Chapter 8


    Elliot gazed at his adorably clueless mom and let out a silent sigh before saying with an Indulgent


    smile, “Mom, don’t worry about it. I was just asking, I’m not bothered by this ce. As long as I’m with


    you, I’m happy no matter where we live.”


    Elysia’s lips curled Into a smile, “Sweetie, rest assured, I’m going to work my socks off to make sure we


    can live the good life soon!”


    “Yeah! Go mom!”


    “You’re the best, mom!”


    Evan and Emmett cheered her on.


    Elysia’s smile grew wider, “Alright, let’s get moving. We’ll drop off our bags and then I’ll take you guys


    out for a nice dinner.”


    “Sounds great!”


    After a hearty dinner of burgers and fries, the little trio headed to the bathroom to brush their


    h, while Elysia started changing the sheets outside.


    Knock, knock, knock.


    The sudden sound of someone at the door startled her.


    Expecting a hotel staff member, Elysia opened the door, “Yes, may I hel-”


    “Take her!”


    Before she could finish, the leader of the two men in ck lunged forward and seized her.


    Panicked, Elysia cried out, “Who are you? What do you want? Let me go! You–mmph!”


    Her mouth was covered and she was forcibly dragged away from the motel.


    Before long, Elysia found herself in an office building.


    And Tarquin was there. He was a typical workaholic who only ever seemed interested in his job and his


    son.


    After dropping N off at home, he’de straight here to scope out the building he was nning to


    acquire.


    In his office reviewing documents, Tarquin was interrupted by Lowell knocking and entering,


    “Tarquin, we’ve got it all figured out. Those car tires were blown out with a precision explosive, but that


    kid’s background is pretty ordinary. They lost their father young and was raised by their mother in some


    backwoods town. They have just arrived in Jindale City today. Nothing unusual about them. We’ve got


    the kid’s mom here now in the conference room.”


    Tarquin’s brow furrowed at the mention of explosives, setting aside his paperwork to head to the


    conference room.


    Lowell followed him and knew Tarquin had his suspicions. Today the bomb only took out tires, not the


    car or its passengers. It was a sophisticated job of measuring the exact TNT quantity.


    No kid could pull that off.


    He knew that Tarquin suspected that there was someone behind the kid, someone with a grudge. Too


    many had tried to take Tarquin down over the years; he couldn’t afford to be careless.


    Inside the conference room, Elysia was still reeling, clueless about what was happening. Her heart was


    racing and thumping wildly in her chest.


    “Who are you people? Why have you brought me here? What do you-” she yelled.


    The doors to the conference room swung open with a creak.


    the Tarquin marched in ahead of his men with an air of authority surrounding him. He stood out th his


    towering height of six–foot–three, and Elysia’s eyes locked onto this king among men immediately.


    Then, her beautiful eyes widened in shock. She held her breath, took another unbelievable look at him,


    and waspletely stunned.


    This man… he looked almost identical to her sons Elliot and Evan!


    Was he their father? The same man who had destroyed her all those years ago?


    The thought twisted her face into a frown, her fists clenching involuntarily. Her blood pressure


    skyrocketed, her breathing erratic.


    The memories were too painful to revisit. That one night had ruined her entire life! The scandal of an


    unexpected pregnancy had left her disgraced, the target of scorn and vilification. Slut, tramp, whore–


    thesebels had been her shadow.


    As a mother, she cherished her three angelic babies and the happiness they brought.


    But the bitterness of the past, the unspeakable hardships she endured, were all because of hat man!