Cutting through the highway traffic at breakneck speed, the ambulance carrying Brystle raced towards the hospital. The alarm had been raised when Brystle’s horse had returned back to the stables at Siloli mansion unaccompanied. Groundsman Terry spotted the horse wondering around and as he knew where Brystle had been riding he called a few of the other workers from the house and they conducted a search of the area. They soon found an unconscious Brystle lying in the meadow where the horse had thrown her and an ambulance was summoned. Brystle remained unconscious even as she was loaded into the ambulance and realising the seriousness of her injuries considering she was pregnant, the paramedics wasted no time in getting her to the hospital.
Brystle was rushed into the E.R. bypassing all other patients waiting to be seen. Afterall, she was a Simmington and Burke had contributed hundreds of thousands of Simoleons to this hospital. The healthcare team knew the importance of ensuring Brystle received the best care possible.
Time passed. Brystle was seen by the best doctor at the hospital. 
Burke had been called from home and told about what had happened to Brystle. He immediately suspended his meetings at WindenburgSimmington and left his top lawyer Andre Wayward in charge as he raced across town to get to the hospital. As he paced the corridor outside Brystle’s room and wondered how on earth this had happened, Burke didn’t notice that Clarke Hemmings had also arrived.
A furious Burke spun around and faced the man who was making their lives a misery.
Before Burke could respond, the door to Brystle’s room opened and out came the doctor seeing to her.
Upon seeing her, both men stopped their bickering and listened as the doctor spoke with calm authority.
Dr Pippa Mint then delivered some devastating news to Burke….
The reality of what Dr Mint had said hit like a truck. Brystle would never have a child. This news numbed Burke into silence as he considered the impact of it all.
Clarke stepped back, genuinely upset at what he too had heard. He felt for Brystle. Seeing Burke broken made him realise this was not the time nor the place to be squabbling and so he left quietly. 
Once inside the room, Burke tenderly held Brystle’s hand and stroked her hair as she gradually came around. Seeing Burke she broke down in tears. 
There was no words that Burke could say that would make Brystle or himself feel any comfort. Instead, as his wife sobbed on the bed, he gently lay down beside her and held her tight as they both came to terms with their loss.
The following day saw Skankee Dolby, former wife to ruthless billionaire businessman Cyril Dolby, arrive at the headquarters of his company. Skankee had returned to Windenburg hoping to convince her ex husband to put a stop to his lying. She knew that he had lied to world when he’d claimed to have found the long lost Simmington heir Badam. The man who he’d presented to the world as Badam Simmington was NOT who he claimed to be. Skankee knew this as fact. For she herself knew the truth about the REAL Badam Simmington and what had happened to him when he went missing many years ago. The guilt she carried of her part in the deception all those years ago still ate away at Skankee and she knew the only way she would find peace was to convince Cyril to stop what he was doing and come clean. But knowing how devilish her ex-husband could be, Skankee knew she had a struggle on her hands.
Cyril was equally surprised to be informed that his ex-wife was not only back in town but was requesting to see him. Curious he allowed his secretary to show her in. 
Skankee slowly sat down opposite her ex-husband. The sight of him made her skin crawl, not because of how ill he looked but due to all of the memories of how cruel and evil he had been came to the forefront of her mind. Cyril, meanwhile, studied his former wife with a warped novelty. It amused him to see her again after such a long time. 
So there it was. The real reason why Skankee had come to see him. Cyril considered his response carefully. 
There was a moment of silence between the former couple. Eventually Cyril got up from his desk and made his way to pour himself a drink. For a second it looked like he was very unsteady on his feet Skankee thought.
Skankee was unaware, as were most people, that Cyril Dolby was dying. He’d received his diagnosis some months ago after contracting Rabid Rodent Fever. Ironic considering he was such a rat of a man himself. 
What Skankee had said was true. Cyril HAD taken Badam Simmington as a child. He was furious when he discovered that a young Texas was not only cheating on Burke but also on HIM! He was the man who secretly followed her to the river that day many years ago when she went on a picnic with her toddler son Badam and her secret lover Todger Rhymes. Cyril had watched them from afar and was so incensed with anger when he saw Texas and Todger canoodling on the picnic rug. They hadn’t even noticed young Badam wander off to the waters edge. And that was when Cyril had ceased his chance and snatched the child away and thus beginning the 20 odd year mystery of what happened to Badam Simmington. 
Skankee knew what Cyril meant when he took that tone and had that sinister look come over him. And it was something she’d tried many years to forget. For the implication was that if she did not shut up about what had happened in the past Cyril would see to it that she was shut down – permanently!! She quickly turned to make her exit, her heart pounding in her chest. For she knew Cyril was capable of anything…including making her disappear….
With Cyril’s harsh words ringing in her ears Skankee almost ran out of the office. However if she’d paused to look back she would have seen Cyril take a turn for the worse as he clutched at his head…
Cyril reached for his pills in the drawer of his desk, his hands trembling as he suffered yet another attack of Rabid Rodent Fever.
Meanwhile outside in the plaza of Dolby Doh, Skankee was just catching her breath following her run in with Cyril when she was approached by WindenburgSimmington lawyer Andre Wayward who happened to be in the neighbourhood on business. 
Andre thought on this. Skankee did seem over keen for him to meet with her young lawyer. But Andre had always liked Skankee and was willing to give the young man a shot. 
After exchanging pleasantries they both went their separate ways. 
With the shadow of the WindenburgSimmington building looming over her Skankee paused and considered the path she had just chosen and the ramifications of her actions…
Malaudia Drysdale, who had been left homeless and broke after her deranged mother-in-law burned down her house and killed Detective Morelli then kidnapped her daughter, had been staying with the Simmington’s in Siloli for sometime now. She hated every minute of it being under the same roof as Brystle, the woman her husband had had an affair with whilst Malaudia was in the simitarium. But with her insurance money being held up, as it was all in her husband Mayhew’s name and he was currently locked up in an overseas prison charged with being a spy, Malaudia had little choice but to remain there.
It had been almost 2 months now since Mother Drysdale had gone on her rampage killing Detective Morelli and burning down the house before fleeing with Mimsy, Malaudia’s daughter. There had been no news on where they had gone. The detective and sergeant on the case were paying Malaudia a visit to update her and they were in the solarium discussing the progress. 
Detective Noonan and her colleague Sergeant Bala seemed genuinely concerned and determined to find their colleague’s murderer but it wasn’t enough for Malaudia. All she wanted was the safe return of her daughter Mimsy. And knowing that she was with her murderous grandmother infuriated her along with the lack of progress being made on the case. 
Detective Noonan could see how emotional Malaudia was getting and understandably so. However, knowing her history of being emotionally unstable, Noonan decided not to argue back with her and instead explained in a calm manner the mammoth task it was taking in trying to locate Mother Drysdale and Mimsy. Malaudia, however, remained unimpressed. 
Realising they were making things worse, both Detective Noonan and Sergeant Bala decided to leave. Sergeant Bala was already pessimistic about the chances of finding the missing pair.
It was all too much for Malaudia. Her anxiety was soaring and she was both angry as hell and terrified for her daughter. With her husband locked up thousands of miles away and Malaudia trapped in the mansion without a friend in the world she never felt so lonely and afraid as she did right now. When would this ordeal ever end…..????
Across town at the gym used exclusively for the players of Windenburg United, the soccer team owned by WindenburgSimmington, Seth Dolby was working out.
Seth had been hired as the head of new developments at WindenburgSimmington and one of his first projects was the creation of the sports division and acquisition of the failing soccer club. Investing in the club by signing some of the top soccer players in the world Seth had turned the fortunes of this team around and they were now one of the top teams in the world. This was also majorly helped by the signing of Giles Scott, the number one soccer star in the world. But it had come at a price. Giles was just as well known as being a playboy as much as his ball skills. And Set had caught him with his wife Fathom in a clinch the previous week at Burke’s gala dinner. Fathom had tried to downplay it at first but then no longer seemed to care that she was indeed having an affair with Giles.
This left Seth in a difficult position as to what to do with his star player. Getting rid of him could see the downfall of the team’s position and in turn the loss of billions in simoleons. It could also mean he would be seen as a failure at WindenburgSimmington, his father-in-law’s company, and he would not allow that.
Pent up wit hanger and rage Seth was furiously working out lifting weights. This was when Giles saw him from across the room. Giles smirked to himself seeing Seth. He thought of him as a complete schmuck, a joke who was being played by his wife. Giles had the hots for Fathom and he knew her marriage to Seth was a sham. So he decided to have a little fun and approached his boss. 
Seth stood up and raised the weight above his head showcasing his strength to Giles. 
Giles’s arrogance fuelled Seth’s anger further as he squatted down. 
Seth dropped the weight and stood upright upon hearing this revelation. Surely it couldn’t be true? Had Fathom really slept with the whole soccer team???!! 
Giles no longer cared how much he was over stepping the mark. He was having too much phone mocking the hapless Seth. What on earth did Fathom see in him he wondered. 
The 2 men glared at one another in a stand off before Giles brushed past Seth, roughly knocking his shoulder into his as he made his way upstairs.
Seth stood still, as the rage bubbled away furiously inside of him, debating on what to do. And in an instant he turned and made up the stairs after Seth. There was no way in hell he would let him get away with this. At the top of the stairs he found Giles doing some push ups. Giles turned and smirked at him and Seth glared down in hatred at him.
Giles continued goading his boss. 
Giles turned and looked at the boxing ring before turning back to Seth. 
The 2 men made their way into the ring. Giles was a keen sportsman, in tip top condition coupled with a cocky arrogance. He would never shy away from a fight.
Unbeknown to him Seth had practiced boxing in his day at Simvard University and was once semi-professional in this field. But now he was out of practice. The fight could go either way…
With that stinging jibe, Giles launched another one with his right hook hitting Seth square in the face. 
Incandescent with anger Seth threw himself onto Giles and both men fell to the floor of the ring. 
Giles wrapped his legs around Seth’s waist and locked him tight before twisting over throwing Seth to one side. He then grappled Seth’s jaw as he straddled him. 
Seth roared in pain as Giles twisted his arm around. The pain only drove him into a further rage and new found strength. He managed to flip Giles over so that he was face down on the mat before grabbing his legs and thrusting down on him so hard it was Giles turn to yell out in agony. 
Seth still wasn’t done as he then stood and hoisted Giles up off of the mat upside down with his face buried between his manly thighs. 
Giles was humiliated by this and this too enraged him to new heights. Doing a back flip out of the headlock Giles did a drop kick to the head.
This still didn’t knock Seth to the floor so Giles did another kick before violently thrusting himself forwards onto Seth. 
Seth was taking a good pounding from Giles and if wasn’t careful there was a chance Giles would remain on top. Seth couldn’t allow this to happen and instead used his last ounce of strength to grab Giles and then throw him to the floor where it was his turn to straddle his bleach blonde star player. 
Seth grabbed Giles by the throat and with images of him fooling around with Fathom in his mind, Seth squeezed as hard as he could as he began to choke him. 
Seth then released his grip on Giles before he went too far. Giles rolled around coughing and gasping as Seth panted for breath, his body glistened in sweat. He had won the fight but still wanted the last word.
Seth made to leave the ring but not before it was his turn to goad the broken Giles who lay gasping on the floor from their intense pummelling. 
It had a been a trying couple of days for Burke and Brystle following their loss. Burke was being as supportive as he could to his wife who was still staying the hospital. Burke was alone in the kitchen of his mansion as it approached midnight. He’d wandered in there aimlessly with the idea of making himself something to eat but was having a hard time concentrating on anything. For the first time in many years Burke Simmington felt at a loss as to what to do to make things better.
As he stood still staring into space, a visitor crept into the kitchen. It was Texas. She had snuck in to the kitchen in an effort to swipe some goodies when no one was around and she was surprised to see Burke in here at this hour. 
Texas hadn’t seen her ex-husband like this in a long time. He was broken and unshaven. He was utterly devastated by the loss of the baby and most importantly….he appeared vulnerable…
This was an unexpected bonus from the misfortune Texas had caused. When she’d fired the gun that had startled the horse which in turn threw Brystle to the ground, Texas had no idea it would have led to this, to Brystle being….barren…
As she pondered the implications of this, Burke turned and faced his ex-wife. 
Sensing a changed in Burke’s demeanour which hinted he was being more approachable Texas gently probed him.
Damn that groundsmen Terry thought Texas. Can’t her learn to keep his trap shut?! Telling Mrs Bummerson he might as well put it on the front page of the news. Texas would deal with him in time. Now she just had to convince Burke that it was not true.
Burke slowly nodded in agreement before turning away and leaning on the kitchen counter. Inwardly Texas was relieved that he had bought her story. 
Something stirred inside Texas’s cold heart. It hurt her to see Burke like this. For deep down, despite all of their hostility…Texas STILL loved Burke. And in his hour of need, Texas reached out to him. 
Upon the tough of his former wife on his shoulder Burke spun around and the 2 of them locked eyes. Slowly Texas raised her hand and gently caressed Burke’s face.
Texas spoke softly to her former husband as they continued gazing into one another’s eyes.
Texas closed her eyes as Burke gently touched her cheek. How she had missed the touch of his hand all these years…
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