The sun streamed in through the window, bathing the room in golden light. Angela opened her eyes slowly, trying to adjust to the brightness. As she blinked, she noticed something odd: she was alone in the bed, she remembered falling asleep on the couch but had no idea how she got on the bed. She sat up, looking around the room, her body ached so badly and her nipples still sensitive. However, there was no sign of Antonio anywhere and she was glad to have woken up alone in the room. Suddenly the sound of her phone buzzing on the light stand startled her. She reached over and picked it up, squinting at the screen through sleep-crusted eyes. The missed call notification blinked at her, indicating that she had several calls that had gone unanswered. She remembered Jace calling her in the middle of the night. “Oh no…oh no no!” She snapped out, her mind racing with worry as she thought of her brother and twin nieces, Lia and Liya. She knew that Jace would never call so many times unless something was wrong. “What if the twins were sick? What if something had happened to them? Something’s wrong, what’s going on!” She panicked as tears summoned in her eyes. Quickly, she typed a message to her brother, hoping he would get back to her soon. As soon as it was sent to him, she pulled the duvet off the body and got out of the bed. Same time the door opened, she froze at the spot startled standing face to face with a woman she had never seen before. She was tall and slim, and with a great smile and dark hair pulled back in a sleek bun with a neat parting in the middle of her hair. Dark hair is definitely not one of Antonio’s toys, could it be his sister? But they look nothing alike, Angela thought. She wore a red dinner gown and her makeup was impeccable. Her eyes were sharp and friendly and her smile was perfectly poised. She looked like someone who was used to getting what she wanted. “You must be Angela”. She spoke first. Angela nodded, unsure how to avoid any further discussions and rush out of the room. “Courtney, Antonio's cousin”. She said softly. Angela nodded awkwardly. “It’s so great to meet you Courtney, I'm so sorry, but I really have to go, I don’t mean to be rude!" Angela said, rushing out of the room. Courtney was surprised at the move. “Wow, that was very unexpected and more interestingly she is not a blonde, that's new Antonio”. Courtney smiled in anticipation and watched her run off. Angela rushed down the hallway, her heart pounding heavily. She went to Mama Elizabeth’s mansion and ran straight into her room. She reached the door, took a deep breath and knocked, her hand trembling. There was no answer, she knocked again this time more urgently and impatiently. Finally, the door creaked open and Damon stood before her. She didn’t expect to see him, her heart skipped a beat. He completely ignored her like they were just meeting for the first time. He went back to his seat and started scrolling through his phone. “Angela?” Mama Elizabeth called, diverting Angela's attention from Damon to her. She was sitting peacefully in her favourite chair. “What is it dear?” She asked, her voice filled with concern. Angela walked to her. “I….I need to go home please …please do not say no”. “Today? But the family introduction “. She asked surprisingly. “I know”. Angela replied, eyes wet. She glanced back at Damon and met his eyes, then he quickly looked away, Angela was sure he was listening initially. That made her feel a bit better that he cared to listen. “There is an emergency, I need to go home”. “Emergency? What happened?” Mama Elizabeth asked, narrowing her eyes with concern. “I don’t know, just give me the permission to go and see my babies I will be back for the evening dinner I promise”. She replied, her voice shaking nervously. “You don’t need permission to see family, silly”. Elizabeth scolded her. Just then Courtney walked into the room. “I can take you home if you wish, I am a fast driver”. She winked. Angela never thought someone that elegant would choose to drive by herself. She swallowed and nodded readily, but yet she wished it was Damon who offered to take her home. She glanced over at him, he was focused on his phone ignoring her completely. “Come on let’s go”. Courtney called out to her. When they got out of the building, a male servant came with the key and handed them over to Courtney, his head slightly bowed. Courtney led Angela to her car while the servants opened the doors for each of them. Angela got into the passenger seat, and Courtney into the driver’s seat. She started the car and asked, "Where do you live?" Angela gave her the address, and Courtney nodded. "Your family lives there?”. Angela nodded. Courtney stole a glance at her and found her panicking even worse than before as she kept trying her brother's line. “You should take it easy, I am sure everything’s fine “. “No, it’s not”. Angela sobbed. “You don’t understand, they are all I have, I shouldn’t have left them in the first place”. She broke down in tears. Courtney felt awkward; she had zero idea how to make her feel better. She just patted Angela on the back and kept driving quietly. The drive to Angela's home seemed to take an eternity. Minutes later Angela was up and strong. “Are you okay?” Courtney asked. “I am better”. She said dryly. Finally, they arrived at Angela's place after the long drive and pulled up in front of her home. Courtney turned off the car and Angela turned to Courtney, her heart pounding in her chest and her hands shaking. "Thank you for the ride," she said, trying to sound calm. "I need to go inside now." She got down from the car, Courtney did the same. Angela ran to the house only to find everywhere locked up. She had no idea what to expect at this point, but she was sure it wasn't good. She quickly took out her phone and called her brother again, her hand shaking. Fortunately, this time he answered. "Hello, sis," he said, his voice weak and tired. “Jace! Are you alright baby? How is Lia and Liya..What's going on? Did those loan sharks come back? Angela asked, trying to keep her voice steady. "What's wrong? Talk to me" There was a long pause, and Angela's heart was in her throat. "The twins are in the hospital," he said. Angela's mind was spinning. She couldn't believe that both of the twins were sick. She had to get to the hospital. Before Jace could say further she threw the question. “Which hospital?” “Kids First Specialist”. Jace replied. Angela quickly hung up and rushed back to Courtney. "My nieces are in the hospital, and I need to be with them, could you please take me there. He said Kids First Specialist Hospital" “I know the place. Get in”. Courtney said immediately. “Bless you Courtney!” Angela yelled and opened the car door as fast as she could. They drove off to the hospital. …. As they pulled into the hospital’s parking lot, Angela saw her brother standing outside, a look of concern on his face. She quickly removed her seat belt, she got out of the car and ran to him, her heart pounding. Courtney followed her. "What happened?" she asked, her voice trembling. "How are the twins doing? No time to talk, take me to them”. She said impatiently. “Alright”. Jace shrugged, swallowing all the explanation he planned to give about his reasons for missing her calls. He led her to the private room the twins were admitted to and opened the door. Angela stepped into the room and froze at the door. She couldn't believe her eyes. The room was full of teddy bears and flowers, and there was a huge basket of sweets on the table. That wasn’t the shocking part. Antonio was sitting in between the twins’ bed and the two girls were giggling at him. Their attention was drawn to her as soon as the door opened. She met Antonio’s eyes, her heart pounding heavily due to her little race to the ward. "How…how, why?…How did all of this happen, how did you get here?"