********************Liam's POV*************************There's a sound I couldn't get out of my ears. It wasn't her the sound of her Scream. It wasn't the sound of the wind as it ripped away. It was the silence after_ that awful, strange quiet where a person used to be. Where Sadie used to be.I sat at the centre of my living in the penthouse, still in my soaked socks, and my hands still trembled. The windows looked too big. The glass feels like it's looking in on me, really looking in on me, not out at the city.I need to do something. Think of something. Think fast. I'm a planner. That's what I'm good at. I change things into place until they come together, untill I win. But now?Now I just sat.My coat was in the sink. I thought I cleaned it. I forgot. There was soap all over the counter. Bubbles crusted on the edge. My hands were raw from scrubbing.God, I have lost my mind. What did I do?What did I do? I asked myself repeatedly.I didn’t mean to do that—no. No, that was a lie.
***************************Claire's POV*********************My hands trembled against the mug of tea that burned my palms, unbothered."That's not true," I muttered."She wouldn't have done that," I said quietly again.Mack didn't glance in my direction right away. He stood by the tall window of the penthouse, his arms were folded around his body. His shoulders were tight with tension."Claire.." he said, his voice was soft and low."She wouldn't do that Mack," I said as I shook my head."You don't know her, you don't know what she can do." He said as he finally glanced in my direction."Yes__ I don't know her but Sadie doesn't come as the suicidal one.." I said as I scoffed "That woman can twist things and cause problems. She was all in the game, and you think she would jump like that? The story ain't clear." I said as my throat tightened.Mack walked towards me, slow like a wounded lion. He crouncged in front of the beside me, his hand squeezed my knee gently."They found a note."
************************Mack's POV*************************The news spread like wildfire. The moment it broke, it was like a tidal wave crashed over the company _ everything we've worked on. The company's reputation was at stake.I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let everything crumble under the weight of the news. It's all over the papers, on the screen, on every broadcast, like a stain that couldn't be scrubbed out.I couldn't allow my family to be dragged down.I knocked on his door. He opened it with a sad look plastered on his face.I stepped inside without saying anything. I notuced the way he flinched at my presence. I could feel the weight of the news as it pressed down on him."You've seen the news?" I asked. My voice was flat, the tension in the air was thick enough to choke someone."Yeah, I've seen the news." He said as he tried his best to sound calm. But there's a flicker in his eyes something ___ I can't get my hands on."They said it was suicide huh?" I asked. M
*************************Liam's POV***********************The city buzzed with the news of Sadie's death. The rumours grew louder; the whispers of suspicion were no longer confined to hushed conversations_ they were everywhere now. The media. The blogs and everyone I had come in contact with had something to say about what happened to Sadie. They'd seen the news. They knew the story_ or at least the version I made them believe.The news plastered everywhere: Mystery Death: Does Is Liam Behind the Tragic Fall?" "Murder or Suicide? "Mystery Death. Who's Hiding the Truth?" The rumours snowballed with each news article. One question dominated everyone's mind: Did Liam do it?I was in the spotlight but not in the way I wanted. It wasn't the mind of the spotlight that made me proud. It wasn't the clean press coverage I'd grown used to. No, this was the kind of spotlight that would change everything I planned. And drag me down.With the CEO election around the corner, the ting was terrible.
*********************Mack's POV**********************As I stepped inside the boardroom, the conversations hushed__ their gazes met mine. The room that was once filled with voices was now silent that I could hear their breathing.Every seat at the long table was occupied, suits crisp, jaws tight, eyes flickered toward the door behind me as if expecting someone.But the footsteps they anticipated didn't follow mine.Liam’s not here.I didn't say anything. It wasn't needed. His absence says enough already. He's a crowd for not showing up on the final day.I dropped my bag as I sat at the centre of the mahogany table."Where's Liam?" Ms.Rutherford__ the boardhead asked."He hasn't been taking his call." Jare,d one of the assistants, chipped in.For three months now, we waited for this day and now? Now he is no way to be found. He must be a coward. I wanted to see his expression when I win___ I wanted to see his arrogant face turn pale. I wanted to see how he would take it. How his mother
[Two Days Ago.]********************************Rowe's POV*****************---I lingered by the study window, surrounded by symbols of my father's authority. The room's grandeur was palpable from the mahogany to the velvet drapes.Liam's voice. Polished. Cold. Hollow. Still echoed in my head from the press conference that ended 20 minutes ago.{I want to make it clear that I am not responsible for Sadie’s death.}He said it like he rehearsed it from a script. Like he was erasing her name in real time."You believe him? I asked.Behind me, my father poured himself a glass of Scotch. Twelve _year. No ice. Business as usual.He didn't respond immediately, the only sound being the clinking glass and the leather armchair's soft groan as he sat."Rowe," he finally said. "Grief plays tricks on the mind. We see what we want to see. Or don't want to see." I turned slowly.There he was__ the pain in his eyes was almost unbearable to witness, a poignant reminder of the human cos
{Back To The Present Day} ***********************Claire's POV****************"*I stood by the window of the conference room, my fingers crossed tightly around my flute, as I watched Mack receive congratulatory backslaps and handshakes from the Board members. His eyes sparkled as he smiled back at them.And now they cheered for him like the golden king.He caught my eye across the room and gave me that smirk__ the one that said we did it. I raised my hand to wave but returned it. I smiled at him.I've always known that he was going to win. He was the acting CEO before Liam thought he could do it better than him hence the election. And today, the devil is nowhere to be found."I think Liam just disappointed his supporters?" He said, his voice was low and laced with satisfaction.“Yeah, he did," I replied, cool and precise. “They should,” I replied, cool and precise."Don't think they will trust him again." "Well, they've got a new CEO to trust, a real on
*****************************"Rowe's POV*******************Airports have always held a strange kind of energy. A restless pulse in the floor tiles, in the artificial breeze of the climate control, in the way voices bounced and echoed through the polished terminals. Even in the private hangar of the smaller charter wing, the air trembled with motion—jets rumbling in the distance, luggage carts clicking across the concrete like distant insects. I stood beneath the cool shadow of a steel support beam, one hand in my coat pocket, the other clutched the thick envelope. The leather folder I held was warm, even through the cardboard. I hadn't let go of it since leaving his father’s house.Outside, the afternoon sun pressed hard against the windows, smearing light over the glossy floor like a pale fire. Inside, everything was clinical—cool steel, blue-grey walls, crisp echoes of footsteps. I hated airports. They were always beginnings or endings, never in-betweens. And today was most definit
***********************Etian’s POV**************""The walk to my new home lingered that it should have.The streets still pulsed with leftover noise—blaring horns, laughter pouring out of crowded bars, and a siren crying faintly somewhere in the city's gut. I walked with my head low, hands buried deep in my coat pockets, the stolen footage weighing against me like a silent ghost.The dusty smell of rain clung to the concrete, even though the sky stayed stubbornly dry.My shouders ached by the time I reached my door. The weight of a day that wasn't finished yet.Inside, the room sat heavy and untouched. I slung my coat over a chair, kicked off my boots, and drifted through the motions without thinking.Dinner was just something to fill the silence—scrambled eggs, toast burned at the edges, and a glass of water. I ate standing at the counter, barely tasting any of it, my eyes already pulling toward the laptop waiting on the table.The drive sat next to the laptop like a dare.I wiped m
**************************Etian's POV***********************"Here we are." Rowe Arizona said. He hand-cutting a lazy arc through the door.With a metallic groan, the door swung open, and Rowe Arizona entered his fluid and commanding.It wasn't unattractive__ the high ceilings scared beans, and expansive windows let it in a soft, wearing light that danced across the polished floor.To the left, a sleek living space unfolded__ bed, desk, dresser, all in quiet shades of 'get the job done.'On the right, my improvised office set up stood, with desk, chair, and cork board, awaiting the revelation I'd pin.A strip of tape on the floor demarcated the boundary between professionalism and necessityRowe scanned around it was his first time seeing. "Best I could do on short notice," he said as he scratched the back of his neck.I gave a small grunt. Approval, maybe.Honestly, I was somewhat impressed, but my expression remained impassive, revealing nothing.Rowe handed me the key__ a plain br
************************Liam's POV*************************The house stood still, it's windows like empty eyes staring back. The only sound was the soft ticking of a clock that hung on the wall.The house was too quiet.The kind of quiet that made your thoughts louder, your guilt heavier, your memories too damn sharp. I hadn’t left in weeks—not really. The staff came and went like shadows, never speaking unless spoken to, which suited me fine. I didn’t want to explain myself. Not anymore.I settled into thd old armchair, my gaze fixed on the fire's hypnotic flicker.. Above the mantel, her picture stared back—Sadie, caught mid-laugh in a summer dress, frozen in time just before I lunged on her. She hated that photo. Said she looked too happy, too alive. I’d loved it for exactly that reason.And now it haunted my every waking moment.I was set to face the boardroom today, had prepymy speech choosed a tie that she would have loved and perfected a composed demeanor.But when the car came
*****************************"Rowe's POV*******************Airports have always held a strange kind of energy. A restless pulse in the floor tiles, in the artificial breeze of the climate control, in the way voices bounced and echoed through the polished terminals. Even in the private hangar of the smaller charter wing, the air trembled with motion—jets rumbling in the distance, luggage carts clicking across the concrete like distant insects. I stood beneath the cool shadow of a steel support beam, one hand in my coat pocket, the other clutched the thick envelope. The leather folder I held was warm, even through the cardboard. I hadn't let go of it since leaving his father’s house.Outside, the afternoon sun pressed hard against the windows, smearing light over the glossy floor like a pale fire. Inside, everything was clinical—cool steel, blue-grey walls, crisp echoes of footsteps. I hated airports. They were always beginnings or endings, never in-betweens. And today was most definit
{Back To The Present Day} ***********************Claire's POV****************"*I stood by the window of the conference room, my fingers crossed tightly around my flute, as I watched Mack receive congratulatory backslaps and handshakes from the Board members. His eyes sparkled as he smiled back at them.And now they cheered for him like the golden king.He caught my eye across the room and gave me that smirk__ the one that said we did it. I raised my hand to wave but returned it. I smiled at him.I've always known that he was going to win. He was the acting CEO before Liam thought he could do it better than him hence the election. And today, the devil is nowhere to be found."I think Liam just disappointed his supporters?" He said, his voice was low and laced with satisfaction.“Yeah, he did," I replied, cool and precise. “They should,” I replied, cool and precise."Don't think they will trust him again." "Well, they've got a new CEO to trust, a real on
[Two Days Ago.]********************************Rowe's POV*****************---I lingered by the study window, surrounded by symbols of my father's authority. The room's grandeur was palpable from the mahogany to the velvet drapes.Liam's voice. Polished. Cold. Hollow. Still echoed in my head from the press conference that ended 20 minutes ago.{I want to make it clear that I am not responsible for Sadie’s death.}He said it like he rehearsed it from a script. Like he was erasing her name in real time."You believe him? I asked.Behind me, my father poured himself a glass of Scotch. Twelve _year. No ice. Business as usual.He didn't respond immediately, the only sound being the clinking glass and the leather armchair's soft groan as he sat."Rowe," he finally said. "Grief plays tricks on the mind. We see what we want to see. Or don't want to see." I turned slowly.There he was__ the pain in his eyes was almost unbearable to witness, a poignant reminder of the human cos
*********************Mack's POV**********************As I stepped inside the boardroom, the conversations hushed__ their gazes met mine. The room that was once filled with voices was now silent that I could hear their breathing.Every seat at the long table was occupied, suits crisp, jaws tight, eyes flickered toward the door behind me as if expecting someone.But the footsteps they anticipated didn't follow mine.Liam’s not here.I didn't say anything. It wasn't needed. His absence says enough already. He's a crowd for not showing up on the final day.I dropped my bag as I sat at the centre of the mahogany table."Where's Liam?" Ms.Rutherford__ the boardhead asked."He hasn't been taking his call." Jare,d one of the assistants, chipped in.For three months now, we waited for this day and now? Now he is no way to be found. He must be a coward. I wanted to see his expression when I win___ I wanted to see his arrogant face turn pale. I wanted to see how he would take it. How his mother
*************************Liam's POV***********************The city buzzed with the news of Sadie's death. The rumours grew louder; the whispers of suspicion were no longer confined to hushed conversations_ they were everywhere now. The media. The blogs and everyone I had come in contact with had something to say about what happened to Sadie. They'd seen the news. They knew the story_ or at least the version I made them believe.The news plastered everywhere: Mystery Death: Does Is Liam Behind the Tragic Fall?" "Murder or Suicide? "Mystery Death. Who's Hiding the Truth?" The rumours snowballed with each news article. One question dominated everyone's mind: Did Liam do it?I was in the spotlight but not in the way I wanted. It wasn't the mind of the spotlight that made me proud. It wasn't the clean press coverage I'd grown used to. No, this was the kind of spotlight that would change everything I planned. And drag me down.With the CEO election around the corner, the ting was terrible.
************************Mack's POV*************************The news spread like wildfire. The moment it broke, it was like a tidal wave crashed over the company _ everything we've worked on. The company's reputation was at stake.I couldn't let that happen. I couldn't let everything crumble under the weight of the news. It's all over the papers, on the screen, on every broadcast, like a stain that couldn't be scrubbed out.I couldn't allow my family to be dragged down.I knocked on his door. He opened it with a sad look plastered on his face.I stepped inside without saying anything. I notuced the way he flinched at my presence. I could feel the weight of the news as it pressed down on him."You've seen the news?" I asked. My voice was flat, the tension in the air was thick enough to choke someone."Yeah, I've seen the news." He said as he tried his best to sound calm. But there's a flicker in his eyes something ___ I can't get my hands on."They said it was suicide huh?" I asked. M