Ryder is gazing at Scarlett’s sleeping form. She’s nuzzled against him as usual. The sunlight is falling on her face, softening her sharp looks. In her sleep, she looks quite radiant. After last night’s intense lovemaking, she’s completely exhausted.He softly smiles at her. Ryder wants to admire her like this everyday, watch her beautiful face and hold her close to him. He briefly reflects on how their lives can turn out if his eyesight wasn’t deteriorating. They would have woken up like this, the first thing they’d see is each other everyday. On lazy weekends, they would’ve watched movies or gone on trips. He’d have made her smile which would’ve made his heart melt…Scarlett’s eyes flutter open and her gaze meets his. “Morning,” she mumbles sleepily. “How long have you been up?” “Not long…” He smiles at her, hiding his sadness. “What are you looking at?” Scarlett asks.“I’m just admiring my beautiful wife.”He leans over and places a kiss on her nose. Scarlett blushes and gently
Ryder is staring at the name tag in front of him. He’s lost in thought, wondering how to map out his next step.Troy Hawkins. The illegitimate son of Vincent Hawkins. The unwanted one.“This makes no sense,” he mutters. “Why will he protect the killer?”He has been wondering about that for a long time in his secret office which is located far out in the city, away from Hawkins Group. This is his real base and he conducts most of his work here. There’s a knock on the door. “Come in,” he says. The door slides open and Jim enters the room.“Shouldn’t you be at the Hawkins’ Tower now?” Ryder frowns.“I’m on my way there,” he says. “Thought I’d drop this off.”He places a file on the desk. Ryder takes it and skims through. “These are Isabella and James’s call records,” Jim states. “Look at their last caller.”“Elle,” Ryder mutters. “She killed them?”“No,” Jim reveals. “Kat managed to find Elle’s locations through her car sharing app. Turns out Elle’s location was elsewhere on the days
Scarlett is staring at her phone, feeling anxious. She sent the pills to a lab for testing and even though the results will need two days to be processed, she still can’t help feeling this way. For some reason, her heart is filled with worry. Why is Ryder hiding these pills?She asks herself many questions but there are no answers. The longer the reports take to process, the more anxious she becomes. It feels as if she’ll lose her mind, fretting over the results.“Madam…”She’s startled when Betty enters the room, carrying the dress Scarlett will wear for next week’s party.“Where shall I keep it?” She asks.“Put it in the wardrobe,” Scarlett says. She hesitates before calling, “Betty.”“Yes, madam?”“Is Ryder…sick in any manner?”Betty is surprised. “What makes you say that?” She asks.“I’m just asking,” Scarlett says, trying to sound nonchalant. “I mean, does he have any illnesses?”“Not that I know of,” Betty says thoughtfully. “He visits his grandmother at the hospital quite a lot
Blur. The lines in front of him are completely blurry. He silently tries to read the letters on the page but it’s nearly impossible. Ryder sighs and puts on a pair of glasses. His vision is slightly clearer but he still can’t read too well. For the past few days, his vision keeps on switching between blurry and clear. Sometimes, he can see well. Sometimes, he can’t see beyond a few feet.He leans back against the leather chair and stares outside the window. It’s a clear night sky. The distant stars are almost negligible to him. He doesn’t react but simply stares into the distance, wondering how long he has.TAP! TAP!“Come in,” Ryder says, not turning away. Scarlett enters the room to find him in a state of melancholia. She’s surprised by his silence, intrigued by his secrets. There’s a sense of sadness within him which is devouring Ryder completely. Her heart skips several beats. He’s wearing glasses. Scarlett noticed that for the past few days, he has been wearing those glasses on
“Attention class!” The teacher shouts. All the students are lined up in front of the school, ready for their field trip. It’s only an overnight stay at a forest on the outskirts of the city and everyone is excited. They’re all packed and ready to have fun at the camp, excitedly chatting among themselves.The teacher finally manages to catch their attention.“Listen up!” He says. “There are gonna be activities at the camp. All of you are requested to find your own partners and start planning. You’ll be spending time collecting resources, cooking, doing the dishes, and any other chore in the camp. We’ll be wandering deep into the woods so keep your compass and maps at hand.”The students begin to murmur and disperse to find a partner. Troy scans the crowd, looking for Kat. He hasn’t seen her earlier during the attendance call and he’s a bit worried. She promised she’ll be here…“Yo!”He turns around to find Kat’s bright face. She’s wearing a casual gray t-shirt and a pair of comfortable
Elle is shifting in her seat. She picks up a tissue from the table and dabs her eye. Sitting across her is a sharp eyed woman in her forties with bright blonde hair and horn rimmed glasses. They’re at a cafe uptown and are seated at a private parlor within. The woman’s name is Alexandra Knowles, one of the most ruthless journalists in the country. With a reputation to fish out gossip from almost anything, Alexandra is feared among the elites. If there isn’t any story, she’ll make one up but she must always get the latest gossip.She’s now interested in Elle’s story. That morning, she received a call from Elle Swanson and it is the scoop she needs. Elle has taken pictures of the scars on her body and also showed screenshots of some very interesting messages.“Are you sure?” Alexandra asks in glee. “Hector is having an affair?”“I’m positive!” Elle claims. “I think it’s my sister, Scarlett. She’s after him again. She’s sending him texts from a different number but I can recognize her t
The guests are slowly entering the lavish hotel lobby, awestruck by the grandeur of it all. Their host, Mr. Karwoski truly went out of his way to make it a night to remember. Silver glass walls are adorning the walls of the lobby while a large ombre chandelier is illuminating the entire area.Everywhere one looks, they’re dazzled by the atmosphere. Prominent celebrities and businessmen are chatting casually, some smoking in a corner while others are at a gambling table, playing cards. Servers dressed in black and white uniforms are smoothly walking around, offering quiches and drinks to the esteemed guests.Among them is Hector, who’s patiently waiting with a drink in his hand. If all goes well, he and Scarlett will unite that night. His investors already own a majority of the shares of Hawkins Group. Even Ryder won’t be able to fight them off.A Maybach stops in front of the hotel and Scarlett steps out of it. She’s wearing a backless sequin dress with vibrant shades of red and scarl
The hotel is buzzed with guests and the employees are all busy working. They’re sliding in and out of the staff corner, catering to the guests. Several servers are lined up and are waiting to serve.They’re all so busy, that they don’t notice one server is slowly inching toward the backdoor. He casually puts the tray away and walks along a corridor. Many of the servers are rushing past and he greets a few of them with a smile.“Guests at hall number four want shrimps!” He exclaims to one server. “Go go go!”“They ran out of drinks at hall five,” he tells another server. “Refill ASAP!”The other servers don’t think much nor do the employees. They reply with thanks and are so busy that they don’t notice that this particular server is not one of them.He struts along the corridor and once he’s out of sight, he takes out a card and punches it in front of a door’s scanner. The door slides open and he enters the back staircase which is strictly for the staff.“Boy, my sister sure knows how