**Third person**A month ago,Layla walked into the reception area of Stone's Enterprises. "Hi, I'm Layla Beckett from Harriston's Enterprises. I'm here to see Mr. Stone," she said, smiling at the receptionist.The receptionist looked up, slightly taken aback. "Do you have an appointment, Miss...?"“Layla. And no, I don't have an appointment.”“Then I'm afraid you can't see Mr. Stone.”"Please, can you just call and tell him it's very important?" Layla urged. “It's an emergency.”The receptionist hesitated for a moment, seemingly studying Layla and contemplating whether or not to help. With a small sigh, she finally picked up the phone."Hello sir, there's a Layla from Harriston's Enterprises here to see you. She says it's about..."“It's an emergency,” Layla whispered, mentally rolling her eyes at the receptionist's pretense of forgetfulness since she walked in.A pause, then the receptionist nodded and dropped the call. "Very well, Miss Layla. Mr. Stone will see you now."Layla smil
**Third person**“So I've made my findings.”“Good, that was fast. So did you confirm everything that I said?”“Not exactly. You'll have to bring me—"“Wait, not so fast, Mr. Stone,” she cut in, her eyes sparkling with a mischievous glint as she realized that this call meant she had the upper hand.He frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”“You have to pay for my silence.” Her lips stretched into a smirk. “I'm very sure Mrs. Smith would be interested in—”Lucas scoffed. “How much do you want?”She smiled confidently. “Five million.”“I'll send seven. Get a DNA test between the sisters done.”“The sisters?” Layla exclaimed, slightly taken aback. “How do you expect me to do that? Karen and I aren't—"“Your problem,” he cut her off. “Then he lowered his phone, about to hang up when something crossed his mind. “And don't tell Valerie that you told me about her… ‘secret.’”His voice came out as a low growl, a dangerous edge to it.Layla swallowed the lump in her throat. “I understand.” The
**Third person** Mrs. Stone raised a brow, genuinely taken aback by Angela's audacity. “You're not leaving?” Her tone was as sharp as her gaze, daring Angela to repeat her words. Angela swallowed. “That’s not what I meant, mother. Please, I want to be by Lucas's side.” “Lucas doesn't want to be by your side,” Lucas chipped in through gritted teeth. “Angela, you have to leave.” Mrs. Stone's voice was softer now. “What happened between you two was a mistake.” “Nothing happened between us,” Lucas clarified, his frown deepening. For goodness sake, he'd know if there was sex. And why can't he remember anything else after the bar? Mrs. Stone glanced at Lucas briefly, a small sigh leaving her before she returned her focus to Angela. “You two aren't meant to be.” Angela's fingers dug into the sheet wrapped around her. “But—” “Leave," Mrs. Stone cut in, her voice dripping with an air of finality. "Before I'm forced to take drastic measures,” she added when Angela didn't respond. With t
**Valerie** I sat on a bench, surrounded by the soothing sounds of the breeze rustling leaves and birds chirping. The park was quiet, with only a few people strolling by. I drew my knees to my chest, my eyes squeezed shut, savoring the feel of the air on my skin as I allowed my mind to wander. It had already been a couple of days, but my mind kept replaying the scene at Lucas's house that day—the pictures of Ashley in his drawer. I'd done my own investigating, but there was nothing that connected Ashley and Lucas. Hell, we'd never even met, let alone anything more. Should I confront him? Maybe, I don't know. Perhaps I should act neutral and ask him who the woman is? That's probably what I should have done that day. I gritted my teeth. Frustration was eating me alive, a flood of unanswered questions swirling in my mind. I willed myself to push the thoughts aside. I needed to shift my attention to the task at hand—Karen's prank. "Val," a voice called out from behind me. I opened
**Valerie**“I think we should leave,” Matt suggested.Yeah, we should. But just not yet.Lucas crossed his arms, not breaking eye contact with me as he leaned against his car.The staring competition went on for a few more minutes until Matt tapped on my shoulder. "Val?" And I imagine his gaze had been darting between me and Lucas.My eyes shifted briefly to Matt, who was now holding my arm, and before they could return to Lucas, he was already in his car, driving off.I frowned. What the hell? What was that?Then a thought struck me. *It's not stalking since I don't know that you close windows before taking off your bra.*Is that probably how he found me here? Did he continue stalking me?I thought it was cute back then. “Silly me,” I groaned. But now, it's really creepy knowing that he might be watching my every move and he could harm me at any time.“What's that?” Matt asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.My brows furrowed. “What?”“You groaned just now and mumbled some words. I
**Third person**Karen stood in front of the bathroom sink, her toothbrush hanging midair as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She took in the wrinkle lines sitting on her forehead; she had somehow managed to go through three years of ageing in a week.Her phone rang, shrill in the silence. A tremor coursed through her as she watched the device ring with the unknown number displayed.She wouldn't answer it. What if it was Ashley?Karen watched the phone ring two more times before the device beeped, a text message notification displaying on her screen.She wiped on her screen and opened it, her grip on her toothbrush tightening as she read through the message: "My blood is in your hands... literally."Karen spun around, her eyes wildly scanning the bathroom as if checking whether Ashley's form was watching her. She took a deep breath when she didn't see anything.“Calm, be calm, Calm,” she chanted to herself, her trembling hands reaching for the tap and turning it on with a j
**Third person**“I'm sorry, Ash,” Karen began shouting. “I slapped you that day; I know I shouldn't have. I called you all sorts of names. I… I…” Her voice broke. “I killed you; I watched you drown.”“I'm sorry, okay?” Her voice was softer, and she was sobbing. “We're sisters after all, aren't we?”Adam just stood there, dread filling him. His mind reeled, his heart pounding in his chest as he watched Karen make a fool of herself.He'd taken a few steps towards his wife to console her when a vase on the coffee table suddenly exploded, shattering into a hundred pieces. The sound was deafening, and Karen's eyes went wide as she stumbled backward."Oh God, oh God, oh God!" She screamed, her hands flying up to cover her ears.Adam's heart was racing as he stared at the shattered remains of the vase, a cold chill running down his spine as he stood there, frozen. Just then, Karen's phone started ringing again, shrill and insistent. She hesitated for a moment, her fear turning to rage, and
**Valerie**We both turned to see Lucas standing there, looking ravishing. His piercing blue eyes locked onto mine, and I felt a jolt of electricity run through my body.Today, he was wearing a pair of dark, fitted jeans that accentuated his well-muscled physique. The first three buttons of his crisp, white shirt were open, revealing a generous amount of his chiselled chest. I rolled my eyes at the urge to flatten my palm on his chest.A feeling of déjà vu washed over me as my eyes shifted to the toned forearms that his rolled-up sleeves exposed. This moment right here felt like it had happened before—me, Lucas, and Frances. We were…"Mind if I join you guys?" He asked, snapping me back to reality. His voice was husky, his gaze fixed on me and a sly glint in his eye. He ran a hand through his perfectly messy hair, and his piercing blue eyes seemed to gleam in the dim light of the club. I swallowed hard and looked away, my thighs involuntarily clenching at the memory of the last sex
**Lucas**“Valerie!” I shouted as I watched the taxi drive away with her.“Fuck!!” I yelled. I ran a palm across my face, my heart pounding as I pulled at my hair. Why do I keep fucking things up? Just why??!I groaned and then jogged back to the garage, deciding to drive to her house. “I hope she's headed home,” I muttered frustratedly.How was I supposed to explain things to her when I clearly know how this looks? But how do I convince her? I'm quite sure that nothing happened. Even though I was drunk, at least I'd remember bits and pieces of the sex afterwards—that's if it did happen—but there was nothing at all. Nothing.Just as I approached my car, Angela blocked my path. “What are you doing?” she asked.I shrugged, moved away from her and took another route, but she was quick to block my way again. “Why are you going after her when I'm here?”“Angela. Move,” I gritted out slowly, my patience wearing thin.“Why? I'm the one who loves you. I can make you happy.” Then her eyes dil
**Valerie**“Karen?” I echoed, my heart racing, and he nodded.“Just be quiet,” he whispered and gave me a reassuring look before stepping out.After he left, I moved to the door and pressed myself against it, my ears straining to eavesdrop on their conversation.“Hey babe, what do you say about lunch?” I heard him say to Karen.“Lunch?” Came her response.I imagine her face was twisted into a scowl because he continued, “I don't know why you think that about me. I'm sorry, okay? I'm not behind those pranks.”A pause. Then, “Why are you acting so strangely right now?" Karen's voice asked. "You didn't give a shit that I thought you were responsible for the pranks. So why are you apologizing all of a sudden?”“That's not it,” he chuckled, but I could hear the tremble in it. “I thought your meeting ended a while ago. What are you still doing here?” I heard the clinking of heels get closer and closer to the door. Then it stopped.“Let's talk things over. Let's go for lunch, okay?” I ima
**Valerie**I was sitting across from Tessa at work, my mind wandering and a thousand thoughts trooping in.So they're not my parents? Explains everything.Or did Karen just say I'm not her sister to make her seem less bad?But if they're not my parents, then who are they? Are my real parents still alive? Where are they?“Val?” Tessa's voice snapped me out of my daze.I blinked rapidly to suppress the tears welling in my eyes before I looked up at her. “Uhm, yeah?”She studied my face for a moment. “You good?”I nodded. “Yeah, sure." I tried to make my voice seem cheerful. "What's up?”She side-eyed me, her face screaming, ‘I know you're not fine, but it's okay if you don't want to tell me what's wrong.’ Then she pushed a document over to me.My face lit up, my eyes shifting from the document that was now in my hand to her face. “Is this what I think it is?”"Who knows?” She smiled, a mischievous glint in her eye. “Check it out."My hands got to work immediately, opening the envelope
**Valerie**“Wait…” He paused, processing my words. Then a proud laugh ripped from his throat. “That was intentional?”I smiled but didn't say a word. I just allowed him to take his time and catch his breath until he spoke up again.“But doesn't that mean you'll lose Adam as an ally?” He asked with a thoughtful expression.I shrugged. “I don't have use for him anymore,” I replied sincerely.“Fucking bastard is getting what he deserves,” Matt seconded with a nod. There was a brief pause on the other end before he spoke again. “There's something I want to tell you about that Gary Miller. How does the weekend sound? It's not urgent.”“Yeah, there's that guy,” I sighed out. “Weekend's fine for me, Matt.”“Okay, good, I'll see you then.”“Yeah, bye.”The line went dead, and I placed my phone away, my mind shifting to the bug in Adam's bedroom and what new recordings it must have acquired.After the bloodbath yesterday, Karen must have had some things to say. Actually, not ‘some’... She mus
**Third person**Karen let out another loud laugh. Her tone was filled with mockery and amusement. “I should have known something was wrong when ‘Ashleeey’ didn't come for you.” She air-quoted the word ‘Ashley,’ disdain resting on her tongue.Then she paused, her smile vanishing completely and replaced with a fierce look. "If Ashley's ghost was truly roaming around, you'd be the first one she attacks!” She spat. “After all, you're the son of a bitch who killed his pregnant wife!”Adam recoiled, taken aback by Karen's words. He scoffed, disbelief clouding his features. How could she put it on him? When she was just as bad.“You must be delusional,” he snarled, facing his wife head-on. “Why do you think she wouldn't have come for you? Aren't you the whore of a sister who was sleeping with her man?!” He let his disgust-filled eyes rake over her. “Plus you fucking killed her too!”Karen lounged forward, her face contorted in rage as her palm flew in the air, aiming for Adam's face. But Ad
**Valerie**Adam's eyes caught mine for a brief moment, and I could see the anger beneath his calm facade. I swallowed and looked away, not wanting to figure out what he was thinking. I wasn't scared, though. I shouldn't be. I couldn't be.Lucas reached for my hand and gave it a light squeeze. I smiled and looked up at him, grateful for the support he didn't even know that I needed.I held onto his hand for a few more minutes, just enjoying the warmth and comfort his touch brought. My gaze roamed the emptying hall, my eyes catching some members of security rushing up to the stage with towels in hand.“Maybe we should leave now,” I suggested to Lucas after a while.At this point, they'd carried Mr. and Mrs. Harrison off stage. The hall was basically empty, save for Adam and Karen, who remained in their seats, and a few workers still roaming about.Lucas seemed to search my face for a moment before speaking. “We could take our time if you want.”Take our time?“Why?" I blurted out with
**Valerie**Even Adam gasped. I watched his shoulders sag in what I believe was defeat.The man’s eyes scanned the room slowly, searching for last-minute bids. Though his eyes lingered on Adam for a while, perhaps expecting him to counter the offer.I rolled my eyes at him. Really? He should end this already.“Pièce de résistance has been sold for twenty million dollars,” the auctioneer shouted, his face beaming.The room erupted into applause as Lucas was declared the winner. I leaned over, my voice barely audible. “Twenty million dollars?”Adam's defeat was satisfying, but I didn't like the fact that Lucas had to spend so much money in the process.Lucas smirked, his eyes sparkling with amusement as he leaned forward. “I told you I'd get it, didn't I?” he muttered casually, more of a statement than a question. So I didn't answer; I just shook my head slightly.“Our next piece for tonight is the exquisite ‘Midnight Mirage’ by Alexis LaRue,” the auctioneer announced, shifting our focu
**Valerie** My brows furrowed in confusion. How? Why would he say that? He doesn't even know that I'm married. But before I had any time to process his words, he turned to Freya. "This is Valerie Thorne. She's the most beautiful woman in the world, and she's my girlfriend." He brushed my hair slightly with his free hand, the touch sending a shiver down my spine. Most beautiful woman in the world? My cheeks turned a bright shade of red as I extended a hand to her. The woman didn't take my hand. Instead, her smile faltered, a flicker of disdain crossing her features. "Oh, you're his girlfriend?" she echoed, the words laced with a chilling disbelief. Before I could respond, Lucas cut through the awkward silence. "Yup. And nice catching up, but we should get going." His tone was firm, effectively brushing off her condescension. A surge of pride and satisfaction coursed through me as I watched Freya's smile vanish completely, replaced by a look of stunned disbelief. We moved a
**Valerie**Saturday night,My eyes caught my parents, and I felt the air knock out of my lungs. Mrs. Harrison, my mother, was looking as elegant as usual. She was wearing a sleeveless ball gown, her hair styled into a fringe and ponytail, and her arm locked onto my dad's.My dad, ever the charmer, was laughing with a man I recognized. He was one of the big investors at the Harrisons' company.I could imagine what Dad was saying to the man. ‘We’re on the verge of a revolutionary breakthrough, and with your support, we can make it happen.‘ It was his typical way of luring new investors or encouraging old investors to invest more.Then suddenly, his eyes met mine. I reached for a glass of wine from a passing tray and gulped everything at once, the liquid doing very little to calm my frayed nerves.“Are you okay?” Lucas, who was standing beside me, asked.I tore my eyes from Peter Harrison, my gaze sweeping across the room, taking in the grand ballroom shimmering like wonderland. It was