Anna’s POV.

It was time.

Time to make the engagement public.

The hall was well lit,cameras flashing.It was the launch of the CATF(Children are the future foundation). A foundation Michael co-headed with his friend,Matt. It was Matt’s vision.A vision that he had shared publicly and had been on the blogs for months.

Michael and I walked in locking hands. I could hear whispers. Interviewers ran towards us seeing it was the first time we appeared in public together.

Deep down,I felt empty. I had to keep up with the fake smiles.Michael carried on well.His confidence and aura was perfect for the brand. He greeted dignitaries and introduced me as his girlfriend.I let out a frown the fifth time I heard “girlfriend”. And he noticed.

“You are going to blow your own cover.Better stay in character,”He whispered.

It was time for the speech. Michael walked up the podium.

The noise and music died down. It was his night.

He adjusted the mic with so much ease. His gaze swept across the crowd,then it landed just on me.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” His voice echoing through the speakers, “I am not a man of many words,so I will not waste your time and mind giving boring speeches.”

My heart raced faster, not sure I had made the right choice.

“As I celebrate expansion, business,I will also celebrate family. There is a time in every man’s life.Choices to be made.”

I knew he was about to say it. I got more tensed.

“I have made money. I have assets.But that one thing,a woman to reign with me.”

The crowd gets noisy.

“Tonight,we make it official,” His voice bringing the crowd back to silence, “Anna Basano,please marry me.”

The crowd erupts.

The cameras pointed to me as I walked up the podium,my chest more tightened. I didn’t know it was going to be this hard.

Michael gets on one knee and reaches his pocket.He brought out a small blue box and flicked it open.

The ring part was not a plan he let me in on.I was surprised.

“Yes,” I whispered.

He slipped the ring in and pulled me close into a kiss. One that lasted more than a few seconds. I felt my heart pump faster. I hoped Michael did not feel a bit of it.

People cheered on. Camera lights flashed even more.The photographers wanting to get perfect pictures for the news and blogs.

The applause kept ringing in my ear as Michael and I drove to the house. Michael and I not saying a word to each other all through.

I buried my face in my phone.It had been buzzing with notifications since we left the event. Headlines were all over the media. True Love or business? Anastacia Basano says Yes to Michael Angelo.

I met my father pacing around the front porch. He face was stone cold. He must have heard about the engagement.

I got out of the car walking slowly to him.

“Really Anna,you were not going to tell me before you threw it to the blogs?” He yelled.

“Don. This is Michael Alonzo,” I said pointing to Michael who had stood behind me.

His jaw tightened, “Of course I know who he is.”

He walked into the house. Michael went to his car and drove away.

I followed my father into the house, “Don,I thought you wanted me married?”

“Your marriage to Adrian was not just marriage,it was business.We need the partnership with his family.”

“And do you think Michael is not worth what we need?He bought Alejandro.This is a chance.”

“You think it is just about money? This is about influence and Angelo is going to give us that,” He pauses,“How come you never hinted being with Michael?A relationship?”

“We decided to keep it secret.”

“Secret? Even from family?You know the history with that family and you decide to what? Jump at him?”

I chuckle, “And when did you begin to care so much Don Basano?’

Sometimes, I wonder if Don ever saw me as a daughter. Or he had memories of my mother,his wife. The woman who gave life to his empire.

The same empire took my mother from me.And even when she laid there fighting to survive,I begged my father to visit at least once,but he said he was “busy”. Busy building his empire. From meetings,to deals, to everything.

On the night my mother breathe her last,I held her hands,frail and cold. I called my father so many times but he would not pick up.

My mother saw the tears in my eyes,she knew I was hurting.

“Please,don’t be hard on him.Your father is building for your future,I am sure he has valid reasons for not showing up. You have to be happy Annie,that is what matters now.”

And today,he plays the victim.

“The future of this empire is at stake,” He said.

I laugh,“Empire.Empire.Empire.Is all I ever hear.All my life. Were you ever there? When I turned five? When I lost my tooth? At my school parties, at my birthdays or my graduation?”

And he looked at me. Coldly.

“Empire?The same empire that took my mother?”

His eyed widened.He was not expecting that from me.

“The accident!”

My father parted his lips but words did not come out.

He knew all along. My mother’s death was planned.It was not just an accident.

My mother had attended a charity dinner that night.She left the house wearing her white suit,her face as radiant as the sun.

“See you soon,Anna,”She said tapping my chin.

But she never came back.

According to reports,her car had developed a flat tire. And just when her driver would figure it out,a truck swerved of the road and rammed into them. The news spread like wild fire, I stayed in my room watching my favourite show when the headlines broke.Mrs. June Basano involved in fatal accident.

My father gazes at me.

“You thought I would not know? It was not an accident.You knew this and let the investigators sweep it under the carpet all for your name.You were all about protecting your image.I hate you Don!”

My father walked out of the house.

I crashed on the couch,my hands trembling. The memories of finding out what had happened that night coming back fresh.

Someone had dropped a file in my mail box months ago. The subject of the file felt like a bullet shot to my chest. It was written, Your mother’s death was not an accident.

I froze for a moment. I sat on the chair and opened the file slowly. It was an accident report.It had police stamps,witness reports and doctor write ups.

It had pictures from the surveillance camera. The same truck that rammed into her car had been parked by the road minutes before my mother’s car stopped at the opposite lane.

The close up pictures of the flat tire showed something circled in red.A nail embedded deep into into the rubber.

Some of the witness reports read, “The truck was parked there for over an hour,the driver said the truck had fault.” My mother’s driver died on the spot.The truck driver had died in the hospital.

The file did not give a clue to who had sent it.They were no signatures or number to reach.The sender never called.

I sat there frozen with the files scattered around me.My mother’s death was not an accident and someone out there knew why.