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.

Alyssa choked out again,

to watch Alyssa take the blame alone. "Mrs. Taylor, you've watched Ms. Alyssa grow up.

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

Mandy froze.

plane crash but lost his memory. He's being manipulated, a pawn in someone else's game. And the person pulling the strings could easily dispose

I kept it from you and Dad.

worry, her tear-filled eyes

her head. "I'm sorry, Mandy. I

her hand gripping Alyssa's tightly. Her voice was laced with fear. "If this mastermind needs Damien for something, why

new information. Damien hadn't regained his memory yet, and Justin was short on reliable men. So why would Justin target

someone else be trying to eliminate Damien to weaken

of

own worries, attempted to comfort Mandy. "Mandy, try not to fret. Damien is

so strong, so resilient. No one

I took him to the hospital, the doctor said he would have died if we'd waited

Alyssa immediately moved to her side, gently patting her back to

to meet with Damien again. I

I will make sure that

Mandy's

where a blinking red dot moved steadily southward

asked, "Mandy, what's

put a tracker on Damien's phone while he was unconscious. Solana City is too big. This