*
*
"Where the hell did you go!" Sterling's eyes were a mix of anger and relief the moment she stepped through the door.
Faith's eyes wandered across the house, it seemed Stacy had left. She had only been gone for about ten minutes but the whole residence and beyond was crammed with security, all were searching for her.
It would be a miracle if Dan managed to escape.
Sterling moved quickly, closing the distance between them, his hawk-like eyes scouring her body, looking for signs of her being hurt.
"Nowhere!" Faith answered too quickly, his rigid scowl told her he knew she was hiding things from him and that he wasn't liking it one bit.
She met his deep frown stubbornly, she didn't want his concern.
He had gone too far framing Dan for a crime he never committed, but why did Dan feel that he was entitled to her help?
She didn't owe both men anything. Sterling only wanted to control her in the name of love and Dan was just being unreasonable. Any sympathy Faith had for him surely disappeared the moment he brought her daughter into it.
A fucking whole million dollars! He was a dreamer if he thought she would be able to provide him with such an amount within three days. It was impossible!
"You disappeared for almost fifteen minutes knowing how dangerous it is, you can't tell me you didn't go anywhere, try again Faith, and this time don't lie to me!"
"You mean the way you've always lied to me? It doesn't feel good, does it?" She fired and watched his eyes narrow in confusion.
"Explain."
Faith continued to glare at him, he was so arrogant and headstrong, did he think that there would never be any consequences for his actions? She wondered if Dan had known that it was Sterling who was responsible for his present condition, he definitely would seek revenge and wouldn't be asking for just money.
"Since you want to know, fine, I'll tell you everything!"
She was tired of keeping it a secret, especially not now that Maya's safety could be at stake.
"I was kidnapped some minutes ago. Yes, I shouldn't have gone out alone, but if not for you, why should I have to fear anything?"
Faith thought it was almost comical how he could stand there looking so concerned when he was the genesis of the issue.
"The person who's been stalking me this whole time is Dan."
A crease tainted Sterling's brow, he had no idea who the fuck she was talking about, but hearing he'd dared to kidnap his woman, Sterling knew that he was going to kill the mother fucker.
"You don't even remember him!" A burst of empty laughter escaped Faith's mouth. Wasn't he just too arrogant?
"I'm talking about my ex-boyfriend!" She watched the recognition flare in his eyes, then his expression grew stormy, his jaw tensed, showing the sign of how furious he was.
"Did he hurt you?" He growled.
"So what if he did? Would he be wrong after what you did to him? You sent him to prison unjustly!"
A part of Faith held hope, that Sterling would deny her allegations. She was a fool, hoping that he wouldn't just be so ___evil. The way her heart was crushed when he didn't bother to refute her statement, not even a sign of remorse in his gaze.
He would never change.
"Well, he escaped from jail and wants to start a new life, so he needs money from me which if he doesn't get, he will harm my daughter!" Anger laced her voice at the last part, but it wasn't just her who was furious.
Sterling's phone rang at that moment, he stared at her briefly before answering, the speaker was loud enough to hear what the other person was saying.
' Sir, We've got him as he tried to escape.'
"Wait for me, I'll handle it." Sterling replied, ending the call.
Faith didn't realize that she was holding her breath even as Sterling inserted the phone into his breast pocket.
Dan had been caught.
"What are you going to do to him? Send him back to jail? Or perhaps kill him?"
"He kidnapped you, and promised to hurt Maya, don't you think he deserves it?" His words were cold, his eyes burning into hers.
"Don't pretend you're doing this for us! You didn't need a reason to harm him the first time. Why do people always have to get hurt with you? you always do things like this and you just don't care!" She hissed.
"But he wasn't innocent was he? He tried to take you away from me back then. He deserved what he got!"
"What about Emilia, I saw the news, did you make her disappear as well? What did you do to her?" Faith yelled and the air grew deathly still, except for the sound of her deep breathing.
"Is she d_dead?"
She didn't want to think that Sterling killed her.
Did he?
Oh God, no!
Her eyes grew terrified and filled with tears at the thought.
The room was spinning, getting smaller and smaller, all the air disappeared until she thought she would pass out.
"No, I didn't kill her." Sterling didn't add the part about being tempted to, but Emilia had been close to his mother. His mother had regarded her as family and her death would have been too much for his mother to bear.
He'd ensured to completely ruin their company globally, her family's wealth had been destroyed. Mrs. Barbara had wanted Sterling to help out and the only way he had agreed to do so was to give Emilia a choice.
She would cut off herself from her family, never to contact them again, in other words, she was to forever disappear to where Sterling would never set eyes on her again.
"She's safe, I swear, she made the decision to lay low." Sterling didn't add that the decision had been influenced by him.
Faith flinched when his hand touched her shoulders, she had never looked so afraid of him before and it made his chest painfully tight.
"When you hurt others because of me, how do you think it makes me feel? I'm just as bad as you are!" She cried.
Faith knew he was still the same cold-hearted man, it strengthened her will to try her best to leave him, but it also shattered her heart into a million pieces.
His hand tangled into her hair. He was gentle when he tugged her head back until her red-rimmed eyes looked into his.
"It's all in the past now, I don't need to hurt anyone as long as you're with me."
For a moment, Faith ceased to breathe. His eyes raked her every feature.
"I'm not your possession, Mr. Hunter, what will you do if I decide to leave? You keep making decisions for me, this was exactly why it never worked before, and even now__ forget it." Faith left the words unsaid. She still had a plan to fulfill, until then, she would confidently tell him that it was impossible to be with him.
"If you can compensate Dan for what you've done to him, that would be the least you can do."