LEONEverything happened so fast. Out of nowhere, they were claiming that Naya was their long-lost daughter. Their reason? They had a sketch made years ago, showing how their daughter would look after twenty years, and somehow, the drawing looked exactly like Naya.It seemed like the perfect lie, too perfect. There was something about their story that felt off, but for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out what it was. I didn’t believe anything that came out of their mouths, but it didn’t feel right to point it out like that, especially with how torn and confused Naya was feeling. She wanted to believe, and I could see it on her face.That’s why I suggested the DNA test. I thought that way, at least we would have the truth, one way or another. No guessing, no lies. Just the cold, hard facts.But if they were lying, then it meant someone had to know Naya well enough to pull it off. Someone who could easily trick her into believing it. And that’s where things got even more confusing.“T
LEONI dialed her number again, pressing the phone so hard against my ear that I could hear my own heartbeat.Voicemail.I gritted my teeth and called again.Voicemail.A sick feeling settled in my stomach. Maybe she went for a walk to clear her head. Maybe she just needed some space. I tried to convince myself, but it wasn’t working. Something felt wrong, I could feel it. I pushed out of the room and made my way toward the front gates, my heart pounding. The security had to know something. Naya wouldn’t just leave without a word.The guard at the gate straightened when he saw me approaching. “Hello, sir.” He gave a small bow.“Do you have any idea where Naya went?” I asked, barely keeping my impatience in check.“Naya?” He frowned, looking confused.“My fucking wife,” I snapped, my patience wearing thin.His eyes widened slightly. “I’m sorry, sir. She drove out a few hours ago. She looked like she was in a hurry.”My chest tightened.“By herself?” I askedHe nodded. “Yes, sir.”“Did
NAYAI rushed over to them, their body was hanging lifeless on the chair they were tied to. I shook their bodies violently begging them to wake up but they didn't bat an eyelid. I cried and screamed at the top of my lungs but it didn't change anything.Ryan was standing in the corner cleaning the gun in his hand with a handkerchief while Kayla panicked frantically wiping the blood that had splattered on her face when Ryan pulled the trigger.My heart couldn't take it anymore, it hurt so bad that I wanted to pass out. I just killed my parents I never knew existed in the first place, it shouldn't hurt as much as it did because I didn't know them at all, and just moments ago I was praying that the result came out negative but no it hurt as hell, I was broken, I wanted to go with them, there was no reason to stay alive.All they wanted was to be reunited with their child but they lost their lives in return all because of me. It seemed like everyone who was affiliated with me ended up havi
We pulled up to the front of the building, and before the car had even come to a full stop, I flung the door open and sprinted inside. My heart was pounding so loud I could barely hear my own thoughts.The place was eerily quiet. No voices, no movement, nothing. It felt abandoned.But that wasn’t possible.Ryan always had his men with him. He never went anywhere alone. I expected to be met with resistance, maybe even a fight, but there was nothing. Just complete silence.Something was wrong.It felt like we were too late.“Should we have called the cops?” Nick asked from behind me, but I ignored him. There was no time to think about that now.All that mattered was finding Naya.My legs carried me through the house faster than I could process. My eyes darted around, scanning every corner, but all I saw was dust, cobwebs, and old furniture covered in sheets. It was exactly how I remembered it, an abandoned holiday home, untouched for years.“Naya!” I called out, my voice desperate, but
KAYLAEverything happened too fast. One second, they were just sitting there, tied to the chairs, scared but alive. The next, there was a deafening bang. Blood sprayed across the room, warm and sticky, splattering onto my face. My ears rang from the gunshots, my body frozen in place. My heart pounded so loudly that I could barely hear anything else.I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe.Ryan shot them.He actually shot them.The couple who had done nothing but beg for their lives. The couple who were supposed to only be actors in my plan. The couple who were never meant to die.But they were dead now. Just like that.Their bodies sat limp in the chairs, heads slumped forward, eyes lifeless. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t. The sight of them, the blood pooling beneath their chairs, the way their fingers twitched slightly even though they were already gone, it was all burned into my mind. This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.My plan was simple. Fool Naya, make her believe she had
NAYALeon looked disturbed, but even without saying a word, he was trying to comfort me. His arm was wrapped around me, his hand moving in slow, soothing circles on my back as Nick drove us home. Normally, his touch would have eased some of the ache in my chest, but not this time. This time, nothing couldI hated feeling like a burden, hated the way I kept making people worry. No matter how much I told myself to stay strong and to keep pushing forward, I couldn’t do it anymore. I had reached my limit. I had to make a choice. The same choice I ignored before, believing I could handle everything on my own. But I was wrong. I wasn’t strong enoughIf only I had done what they said. If only I had left when they told me to, without asking questions, without resisting. Those people, those poor couples, my parents, they would still be alive. Maybe they wouldn’t have found their child, but at least they would still have their lives.But I was stubborn. I thought I could fight back. And now, be
NAYAMy hands trembled as I gripped the paper, my eyes scanning the words over and over again, but they didn’t make sense. They couldn’t make sense. The test said we had no relation. The act was flawless so perfect that even now, I struggled to believe it had all been a lie. Every word, every tear, every touch, they had played their roles so well that, for a moment, I had let myself hope.But they weren’t my parents.They never were.My fingers tightened around the paper squeezing it tightly, the truth staring back at me in black and white, yet my mind refused to accept it. The weight of it all pressed down on me, suffocating. They were strangers. Strangers who had stepped into my life for reasons I might never fully understand. And now, they were dead. Had he hired them just to slaughter them when their usefulness ran out?The thought sent a sharp, piercing pain through my chest. I let out a small, shaky breath, my head spinning as I tried to process everything. They weren’t my pare
RYANI had finally won.After hours of planning, of waiting, of making sure everything played out exactly how I wanted, it all paid off. Kayla’s weak little plan had no real weight to it, but I had turned it into something real. Something permanent. Something no one could ever undo.And I did it perfectly.Naya was out of the picture. Broken beyond repair. I made sure of it. The look on her face when those bodies dropped, the devastation, the agony. It was the most satisfying thing I had ever seen. She acted like there was nothing on earth that could break her but I did, I had taken everything from her, ripped away whatever hope she had left.And the best part? She blamed herself for it. Just the way I wanted it to play out.I leaned back in the car seat, the leather cool against my skin as I scrolled through my phone, my mood light. This was a victory. This was what winning felt like. And yet, instead of basking in it, I had to deal with Kayla’s bullshit.She sat stiffly beside me, s
RYANThe taste of bitter powder still lingered on my tongue, mixing with the metallic flavor of blood from where I’d bitten the inside of my cheek. I didn’t even know how long I had been lying there, curled up on the same dusty couch in that dark apartment, the air thick with smoke and the stench of liquor. The curtains were drawn shut, blocking out the sun, or maybe it was already night again. Time had stopped meaning anything.My head was spinning. I’d taken too much this time, too many pills, too much alcohol. But I didn’t care. I didn’t want to feel anything not shame, not the loss or the rage that burned deep within me.I tried to stand but a wincing headache rushed through my spine causing me to fall on the couch, I let out a groan and took a big gulp of the bottle of whiskey in my hand before reaching for my phone. The brightness of the phone almost knocked me out, it was past two in the afternoon. I was scrolling through the notifications when I saw something that caught my ey
NAYAWhen I opened my eyes, the room was quiet except for Leon and Nick’s voices. They were speaking in low tones like they didn’t want to disturb me. I didn’t catch everything they were saying at first, but when I listened a little more, I heard them mention something about a video and the press.“What’s going on?” I asked, my voice still a bit weak.Leon quickly rushed to my side. “Sorry, we didn’t mean to wake you,” he said gently.“You didn’t,” I replied, shaking my head slowly.My eyes landed on the laptop screen, and I noticed a video was paused. “What’s that?” I asked, pointing to it.Leon’s eyes followed mine. “I should go get the doctor to check you,” he said quickly, trying to change the subject.“Don’t do that, I am fine” I said firmly. “Just tell me what’s going on this time, Leon,” I told him He hesitated for a moment. “It’s Jennifer,” he said finally, and my eyes widened.“What? Did she try something again?” I asked, suddenly alert“No, nothing like that,” he answe
LEONThe anger in her voice was very loud and clear, I had never seen her like that it was like watching a different person but in a good way. Although it happened at a rough time she had the last laugh and it was so satisfying to watch. Their faces as they watch every word come out of her mouth, they must have forgotten she wasn’t the same girl they taunted and trampled on. They thought her words were just her bluffing because they thought she was weak and there was nothing she could do to them.And she showed them, they didn’t know how much she gave her all into making sure she brings them to their downfall, how persistent she was during that period was what drew me to her. I was so proud of her because she fought that battle against them and she won after they laughed in her face repeatedly, now it was left to them to waste away wishing they could go back in time and not get on her wrong side.She laid in bed and just stared at the ceiling without uttering a word and I sat beside h
I sat on the hospital bed staring into the distance while Leon sat beside me, he looked down and troubled, that it made me feel horrible. He also lost the same way I did but he was only trying to make me feel better while he battled with his own grief internally. I couldn’t even hold him and tell him everything would be fine, my mind wasn’t in the right place, we both needed each other and I couldn’t be there for him.“Have you had anything to eat?” I asked and he turned to me quickly surprised to hear me speak“Don’t worry about me I am fine” he said giving me a little smileHe still had his head wrapped with bandages and he hadn’t had any rest yet, his eyes looked red and heavy.“How could I not? Just look at you we went through the same thing and you are still trying to look after me when you are also hurting” I cried“Naya” he called cupping my face in his hands“Look at me, I am fine as long as you are fine,” he said the tone in his voice breaking my heart even further “But I’m
KAYLAIt was like a dream, one minute I was planning a holiday to escape everything that had been going on around me, and the very next minute everything was taken away from us. It was frustrating when our accounts got frozen but in my head I expected it to get fixed. Dad would take care of it was what I said. But it was like someone was actively working extremely hard to bring us down, I would never forget how Dad got arrested. I was still in bed when I heard a loud bang from downstairs, I was so confused and scared but I ran down the stairs to see what it was about just to see a sea of policemen storm into the house and whisk Dad away before we could react. Mom had to go around taking loans to afford a lawyer, it was embarrassing and unbelievable. I couldn’t wrap my head around how we could fall so fast, it didn’t happen with warning or little but everything happened at once and too fast for me to process. I cried myself to sleep every night because mom kept saying stuff like I ha
NAYA Being in that ward tied to the damn drip and the continuous beeping that filled my ears made me feel like I was being held captive. I wanted to leave the damn environment but they didn't want to let me leave. “I can’t stay here it is suffocating, I need to leave,” I said to Nick “Just a little more while and you will go home” Nick answered his voice laced with pity “I can’t, it feels like I am being held captive. I hate it here” I sobbed “How about we get some air outside” he suggested “Alright” I mumbled He took a wheelchair and tried to get me to sit on it when I stopped him “I can walk” I kicked the chair away as I got on my feet “Careful” he rushed to my side to assist me but the look I sent his way made him know better than to hold me I lost my baby and that was hard enough, staying in bed made me feel more helpless and way worse than I already was “Leon is now the CEO,” Nick said beside me “That’s good” was all I said It was good news but right
I headed back to the hospital so I could be with Naya while Nick could carry on sorting everything out, the evidence was clear and inevitable. The only way Jennifer could avoid getting arrested was if the evidence was destroyed and that would never happen not on my watch. I got down from my car and before I could step in an older-looking man with specks of grey hair scattered over his hair stopped me with his both hands stretched out by his side “Where is my daughter?” he asked a whiff of his alcohol-filled breath hit meI tried to walk around him and leave but he rushed and stood in front of me again asking the same question “Where is my daughter?!” he asked shouting this time“Go find your daughter or whatever else where to leave me and get out of my sight before I punch you in the guts” I threatened through my gritted teeth, I was in no mood to deal with a drunk“If you don't take me to her now I will come back with the press,” he said pausing me in my tracksWhat was the fucked
LEONIt was hard watching Naya devastated and broken and once again it was me who put her in that position. Just after celebrating that we were going to be parents it was taken away from us. It hurt so much but I couldn't show that in front of her, I had to be strong for her but I was moments away from slipping. I wanted to scream and crush them both to crumbs even after being named CEO. That wasn't enough, I need to finish them off for good.She clung to me tightly but didn't say a word after she cried her eyes out and I held onto her not letting her go. I couldn't tell her the good news since the moment had been stolen away and it didn't even sound like good news anymore with what we had going on. Our bundle of joy that we rejoiced over was gone, and I couldn't begin to imagine the pain that Naya was going through.“Congratulations boss you did it” Nick whispered once Naya fell asleep “Doesn't feel like a victory” I breathed out, he was talking about me becoming the new CEO of Valo
NAYAI slowly opened my eyes, my vision blurry at first. Everything around me felt hazy like I was trapped in a dream I couldn’t wake up from. I tried to make sense of where I was, but the steady beeping sound filling my ears told me all I needed to know. I was in a hospital.I felt something strapped to my face and instinctively reached up, pulling down the oxygen mask. My body ached, but I ignored the pain and tried to sit up. The moment I moved, a sharp sting shot through me, making me wince.Before I could push myself any further, I heard hurried footsteps. Nick rushed to my side, his face filled with worry.“You are up,” he said happily “Stay still I will go get the doctor” he whispered“Where is Leon?” I asked but he rushed out to get the doctor I winced at every movement I made every part of me hurt and there was a throbbing in my head that didn't want to go away. Every time I close my eyes I see flashbacks of the car ramming into us, I thought that was it, I genuinely thoug