Can’t Win Me Back

The hospital ward grew heavy with silence.

Mandy and Neil stared at Alyssa, stunned beyond words.

"M-Ms. Alyssa, you knew that man was Mr. Damien?" Neil asked, disbelief etched into his voice.

"Yes." Alyssa's reply was quiet, her lips pressed into a thin line. She lowered her gaze, her voice barely above a whisper. "We found out when Cyrus took Damien's cigarette butt for a paternity test."

Mandy approached Alyssa, her shoulders trembling slightly.

"So, you and Cyrus knew... and you both kept it from me?" Mandy said, her voice catching in her throat, tears welling up.

Alyssa felt a sharp pang in her chest. "Mandy, I'm sorry. It was my decision. Cyrus had nothing to do with it."

Mandy's tears fell freely now, her grief spilling out in raw sobs. "Do you know what it's been like for me all these years, thinking Damien was gone? Winston, Miley, Lyla, and Colene kept telling me to move on. I tried to accept that he was dead, that we'd never find his body. But I never did."

Her voice broke. "Night after night, I'd dream of Damien, drenched to the bone, standing there. 'Mom... the water's freezing...' he'd say, again and again."

Neil sighed deeply, his heart heavy. Alyssa's hands trembled as guilt gnawed at her.

Uncontrollable tears flowed down Mandy's cheeks, her eyes burning with grief and resentment. "Lyse, you knew everything, and you hid it from me. Didn't you think about how selfish that was? How unfair, how cruel?"

This outburst, these harsh words, was unprecedented from Mandy, who loved Alyssa like her own child.

Alyssa was more precious to Mandy than her own child. But the intense pain she was experiencing now made her lose her usual calm and collected demeanor.

again, her voice strained with

Neil stepped forward, unable to watch Alyssa take the blame alone. "Mrs. Taylor, you've watched Ms. Alyssa grow up. You know her character. She wouldn't act without careful consideration. I'm certain she had

hard, her voice shaky. "Mandy, Damien's in grave

Mandy froze.

pawn in someone else's game. And the person pulling the

direct retaliation. That's why I kept it from you and Dad. I knew

twisted with worry, her tear-filled eyes

shook her head. "I'm sorry, Mandy. I can't say. It's for your

today. I saw them," Mandy said, her hand gripping Alyssa's tightly. Her voice was laced with fear. "If

his memory yet, and Justin was short on reliable

be trying to eliminate Damien

of the situation

comfort Mandy. "Mandy, try

resilient. No one

that when I took him to the hospital, the doctor said he would have

struggled to breathe, overwhelmed with emotion. Alyssa immediately moved to her

with Damien again. I would rather die

him, Mandy. This time, I will make sure that Damien returns

then, Mandy's

to the screen, where a blinking red dot moved steadily

Alyssa asked, "Mandy,

phone. "I put a tracker on Damien's phone while he was unconscious. Solana City is too big. This is the only way I