33: Shadows of Despair

Michael seethed in his imposing office. "No one deceives me and lives to tell the tale," he hissed, his voice cold as steel. Lily sat defeated, her spirit shattered. "All my struggles... for nothing. The children... gone." Lily, her heart numb, arrived at the Crestwood City Central Hospital. Her mother, Helen, was there, tears streaming down her cheeks. "How could you, Michael? They were your flesh and blood!" Helen confronted Michael, her voice laced with agony. Michael's eyes were void of emotion. "She lied to me. Her life is already a gift from me. She had no right to hide this ..." he waved the ultrasound photos of the twins. "...from me." He continued."When she has a next life, she will know better than to cross or lie to Michael Everett!" Helen watched, helpless and horrified, as her daughter was taken away. "This cruelty... It will haunt you, Michael!" Outside the hospital, two bodyguards watched Lily and Helen leave. Their faces were expressionless, but th