Sienna’s phone vibrates on the table, the vibration cutting through the silence of the room. She glances down, her eyes settling on the message.He has sent the number.Daisy Worth’s number.“It’s finally here.” Her fingers tap the phone number, then it shows up in the call button. She just needs to dial now. All that can be ruined with one, single call.“This is it, this is all for you, Mum.”But just as she’s about to make the call, the phone lights up with another notification again, it’s a call. It’s a completely different number flashing across the screen. She stares at it for a moment, her breath catching in her throat, the feelings she had hidden for so long rearing at the surface.Grandma.Her heart tightens at the sight of the name. She hasn’t spoken to her grandmother in over three years. Not since she left Rewland, the small town that held her past. That held a life she had long since buried, doing all her possible best to fit into the city life, even getting read of that d
The sound of footsteps echo in the entrance of the supposedly empty washroom as a random woman enters, heading toward the sink. She halts abruptly when she sees Daisy, collapsed on the floor, her body limp and motionless.For a moment, the woman freezes in shock, her hand flying to her mouth before she lets out a shrill scream.“Oh my God! Somebody, help! Please, someone help!” She shouts, her voice cracking as panic surges through her. She rushes to Daisy’s side, kneeling down and shaking her lightly but the unconscious woman does not budge, her phone on the floor by her head.“Ma’am? Ma’am, can you hear me?” Her hands tremble as she gently taps Daisy’s cheek, but there’s no response. Her breathing grows erratic, and she fumbles for her phone, her fingers trembling so much that she nearly drops it.She, obviously, is a very panicky woman.“Come on, come on…” She mutters under her breath, dialing the hospital’s emergency line with frantic urgency. As the phone rings, she glances down a
Daisy rushes out of the room as if a fire has been lit in the room where she is supposed to be resting. Her body aches with exhaustion, but she barely notices. Her mind is completely focused on Quinn, her precious girl, who is now awake. Nothing else matters. She ignores the twinge in her limbs, the dizziness that still lingers from her collapse earlier and the truth she is still finding hard to grasp.She feels weaker than ever, but it’s as though it’s simply mother’s love that is carrying her forward. She runs past John who stands in the hall there, watching her.“Daisy, wait!” John calls after her, taking some steps forward, but the sound of his voice grates on her nerves, like the sound of fingernails being drawn on a chalkboard. He moves toward her, offering to help as she stumbles slightly in her haste, wobbling from side to side.“I said leave me alone!” Daisy yells, shooting him a look that could burn through steel. The fury in her eyes freezes John in his tracks. He stands the
In another part of town, Ana Yang adjusts the collar of her sleek black jacket as she strides through the large lobby of Unique Auditing. The walls glisten in the bright afternoon sun, reflecting her composed demeanor, but internally, she's furious.The notice from Campbell Conglomerate had been a shock. She’s never been dismissed so abruptly, and neither has the firm that she represents.It is a serious breach of etiquette.Procedures had to be followed but they completely ignored that, and Kevin had been out of reach for days.And now, it has come to her knowledge that all of her contacts in the company has been fired, just perfect.Her boss, a shadowy man with influence and tons of connections, had been calm when he summoned her earlier in the morning. His voice had the same cold precision as always, no hints of emotion as he gave his orders, but she knew him well enough to not make any mistakes when it comes to issues like these so she would rather take orders than act impulsively
Staring into the ward for a couple of minutes and tired of standing around, listening to his own thoughts, Charles steps out of the hospital, the cool afternoon air hitting him like a slap, a contrast from the slightly chilly one inside.The chaos inside his head has refused to settle.Daisy’s words echo relentlessly, over and over and over again… “Sure you won’t mind losing this one since you have another one out there!” Like a broken record, continues to repeat itself The truth rattles him to the core.Is it true? Or is it just another one of those female moments that they overreact?He digs his hand into his pocket and pulls a flask from his coat, taking a long swig of whiskey, but the familiar burn of the liquor does nothing to ease his nerves, the way it had been doing for months now. His mind spins, with the repeated words.He keeps trying to grasp the weight of what Daisy had said.Dad, has another child.It seems impossible, yet here he is, standing outside the hospital with n
Millicent Atkinson sits under the bright studio lights, adjusting her posture slightly as the cameras focuses on her. She is currently wearing a stunning emerald green dress that highlights her sharp features, and her signature blonde hair is neatly styled.The interviewer and talk show host, Sarah, smiles warmly at her from across the table.The screen behind them shows clips from the upcoming melodramatic movie, Broken Ties, where Millicent plays the lead role of Amanda, a lawyer navigating a complicated divorce case that mirrors her own past divorce."So, Millicent…" Sarah begins, a gleam of curiosity in her eyes, "Let’s dive into the movie. How did you get along with the staff and crew during filming? I know people can be a handful with beautiful people."Millicent gives a polite smile, smoothing out a non existent crease in her dress. "Oh, they were nothing less than fantastic and accommodating. The director, the cast, everyone was incredibly professional. We really felt like a f
In Campbell hospital, Arthur enters into the elevator alone, making sure the doors close before Charles can get on, Daisy just keeps her head down, not wanting to say anything to anyone and John stands a ways off form her, too ashamed to come too close.Inside the ICU, Bethany holds Quinn’s bruised hands and massages it gently, hoping to get the girl to sleep.As soon as the elevator pings open, Arthur stalks out of it, his fists so clenched that his knuckles are completely white.Daisy senses it first and looks up, seeing the look in his eyes, the eyes that are specifically trained on where John is standing. Down the hall, the staircase door opens and Charles bursts in, panting heavily.“Dad! Run!” he yells.John snaps into attention while Daisy jumps out to hold Arthur back.“Artur, don’t do this! Don’t make a scene here.”“You knew he cheated on you, you know he has a child outside, because the child herself called you. And here you are trying to protect him?”Daisy dives into the
The next morning meets John Worth slumped behind his medium large desk at Worth Construction. The office is quiet, weirdly so, and the usual hustle and bustle of staff has disappeared.The window blinds are drawn shut, casting long and dim shadows across the room, and the stale smell of coffee lingers in the air. His shirt is wrinkled, his shirts cuffs loosened, and his eyes are bloodshot, an obvious sign that he hasn’t left the office since the day before and did not have a good sleep or rest all through the night.He had barely slept.Not that he could anyway, with everything collapsing into shambles all around him.The papers sit untouched on his desk, the ones he is going to fill and have submitted to the company commission, filing for bankruptcy, their presence looming like a black cloud over his future.Campbell Hospital, the last lifeline of his company, had cheated them out of the project at the worst possible moment. No new contracts, no ongoing projects, nothing. And now, ba
“You know,” Marsh begins, his tone shifting to something more serious, “for a man who just lost his daughter, you seem remarkably calm.”John Worth feels the room grow cold around him. His heart pounds hard in his chest as Marsh’s words echo in his ears. He freezes, unable to look at anyone, especially not Daisy, whose presence beside him feels like an unbearable weight. Even she can’t raise her head and look him in the eyes, her lips thinning guiltily.Marsh leans forward, his expression sharp and expectant. “So, Mr. Worth,” he says slowly, “care to explain your relationship with Sienna in clearer terms? It seems there’s more you haven’t told us, to find the one who murdered your daughter, we will need the truth… Unless you don’t want us to find out who the killer really is.”John glances at Daisy, whose gaze remains firmly fixed on the floor and her twirling fingers. She hasn’t cried, but her eyes are wet, her silence louder than any accusation.Guilt gnaws at him, but he can’t find
That night, as Bethany Worth settles into bed after a long and eventful day, Arthur has gone to get them one extra bottle of wine to celebrate in their room, her phone vibrates on the nightstand. The screen lights up with a call from an unknown number.She frowns slightly, wondering who could be calling this late. After a moment of hesitation, she answers it.“Hello?” Bethany starts cautiously, waiting to hear who the caller is and why.There is a brief pause on the other end before a voice speaks. “Hi, is this Bethany? I’m sorry for calling so late. My name is Melanie Martins. I’m a friend of Quinn.”Melanie.“He had been Melanie’s ex boyfriend…” Quinn had said that.Bethany immediately straightens up in bed, her full attention now on the caller. “Yes, this is Bethany. Quinn gave you my number?”“Yes ma’am, she gave it to me yesterday. I... I know the man who did that to Quinn.” Melanie says immediately, her voice steady but carrying a hint of urgency.Bethany’s heart skips a beat, he
The blaring of the wake up call shattered the entire silence of the barracks, pulling groggy and half asleep soldiers from the depths of their slumber. The sun had yet to rise at all, but a lone orange light casts a soft, pale glow over the training grounds.Groans and heavy sighs filled the air as boots hit the ground, weary bodies slipping into uniforms with mechanical precision. It is what they are programmed to do every morning just before their morning drills and stuffs.Private, Second Class Mason Campbell adjusted his belt and slung his gear over his shoulders.He was only in his second year of mandatory service, but the routine was already second nature to him. As he fell in line with the others, his eyes briefly scanned the faces around him. Some were resigned, some irritated, and others, like him, were simply enduring another day, staring to actually adapt to it.The morning drill commenced under the sharp eyes of the drill sergeants. Orders were barked, and soldiers moved in
Bethany Worth arrives home earlier than usual, a lightness in her step that she hasn’t felt in weeks.The stress and pressure of the past few months has weighed pretty heavily on her shoulders, but after today, after seeing that small glimpse of support amidst the chaos, she feels a spark of joy returning.She drops her keys on the counter and walks straight into the kitchen, deciding that tonight is the night for something special. A lavish dinner for her and Arthur, something indulgent, something that reminds them both of better, simpler times than being splashed on the news every morning, afternoon and night.As she rummages through the fridge and pantry, her mind settles on a dish that will be both comforting and elegant.Coq au Vin.A classic French dish, rich and hearty, but with a refined flavor that she knows Arthur will appreciate. It is as good as going to a five starred restaurant because she can make it even better in her own home.She set to work immediately, chopping onio
John Worth can feel his heart pounding away deep in his chest as he speeds through the crowded streets of Brooklyn.His lawyer, Mark Henson, follows closely behind in another car, and John can’t help but replay the past few days over and over in his mind. Daisy in trouble, Charles's strange phone calls... none of it sits right with him. Now, Daisy is at the police station, and he has to get to the bottom of it, to get her out of there before things spiral out of control.They can’t possibly suspect his wife for murdering that scheming bitch, because she did not.As John parked outside the station, he quickly steps out of the car, the cool afternoon air doing nothing to cool his nerves. Mark walks up beside him after parking his own car, adjusting his tie and giving John a serious look. “You’ve been keeping me in the dark about this, John,” Mark said in a low voice. “What exactly are we walking into?”John clenches his jaw, avoiding the question. “Let’s just get Daisy out of here. We c
Back in the police van, Daisy sat with her hands folded in her lap. The city passed by in a blur through the window, but her mind was somewhere else. She could feel the tension in the air, and despite the detective’s silence, she knows they are ready to pounce with questions the moment they arrived at the station.In hindsight, she did something real stupid, truly.She can’t hide him forever.Her thoughts drift to John and then to Sienna, and to the events that had just spiraled out of control over the past week and few days.How had it all come to this?“Almost there, Mrs. Worth.” Marsh says from the front, breaking her thoughts as he glances at her tensed up body sitting at the back. The eyes looking ahead and yet so far away.Daisy nods, not trusting herself to speak.She stares out the window, the buildings getting taller as they near the city center and the police station gradually comes into view. She isn’t ready for what was about to happen. How could she ever be ready for some
The detectives were waiting for her down there by the lobby as Marsh had said earlier, standing by the entrance. Marsh and Halloway stand with their backs straight, their expressions unreadable as they watch Daisy approach.Though they had not cuffed her for Quinn’s sake, there is not much difference in being cuffed or not when a person is being arrested as a suspect. They won’t tell her arrest but she knows pretty well.Fingerprints are big pieces of evidences.But she did not do it, and somehow, she knows the officer she shares a look with just now knows that fact.Daisy swallows hard, trying desperately to keep her emotions in check.The hospital lobby is as busy as usual, but to her, everything feels muted. Almost like she is walking over to an executioner who will put her head in a guillotine and hack!, her head is gone… the whispers of passing nurses, the shuffling feet of patients walking and being walked is all a blur, drowned out by the loud thudding of her heart. She knew Qui
The interview airs the next day, and the public reaction is immediate.The tabloids lit up with headlines. Such as…“Millicent Fires Back: Claims Bethany Worth Orchestrated Scandal!”“Millicent Atkinson Accuses Bethany of Manipulation, Sabotage and Loss of her Husband!”Social media explodes with reactions, many siding with Millicent, others defending Bethany.But the story has been set in motion, and there is no turning back now.She is now not just a homewrecker or husband thief, she is now a gold digger alongside the many names. People were questioning everything, had Bethany really been behind the viral recording? Was Millicent telling the truth, or was this just another ploy to shift the blame?Then the video from the restaurant comes out, and they all see Bethany playing the recording for everyone to hear.What had been her own instrument of safety has been cleanly turned back around, and the video is now her own sentencing.Back at Arthur and Bethany’s home, the atmosphere is no
She sits on the floor of her room, her phone back in her hands with a new manager. This one seems completely supportive of her new moves after all.She checks up on her Instagram DMs and after checking past all the angry messages left by fans, supportive messages and even cursing, she arrives at the one she had been expecting, one she had been diligently checking for since the whole thing began.An interview invite to one of the biggest show houses in the country. There will be no better place to tell the world her own side of the story.Well, her own new side of the story, since they all seemed to have Bethany’s side alone, she still has the support of many people with her anyway.Three hours later, Millicent Atkinson walks confidently into the brightly lit studio, her expression cool and composed, nothing on her face gives away nothing of how she really feels, she feels elated that soon, the tides will turn on her side again, against that scheming witch.Although, even Millicent wil