Sweet Mischief’s Rollercoaster Romance

her, she'd get a 30% cut. Once she made enough, Jillian planned to help her move overseas.

"According to Barbara, Jillian was the supplier. She handled the shipments and then mingled with the trust fund kids at the clubs, draining their wallets and dragging them into her scheme. For each person she hooked, she pocketed ten grand. Anyone who bought from Chad knew this was serious. He headed next door to another captain's office. "How did Jillian get sent back here?"

"Barbara doesn't know. We've got the usual meet-up spot staked out, and everyone in the video is in custody. Barbara said this started because she and her sister are enemies with Mrs. Cedillo..."

Jillian, always chasing easy money, was blindsided. Barbara saw the video from back home and was furious. Mia was living the dream, and it hurt, especially since Andre nearly became Barbara's brother-in-law.

To prove her loyalty, Barbara sent the video to Jillian overseas.

Andre was the one Jillian fantasized about. She dreamed of standing beside him, basking in his love and jealousy. But Mia took it all. Watching the video, she saw the man who haunted her dreams, holding their son.

At that moment, Jillian snapped. She zoomed in on the boy's face, her nails nearly breaking the screen.

She seethed, "Barbara, we can't let Mia win!"

In a dingy room, patched with bricks and mortar, with plastic bags over the windows, Tom sat on a worn sofa, staring at a screenshot he'd saved. It showed a cherubic kid on his father's shoulders, with plump cheeks and rosy skin.

Tom's scarred hands clutched the phone, eyes glued to the image. He couldn't forget the pain Andre caused him or how the Cedillo family cut him off, forcing him to live like a sewer rat.

beard masked his face. He thought of Holly's girl, scrawny and frail, born before Andre's son but still looking like a newborn. Sickly and often ill due to poor conditions at

grow in a cocoon of

get treatment. She needed to care for the child. If she went for help, the baby would end up with him, and he wasn't a caregiver.

the gossip peaked, Tom stepped out and then vanished. He didn't expect so many people to test the waters. A bit of father-son gossip wasn't enough to

meddling too. A sinister smile crept across Tom's face, "Looks like I'm not

on Barbara, now in custody. Barbara was linked to Jillian, and Jillian... they shared a common enemy.

dealt a heavy blow to her operations back home. She hadn't anticipated Barbara would record the drug use and that an anonymous snitch would

She should've kept her anger in check instead of hitting back at Mia online. She reached for a drink to soothe her regret when an

she hesitated. Moments later, a text

She answered reluctantly, "Hello?"

news about the Marshal Group going under... that was

"Tom? What do you

laugh was dark, "To help

...

At the police station, Officer Chad's office was frequently visited by a young woman who often left Chad with a headache. Sending her away didn't sit well with Chad. But keeping her around? That was a real pain. Molly,

about the Marshal sisters'

Andre got the call, standing by his side. Lately, every morning had become a routine of playing chauffeur for his uncle, driving him around and being strong-armed into taking a job at Cedillo Inc. Jake called, "How's the

out the address Anya sent. Someone's been living there, but