While Noémie was engaged with his mother, Ajax motioned for Vincent to follow him upstairs.The moment his younger brother closed the study door behind him, Ajax turned and fixed him with an unwavering gaze.“We need to restart the investigation,” he said, wasting no time.It took Vincent a second longer to realize what his older brother was getting at.And when he did, he narrowed his eyes and cocked his head to the side.“Wow. Okay. What changed? I thought you didn’t want—”“What I thought is in the past,” Ajax shrugged, leaning against the desk behind him. “I want to get to the bottom of what happened that night.”“But we already know what happened that night. Noémie was drugged by one of your staff.”“Exactly. We know who did it, but we don’t know why. There are still questions that need answers.”“Are you saying there was someone else behind it?”“I don’t know what to think. But one thing I do know is that we don’t have the whole story. Take that maid, for example. Did you ever f
It had to be one of those rare moments when Noémie was glad not to be alone.Having Ajax by her side made her feel like she could get through this dinner—which had started to feel like a stormy night with a high chance of her drowning—without collapsing into a puddle or losing her mind.Perched at the head of the table, Ajax’s father sat with a deep, constipated look on his face.From the moment the older man arrived and Sonia Halest introduced them, he had been glowering at Noémie with such distaste that she could feel her insides cringe. It was a strange experience, to say the least.Because before this meeting, when Noémie still worked for the Halest Corporation, the man had been nothing but accommodating. She even remembered him cracking a joke or two with her—something she had found bizarre at the time. But she had never been the type to overthink things and had simply let it go.Now, seeing him like this, it was as if she were witnessing him for the first time. Abhorrence practi
Knowing she was the reason behind this conflict made her feel awful.For a moment, she had the urge to apologize, to make a swift exit. But Ajax’s firm hand on her thigh kept her grounded, keeping her still, keeping her in place.While Sonia Halest sat with her head in her hands, Ajax simply sighed deeply, not a trace of anger crossing his bulletproof expression. Noémie thought he, too, would storm out, just like Vincent. But once again, he stunned her with his calm demeanor in the face of his father’s brutal words.“Well. Thank you for inviting us to this lovely dinner,” Ajax said coolly. “It was fun while it lasted. We’ll take our leave now.”“Yeah, leave. Fucking leave. That’s all you know how to do, Ajax, isn’t it?”“Michael!” Sonia Halest exploded, rising from her chair and flinging her napkin onto the table in outrage. “You’ve crossed all the limits! I can’t believe you hold so much hatred for your own children. Why? What is the meaning of all this? Why can’t you, for once, be s
He wanted to kiss her.He really did.The moment Ajax made it to his room, he closed the door and pressed his back against it.He tried to breathe through the frenzy of his tattered breaths. His head was in the clouds. His nerve endings exploded like multicolored fireworks in the sky. Drunk on her innocence and that fucking sweet fragrance of her hair, her body, her breath—her entire goddamn existence—he tried to make sense of his scattered thoughts. Only to fail miserably.It was useless to say how long he stood there at the door. Just existing, staring at the ceiling. As if someone, somewhere, had painted the answers to all the commotion in his head on the walls and the roof.He wanted to kiss her.No.He wanted to do more than just kiss her. He wanted to savor her. Lick every nook and cranny of her mouth. He wanted to touch her—every inch of her skin, every part of her body. He wanted to drink her in—every moan in her mouth, every thought in her head. He wanted to hear her—every be
TRIGGER WARNING: THE CHAPTER INCLUDES MATURE THEMES. IF YOU’RE EASILY TRIGGERED, PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER. I PROMISE, IT WON’T RUIN THE PLOT FOR YOU. IT ALL WILL BE REVEALED EVENTUALLY.•••Pointed heels slapped against the burnished floor, the clacking sound bouncing off the walls, as the woman in a maroon cocktail dress cat-walked down the deserted hallway of the topmost floor of a corporate building.Her legs came to a deadlock as she reached outside one of the office chambers.She pushed the doors open.An empty room greeted her.Her dark green eyes flicked from one corner of the room to another.A smirk curved at her lips as if she had expected that much.Jutting her chin out, she walked further into the room.The door automatically closed behind her as she aimed for another set of doors in the office. Her heels paused when she stopped right in front of it. Muffled noises came from inside as she twisted a blonde rope of her hair around her finger and nuzzled the door open,
The woman responded with a heavy sigh, rubbing her temples. Light, fuzzy smoke hung all around her.“You shouldn’t have spared her in the first place.”“So what?” he said with a frown. “Mistakes happen. It makes us all human, doesn’t it?”“Well, it also jeopardizes everything that we do, and excuse me, if I’m not a fan of the idea of being behind the bars. I’m too young for that.”The man roared with a deep chuckle. “Oh, I know. So young. So ambitious. So cold.”“Don’t say it like it’s a bad thing about her.”“I won’t dare. In fact, they are one of the many things I adore about you.”The woman shook her head, satisfied with the compliment and the dark glint in his eyes. She snapped her gaze toward the sleepy woman on the bed, as if suddenly aware of another person in the room. “What about her? Are you done fucking her brains out?”The man rubbed his jaw, putting the empty glass back on the counter. “Sure,” he shrugged. “She’s all yours. Do whatever you want.”“Whatever I want?” a wick
“Is this really necessary?” Hannah groaned, tossing her manicured fingers through her glossy hair. Whipping that blonde mess to one side of her dainty shoulder, she dropped her shades back in place to cover her eyes and flapped a hand near her face to cool herself down. Not that it seemed to help.The bright yellow sun glared down on them anyway as Vincent rolled his eyes and tugged at the collar of his shirt. “Can’t think of anything more important than this. Trust me—nothing else holds utmost priority right now.”Hannah pulled a face. “Not that, idiot,” she smacked his upper arm lightly. “I mean, what am I doing here? One would think you’re grown-up enough to pull this off on your own.”Vincent couldn’t hold back the goofy grin that claimed his lips, his dark eyebrows twitching playfully. “Come on, a top-notch detective without a sidekick? Have you learned nothing from the brilliant Sherlock Holmes? Where have you been all your life? Under a rock?”That earned him another smack on t
Vincent wanted to say he could ask the same, but he bit his tongue.“Louise?” he asked instead.The person tilted their head to the other side.Vincent exchanged a glance with Hannah before continuing. “We’re here to see Louise Cooper. Can you call her out? We have something urgent to discuss with her.”The person sighed. “Well, you’re late.”“Why? Did she leave for work?” Hannah asked. “Where’s her workplace? Give us the address—we can find her th—”“Late as in… well, how else do you say it? You’re late,” they repeated. “Three weeks and seven days, to be exact.”Vincent frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”Had Louise left the country? That would be a problem. How would they track her down? This was the only address her agency had provided—the one from where she’d been hired.“Did she leave a contact number or anything?” Hannah inquired, grimacing slightly.To Vincent’s surprise, the person scoffed out a laugh, followed by a snort. “Don’t think that’s how it works, sweetheart.”Vi
Claire hadn’t expected Vincent to prepare the contract so soon. It took her by surprise when the same delivery men appeared at her grandma’s place the next day and brought her back to the old Halest Villa.According to the giant clock hung in the drawing room, it was exactly 9 o’clock in the morning. The old Halest Villa was dreadfully quieter than the previous day. The maids and guards were the only people she noticed since the moment she walked in and took a seat on the couch, waiting for Vincent to make an appearance.Claire was nervous. Her legs were shaking with anxiousness after every passing second. The conversation she had with Marvin the previous day didn’t make her feel any better either. It made her feel even worse. She knew she shouldn’t be hiding something so important from Vincent—especi
[Nine Months Ago]A man in a white lab coat punched a six-digit code and waited calmly as the heavy metal door groaned and slowly slid open. Behind him, two tall and hefty men stood. One of them carried an unconscious woman in his arms.The door revealed a restless lab, with men in similar lab coats bustling here and there. The pungent scent of chemicals and something acidic hung heavy in the air.As the three men entered the lab, the man in the lab coat paused and lifted a hand to guide the two large men.“Take her to cube number five,” the man said, and without waiting for a response, headed in the opposite direction.The two hefty men followed the order and stationed the unconsci
Marvin pursed his lips, settling back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest. “Fine. Let’s talk about something else, then.”Just by the shift in his tone, Claire could tell what was coming next.“Would you like to explain that video about your pregnancy?”“Not really.”“Claire!”Claire groaned and held her head in her hands. “Why do you even care?”“You’re doing that to get that Halest boy, aren’t you?”“So what?”“You need to let him go!”“I can’t. You know I…I can’t do that.” How could he even ask her such a thing?“It’s not fair to him, Claire. He doesn’t know—”“He doesn’t have to know.”“Claire!” He leaned forward, his gaze hopeful and brimmed with concern. “Don’t do this. You’re just hurting yourself. And him. It’s not fair…” He reached out and cupped the back of her hand with his. “…to you, too.”Claire yanked her hand away. “Drop the act, Marvin. We both know you don’t give a crap about me.”“I don’t know what I’ve done to make you feel like this.”“Are you serious?
The second the elevator doors of Grandma’s apartment building opened, Claire groaned at the sight of Marvin, her older brother. God, what was he doing here? she thought to herself.After the intense conversation with Vincent, the exact delivery guys dropped her back at the place they picked her up from.“What are you doing here?” she asked exasperatedly as she shuffled out of the elevator while rubbing her temple.At the sight of her, Marvin peeled his back off the wall and stood up straighter. “I’ve been out here for almost an hour,” he grumbled. “Where have you been?” Adjusting the collar of his shirt, he demanded with a deep frown.“First off, that’s not the answer to my question,” she paused in front of him to fix him with an annoyed look. “And second, why are you outside again?”In response to her question, Marvin only sighed deeply in his chest, scratching the back of his neck. “She won’t let me in,” he muttered with a shake of his head, clearly talking about Grandma. “I would h
“Not to me, but to yourself.” Stepping away, he yanked her hands away from his shirt. “You always tell yourself these sweet lies and find comfort in them, Claire. You think you’ve changed, but you’re still the same.” Turning on his heels, he ran a hand through his hair. Frustrated.“Vincent…”“This time you went too far, Claire. Too far. You dragged my family into this. I’m not sure if I can ever forgive you for misleading them with your fucked-up lies.”“Don’t say that, Vince. I did this for you. For us.”“Stop it, Claire!” He snapped, wanting nothing more than to yank his hair out. “Just stop it!”Rushing to him, she hugged him from behind. More tears flowed through her red-rimmed eyes. “I know what I did
Claire knew she had gone too far. She knew what came out of her mouth was bound to fuck everything up. Even more than her situation already was. Vince would hate her. He didn’t have to spell it out for her to know she was only worsening her impression in his eyes.What other choice did she have, though?She was running out of not only time, but also options. Patience was her least remarkable character trait, after all. And when it came to Vincent, her patience grew even thinner. So much time she had already wasted in coming to her senses that now every second she had to stay away from him felt like a stab of the knife straight to her heart.Perhaps that was the reason that when Ajax dismissed her and she was led out of the study by a maid, she wasn’t surprised—or let out even a squeak in protest—when Vincent grabbed her by the arm and dragged her into the closest empty room.
[Six Months Ago]After seeing off her husband at the airport for a two-days business trip, when a woman named Susan Green returned to her apartment, she barely kicked off her shoes and filled herself with a glass of water when a knock on the door arrived.Unsure of who it might be at the lunch hour, she opened the door only to find no one outside.Susan frowned. She was pretty sure she had heard the knock. Not once. Not twice. But thrice. Someone had knocked at the door thrice. Wondering if the kids in the building had once again picked up the bad habit of annoying the random neighbours, she closed the door and locked it.However, just when she hoped to get back to the kitchen counter and grab herself a glass of water, her gaze fell on the yellow manila envelope on the floor. It looked like someone had slipped it inside from under the door
Claire did as she was told. Quietly, she pulled the back of the chair and sat down with her fingers tightly laced with each other.For a long minute, no one said anything. The only sound in the room seemed to be the ticking of the clock. The tension in the room felt tighter and thicker than she had ever experienced. When someone did speak, it came from her left where Sonia Halest sat.“Is it true?” The older woman asked with a frown.Before Claire could clarify what the question was regarding, Vincent beat her to it.“Of course, it’s not!” He snapped, pounding a fist on the desk and glaring at Ajax. “Did you even hear a word I said? It’s all a lie. There’s nothing between us.”“Vince…” Claire tried to say when he spun his head and glared at her.
Claire sighed into her chest and felt her back slump against the door. Her heart ached to see him this mad at her. She wondered what could she possibly do to make things back to normal between them.On second thought, things had never been normal between them. Perhaps that was the reason she felt so clueless and hopeless and helpless. She did not have a single clue what could she say or do to make him love her the way he did once. Had she taken too long to come to her senses? Was it possible that he liked someone else now?Claire hated the idea of Vince being with some other woman. No. That would not do. He only belonged to her. He only loved her. Sure, he was refusing to admit that right now, but she wasn’t planning on giving up on them soon. She would make him hers, no matter what price she had to pay.With that determination in her heart, she sucked in another deep breath