Chapter 2

Sylvester held his mother close, letting her rest on his shoulder. Her chest rose and fell quickly as she cried, her pain clear in every sob.

"Mom, please, this isn't good for you," he said softly, his face filled with concern as he watched her struggle with grief.

Gently, he placed one hand on her shoulder, lifting her face with the other to make her look at him.

"How long are you going to keep doing this, Mom? It's been ten years. I thought you were starting to heal," Sylvester sighed, feeling hopeless.

"How can I heal, Sylv? Kaiden hasn’t forgotten." She closed her eyes, a wave of memories from that day ten years ago flooding back.

"What's the news, Rowan?" Cheryl asked, stepping down the stairs as she saw her private detective enter the room. She had been waiting for hours for his report.

"It’s not good, Madam," Rowan said quickly, bowing slightly.

Her face immediately changed. Not good?

"Come to my study," she said, turning and heading upstairs.

In her study, she walked over to the window and pulled the curtains aside.

"Speak!" she demanded, her voice sharp with urgency.

"Madam, there will be an attack on the Smiths tonight. It will be worse than the one that happened to you."

Cheryl froze, her heart sinking at the words. An attack worse than the one on her? The Smiths? No, it couldn’t be!

"Who’s behind this?" Cheryl’s eyes widened in alarm. She had survived the previous attack only because she had been tipped off, but could the Smiths escape theirs? They were like family to her, close friends and business partners. An attack on them would be an attack on the Glevons.

"We don’t know yet, Madam. We’re still tracking their men, hoping the person behind this will show up," Rowan replied.

"I need to warn the Smiths right now!" Cheryl’s voice was urgent as she pulled out her phone, dialing numbers over and over, but no one answered.

"Pick up! Pick up!" she muttered, her hands trembling as she tried to hold the phone steady.

Frustrated, she clenched her fists and looked around the room, unable to stay still.

"Get me the car keys!" she demanded, rushing out of the study, Rowan following behind her.

"Madam, you can’t drive yourself. We have drivers for this kind of thing," Rowan said, trying to stop her.

"I can drive! I’ll drive!" she snapped, snatching the keys from him and heading out the door, ignoring his protests.

"At least call the bodyguard, Madam," Rowan urged.

"It won’t take long," Cheryl replied, already getting into the car.

When she reached the Smiths' home, she saw their car pulling out of the driveway. She honked, but they didn’t seem to notice.

"Didn’t they see me?" she muttered, quickly reversing the car and following them. Her driving was impeccable, a skill her father had drilled into her during the racing lessons he had given her in her youth, long before she married Raymond Glevon.

She kept tailing them, dialing their numbers again, but they still wouldn’t stop or answer.

Angrily, Cheryl threw her phone onto the co-pilot seat. Maybe the Smiths had already gotten the warning. Maybe they were running from the danger she couldn’t stop.

She made a sharp turn at the next intersection, but the sound of a loud crash echoed through the air. She slammed on the brakes and slowly turned to see the wreck.

"No!" Cheryl screamed, her voice shaking with terror.

The same car she had been following moments ago was now crushed under a truck. Passersby rushed toward the wreckage, some stopping to help. Police officers arrived, and the distant sound of an ambulance siren grew louder. Someone had already called for help.

Panic surged through Cheryl as she rushed out of the car, forgetting to lock it, her body trembling uncontrollably.

"Don’t come closer, Madam!" A police officer stepped in her path, blocking her from advancing.

"Don’t stop me! I know them!" Cheryl’s voice cracked with desperation, her body stiff and cold, as if drenched in ice water.

"Madam, please step aside." A female officer grabbed her arm and, despite her protests, guided her away to a corner.

"Calm down, Madam!" The officer’s voice was firm but gentle, trying to soothe her.

"Okay. Okay," Cheryl whispered, sitting down on the ground, her eyes glued to the scene, lifeless and unfocused.

Minutes passed in a blur as the truck was lifted, and the Smiths' car was pulled out from beneath it. Her heart stopped as she saw the blood-soaked interior of the car, the Smiths’ bodies motionless and drenched in blood.

She couldn’t make out their faces, everything was covered in blood.

"No!" Cheryl's scream echoed in the air as she ran toward the nurses wheeling the victims to the ambulance, desperation fueling every step.

Before she could reach them, Sylvester, her elder son, appeared out of nowhere, quickly whisking her away and forcing her into the car.

Rowan had called him earlier to inform him that his mother was driving alone, without any bodyguard. Using the car tracker, he had found her location, but the sight of the terrible accident still shocked him.

"Sylv! The Smiths! The Smiths! They're dead!" Cheryl cried out, her voice breaking as she struggled in her son’s grip.

When they arrived home, another shock awaited them. Law enforcement agents were on their property, taking Rowan away.

The driver slammed the car to a stop, and Sylvester rushed out, his face filled with confusion and anger. "What is going on here?"

One of the officers, clearly in charge judging by his badge, walked over to Sylvester. "We’re sorry, Sir, but he’s being arrested for the unlawful administration of hard drugs to a minor."

"What?!" Sylvester’s voice was full of disbelief. "Hard drugs? Rowan? That’s impossible."

"Officer, what did you say?" Cheryl, still trembling from her earlier shock, asked in confusion, her eyes swollen from crying.

"You’re lucky, Madam, that you weren’t implicated. It would have been bad if he had hidden any drugs in this house. Your reputation would have taken a hit." The officer revealed, before walking away to join his team.

"Can I speak with him?" Sylvester demanded, his voice tense. He needed to hear Rowan’s side of the story. Did he really do it?

The officer turned and nodded. "Of course, at our office. See you there."

Cheryl and Sylvester stood there in stunned silence as the officers drove away, leaving them in disbelief.

What a day, Cheryl thought. She needed to mark the date because this was truly the worst day.

First, Rowan had warned her about the attack on the Smiths, and then she rushed to warn them, only to see them crash in a horrific accident. Now Rowan was arrested for something unimaginable.

"Can this day just end?" Cheryl murmured to herself.

Two days later, Cheryl was called in for questioning. The surveillance footage had shown her chasing the Smiths and breaking several traffic laws in the process.

The authorities initially believed she was responsible for their deaths, but after hearing her side of the story and brief investigation, the matter was put to rest. The Smiths had died from reckless driving.

Cheryl mourned them deeply for years, the tragedy haunting her in silence. No one spoke of that day again, until Kaiden decided to bring it up.