The crash had sent shockwaves through everyone connected to Brian Rowland. One moment, he was on a simple business trip to represent his father abroad, and the next, he was missing—his plane had gone down amidst a sudden storm. For a week, the Rowland family had been on edge, hoping and praying for some kind of news. Search teams combed through the wreckage, but no trace of Brian was found.
Each day dragged painfully by until, on the eighth day, a breakthrough came. A team of rescue workers had found Brian, alive but barely hanging on. He was discovered in a small clearing, thrown far from the wreckage of the plane. His condition was critical—broken bones, internal injuries, and, most worrying of all, a severe loss of blood. They had transported him to a nearby hospital, where immediate care was given to him before he was transferred to their family hospital, but the doctors warned the family: he was in bad shape, and his survival rate was slim. Only a miracle could save him.
Linda, together with the Rowlands, rushed down to the hospital where he was transferred, her mind a whirlwind of emotions. When they arrived, the atmosphere was thick with tension. Brian lay in the intensive care unit, surrounded by machines keeping him alive. His face was pale, his body covered in bruises and bandages, and his breathing shallow. Mrs. Rowland broke down the moment she saw her son in a lifeless position, but Linda stood there, feeling cold. She couldn't stop thanking her star that she hadn't been officially married to Brian. Is this how she was going to turn into a young widow?
The doctors had given their grim update: Brian needed a blood transfusion urgently. His blood type was rare, and time was running out. None of his family's blood matched his, Panic ensued as the family scrambled to find a match. Amid the chaos, Linda excused herself, needing to clear her head. She wandered into the hallway, the overwhelming beeping of hospital machines ringing in her ears.
As she passed an open door, she overheard voices—Mrs. Rowland and Brian's uncle spoke in hushed tones. Curious, Linda stepped closer, hiding behind the door frame.
"It's time you do what's necessary," Mrs. Rowland said, her voice breaking. "He's your son, after all."
Linda froze. Your son? She must have misheard, right? But no—Mrs. Rowland continued, her words trembling with desperation.
"I know we've kept it hidden for all these years, and it will always be hidden, but he needs your blood now. You're the only one who can help him now. Remember he has always respected and looked up to you."
Mr Charlie, one of the biggest shareholders in the Rowland companies, when the Rowland group of companies formerly known as black sheep group companies, was having an internal conflict on who would become the new CEO. Mrs Priscilla offered herself that, in return, she would have his support and that of his followers to be the CEO.
A nightstand that results in pregnancy. A man Linda had always seen as distant and cold, let out a deep sigh. "It was never meant to come to this. I thought we had buried this secret long ago."
"No one would know about it, just you, me, and the doctor. My husband and the rest of the family would think we were able to get a blood that matched Brian's own." Mrs Priscilla kept on persuading Charlie, and he finally gave in.
Linda's heart raced as the pieces of information she heard fell into place. The man Brian has called and looked up to as uncle is his biological father.
Stunned, Linda backed away, her thoughts spinning. How could this be? How could Mrs Priscilla have kept something like this hidden from her family? She had known her to be powerful and have some dangerous stuff she was involved in, but this was beyond anything she had imagined.
Having left the hallway, Linda decided to call off the engagement with Brian. He wasn't even the biological son; how could he inherit the company? If Hailey should find out about Mr Rowland, she would lose more than if she works away now.
Later that evening, she rejoined the family in the waiting room, her mind still reeling. Brian's uncle had donated the blood, saving Brian's life for now, but at what cost? The truth was out there now—at least to Linda. And she knew that if she revealed this secret, it could destroy the entire Rowland family.
As Brian remained in critical condition, barely clinging to life, the Rowland family began to investigate the crash. The timing, the sudden change in weather, the loss of communication with the plane—it all seemed too coincidental. Mr. Rowland was convinced that someone had sabotaged the plane, and he would stop at nothing to find out who. A private investigator was hired, and names of each business rival and enemies they had floated through the air, each theory more sinister than the last.
Having been in the intensive care unit for some days, Brian's physical condition improved slightly, but his mind was still lost to the coma. The doctors warned that he might never fully recover, and even if he woke up, he could never be the Brian they once knew; either he has amnesia or becomes handicapped, but in all, he should first wake you before a conclusion is been made yet.
The once grand and untouchable Rowland family was now in turmoil. They had more questions than answers, and Linda was caught in the middle of it all. She had wanted out of this engagement, but now she was tethered to a family on the brink of collapse, holding a secret that could shatter everything.
Would she stay silent to protect herself, or would she expose the truth and watch the Rowlands fall? For now, Linda said nothing, but the weight of the secret gnawed at her, pulling her deeper into the darkness.