CHAPTER 88. StrategyShe picked up her shoes and headed to the door, not seeing that despite everything, Zack was trying to get up to do a little victory dance."She's jealous... Oh, damn, this hurts...!" he groaned, limping towards the minibar. "But she's jealous... That’s something!"He smiled as he sat on a suite sofa and pressed something cold against his jewels. She was jealous!Zack knew he had made a monumental mistake with her, but he was determined to fix everything, absolutely everything.Meanwhile, at that very moment, Mason was face-to-face with Mr. Gazca and Ben, who were waiting for him by the elevator."Where's Andrea?" he hissed without even a greeting when he didn’t see her anywhere.A nurse from the daycare took the baby, not without Ben greeting her first, and then he turned to Mason."Andrea had a business trip. She should be back tonight."Mason felt his blood boil."She had a business trip?" he growled, half-angry, half-incredulous. "Who did she go with?" Ben cle
CHAPTER 89. One way or anotherAndrea felt like the world was collapsing around her. She clutched her hands in her lap, mustering the strength not to scream."How... how did you know Adriana was in the hospital?" she asked Zack."Ben just told me. I asked him to keep an eye on Adriana, and apparently, Mason himself made sure to notify him that the baby got sick... supposedly because he couldn’t reach you."Andrea's eyes filled with tears as Zack drove at full speed."That’s a lie! I don’t even have a missed call from him!" she growled in frustration. "Did he say... did he say what happened?""No, just that she was admitted to the ER," Zack murmured, taking one of her hands and squeezing it in a reassuring gesture that didn’t help her at all.Twenty minutes later, around eleven at night, they were running through the hospital corridors until they reached the emergency desk."Adriana Brand... she’s my daughter!" Andrea exclaimed, stopping in front of the nurse on duty who quickly typed
CHAPTER 90. I'm Here to Stay"That's not true!" Andrea sobbed."I'll tell you what's true," Mason gloated. "I'm walking out of this hospital with the kid in my arms, and there's nothing you can do because a judge gave her to me.""Are you sure you want to play that card?" The voice behind them made them turn, and they saw Zack's grim face. "It's not in your best interest to threaten either of them.""Stay out of this, idiot. It's none of your business! If you'd left when I warned you, you would have spared her many tears," Mason growled, then reached his hands out to Andrea. "Give me the baby.""No... Mason...""Give me the baby or I'll call the police!""I'm not leaving my daughter alone with you to hurt her!" Andrea screamed."Then you know what you have to do," Mason hissed. "Walk straight ahead of me and get in my car."Andrea swallowed hard as tears streamed down her face, but she knew she had no other choice. If Mason was willing to do anything to subdue her, she was willing to
CHAPTER 91. The judge's order is clearAndrea couldn't exactly describe how she felt, but that mixture of fear, helplessness, and despair never left her. The supposed nurse who had given the baby the wrong milk was no longer around the house when they arrived, but she made sure to mention it to Zack in a message. Despite the terrible situation she was in, she couldn't forget anything that could be used against Mason.That night, she didn't sleep; she couldn't. But peeking out the window and seeing him sitting in the truck, alert to any movement, gave her a certain peace.Unfortunately, Andrea wasn't the only one who saw him, and at four in the morning, in the bitter cold, Zack heard a pair of knuckles rapping on the car window. He took a deep breath when he saw the two police officers and courteously stepped out of the vehicle."Officers, how can I help you?""Sorry, sir, but you can't be here," one of the policemen said."Why not?" Zack asked politely. "I'm not on private property. I
CHAPTER 92. We need to change our strategyAndrea didn't need to be told twice; she hurried out, and as soon as she reached the street, Zack opened the back door of the truck for her to get in."Don't worry. We have the night shift in this area," the officers said, shaking Zack's hand. "We can swing by whenever needed."They left him their numbers, and Zack thanked them before taking Andrea away from there. They arrived at the company's building, and he made sure they were seen entering, just so that idiot Mason wouldn't think of causing trouble. However, fifteen minutes later, they switched cars in the parking lot and left in Ben's car."Will this cause any problems?" Andrea asked, worried."No, I already checked with Gazca. The judge's order doesn't say you can't take Adriana out of daycare, we just need to make sure we bring her back before five," Zack responded. "Besides, you need to rest. We still have a few sleepless nights ahead of us."They stopped by Andrea's apartment, but Z
CHAPTER 93. Trust That I Won't LeaveThat was true. So true that Zack felt a knot form in his stomach."What do you suggest?" he asked, turning to Milo.His brother walked in front of the property, frowning."It has a tall fence, not a wall: a typical mistake of the newly rich, valuing the display of what they have over privacy," Milo observed. "Fortunately, that gives us an advantage because we have two houses to choose from."He pointed to the houses on either side of Mason's."Either of them is a good option," Loan declared. "If you look down the halls, you'll see they have huge backyards. Andrea wouldn't have to be cooped up all day, and we could keep a better eye on her. You just need to get one of them to rent it to you for the next fifteen days."Zack nodded, but he wasn't as confident as his brother about negotiating with the homeowners."I'll look into the owners to see what the possibilities are," he muttered, but Officer O'Grady approached him."No need for that. Remember,
CHAPTER 94. Really urgentZack thanked them, and soon after, they passed by the office building on their way to the apartment. Adriana quickly started playing with Milo, and Zack dragged Andrea to her room."Let me see you," he growled, lifting her chin."Zack, it really wasn't anything..." Andrea tried to pull away, but he shook his head."Of course, it was something! That bastard dared to lay his hands on you! I'll kill him!" he hissed helplessly, gritting his teeth.Andrea ran a hand through his hair and pulled him close to her."Zack, you need to calm down...""I can't believe you're telling me that," he said desperately. "How can you ask me to calm down when that man dared to hurt you?""Because I can't let you do anything stupid. We're in the middle of a trial, and we need to endure this until the end... there's a lot at stake here. Adriana is at stake."Zack looked at her with narrowed eyes. He knew she was right, but the helplessness was eating him up inside."I know, but I ca
CHAPTER 95. Friday nightMilo was charming his way through the transfer process like the best of playboys, but luckily, in less than twenty minutes, the transfer was completed, and the documents were digitally signed.“All done. Just need to print them out, and then help me disappear because I swear that woman will come after me,” he warned.Zack nodded, relieved, as they sent the documents to attorney Gazca via email. Shortly after, they were entering the elevator and noticed Mason and his lawyer causing a major scene in the company's reception area.“My daughter should be here! The judge ruled she should go to daycare, not that Andrea could take her away from here!” Mason growled angrily.“We're going to file a complaint with the court right now!” threatened Basil Gagnon, his lawyer. “And we’ll make sure you never get custody…”“Did your idiot client not tell you?” Zack was angry but knew staying calm was the best way to ensure the situation didn’t spiral out of control. “Ms. Brand