Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

Summer City was near to Zion City, only a two-hour drive.

A convoy of luxury cars sped through the night, with one man sitting in one of them and making call after call. His grim profile reflected against the window made Ray, sitting in the passenger seat, too nervous to even breathe too loudly.

The Lee family were the big fish in Summer City, looking to expand their territory up north, but that was Remington territory. If the Lees wanted a piece of the pie, they needed Remington's say-so. They weren't exactly playing by the book, and Remington had already turned them down once. But now, Ray heard that Remington was back in touch with the Lees.

Remington was willing to make concessions, willing to turn Summer City upside down if it meant finding his wife.

After wrapping up a few urgent calls, Remington turned to Ray.

"Was Yolanda at the West family dinner?"

"Yeah, Mr. Sterling brought her along."

Remington's voice was cold, "Send some of our best to keep an eye on her!"

of her own free will, Yolanda would've known about it beforehand. Even if she didn't know where Lizetta was, the latter would surely reach out to her eventually. Given that Lizetta was pregnant with Daisy, and Yolanda was like a sister to her, it wasn't out of the question that Yolanda might've left

needed to

Mrs. Dashiell plotted it and left voluntarily, Mr. Dashiell?"

she'd been kidnapped? But Remington's focus on

closed his eyes, haunted by Lizetta's unusual behavior these past few days. Her unexpected gentleness, how she cherished the flowers he gave her yesterday, and

in their wedding, that his efforts of being her company were making a difference, that she was

along,

realization felt like a

a slow, excruciating pain that drove him to the brink of

is staying by my

than remain "Mrs. Dashiell"? Remington's laugh was bitter,

really grown up, thinking she could just disappear from his

he wouldn't allow her to leave. Once he found her, he'd teach her a

If she gets hurt, Mrs. Dashiell might get angry

seeing that Remington had dismissed the possibility