Abigail
Internally, I whooped and punched the air in victory. But outwardly, I gave Mr. Hayes a serene, practiced smile, the kind that said I'm glad to be here, not desperate to be here. “Thank you again,” I said politely, then stepped out of his office before my excitement bubbled too far to contain.
Ten o’clock was only forty minutes away. Not enough time to start anything new, but just enough to make myself useful. I returned to my office, where Elle was already tidying up the documents on my desk.
“Anything urgent?” I asked as I approached.
She handed me a printed memo and gave me a quick update on a postponed meeting. “Only thing worth noting is
Abigail “Get off me,” she spat, the words more breath than voice. "He won't believe that nonsense.""Don't lie to yourself," I didn’t budge as I stared directly into her bloodshot eyes, unflinching. “You and Susanna are his pawns - who else could have helped with so much information about him?”She bared her teeth. “You don’t even know anything about him or what I've done for him. If you think he'll take your lies seriously..." she ended her sentence with a harsh bark of laughter. Her pride was too thick to admit men like Casillas saw people like her as just pawns, and her fear was too heavy to deny it convincingly. I saw the war between hatred and desperation play out across her face. She had no idea how much I knew. For all she could tell, I’d already laid the whole game bare."I know Casillas has his eyes on the Remington company. He's planning a takeover, isn't he? He must have said something to you about it.”Stubbornly, she refused to answer.“I’m not wrong, am I?” I said qui
AbigailLiliana bucked under me like a wild, cornered animal, her heels slamming against the floor in vain and her elbows jerking and twisting, but I held her down without flinching Her high-pitched, furious screams filled the room, spitting every foul word in her vocabulary. She cursed me with a venom I hadn’t heard from her before, not even in our ugliest confrontations. Her voice cracked under the weight of her fury, but beneath all the insults and threats, I heard the fear. It rang clear as a bell in the way she struggled, in the way her eyes darted all around as if she was looking for the bag that had flown across the room.I had to dig my knees into her arms to keep her still, my hands gripping her wrists like shackles. She was terrified, not just of losing the upper hand, but of something far greater; Casillas. That name had unlocked something violent in her. I had seen it the second it left my mouth, in the way her whole body jerked. I kept my expression neutral as I held
AbigailLiliana shot up from the sofa like something had exploded under her bottom. Her body vibrated with fury, the kind that made her hands twitch, and her limbs tremble. Her bottom lip quivered, not with any sadness, but from the sheer force of her rage. When she finally opened her mouth, her voice came out in an aggrieved, ear splitting shout.“You think I relied on her?!” she screeched, her eyes wild. “You dare say that to me?! Susanna is nothing without me! Nothing!”As she had gotten up so suddenly, her oversized designer bag, whose strap had been loose slung around her shoulder, was now resting against her hip. Her hand, which was now partly hidden inside this bag instead of under the cushion, jerked subtly. My heart began to race harder despite my attempts to stay calm, every thump pounding against my ribs like it wanted to escape. I didn’t let my gaze tremble, and neither did I let it wander to the danger I knew was there. But all the same, I knew without being told that L
Abigail Liliana tilted her head. “I’m only impressed, Abigail. Really, I am.” Her voice took on a thoughtful quality. “I didn’t think you had it in you. All these years playing the good little wife, the gentle Remington daughter inlaw, the dependable daughter and sister… what was it that broke you, and has got you playing dirty just like us?.”Her gaze was piercing, full of malice. “Was it the loss of your poor baby?” She said it so casually, so cruelly, like she was commenting on the weather. “Or was it the sight of your sick mother's body rotting away long after she had died without the comfort of any of her children at her side?”The sting of her words hit me hard and sharp, but I didn't flich, at least not outwardly. I pushed the pain down, and stuffed it deep inside my mind. I had meant it when I promised Alexander I wouldn't allow my emotions make me lose focus of the mission; they weren't a weakness. This was a war. There was no room for sentimentality.Liliana smirked even as
Abigail I made sure my voice didn’t betray me when I spoke after realising Liliana had figured me out. I made sure it was steady and smooth, even a touch amused, just enough to maintain an image of calm. “What gave me away?” I asked Liliana, pretending like I wasn’t playing a dangerous game by being in her territory and on her turf. A part of me genuinely wanted to know what had tipped her off. I had made it past the door and her probing questions, and she had looked none the wiser when I stepped into the house. I had played my part well, I thought. It had taken me hours and hours of practice and time but I had adjusted the cadence of my voice, mirrored Susanna’s subtle tics, her forced laugh, and mlst importantly, the hysterical theatrics she was prone to when the universe wasn’t bending itself to her will. I had rehearsed and rehearsed to the point I was disturbed at how much of Susanna I could see in me when I had given myself a cursory look in the mirror before coming her. B
LilianaShe gave me a small shrug, eyes still wide and glistening. “I know that rule only applies to me,” she said, trying on a feeble smile. “You’re always going on about how he likes me more, but I think we both know it’s you who’s actually close to him. You must have an idea of where he might be… right? Please, Liliana. I have to go to him. I can’t wait for him to come to me. You’ll help me, won’t you?”The tone of her voice, so desperate, made my skin crawl. Goosebumps prickled up my arms. Since when did Susanna ever care about seeing him like this? She was never this eager. Never this—what was the word? Compliant? Imploring? This was so unlike her.This was…wrong. Something was off, very off, and the feeling burrowed deep into