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.

sorry..." Alyssa choked out again,

take the blame alone. "Mrs. Taylor, you've watched Ms. Alyssa grow up. You know her character. She

hard, her voice shaky.

Mandy froze.

a pawn in someone else's game.

danger-either by losing the manipulator's trust or by direct retaliation. That's why I kept it from you and Dad. I knew how

her tear-filled eyes widening. "Who's manipulating

Mandy. I can't

I saw them," Mandy said, her hand gripping Alyssa's tightly. Her voice was laced with fear. "If this mastermind needs Damien for something, why would he

silence, her mind grappling with the new information. Damien hadn't regained his memory yet, and Justin was short on reliable men. So why

trying to eliminate Damien to weaken

sheer complexity of the situation was

attempted to comfort Mandy. "Mandy, try not to fret. Damien

strong, so resilient. No

to the hospital, the

Alyssa immediately moved to her side,

with Damien again. I would rather die if I

This time, I will make sure that Damien returns home

Mandy's cell phone

where a blinking red dot moved steadily

Alyssa asked, "Mandy, what's

on the phone. "I put a tracker on Damien's phone while he was unconscious. Solana City is