By the time she left the hospital, the sun had disappeared from the sky and into the clouds. The night was dark, with only street lights giving away any glow. They had left the hospital after making sure Keon survived her wounds. They also had their wounds checked on last time to make sure there was nothing to worry about.

If Cassandra had her way, she would have slept in the hospital for the whole day, that would have given her enough time to see if Keon woke up, but Harrison convinced her to leave. With her dizzy spells, he told her that it would be safer if she went back to the hotel and got some rest, but she didn't feel like returning to that place. The headache that pounded in her skull made her even more sleepy than she felt, so she allowed herself to drift off as Harrison continued to steer down the street.

"I know you are a bit traumatized with all this." His voice slowly drove her back towards consciousness. Cassandra's eyes fluttered then she sent him a nod. "Keon is going to be alright. The police are looking into the shooter, I am not sure what they'll find, but hopefully, the shooter would be caught. Don't get yourself too worked up over it; you'll only end up stressing yourself out."

Cassandra was saddled with guilt because she remembered the outlook of the man that shot up the hotel. The driver was dressed in a black hoodie and mask, the same as the person she saw before she fell. Coincidence? She had no idea. If the shooting had nothing to do with her, it was a seriously rounded coincidence, right down to the letter. It made her wonder who would want her dead? The only person that she knew from home that ended up in Himont was H.W and Josephine. They were both intense and obsessive, but Cassandra didn't want to imagine any of them could do that.

"What's on your mind?"

"The night of my fall, I told you that someone got into the house and then pushed me off the staircase when I got up there, but I didn't tell you the whole truth about what really happened."

His eyebrows shot up, and she sucked in her lower lip. His voice made her turn from the window, "Come again? Are you trying to tell me that you know who pushed you off the stairs?"

Cassandra shook her head regrettably, playing with the baggage on her arm. "If I had any idea who did that to me, I would have said something the moment I opened my eyes." She pushed her hair off her shoulder and settled herself in the seat before waving her hands dismissively. "No, I don't know who it is."

"Okay, so what did you forget to mention to me then?"

Her chest heaved. "The person, whoever they were, was dressed in all black except for the shoes. He, I think it was a he, was wearing a back hood, and I couldn't even see his eyes. Everything was black. Even the joggers were black with the gloves as well. Exactly like today's shooter."

"I'm confused about what your point is."

She sighed and threw her hands up in the air, making the blanket slide off her shoulder, but she didn't care; all traces of sleep washed from her eyes. "Look, what if the killer is tracking me and all those people were victims when I was the target."

"Are you insane?"

"Nearly!" She dropped her head back hard on the headrest. "Look, if this is my fault, then I have to figure this thing out before someone else gets hurt. What if they had attacked me at home when my mom was around? Or the shooter actually ended up killing someone today?"

"Nothing that happened today is your fault. We were meant to go out; you didn't ask to be involved in any shooting."

"I don't know, Harrison. People have done crazy things for money and revenge, those are exactly the things that people have against me right now. On one hand, I have enemies in business, and on the other, there is my crazy ex and yours."

He laughed, the crinkle under his eyes making him look years younger; all the stress walked off his face. "This is the most self-centred I have ever heard you be, and given your track record, that's saying something. Please don't be one of those people that makes things all about themselves, even if you are just being cautious."

He had a point, but then again, the world had a crazy way of viewing things when it came to issues. Someone might look like they surrendered, but in reality, they just laid low for their enemies weakness before they pounced.

"What if it is Josephine or Harrison."

"Nah."

"You think they can't do it?"

"Maybe I just don't want to believe that someone I know or thought I knew would be capable of doing something like this."

"That's one way to look at it."

"Look," he stretched his hand out and palmed her cheeks for a while to get her attention before he returned his hand to the wheel. "When we get back, we are going to get you into bed, and you'll take your pills for a goodnight sleep. Clear your head a little than when you wake up; we will go get your mother after she arrives at the airport."

With the mention of her mother, she dropped her eyes to the bandage housing her wound and groaned. "I am going to be killed. The moment my mother notices this bandage on my arm, I will need a hospital or be locked in a basement for my own safety."

"Calm down; she won't go that far."

Cassandra scoffed then wrapped the blanket securely around her shoulders. Sleep returned, and she yawned, slowly dropping her head on the window, and her words came out slowly. "It's an exaggeration, but only now that I am older. When I was younger, she was like a General. Still is, but she is learning to ease up more and more. The drugs have to be on point. I had to eat healthily and go for all my checkups. On and on."

He shrugged and spun the car again before shifting the gears to park and snapping the lock, then pushed the door open with his body. Her eyes were tired, but she couldn't get them close because she was afraid of whatever she might see when she slept. Another click, and her door opened with Harrison at the ready to scoop her into his arms.

"Let's get you in bed."

She held fast to the room key and tightened her hold on his neck; her head hid between her hair and his shoulders, so she used the cover to hide her tired eyes. No matter what Harrison said, she was ready to look into H.W and Josephine, the two least obvious threats in her life, because she needed peace of mind. If everything came back clean, then at least she would have the peace of being wrong.

The stress in her bones made the trip to their room such a daze, and she only woke up fully when she felt the soft cotton of the mattress. Harrison pulled the blanket off her and raised her feet up as he slid the comforter out from under her and raised it over her body. Before he could move, she grabbed his wrist and tugged on it.

"Sleep here."

It took a while to get the reply, but he finally resigned to his own tiredness and pulled the comforter up so he could get in behind her. When he was settled, she leaned back and reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers than dropping her head to his chest.

What felt like minutes after she managed to catch some sleep, the loud buzzing of her phone caused her to wake up with a groan. Her muscles were a bit raw, but it felt better than when she had left the hospital. Harrison stirred beside her, somehow they moved while they slept and instead of lying on him, she woke with her face in the pillow. Cassandra licked her chapped lips sleepily, searching around the bedside table for her phone. She squeezed her eyes shut for a while before flicking on the bedside lamp.

"Go to sleep Cassandra."

When he tried to gather her in his arms, she shook him off with a smile then reached out for her phone. Squinting her eyes for a while, she frowned as she saw her mother's name on the screen. With a tap on the glowing green icon, she lifted the phone up to her ears.

"Just want you to know that I heard about what happened. That's the only reason I am going to forgive you for not coming to get me from the airport and allowing me to end up in this hotel without knowing which room you are in."

"What?" The sleep made her slow, but she was off the bed like a shot the next second, her eyes looking around for the clock. "Where are you?"

"Outside. A black car parked right outside the hotel. Please come and get me because I don't want to get lost trying to frantically find my daughter. Don't want to start a scene either."

With sharp movements, she yanked her robe from its place on the headboard and shook Harrison awake before she returned the phone to her ear. "Give me a second, mom, and I would down before you know it. I am so sorry."

"Hurry."

There was no need for her mother to say more than that. She threw her phone on the sofa and slipped hurriedly into her slippers as she turned round to scold Harrison as he sat on the bed. Stumbling for the key then swiping it in the key reader before she busted out of the room and beat a quick path for the elevator, Harrison awake and rushing after her.

Heads turned as she stumbled into the lobby, her robe hanging open with her 'Hello kitty' T-shirt exposed. A roll of her eyes sent them looking the other way before she turned herself and jogged to the automatic doors.

Through the tinted glasses, her mother must have seen her step out because the next moment, the car door flew open, and her platform heels dropped down to the floor. Another invitation was not required. All she did was run down the stairs, not minding who saw or what she looked like to them. In tears, she launched herself into her mother's arms. She wound her arms tightly around her mother's shoulder; the feel of her skin and the beating of her heart made her burst into tears.

"I thought I would never see you again, mom." She sobbed. Her mom just rocked her in her arms as they stood in front of the hotel. Her hands moved up and down Cassandra's hair. "It was awful, mom. Every single part of it was just awful."

"In the end, you are alive." Her mom grinned as she leaned away and moulded Cassandra's cheeks with her palms, tears making her eyes shine. "You are here and alive. That's all that matters to me. Alright?"

At that moment, it was alright. Her mother held on to her for some time and whispered sweet words into her ears. The last time she did that, her father had died, and her mom had to be strong for both of them, and it seemed that the days had not changed. With a tiny smile on her face, she buried her face in her mother's neck and allowed the peace to overwhelm her, drowned out the sounds of the guns and screaming and filled her mind with the scent of the evening wind.

Her mom pulled back again and shook her shoulders. "Come on, my darling, let's get you back into your room so you can get warm and relax."

"I think I am fine."

It turned out that she had slept for longer than she actually thought. She could see the cloudburst of the rising sun as it played with the cool blue of the sky. "You need more sleep, and I just need you to show me to my room so we can both get some sleep and attack this issue with a clear and rested mind tomorrow morning. Sorry, later in the morning."

Harrison appeared at the stairs just as they turned to walk up, and she signalled him with a wave of her hand to go back inside. The driver got the bags from the car and joined the two women as they moved up the stairs. Cassandra was happy that at least, in a few days, she would be back on her own private playing field. Working with her own people and embracing the comforts of her normal work life. Just a day more.