LOGINMonday arrived earlier than expected, with a mix of emotions in the air. It was a combination of uncertainty, but also of determination, as if we all knew that everything that was coming was now inevitable.The city seemed quieter than usual, although perhaps it was just my own silence projected onto the streets. Even the noise of traffic felt distant, muffled, as if the world were holding its breath.Carlos hadn't tried to contact me, and that made me increasingly nervous. His silence didn't comfort me; it threatened me. The fact that he was so quiet after trying to take advantage of me, after thinking himself so important, after manipulating my vulnerability in such a disgusting way, made me wonder what he was plotting behind closed doors.I tried to distract myself with routine: coffee, emails, small tasks that should have been normal. But every time my phone vibrated, I felt a knot in my stomach, waiting to see his message, or read an unexpected name. But he never appeared. That a
We laughed, and the rest of the meal was spent joking and discussing minor details, all about the wedding, Sebastian, and Carlos. Finally, the tension I'd felt these past few days seemed to dissipate considerably, and amidst laughter, Mia let out a sigh that was a little too long.We remained silent."Sofia, don't marry Carlos," Mia said.I opened my mouth to reply, but Mia raised her hand as if signaling me to stop."I know what you're going to say, but honey, I've known you since we were little girls, and I know that if you marry him, you won't be happy."I froze; her words echoed louder than the laughter that had filled the room moments before.“Mia…” I whispered, but my voice cracked.She leaned forward, her gaze firm, almost pleading. “I’ve seen you fight for your independence, for your happiness. Carlos isn’t part of that fight; he’s the cage. I met you when you went out with him back from school, and I know he drains that sparkle from you more than anything else.”Olivia shifte
Roy stood right in the middle of the store. Our eyes collided for a single, sharp second before he jerked his gaze away and I could only manage a frown. What was he doing here?"Oh no..." Kathe whispered."What?" I asked."I told Elias something about us coming here, but... I didn't expect him to show up."Mia looked at him from afar and let out a low whistle. "I have to admit, Sofia, he is quite the charmer. A silly one, but you can't deny the looks."We all laughed at Mia's comment. It was true, but lately I'd learned that it wasn't all about looks... and that maybe I did have a type of person I liked.After we all agreed that this was the perfect dress, I went back inside to change. I came out as usual, and the girls were already waiting for me, except for Olivia, who had been distracted talking to Roy."What's she doing with him?" I asked."Don't think it was her idea. He called her to ask her something, and she just couldn't say no," Kathe said, shrugging."Roy has a very persuas
I stood still for a moment. I knew our mother's death hadn't been an accident and that someone else was likely involved, but knowing this was... it was simply too much."If James Clark's wife is the one who killed our mother..." I whispered."That means all of this is even more connected than you thought," Ian finished. "This woman must have more information than we know, and she could be important. We have to track her down."Although the tension was heavy, the rest of the night passed with something more like a path forward, because somehow, we had something closer to what seemed like a clue to follow.That night, Sebastian and Ian left the apartment, leaving Olivia and me alone in the house. But rather than feeling different or threatening, we simply sat barefoot on the sofa at midnight, with glasses in our hands, filled with soda instead of alcohol."You knew Mom," Olivia said to me. "More than I did, at least.""I really wish I could remember..." I said, taking a sip, "but I was
I looked at it for a moment; it was too long for my liking, and then I looked away."I can't risk it," I finally said.And although I was convinced of that, I indirectly felt I could let myself be trusted... it was as if two completely different people were conversing and making decisions in my head. I sighed, and we finished organizing all the paperwork.It wasn't much, but we had a start in all of this. We also had the documents the Russian mafia had given me.Right. I should visit Annatoli soon.The decision came to me too quickly for my liking."I'm going to see Annatoli," I said aloud.They stared at me, with confused expressions."I have to go check something and give an update," I said. "It's the most sensible thing I can do in the middle of... all this."They didn't seem convinced by my explanation, but they definitely didn't seem to completely disagree with what was going through my head.I ended up getting up and saying goodbye again, almost in the same sequence as when I le
Olivia and I ended up crying in each other's arms for a long time until we finally separated, and I turned to Sebastian. He looked at me for a moment, then pressed his lips together and looked away, with a somewhat guilty air. Then, Ian handed him some papers, which he gave to me."I hope you're not angry about what I'm about to tell you."I held the paper in my hands, but first I stared at it. I wanted whatever I was about to hear to come from him first, not from what was in front of me.He held both hands in front of him and then looked me in the eyes."A week ago, I came to your apartment, and I ran into Olivia, who... explained something about the situation and..." He hesitated for a second, but pointed to the paper in front of me. "We did a DNA test on Olivia and you."I looked at the paper in front of me, and the result was a 50% match, indicating that Olivia and I were sisters, daughters of both of my parents. But there was another paper underneath."And this other paper?" I as
The woman approached and stood between Sebastian and me. I stood there for a second, unsure how to react or what to do. The woman was shorter than me, but she had an imposing presence that made me doubt everything; she had eyes as dark as night and short black hair perfectly tied up."Ma'am, I..."
Sebastian stood up and slung his jacket over his shoulder."Do you have any idea what's going to happen next?""Well..." I said softly, "I'm going to try to get a boyfriend, and if that doesn't work out, I'll have to find another option." I added with a slight laugh."I can't believe it..." Sebasti
I started drafting an email to send him, just a formal email, letting him know I'd like to have a meeting with him. Before hitting send, I considered my options.I'll be 28 in exactly 62 days. When my father passes away, his investment and shares, which represent 30% of the total, would pass to me,
Kathe and I sat there, trying to figure out what we could do, knowing full well that we had to do something. Lucas was an alcoholic, a man who gambled away all his money, and when he won a little, he "reinvested" it in his bets and lost the few cents he won. Most importantly, he was Uncle Clark's g







