Vincent is reading the reports in his hands. One of his close aides, JMH Group, has gone bankrupt in a few days. He had invested millions of dollars in their shares but now he finds out that Ryder Rochester also invested through various affiliates. Once Ryder took away his investment, JMH collapsed.To add to his worries, several of his affiliate companies are now falling under the rule of other shareholders in his company. This isn’t making any sense because these companies can only be sold by people from within.“Hector?” He murmurs. “Or is it Elle?”He checked Troy’s shares and they’re still intact. Amelia is no longer working in his company. Only Elle and Hector can be this stupid.“I’ll have to finish my business here and leave immediately,” he decides. He curses his luck because all his companies in Europe are also facing major losses. Many of his management here are selling their shares to rivals and he’s trying to keep the company afloat. If he loses his home market, he’s doom
The door bursts open and Ryder angrily storms into the room. Scarlett frowns at him as she wipes her wet hair. He looks furious for some reason.“A while ago your eye was covered with a black bruise,” he accuses and points at her eye. “Where is it now?”“Huh?”Ryder takes out the envelope and throws it on the bed. Scarlett, still confused, picks it up and sees the pictures.“You were out with him, pretending to be a meek and abused woman?” Ryder demands. “How long have you been cheating on me? Are you gonna go back to him? After all we went through?”Scarlett merely gives him a deadpan look. Ryder is still fuming as if he’ll break something at any moment. “Ryder,” she begins. “What the hell are you talking about? Your men clicked these photos for Elle!”She lightly slaps his arm in annoyance. Ryder’s angry expression changes and within seconds, his usually mischievous look is back. “I was just trying to play a prank!” He claims. “Just to see your expression!”They knew that Elle was
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