You know, you might have learnt one or two new words in this chapter😂😂 How are you all doing by the way?
The glass doors of the boardroom swing open, and Jade walks in with Martha’s bag in her hands.The room goes silent as everyone stands, rising to their feet. The directors, except Mason and Bethany, are caught off guard by the presence of the matriarch of the Campbell family.Technically, Bethany did not just attain the post of CEO in hindsight, she is a member of the founding family and Mason had chosen by himself to focus on the hospital alone as seeing the whole conglomerate will be too much work for him considering he is a surgeon as well so Bethany, upon arrival, had automatically taken the baton.Martha, elegant and composed, moves gracefully toward the head of the table. Bethany steps aside without hesitation, vacating her seat for her mother. Martha sits down slowly, her eyes scanning the room.There is a powerful, or should we call it an intimidating silence that fills the boardroom as she looks from face to face, director to director and they look back at her, her gaze linge
“Your vote doesn’t count, Kevin Fitzpatrick.” Bethany starts simply. “You’re not a director anymore.” She pulls her eyes over to him, giving him the scariest death stare he has ever seen in his whole life as a man and as a business man. “Your presence here does not count either, you, here, is like a speck of dust, unwanted but can’t be gotten rid of. That, is who you are, Kevin. Nothing more than a leech, sorry for the language to everyone but Kevin…” She clocks her head to the side in a forty five degree angle and looks right into his eyes. “You are a dumb thieving mother fucker.”Bethany’s words hang in the air, and Kevin stands frozen in place, his face drained of color. His eyes dart between Bethany, Martha, and Mason, searching for something for him, an escape, a defense, any sign that this isn’t happening.The directors are also judging him with their eyes, the ones he blackmailed especially staring at him in disdain.But the reality of the moment hits him like a tidal wave. He’
After a long but fulfilling day at the company, Bethany closes off from work, feeling lighter than she has in weeks. As she gathers her things, she turns to Jade, who is busy organizing some documents off her table.Bethany chuckles, watching her for a couple of moments before speaking. “Congratulations on your new post as Director of Finance, Jade.” She says, offering a genuine smile.Jade beams at her, clearly proud and ecstatic but trying to keep it professional. “Thank you, Bethany. I’ll do my best to live up to the role.”“I have no doubt that you will, it’s the last day you’ll be a secretary or anyone’s slave.” Bethany replies, giving Jade a reassuring nod. “Now, get some rest. We’ve both earned it. Go out and celebrate and stuff, don’t let work be too much of your priority.”Jade chuckles softly and gives a playful salute before Bethany heads out, making her way home. The whole stress of the day is behind her, and she’s more than ready to enjoy the evening with her family.Well
As they walk into the building together, their fingers remain intertwined, a statement of togetherness and love.The studio is bustling with energy, producers and crew members moving about, preparing for the live show, at least they know it is one of a kind. The couple is quickly ushered into a waiting room where they have a few moments to touch up their makeup and get prepped for the show.Ten minutes later, Bethany and Arthur find themselves sitting in the main studio, under the bright lights, just a few seconds from going live. The set is polished, the atmosphere professional, and both of them are calm, despite the anticipation buzzing around them.Tammy, the host, glances at them from the side, her eyes twinkling with a mischievous glint. She leans over and whispers to them, her tone playful, “I promised you a surprise, didn’t I?” She glances from Arthur to Bethany, winking slightly at the puzzled couple.Arthur furrows his brow, opening his mouth to respond, but before he can get
It is a closed studio session and the interview has begun, everyone involved is on sit and Tammy is grinning from ear to ear, she can smell the tension in the air amongst the three… and as the host, it is her place to show the truth to the world and fan the flames against whoever has been lying all along.“So, just as a preliminary, you know, can you two please introduce yourselves to the audience?”Arthur sits up, looking at the camera. “I am Arthur Worth and this is my wife, Bethany Worth. I am the CEO and Founder of W. Group, there is nothing much to say about me, especially since our personal information leaked to the media already because of someone’s fabricated truths.”He throws the first jab for the night, Bethany stifles a chuckle.“And I am Bethany Worth, seemingly the most manipulative woman in the region due to someone’s, as my husband called it, fabricated truths. Arthur Worth is my husband and we have been married for over four months. I am the current CEO of Campbell Con
The day Millicent returned home from the hospital all those years before, after successfully getting rid of that baby, the weight of her actions hangs over her like a dark cloud. It had been a week since she succeeded in getting rid of the baby, her body still feels the aftershocks of the act, walking into the road and killing her baby, and her mind, though set on her decision, carries a strange, hollow emptiness.She sustained bodily injuries but it all compared less to what she actually did. What she sacrificed for a good life...She stood at the hospital entrance, and felt the cool air brush against her face. She had barely taken two steps outside when a car pulls up in front of her.Arthur's car. He’s come to pick her up, as he said he would. But as soon as he steps out of the vehicle, the overwhelming scent of alcohol and cigarettes hits her.Arthur, though sober enough to be driving, reeks of a night spent drowning in something far stronger than remorse. His eyes are bloodshot,
Arthur leans backwards slightly into the chair, his fingers unconsciously intertwined with Bethany’s the entire time. His voice, though calm and measured, carries the weight of the truth he has just lay bare while the whole world is listening.“I won’t pretend that everything was perfect me either,” he continues, his gaze shifting from Tammy to Millicent, who sits silently, her eyes narrowing slightly as she listens painfully. “There were faults on both sides, mine inclusive. I totally failed to see how my wife really felt during that time. Millicent was an actress nevertheless, she was good at hiding emotions, burying them beneath the surface. She never spoke up, and I assumed her silence meant everything was fine, I thought it was all fine when she helped blow the balloons, arrange the toys, I thought it was fine as she watched me arrange the baby’s crib… But it wasn’t.”Tammy listens intently, her eyes widening with every word, clearly taken aback by the candor of Arthur’s confessio
“Is your car parked outside by any chance?”John raises his head, surprised at the random question. “Yes, why do you ask?”“Where were you on the day of Sienna’s murder? We have both established that you knew her and were her benefactor for two years? That is touching and sweet but before we release you, where were you on the day of her murder?”I had gone to her place.“I had a meeting with a Kevin Fitzpatrick.”“Really? Do you have his phone number? This is just to confirm your alibi.” Marsh inquires, a small smile at the edge of his mouth. Only himself, for now, knows the direction he is headed.“Yes… Yes, I have his number.”Eager to get the hell out of there, John easily calls out the string of numbers to Marsh as the detective, in turn, dials the number.“Okay, I will give him a call now…” Marsh dials.The line rings once, and then cuts off.Marsh redials.The line cuts off again.“Looks like he is busy or it is a bad network issue. Since you are here anyway, we will just check
Time slows.Bethany’s fingers brush the handle of the driver’s side door just as the second beep-beep fades into the air. A bird chirps from the lamp post above the lot. The wheels of a nearby shopping cart squeal as someone exits the pharmacy across the road. Arthur opens his mouth to say something…And the world erupts.BOOM.It’s not just a noise., it’s a force. A living, monstrous thing that tears through air, glass, and metal like paper. The car explodes in a big explosion of fire and shrapnel, its roof splitting, hurling into the sky. The windshield vaporizes in a white hot flash and for the person standing right next to the explosion...Bethany is thrown violently backward. Not a stumble. Not a fall. She is launched into the air like a ragdoll and what goes up, always comes down.Her body hits the ground very hard. The sound is sickening, skin on pavement, ribs crunching, skull cracking and the audible sound of all of it.Then stillness.Alarms scream in every direction. The
The man walks in front of the station like he’s trying not to walk into a landmine, slow, tentative steps. He stops at the top of the stairs, takes one deep sigh, rubs his weak looking eyes and takes the few more steps into the building.He does not take big strides and no waving hands. Just quiet, precise steps through the front doors of the Precinct, wearing a weather beaten hoodie and jeans that have seen better years. His eyes are the kind that don’t blink enough, too haunted to remember how.Or at least that is what it looks like to whoever cares to give him a glance.At the front desk, Officer Laney gives him the once over. She’s halfway through sipping her third iced latte when she asks, “Can I help you sir?”The man doesn’t answer at first, first choosing to check if she is a police officer since she is in civilian clothes, then seeing her badge in her hands, he sighs audibly before responding, saying…“I need to talk to someone. Someone in charge of a particular case here.”L
Rumors begin less than three days later.Apparently, grabbing a cup of coffee with a beautiful female Major is grounds for rumors, and even people whom you don’t know who begin to study your every move. The rumors, with truths in them however, rage on the barracks.They spread like heat on dry bush. Fast, wild and pretty much unstoppable. A Major seen sneaking smiles at a Lieutenant during drills, the same Lieutenant caught slipping out of the officer's quarters too early in the morning.Chara doesn’t as much as flinch when she hears then, she’s pretty much used to the weight of judgment.Chara doesn’t pretend to care, not at all.She keeps her chin high, her stride sharp like the boss lady that she is, like no one dares say it to her face, because they really do not dare say it to her face.But Mason hears it.He hears them and unlike Chara with her own steely indifference, he is not indifferent to it.And it gets harder to ignore, mostly because it is not all about him but her.Mason
It is a new day on the barracks, the morning frills are done and so are evening ones, it’s just past the time for everyone to have dinner but someone is not headed to the cafeteria for food.The knock on the door announces his arrival to his caller.Major Chara’s office is dimly lit but bright enough fir the time of the day, considering she is in the male fields, she knows just how to be careful enough to not have too much light on, not too much to help the stalkers peek through the window at her perfectly figured body. She’s currently halfway through dressing, uniform pants already snug around her waist, boots laced to perfection, but her shirt still hanging on the back of a chair.“Come in,” Chara calls, her voice calm.She doesn’t bother rushing. She knows exactly who it is and why she has sent for him.The door opens, and then nothing.No footsteps. No greeting.Just silence from who it is that stands at the door.Private First Lieutenant Mason Campbell.She turns slightly, still
The courtroom is brightly lit, smells like polished wood and paper and different, different smells of perfumes and cologne.It's still early in the morning, the sun barely slanting through the tall and somewhat dusty windows, but the room is already full, a lot of people seem to be quite interested in the case and other than that, there are also students who have come to just witness one and some other purposeful individuals, albeit, the courtroom is filled. The silence is thick, every cough or chair scrape feeling louder than it should because every sound that is not inevitable is not allowed in the court, it should always be bone silent and they all try to keep to the rule, although the silence can feel a bit suffocating but they can’t help it.At the defense table, John Worth stands stiffly, his head cast downwards staring at his feet or at the floor, either, wearing the same annoyingly orange jumper he has worn to every hearing in the past week.His hands rest by his sides, fisted
Detective Reynolds has never hated walking down this damned hallway more than he actually does now, with what he knows his mission it, he does not look forward to the next few minutes since he’ll be walking down the same hall again.The keys jingle in his hand, cold metal biting into his palm as he squeezes it more than he should, causing himself pain. He passes the front desk, the vending machines, the bulletin board with the crooked missing persons flyer... all of it feeling a little more annoying than usual.For the first time in a very long time, he regrets his job and for once wishes that he was in a position of power to refute the corrupt order that he is about to go ahead and act out. He had spoken to Daisy Worth just some minutes ago before he decided to accept his fate and do as ordered unless he wanted to risk his job, and even if he does risk his job for the sake of his integrity, the five bastards will still get released anyway so there is basically no point dragging out t
The morning sun filters through the trees in the large, green park that overlooks the pretty lake ahead.It’s warm. Peaceful. A soft breeze rolls across the lake, lifting the petals from scattered white roses and tugging at the corner of the prettily covered altar. Everything looks like it was summoned out of thin air, a lakeside setup, simple chairs, a path of white laid across green grass, and yet it all feels perfectly right.They didn’t plan it. Not really. They did not have the time to do so anyway, because every minute now counts.Every. Single. Minute.But love doesn’t always need a plan. Sometimes, it just needs now and that’s how everything was planned overnight, some people who still haven’t slept yet are in the congregation.By the water’s edge, rows of white wooden chairs are arranged in quiet perfection. A floral arch leans over a makeshift altar, the blooms fresh, delicate, almost too pretty to touch. There are photographers present, it is a memorable one, everyone wants
The holding cell stinks terribly of sweat and urnine and not so well taken care of body discharges.Smells disgusting in there.And it is not just the stink of sweat or urine, like the average downtown drunk tank, no. This one also reeks of guilty men dressed up in expensive cologne. Designer jeans and loafers scuffed on concrete, the exact dressings that they had all been arrested in though they do stink now from not having baths for days.Five men, once golden boys in nightclubs and boardrooms, now sit on cracked terrazzo floors under extremely dim bulb lights.Trevor sits with his legs crossed, perfectly calm for someone in such a situation.The others? Not so much, they are relying on him and for someone they are leaning on, he seems a little too calm for their liking.“Trevor, man,” hisses Logan, slick back that is not so slick now, pacing the cell like a caged animal. “You said your dad would never let this happen, you said you’ll never spill our names now look at all of us, sitt
The day began with yells, cackles of laughter within a small family and small children, all laughing toothily around the large house. Scattered around were pink balloons and a particular glittery plastic tiara that didn’t quite fit on Bethany’s tiny head.She was three years old at the time, full of toothy grins and sticky fingers and loved pancakes with a lot of syrup, and today, today was her birthday.“Mommy,” she said, swinging her legs beneath the kitchen table that was considerably ten times her total weight, “I want McDonald’s burger for my birthday.”Martha, standing by the counter with a juice box in one hand and her purse in the other, gave her daughter a bemused look. “Are you sure? We can make you anything you want. Pancakes? Spaghetti? A cake shaped like a pony? Where did you even hear about that?”Bethany shook her small curls. “You got Mason one, I want my own too today. McDonald’s and the park. I wanna ride the horsies! They are cuteeee.”Beside her, Seven year old Mas