Donovan didn’t stop at just one punch as he continued to hit Miller until he was forced to retaliate.

The men exchanged a few punches with each spilling blood before I decided to intervene,

“Enough of this rubbish, you two!” I screeched, putting an end to their fight.

“Fuck this!” Miller cursed, spitting out the blood in his mouth. “Bela, it’s just in a few days! I can’t wait to end this shit so make sure to call me soon!.” He reminded me before bouncing out of the compound.

Miller’s statement only provoked Don more and when he tried to bring up a conversation, I strode away, provoking Don even more.

Don couldn’t contain his curiosity as to the meaning of Miller’s words to me so he followed me in and tried to start a conversation with me.

“Bela, what on earth are you scheming with that asshole? What is wrong with you?” He bellowed furiously.

I tried to keep my cool and avoided eye contact with him as much as I could because his presence reminded me of the pain Diego had to go through in that operation room because of his weak heart.

If only he didn’t have such a bad heart, maybe…just maybe Diego would still be with me now.

I ignored him and went into the washroom to freshen up but on my way out, I met him standing right in front of the door, his arms crossed while putting on a straight face.

It was obvious he needed this conversation with me or he might lose his sanity. I needed to steer up his emotions even more so I finally agreed to hear him out.

“I told you I had a reason to be on pills. I thought you’d be understanding enough to give me some time until I’m ready to open up to you, but what did you do? You went out of your way to harass my friend.” I sucked in a quick breath.

Don remained mute unnecessarily longer than I thought but eventually, he spoke up, “What is happening to us?” he asked, his usually calm voice cracking up.

“You heard Miller right. In a few days, you will understand exactly what is happening to us.” I replied, cautiously optimistic but my words only confused him.

Today marked the beginning of a new month making the Ministerial Candidate screening just five days ahead. I have to prepare him for whatever is to come.

“Bela…” He called out, almost in whispers.

“Just a few more days.” I interrupted, and just then, his phone rang which he hesitantly answered.

“Dad is here,” Don announced as soon as he ended his call but I didn’t believe that at first.

He has never been to our house ever since we got married and his sudden presence sent a shiver down my spine.

For the past three years since I joined his family, he has never really given me much of an audience because he never liked me. His decision benefited me more because I’m not sure how I would have hidden my hatred and anger toward him if we met often.

“I will go and welcome him,” Don suggested as he walked towards the door but before he could step out, I pulled him back and closed the door.

“Have you taken a look at yourself in the mirror today? You look like a hot mess. Go wash up. I will welcome him.” I scolded, pushing him towards the bathroom.

“Are you worried about me right now?” He asked, his dull eyes lightening up a little as a ray of hope returned to them.

I rolled my eyes in contempt, “Just go get cleaned!” I sneered.

Of course, I was worried about his haggard look. He is daddy’s boy and there is no way that sly old man won’t notice his son’s misery. I just need to put on an act before him for the next five days.

Once Don trudged into the bathroom, I quickly got dressed and went to the living room.

As I walked down the stairs, I saw the middle-aged man in his 50s sitting on one of the couches with so much confidence and poise.

My breath hitched and I felt my heart ripping apart as it always does anytime I saw him.

Even though the aching was more unbearable today, I convinced myself that his reign will come to an end in the next few days.

“Look who is finally coming down stairs,” Hudson exclaimed as he finally saw me.

“Good day, Sir.” I greeted, forcing a fake smile as I bowed slightly.

“Where is Donovan?” His gaze darted to the bar shelf by the corner of the living room.

I sighed in disgust as I noticed the mess Don had caused at the bar while drinking all night.

“He will join us soon,” I replied. “We partied all day yesterday and hence the several empty bottles of alcohol.” I lied, walking towards the bar.

I was still clearing it up when Don finally came downstairs.

“I heard you partied all day, is that why you look so tired and sleep-deprived?”

Damn that man! Why is he so fucking observant?

Don’s confused gaze darted towards me and my uneasiness gave him a clue on what to do.

“Yeah. Bela threw a small party for me yesterday. It was so much fun I drank a lot.” He lied. “By the way, what are you doing here? This is the first time you’re coming to my house and that too, unannounced.” He asked, trying his best to dismiss the topic as he sat beside his father.

“Are you not happy to see me?” Hudson grinned.

“No, just surprised.” He replied.

“Well, that’s because I decided to give your wife a chance to become a proper part of our family.

I was walking back to the living room when his words took me by surprise. I wonder what he is up to this time.

“Bela, as you know, the Ministerial Screening is just around the corner, and as a confident man, I know I will be elected. Why don’t you plan a party for me, my associates, and the whole family?” He suggested and I almost laughed at his statement because according to my calculation, he will be going to the prosecutor’s office right after the screening.

Not to expose myself, I acted excited and honored to be his party planner. For the next few days, I pretended to be making preparations when in essence, I was visiting Miller as we planned his downfall.

Time flew and the 6th of February finally came.

The relationship between Don and I only worsened so it was easier to ignore him while making my plans.

Early that day, I went to Miller’s house after which we both drove down to the FBI headquarters.

At the screening, each candidate is to nominate three medical personnel who would vouch for their hard work in the industry and also attack opponents of their nominator just like prosecutors and lawyers do in the court.

Since the screening was to be done behind closed doors without the media and mass, we decided to work with one of the Ministerial candidates who agreed to make our witness one of his nominees.

Our plan was to sneak our witness into the screening room and have him expose some of Hudson’s atrocities then by the end of the screening, the FBI would be waiting outside the room to escort him to their office while we had the rest of his atrocities aired to the media.

As planned, the witness was sent with three FBI agents who were also working undercover at that time and while we awaited the uproar at the meeting, I decided to prepare my divorce file.

Since his father’s sins and my true identity will be unveiled today, I believe I owe him no explanation because if he were in my shoes, he would understand what I had to go through because of his family.

Once I was done, I contacted a delivery company who would help me deliver the letter to him at the appropriate time.

I believed my eight years of the wait were finally coming to an end until Miller returned to the headquarters with a sullen face.

While I was busy preparing to terminate my marriage, I didn’t notice that the whole office was in chaos until Miller came to me.

At first, I thought it was because the most promising Minister of Health had been arrested but soon enough I realized it was far from that.

“The witness was killed on the way to the Screening.” Miller gave me the sad news.

In nutshell, the Screening was successful and the new Minister of Health was Dr. Hudson McMahone.

Aside from the autopsy report on Diego’s death, the witness who was a scrub nurse in Hudson’s surgical team back then was the only evidence I had of my brother’s murder.

For the past seven years, I couldn’t gather enough evidence to prove my parent's murder. All I could get were the reports of the illegal experiments he did on Mom.

Back then, the FBI suited my aching heart with the fact that he would still get prosecuted for other crimes such as Medical and even political malpractice.

When we found that witness, I was happy that I finally got to prosecute him for the death of my brother but now, that hope too is gone.

Even though he might still be prosecuted, it won’t be for the crime he committed toward my family and those thoughts saddened my heart until Miller gave me a sip of good news.

“Fortunately, the witness made a video recording a few days ago just in case something like this happens.”

I felt lighthearted upon hearing this news and immediately a perfect idea came to mind.

I asked Miller to assemble the team before I brought forward my idea.

“The new Minister asked me to organize a party for him at his mansion today. There will be a lot of prominent people there as well as the media so that would be a perfect place to have him in handcuffs.”

Everyone liked the idea so we decided to go with it.

Since I hadn’t made any prior preparation, I had to do everything in a hurry and Miller and the others were there to help make the hasty preparation.

I was in charge of everything including the guest list so I decided to make extra invites which included Miller and a few others who would make the arrest.

While I was still making preparations, I remembered I had sent out a divorce to Don. I had to stop him from receiving that file until the whole plan was a success but when I called the delivery company, I was told it had already been delivered so I had to rush to his office as fast as I could to stop him from opening the file.

I reached the office and saw the file untouched on his desk. I quickly took it and hid it in my purse before he stepped out of the restroom.

He was surprised to see me since I’d been avoiding him for the past six days.

When he asked why I had come, I handed out an invite to him and loosely said, “Don’t be late.” before striding out of the office, leaving him in awe.

Later that night, I decided to be a little extravagant with my dressing so I wore a custom-made champagne off-shoulder mermaid dress. I had my hair done in a long ponytail.

Don and I stayed in his room in his father’s that night and his jaw went slack when he saw me in that dress.

He wasn’t looking bad himself as he wore an eye-catching gray tuxedo.

Before he could throw a compliment at me, I quickly stepped out of the house into the beautiful and spacious garden.

Almost everyone on the guest list was already present when I arrived except for Miller but I was confident he would join us in no time.

As the host and ‘daughter-in-law’ to the new minister, I addressed the party after which he also climbed the stage to give his ‘humble’ speech, not forgetting to shower his son with praises as he always does.

Anyone who knew Dr. Hudson would know how much he loved his son. The two men were closer than he’d ever been with his mother.

An hour into the party Miller finally arrived, signaling me to make a move.

I inserted a flash drive into the projector before climbing up the stage to make my allegations.

“A Very long time ago Dr. Hudson McMahone was my mentor. So, mentor, I dedicate this video to you. Please watch!” I announced, pulling the attention of everyone present to the video being displayed on the projector.

The first image that played on the project was evidence of the illegal experiment he did on my mom, then a few other atrocities he committed against several other patients and even some of his staff, and then the confession from the witness.

Dr. Hudson, who was calm while watching the whole video, quickly signaled his guards to switch off the projector as soon as the witness testimony came up. That’s because this had to do with his only son. He didn’t want him to know about the source of his heart.

The once quiet garden soon became noisy as people began to whisper amongst themselves.

My gaze shifted to Don and I realized he had been staring at in absolute disbelief. I couldn’t tell whether it was at me or Hudson but Don’s eyes narrowed with disappointment and confusion.

“Arrest that criminal!” A guy in a black suit ordered and my eyes lit up immediately thinking he was amongst the agents.

I moved my gaze across the room in search of Miller or any other detectives I knew but none of them was on sight.

While I was expecting the men to march towards Hudson, they walked towards me instead and before I knew what was going on, they were already reading my rights to me.

“You’re under arrest for Impersonation. Whatever you say can and will…”

Impersonation? Have I been found out? My pulse sped up and my heart trembled rapidly. As I raised my head, I locked eyes with Don who was already running towards us.

Hudson signaled his men to take me away and once I was taken out of the garden, I heard his voice through the speakers as he apologized for the nuisance and also suggested they enjoy the party before also walking out of the garden to where I was being held.

“Bela Armani? I can’t believe you deceived me for three years and managed to make my son a fool for you.” He chuckled bitterly.

At that moment, I knew my cover was blown. He knew exactly who I was so there was no need to pretend anymore.

“You should be the one getting arrested, you pig! Don’t think this is over.” I bellowed furiously whilst trying to set myself free from the men.

“Dad, what is going on here?” Donovan's eyes widened as he saw how the men manhandled me.

He ran towards me and tried to set me free but his father pulled him back.

“Donovan, you shouldn’t be here.” He scolded.

“What? That’s my wife those men have manhandling! I have every right to know what is going on!” Don’s muscles tightened.

“Don’t you get it? Your wife of three years is a fraud. An impersonator! Everything about her is a lie. Her name is not even Bela.” Hudson exposed my secrets.

Don was confused. He didn’t want to believe any of his father’s words so he looked my way to get confirmation and the sly grin I had on my face was more than enough confirmation for him.

Despite that, the lover boy still wants verbal confirmation from me.

“Bela…please tell me all this is a lie. Please…”

“The name is Diana Garcia. Your father and I have a really long history and scores to settle. But don’t worry, I sent you a gift. It will help you know your father more.” I managed to explain before he signaled the men to take me away.

As I was dragged out of the house, I heard some dispute between the men and also heard something that felt like Don’s phone crashing to the ground.

He must be trying to prevent Don from finding out his true color.

As soon as the men shoved me into a black van, I knew they weren’t anything related to the force. They were neither the police nor the FBI.

I’ve just been kidnapped in broad daylight. No matter what, Hudson would make sure to end my life this time around.

I tried to scream but they quickly covered my face with a scarf and slowly, I began to lose my consciousness.

The last thing I heard before I totally blacked out was a loud, deafening bang which sounded like our van was hit by something larger. I didn’t have any last words to say because I never expected to join my family so soon.

I thought that night was my last on earth but I woke up to find myself in a very familiar room.

Miller’s room.

I had a few cuts and my evening dress was now in ruins. Then it occurred to me that that sound I heard must have been made when Miller’s van bashed the kidnapper’s.

The first thing I did once I knew I was in a safe place was to change into one of Miller’s polo shirts. Then I went to the room next door where I met Miller tending to his injuries.

“The FBI are giving up on the case, that means you’re on your own now. We have to pack up and leave.” He suggested as he hurriedly concluded his first aid and put on his shirt.

“What is going on? And where were you last night when you were supposed to be making the fucking arrest?” I asked, confused and angry.

“We underestimated Hudson. He got the FBI under wraps and now they have no choice but to dissolve the team against Hudson because he’s got proof that all the evidence was earned through force and illegal means. The worst news is that Hudson is after your life so we have to leave town as soon as possible.” Miller explained.

“So…all my three years of marriage, pretense and Impersonation will result in nothing?” I swallowed hard as my throat felt tight.

“Now is not the time to argue or think about what is lost. Let’s just leave.” Miller suggested.

I dragged my heavy feet back to Miller’s room and quickly changed into a better dress.

Miller picked a few things he would need and soon we were ready to go.

As we stepped out of the I began to feel nauseous but I managed to get into the car beside Miller who was driving.

“Are you alright?” His expression softened.

“I should be…I guess?” I stuttered as I buckled my seatbelt.

Miller was worried but we needed to leave this place as soon as possible so he started driving.

Just as we drove out of his small compound, a black van that seemed to have been waiting outside for us quickly blocked our path, preventing us from moving.

Immediately, we knew it was Hudson’s men but that was too late because before we could make a move, about seven men in black quickly stepped out of their cars and began shooting at us.

Luckily, Miller’s van was bulletproofed and we were safe for a while.

Just like the previous night, Miller bashed their van with his and we were able to move once again but they didn’t give up as they began following us.

Miller suggested I drive while he winded down the car window and shot them off.

I agreed and we quickly changed seats but a few minutes into shooting, I heard Miller whimpering. I looked his way and my heart sank when I noticed he had several bullets to his chest.

“Escape and contact Don…He loves you and would do anything for you.” Blood oozed out of his mouth as he said his last words.

I had a sinking feeling in my stomach as I realized this was the fourth person dying on me.

I continued driving the truck as hot tears streamed down my cheeks. I kept running through the field, looking back now and then as they were getting closer to me. I was so focused on their car that I didn’t notice I was driving towards a dead end. By the time I turned back, I couldn’t stop my car from running into the big rock at the end of the road.

I remembered smiling brightly as I tumbled along with the car as it fell into the deep river. Maybe this revenge thing wasn’t for me. Maybe it wasn’t really Hudson’s fault— after all I introduced my family to him. Maybe I am the one that needs to be held accountable for my family’s demise, because if they didn’t have such an awful daughter. Maybe…just maybe, they’d still be alive and healthy. I bumped my head several times before I slowly started to lose my consciousness. I have gone too close to death so many times to be scared of it. This time, I willingly embraced it. The last thing I heard was the splashing sound of the water as my car fell into. And then it was dark.