GETTING THE HEART OF THE CEO

Lindsey heard the children sobbing; her soul was hanging by a thread. Her mind couldn't believe that the woman she had been searching for was more cunning than her. She glanced at her friend Janna, who was being attended to by her doctor. Kyle, holding his grandfather's hand, had dark eyes reflecting both coldness and concern. Lindsey was petrified, unsure of what to do. From her position, she glanced at the security men who were kneeling on the side of the house. Hatred started to rule her, and she wanted to murder those three women with her own hands.

"Daughters! Aren't you going to greet your mother? Sorry for arriving uninvited, but my ungrateful daughters haven't given me the chance to visit them," Kathen shouted loudly from a few meters away.

"Kathen! Are we going to negotiate? If you want money, give me the amount you're asking for. I'll transfer it to the bank account you provide right away, and leave my family alone," Kyle yelled, realizing he had no other option. All his security was blocked, and no one moved because men were pointing guns in all different directions.

Kathen was unhinged, wanting only to see dead the woman who took away the fortune she had fought for many years. She made a deal with an old gangster who controlled various areas in Los Angeles. She would hand over two women for him to do as he pleased and kill afterward. She also promised her grandson once he was born. Then, along with Courney, they would leave the country.

"I don't want your money. I came for my two daughters, and I'm taking them unless you want to see bloodshed at this celebration," Kathen declared.

Lindsey remained calm, trying not to show the fear that engulfed her; otherwise, she would endanger her family. She knelt down and kissed each of her children, whispering softly with a forced smile.

"Mama will be with you soon. Stay still and quiet with your grandmas."

The tearful children nodded in agreement.

She stood up, and when she took a few steps, Kyle held her back with a hand.

"Don't do it, Lin. I won't allow you to go with that woman. We don't know what craziness she has planned for you."

"Kyle! My love, let me go. Haven't you seen how surrounded we are, and our men are disarmed? I prefer to go with her than witness a massacre. That woman is very cunning, and she won't hesitate to order killings. It breaks my heart to see how everything was perfect one moment, and without warning, everything changed," she glanced at Janna, clinging to her husband's arms. "It pains me how Janna's plans and dreams for her wedding day shattered because of Kathen's disturbed mind. I couldn't live knowing that people died because of me."

Kathen watched the scene with amusement, gesturing to Catrina to calm down.

Catrina only looked at her son crying in his father's arms, a feeling of annoyance engulfing her heart. She wanted to go and snatch her son; her eagerness was killing her. She had everything prepared to take a private plane away from the United States.

Kyle released his wife and controlled the little sanity left in him. He caressed her cheekbones with the tips of his fingers, the fear of losing her echoing in his mind. He breathed deeply and whispered to her. "Just hold on; I'll come for you."

She forced a smile and nodded. She raised her hands, clasping his, separating them from her face. She turned her back, sighed several times to gather the courage to continue her path. Courney was familiar with her mother's insanity. She held Oriana in her arms, took two steps toward Óscar, and offered him the child.

"What are you going to do? Courney, don't do something crazy. I love you; stay with me. I won't let you get close to that woman," he grasped her arm desperately, cursing himself internally for leaving his firearm in the room. He was there as a guest.

She cradled his face in her hands and gave him a gentle kiss, suppressing the urge to cry. She whispered obediently, "Take care of the princess." As she turned away, she heard,

"Courney! Bring that brat here!" Kathen observed the interaction between the couple and connected the dots about the man. She mentally whispered, "That girl will be a good gift for Fabricio." Courney widened her eyes and swallowed hard. Anguish gripped her body as she tried to decipher what was going through her mother's mind. She knew what this woman was capable of. "Don't do it, Courney," Óscar whispered with a heart-wrenching voice.

One of Kathen's men approached them, placing a firearm to Óscar's head.

"Ma'am, walk; they're waiting for you."

Courney burst into tears and clutched Oriana in her arms. The little one happily went with her, clinging to her neck. She turned her back on Óscar and walked slowly toward her mother.

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Óscar, still with a gun to his head, watched the two women he loved walk away. The pain in his heart surfaced, and the rage to kill intensified within him.

"Cursed woman, don't you dare harm us, because you'll face the wrath of my husband. He'll search for you under every rock and kill you slowly," Lindsey yelled, filled with pure hatred and resentment, like radiation burning from the inside out. Kathen had lost her sanity. Her thirst to see Lindsey tortured and dead knew no bounds. She let out a cruel laugh that echoed in the place, leaving those present with their mouths agape.

"Do you think you're in a position to threaten me? Besides, I'll die with the satisfaction that you'll die first."

"I hope that when you die, you burn in purgatory, and your lamentations are the most painful for all the harm you've caused."

"I'll relish seeing you suffer at the hands of Fabricio," Lindsey fixed her hate-filled eyes on Kathen.

"You should have never been born. Now, you're going to get what you deserve for taking everything that was mine. This mansion belongs to me," she looked at one of the men at her side. "You! Take this wretch to the van. Your boss is waiting."