LOGINMANNIE’S POVThe next day, when I arrived at work, Dominic's secretary suddenly knelt down and begged for forgiveness.For a moment, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.I had just stepped through the glass doors of the company building.The lobby lights shone brightly above me.Employees walked in and out with coffee cups and folders in their hands.The smell of fresh coffee floated through the air.Everything looked normal.Until it wasn’t.The moment I stepped inside, people went quiet.Not completely quiet.But quieter.Whispers lowered.Heads turned.A few people quickly looked away when our eyes met.My footsteps slowed.Something was wrong.Very wrong.I kept walking toward the elevator.My heels clicked softly against the marble floor.One step.Two steps.Three—Suddenly—A figure rushed toward me.Before I could react—THUD.Someone dropped to their knees right in front of me.The sound echoed loudly in the lobby.Gasps filled the air.My body froze.I looked down.I
MANNIE'S POVThe moment I stepped into the company building, something felt wrong.Like a stone dropped into still water.Ripples spread.Eyes turned.Then quickly turned away.My heels tapped softly against the marble floor as I walked toward the elevator.Tap.Tap.Tap.The receptionist looked up.Her smile froze when she saw me.Then she lowered her head quickly and pretended to organize papers on her desk.I pressed the elevator button.The doors opened with a soft ding.Two employees inside immediately stiffened.Their conversation died mid-sentence.“Morning,” I said calmly.Neither of them replied.They stepped out quickly.Almost too quickly.As if the elevator suddenly became dangerous.The doors closed again.I stood alone inside.The elevator hummed quietly as it rose.I watched the floor numbers change.My reflection stared back at me from the metal door.Calm face.Still eyes.But inside my chest…Something heavy settled there.I already knew why they were acting like thi
3rd POVThe air inside the grand living room felt heavy.Even the servants standing near the walls barely dared to breathe.In the Dinning room……The large chandelier above the room cast soft golden light over the marble floor. Expensive paintings hung on the walls. A long table filled the center of the room, with cuisines of different kind laid out.David strode in his tall frame looked firm and straight, his jaw was tight. He looked like he was ready to go for war.His fingers gripped a thin white envelope.“David,” she said slowly, her voice thin with irritation. “You called this meeting so urgently. What is it that couldn’t wait?” She was a bit hungry and her mood was not good upon seeing her son who dared to keep defying her and yet he still came late.David didn’t answer immediately.Instead, he walked forward.Each step echoed faintly against the polished floor.Tap.Tap.Tap.When he reached the table, he placed the envelope down.The sound was soft.But it still made his moth
MANNIE’S POVThe balcony was quiet.The night air drifted slowly through the thin curtains behind me. Cool. Damp. Carrying the faint smell of rain and street dust.I sat on the old wooden chair near the railing.My elbows rested on my knees. My hands hung loosely between them.I closed my eyes.And David’s face appeared in my mind again.The way he looked at Jay earlier.That small smile.That quiet pride.Like a father looking at his son.My fingers tightened around the armrest.Jay didn’t notice.Or maybe he did.Jay had been laughing at the table.Talking.Joking.But every time David’s name came up… something in his eyes changed.A small spark.A quiet curiosity.My stomach twisted.That child…He was too bright.Too observant.Sooner or later he would ask questions.Questions I didn’t want to answer.I exhaled slowly.Then another face appeared in my thoughts.Lilith.Her pale skin.Her lifeless eyes.The cold room.The locked door.My fingers trembled slightly.I rubbed my templ
3rd POVInside the dining room, the smell of rice and fried eggs still hung in the air.Zane sat in his chair.His spoon rested beside his empty bowl.But he wasn’t doing his homework. His pencil lay untouched with his eyes were fixed on the door.The door his aunt had just walked through.Trisha.His fingers tapped lightly on the table.Tap.Tap.Tap.Across from him, Adam noticed.“You’re thinking,” Adam whispered.Zane didn’t answer.Adam leaned closer.“What about?”Zane’s eyes narrowed slightly.“She lied.”Adam blinked.“About what?”Zane didn’t respond immediately.His gaze shifted toward the living room.Their grandmother’s voice drifted faintly from inside.She was still talking with Mom.Arguing.Again.Zane’s lips pressed together.Then he slid off the chair.“I’m going outside.”Adam frowned.“For what?”Zane picked up one of the empty biscuit wrappers.He crumpled it slowly.“I don’t like cheap snacks.”Adam raised an eyebrow.“So?”“I want chocolate milk.”Adam stared at
MANNIE'S POV“Mom, what is this?” My eyes bulged at the sight that lay before me.For a moment, I just stood there.Frozen.My hand still gripped the strap of my bag. My mouth hung slightly open. My mind struggled to process what I was seeing.Then my eyes slowly drifted to the dining table.The children were there.All eight of them.Their small bodies were hunched over their homework books. Pencils moved across paper. Heads bent low.Too low.Too quiet.Jay’s pencil scratched loudly against the page. Lily’s fingers twisted the edge of her eraser again and again. Tera tapped her pencil in a soft rhythm.None of them looked up.Not even Sophie, who usually noticed everything.It was almost as if they were pretending not to see the scene in the living room. Or maybe… they simply couldn’t bear it.My chest tightened.I slowly turned my head back toward the living room. Toward the scene that made my stomach churn.My mother.And her, my sister-in-law.The two of them clung to each other







