All Chapters of Masked Desires: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

The city pulsed with a restless energy, its neon lights reflecting in the black sheen of a sedan. Ethan Lockwood’s luxury sedan slid through the ever-bustling street.Ethan gazed out of the tinted window, watching the late-night bustle of downtown life, feeling the weight of another long day. It wasn’t just the fatigue of work but his personal life. His marriage, once the picture of stability was now crumbling in front of him into a bitter divorce. Peace was now a distant dream and all he wanted was silence.It wasn’t love lost and perhaps that should have been a consolation. Amanda had fallen out of love with him years ago and their relationship had boiled down to cold exchanges and silence. The divorce was impending but he never expected her to have fallen in love with someone else and for him to walk onto the sight of her cheatingAs he mulled over this for the thousandth time, his fingers drummed lightly on his thigh, an unconscious tick.Sitting in the back of the car was slowly

“He isn’t coming. I should accept another client.” Minnie thought to herself as she cursed her heels for being so high. She had been standing at the street corner from the past hour. It had been the same time that she had met Ethan the week before. It was so obvious that he wasn’t coming. What were the chances that he even remembered her? He probably had many girls that he hired. As an aging and balding man approached her, she decided to accept his offer and smiled at him.“Hey sugar. What’s a man gotta do to get some company around here?” He asked, his hand touching her hip.Steeling herself from the stench of alcohol that dripped from him, she smiled brighter, “I’m good company… for a price.” Her voice was higher than normal and she tried seeming as feminine and attractive as she could.“I got a full wallet and an empty bed if you say so.” He said and before she could even respond he began leading her to his car by her hand.“Oh… yeah...” She mumbled, listlessly following him. Ano

“What do you mean you hired a law student as your aide?” Jack frowned.“She stepped in and pulled out a law that my own lawyer knew nothing about. And she didn’t even have to! In fact she endangered her own job by doing it.” Ethan reasoned, “I need someone on my side who wants to be good for me out of their own goodwill.”“Why don’t I join you on Saturday? And I will also talk to her and see if she is trustworthy… You still trust the old lawyer?” Jake asked and Ethan shrugged explaining that he didn’t really trust him but since he knew so many company secrets, he didn’t want to fully lose him.Jake was Ethan’s long time friend. He had known him ever since Ethan had started working at the company. Jake was the financial advisor and the only one that Ethan trusted blindly.He looked younger than his age, his sandy brown hair laid in tousled curls and he was rarely found in a suit like everyone else but wore neat shirts instead.“Amanda is really doing a number on you, huh?” Jake looked

Taking a deep breath, Minnie knocked on the rotting wood door that was once the color blue. “I don’t have any money for you!” A gruff voice yelled out from within. “Mom? It’s me.” Minnie called out and pushed the door slightly. It was rotten enough to open on its own.“What do you want?” The voice replied from within. The floor was strewn with clothes and rotting food. A few cats walked around the house, seeming emaciated and nearly feral. Her nose crinkled at the smell of Cat feces and rotten food along with what must be some sort of decay.“Mom?” Minnie walked to where she knew the woman would be- The bedroom. The once glorious house with its homey and cozy look was now in shambles and unrecoverable. The bedroom where they had spent many a night as a family, laughing and chatting was now a hoarding nightmare. Random junk lined the room and the stench was intolerable. The mattress itself had rotted around the woman that Minnie once knew as her mother.She had aged… looking far beyo

The bar was loud, the bass-heavy music vibrating through the walls as people danced and talked around Minnie. She had stopped dancing a while ago, her head swimming from the alcohol. Ellie, already tipsy, was still going strong, laughing and chatting with some guy who had been eyeing her all night. Minnie leaned against the wall, trying to steady herself as she looked around, barely aware of the chaotic scene around her. She was not a heavy drinker and in-fact, had never drank this much in her life.Ellie stumbled back over to her, grinning. “I think... I think I'm done for tonight,” she said, swaying slightly. “But you—” she pointed a finger at Minnie, “you're gonna be okay, right? Ethan's on his way.”Minnie nodded faintly, though she wasn’t sure what was happening. Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. Ellie pulled out her phone and dialed Ethan’s number, slurring her words as she spoke to him.“Hey, Ethan... uh, Ruby’s, uh, in bad shape,” Ellie said into the phone, he