scared of me. But we have his son. “Look son, we will break every bone in his body. We will kill that little fucking girl he cares to much about. The idea is to make sure every trace of your father’s generation or family is gone, completely out of existence. And when that happens, we would be the only Reeds left in the world.” She paused briefly, “God, how I hate calling that name! Curse you, Daniel. I hope the devil fucks your ass with a hot rod in hell. If he doesn’t, I will come to hell with the head of Nathan and Kamsi and I will insert a hot rod inside your fucking ass.” Alex was short of words. Vanessa was also shocked. Cozbi’s mouth was more rotten than the

“Look, Samuel Langford, we have a good business relationship and I do not wish to ruin it. So, I ask you to give me some more time to sort some things out and I will pay your shares. You know my daughter just got married and I need to revive financially. The least you can do right now is support me.” Donald said coldly. Samuel was a truly good man, kind at heart, and forgiving. But he had limits, yielding points. And when he has reached his yielding point, he doesn’t take no for an answer. “You are right about one thing, Donald, business relationship. And of course, I did support your daughter’s wedding more than you know. So, to keep this good relationship flowing, I would advise you to make arrangements for your debts. I cannot wait indefinitely for you to sort your finances. I have my own responsibilities and obligations to meet.” Samuel’s voice was steady, his gaze unwavering as he assessed Donald’s reaction. Donald shifted uncomfortably, the weight of Samuel’s words pressing

His mind quickly drifted to his mom. Her last smile before the angels took her to heaven. She was so beautiful, so quiet, so calm. But she married her opposite and paid for it dearly. His mother taught him how to paint, how to find peace in art and to be a good kid, despite the kind of father he had. He grew up, spending years wanting to fit in with his peers. This made him form a clique with Dave and Anastasia back in college days. Only to have his heart broken, making him cry like a baby, a weak man. Why did he cry? He promised himself to be ruthless. But one thing was sure, he was not going to let his father cause any harm, mentally or physically on Kamsi. No matter how much he craved to be ruthless, he would not! “Father,” he began cautiously, searching for the right words, “you can’t—” Donald cut him off, his voice icy. “You think I’m just going to let Nathan walk away without consequences? He needs to understand that we’re not to be trifled with. This isn’t about right or

“Look, look at this, Kamsi. Your own brother is leaving you again. He is leaving London, just like he did to you 6 years ago.” Ann, the psychologist said, shoving the tablet to Kamsi’s face. Kamsi gradually took the phone and watched her brother. Teardops from her eyes wet the screen. This was her brother. Nathan, her brother that she hadn’t seen in years. He looked so… so different, so mature and… there was something cold in his eyes. She missed him so much. But at that point, she began to doubt if Nathan even loved her or missed her the way she did. He left her 6 years ago without saying goodbye. He returned and did not bother to look for her. And now, he was going to leave her again. “You see? Look, girl, I understand how you feel. My own father left me and my mom when I was still a child. He left me in the hands of my wicked uncle and…” Ann wiped the drop of tear from her eyes. “And I almost ended my own life. My uncle raped me, molested me and…” Ann paused, taking a sha