"Michelle, you're going to be late for school!" Meryl said, starting to feel frustrated. Michelle was sitting on her bed, refusing to get dressed and looking angry.

"I'm not going to school until you tell me who my dad is!" Michelle said grumpily. Meryl sighed - Cassie had already left for work, and Tyrson was getting ready for work. She was on her own with her stubborn daughter.

"Fine," Meryl said, trying to stay calm. But then, Michelle suddenly threw a pillow at her. Meryl was taken aback - she hadn't expected her daughter to react like that.

"Michelle!" Meryl yelled, surprised and a little bit angry at her daughter's defiance. Michelle just stood there, her arms crossed.

"Michelle, what was that for?" Meryl asked, her voice rising in frustration.

"I'm not going to school!" Michelle yelled back, stamping her foot. "And you can't make me!"

"I'm going to be stubborn too," Michelle declared. "You won't tell me who my dad is, and I won't listen to you." Meryl bit back a laugh - her daughter was such a spitfire! But she kept her expression stern.

"You're going to listen to me, and you're going to get dressed right now before I lose my patience," Meryl said.

"No TV, no ice cream, no toys for you this week," Meryl said firmly, expecting Michelle to protest. But instead, Michelle said the exact same thing, as if she'd been expecting it.

"I don't care, mom," Michelle added, crossing her arms.

Just then, Tyrson walked in. As soon as he entered, Michelle started crying as if she'd been hit. Meryl was taken aback - she hadn't expected this reaction. What was going on?

"Michelle!" Tyrson rushed over and knelt down in front of his daughter, trying to figure out what was going on. Meryl was standing nearby, looking frustrated.

"What's wrong, little munchkin?" Tyrson asked, using his pet name for his daughter. Meryl scoffed. "You're not going to fall for her little tricks, are you?" she said.

"Please, Meryl," Tyrson said, giving his daughter a reassuring pat on the head. "She's just a kid."

Meryl stormed out of the room, leaving Tyrson and Michelle alone. Tyrson was at a loss for what to say or do.

Just then, Michelle broke free from his embrace. "Seriously?!" she said, looking at him with a mix of anger and disappointment. "You lied to me!"

"Lied to you?" Tyrson asked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You said you were going to stop liking my mom, but I saw you two kissing," she said, her voice breaking.

"You said you wanted to know who your dad is, right?" Tyrson asked, hoping to distract her from the argument. To his relief, she nodded.

"Well, I overheard your mom telling Cassie that she's planning a surprise for your birthday - she's going to introduce you to your dad," he lied.

"Really?" Michelle asked, her eyes wide with hope. Tyrson nodded solemnly.

"Well, can you drop me off at school today?" she asked. Tyrson agreed,"of course little munchkin"

*

"You're dropping her off at school?" Meryl asked, her eyes narrowed. And but she tried to play it off like she didn't care. But then, it hit her - she'd be bored at home without anyone to talk to.

"Wait, I have nowhere to go!" Meryl exclaimed. Tyrson and Michelle exchanged a look, then shrugged. "Stay here and watch the house," Tyrson said. "And don't open the door for anyone, okay?"

The doorbell rang, startling them. Meryl looked at Tyrson. "Were you expecting someone?" she asked. He shook his head.

Felicia rang the doorbell again, but when no one answered, she used the keypad to open the door and stepped inside.

"Has he gone out to work?" she mumbled to herself. But then, she noticed three pairs of eyes staring at her - Meryl, Tyrson, and the young girl.

What was going on?

"Mom!" Tyrson said, his voice filled with shock. He had almost forgotten about his mom - they weren't exactly on speaking terms.

Felicia rubbed her eyes, wondering if she was seeing things. But then, she approached the group, and saw that the child really did look like Joanna. She looked back at Tyrson.

"Tyrson!" Felicia exclaimed, her voice filled with disbelief. "Why is Meryl here, and who is that child?"

"Mom, please," Tyrson said, trying to pull his mother towards the door. He knew if she stayed in the house any longer, she would cause a scene. But Felicia pulled away from his grasp and strode towards Meryl.

"What kind of spell have you cast on my son?" Felicia demanded. "And why are you here?" Meryl bit her lip, unsure how to respond.

Felicia was fuming, her rage bubbling over. "You were sent away from the company, and now you're here, in my son's house, dressed like this?" she yelled, gesturing at Meryl's outfit.

"I'd like to know who this woman is, too," Michelle said, her voice trembling. Meryl's grip tightened on her hand, trying to reassure her.

But Felicia's eyes narrowed as she turned to look at Michelle. Felicia yelled and Michelle's grip tightened on Meryl.

"Mr. Philanthropist, who is this old lady?" Michelle asked, her voice high-pitched with nerves. Felicia turned to look at her, her eyes wide. She couldn't believe this child looked just like her granddaughter.

"Old lady?" Felicia asked, her voice incredulous.

"And why am I looking at a child that looks like my granddaughter here?" she continued, taking a step closer to Michelle. "Someone needs to explain what's...

"Michelle, go to your room!" Tyrson ordered, and Michelle scurried away, her eyes wide with fear.

"Mom, please listen to me!" Tyrson pleaded, but Felicia ignored him, dragging Meryl towards the door.

Meryl remained silent, her gaze fixed on the floor. She knew this was a delicate situation, and that any wrong move could make things worse.

So she allowed herself to be dragged along, hoping that Felicia would calm down soon.

Tyrson blurted out the truth, unable to contain himself any longer. "Mom, Michelle is your granddaughter and Meryl's daughter, too!"

Felicia froze, her mouth open in shock. For a moment, she was speechless. Then, she took a step towards Tyrson, looking him up and down as if searching for some sign of brainwashing.

"What has she done to you, as she brainwashed you with a bastard..."

"My daughter is not a bastard!" Tyrson yelled at his mom and she flushed at his sudden burst out,"she was already pregnant with her when we got divorced, and I already had a DNA test done" Tyrson stated before walking to Meryl to pull her to his side.

"Oh.. I'm going insane!" Felicia muttered as she grabbed her head to digest his words,"and why was she calling you that name?" She asked again.

"And that's because she doesn't know I'm her father"he retorted.

"How about Julia? You're engaged with Julia"Felicia muttered and Tyrson's jaw tighted at the mention of her name.

"Oh please mom, Julia wanted her dead she almost had your grandchild killed or don't you get it" Tyrson blurted out in anger and then he realized his mistake and looked at Meryl.

"What?!" Meryl asked looking shocked as she slowly pulled away from Tyrson's hold so it wasn't ludovic all along he had kept it from her just to protect Julia.

"Julia was behind everything and yet you lied to me...because she is your friend and you don't want her to be arrested for attempted murderer" she yelled angrily and tears were starting to gather in her eyes.

"Meryl please don't get this wrong..." Tyrson tried to explain.

"No no...she tried to kill my daughter and you lied to me, protecting us from the wrong person, so you could easily get my daughter killed again. I'm done here" she muttered as she run inside in tears.

Tyrson couldn't go after her as he stared at her mom,"Happy now...please leave" Tyrson said frustratedly.

"You want me to leave?" Felicia asked shocked.

"Leave mom, you've done enough here"he yelled as angrily walked to the door and opened it before slamming it behind her.

Then Meryl came out back with Michelle and ignored Tyrson as she started walking to the door ignoring Michelle who kept asking why they were leaving.

"Stop being stubborn and just listen to me" he tried to calm her down but she wasn't ready to listen, she isn't risking her daughter's life again.

Immediately they got outside the building, Cassie was already waiting in her car so they just got in and drove away before Tyrson could get to them.

"What's the matter, Meryl?" Cassie asked, trying to keep her eyes on the road. Meryl sniffed and wiped at her eyes.

"That jerk lied to me!" she said, her voice cracking. Michelle's eyes widened, and she looked back and forth between her mother and Cassie.

"Who was that grumpy old lady?" Michelle asked. She'd never seen her mother this upset before.

As Cassie turned down the street that led to the school, she suddenly slammed on the brakes, throwing everyone forward.

"What's happening?" Meryl asked, starting to panic. They could see a group of men getting out of the van, and it was clear they were heading towards them.

Cassie took a deep breath and tried to stay calm. "I think we have a flat tire," she said, even though it was obvious.

"Cassie, we need to get out of here!" Meryl said, her voice trembling as she realized what was happening.

Cassie tried to start the car again, her hands shaking. She managed to get the engine running, and they both heard the all-too-familiar sound of another gunshot.

Meryl heard the gunshot and the sound of shattering glass, and then she heard the screams. It took a few seconds for her to process what had happened, but when she did, her blood ran cold. Cassie had been shot.

Meryl screamed Cassie's name as she groaned in pain, clutching her arm, which was covered in blood. Michelle was crying hysterically, and Meryl did her best to comfort her.

Meryl looked around frantically, her eyes searching for a way out. But the men had them cornered. There was no escape.

The car door flew open, and Meryl was roughly yanked out of the car by one of the men. She screamed, trying to break free, but his grip was too strong. "Let me go!" she cried. "Who are you?"

Michelle struggled against the back seat, trying to reach for her mom, but Cassie held her back. She couldn't let her get hurt.

"Mommy!" Michelle's voice was filled with terror. She squirmed and kicked her legs, trying to break free from Cassie's grasp, but cassie held her tightly. "Let me go!" she screamed.

"Mommy!" Michelle cried, her little voice breaking. Tears streamed down her face as she watched her mom being dragged away. She didn't understand what was happening, or why it was happening. All she knew was that she was scared.

Michelle touched Cassie's shoulder, her tiny hand coming away wet with blood. "Aunt Cassie, are you hurt?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"It's okay, honey," Cassie said, trying to reassure her. But even as she spoke, she could feel the warm blood seeping from the wound.

Meryl fought with all her strength, but the men were too strong. They dragged her to the van, her heels scraping the pavement as she struggled. Suddenly, she wrenched free and ran towards their car, desperate to get away.

But before she could reach it, one of the men struck her with the butt of his gun. She crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Michelle stood frozen in terror, her eyes wide with fear.

As Meryl was dragged away, Michelle screamed in terror. Cassie quickly covered her eyes, but it was too late. The little girl had already seen her mom being dragged into the van.

Michelle got out of the car and ran towards the van, her heart pounding in her chest. But Cassie grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "No, Michelle!" she said, her voice shaking. "You can't go after them. It's too dangerous."

"Where are they taking mom?" Michelle asked, tears streaming down her face. She could feel her aunt's grip on her arm weakening.

She looked at Cassie and saw that her face was deathly pale. Blood was seeping through her clothes.

Michelle saw Cassie fall to the ground, and she ran to her. "Aunt Cassie!" she sobbed, shaking her. But Cassie was unconscious. Michelle's world started to spin.

Michelle's hands shook as she fumbled for Cassie's phone. She managed to dial 911.

*

"Julia!" Tyrson yelled, realizing it was julia on the phone. "Please, tell me what's going on! Where are you?"

"He's going to kill me!" Julia sobbed. "He's got a gun, and he..." Her voice broke off in a scream.

"Who is?" Tyrson demanded, panic rising in his chest. But before she could answer, the call disconnected.

Tyrson didn't hesitate. He jumped into
*

"Julia!!!" Tyrson called as he entered her apartment, luckily he knows her password, if there is one thing he was sure of Julia is her password, it never changes since he had known her.

He searched through the house since everything was silent and he couldn't see any traces of Julia in the house or violence.

"Julia!" He called again but when he noticed a movement at his back he slowed down and as the person attacked him from the back, he dodged it but then he felt a sharp pain on his neck and when he turned back to see Julia with a devilish smile.

She removed the needle he had injected him with and he fell suddenly on the ground and fell unconscious.

"It's my turn" she smirked.