“Set up the camera properly.” She order bitterly, her eyes downcast as she watches Tina do the set up. The younger woman has a small smile on her face to show that in the end, she’ll triumph. She had told her not to do anything crazy anyway and she went ahead to instigate the world against a poor woman just because of her obsession and now she has been put, rudely, in her place.“Are you done?” Millicent asks her, a sharp edge to her tone.Tina nods, stepping back. “Do you want me to hand you the note once again so you can revise?”“No, its fine. I know what I want to say already.”“Camera rolling… Three, two… one. Go.”Millicent is an actress so it would be entirely weird if she is not able to put up an act. As she raises her head to stare into the recording camera, her eyes are slightly drooped at the sides to give an illusion of tiredness and then stay pretty at the same time.Tina snickers inaudibly.“Good afternoon fans out there, I am Millicent Atkinson. In light of my interview
Years ago at Stanford University, a much younger Arthur Worth rushes across the campus grounds, his backpack slung over one shoulder and his books tucked under his arm. He’s already running late for his lecture and barely notices the bustling crowd of students around him as he walks through and around them, just trying to make it to class on time.As he nears the lecture building, his mind preoccupied with the material he’s about to study, Arthur doesn’t see the girl approaching from the opposite direction who is laughing at something she is listening to… Until it’s too late.Crash!They collide at the foot of the stairs, and suddenly everything is a blur. Books, papers, and even a cup of coffee go flying into the air. The next thing Arthur knows, he’s on the ground, his belongings scattered across the floor, and warm coffee stains spread across his shirt.“Damn it.” He mutters, looking down at the mess. His eyes then land on the girl, who’s already on her knees, frantically picking u
Two years into the wedding, still the picture perfect billionaire couple, the duo attended all functions with their spouses, they did picnics, had fun like a couple should, then came that day.Millicent bursts into the house with a sheet of paper in her hands, her breathing coming in short, loud gasps.Arthur descends the staircase of their Beverly Hills house in Los Angeles. “Hon, welcome back. You look pale? Did something happen?”Millicent is too speechless to say a anything and just hands him the piece of paper, which turns out to be a pregnancy test.“I am four weeks gone. A month. I thought I just had a simple cold, nausea, of course sometimes we get nauseated and shit. But pregnancy? There is a baby growing inside me?” Millicent mutters to no one in particular.Arthur, on the other hand, is happy for the news. Their family will now be complete after all. He picks her up from the ground in a hug and twirls her around. His joy for the pregnancy overshadowing hers by miles. “This
“Wonder why she went to go get groceries herself when I offered to help.” Arthur mutters to himself as he paces around his study.He had resorted to working from home as soon as Millicent’s pregnancy clocked four months, choosing to stay at home with her so she is not bored. And even though she has not been saying much lately, he still tries to make her laugh, which she does sometimes, and today, he has something planned for her.If it works out, she’ll have something to think back to and smile even till their Azalea actually becomes a living human baby.“Ugh… Waiting around is killing me. I should stroll over to her or something.” Impatient, Artur dons a casual white tee shirt and some denim pants, choosing to walk over there instead, to clear his head and get his thoughts in order.The baby’s coming has taken most of the toll on Millicent but he has also made some sacrifices, even having to turn billions worth of contracts away because he can’t leave his wife at the doctor’s and leav
The lights in Unique Auditing company flicker once, then slowly began to fade floor by floor, casting the building into darkness. Each level’s lights went off in sequence staring from the grund floor, leaving only the top floor illuminated, the faint glow cutting through the night surrounding the tall building.Up on that top floor, a figure sits motionless and unmoving in the CEO’s chair, waiting patiently.As the final lights went out, the entire building was plunged into silence and darkness.The figure rose slowly, pulling off a black mask that had been obscuring their face for the whole day. They rubbed their sore jaw, letting out a quiet sigh of relief as they stretched their stiff muscles. Sitting the whole day just to keep an identity hidden is a lot of work but the rewards make it entirely worth it.Reaching for the phone on the desk, they hesitate before turning on the flashlight.The beam of light was kept low, barely enough to illuminate the room but just perfect for what t
John Worth sits at his desk, a complete mess, his head buried in his hands.His office, once the center of his confidence and power, now feels like a prison. He has nowhere to go and rest his head and worse, no one to go to for comfort. The weight of everything, the scandal with Sienna being his child, and the suffocating guilt of having an affair with her for years and now, she is dead, presses down on him, making it hard to breathe.But the worst part is the uncertainty, the part that he does not know.Had he been the one to kill her? He couldn’t remember.His mind is a fog of confusion, and the last few hours of that day with Sienna were nothing but a blur. He recalls the anger, the confrontation, but after that... it was all darkness.A shrill ring from his phone startled him, pulling him out of his confusing thoughts.John blinks, his hands shaking as he reaches for the device. He doesn’t recognize the number, but something inside him tells him to answer it.“Hello?” His voice cra
The press conference hall buzzed with anticipation.Every seat is filled with bloggers, reporters, tabloids, newspapers, and even people with online news channels and cameras were positioned in every corner, and journalists from various media outlets had gathered to hear the truth from the couple who had been dominating the news lately, first, secod and third ost searched news were about them.The hushed voices amd comemnys in the air was thick and full of gossip, and all eyes were fixed on the stage, waiting for the moment when Arthur will make his appearance and the conference will start.They have their questions down and written already, also, they are immensely curious as to why Millicent and Arthur had divorced anyway so that is the main reason for their presence…As the lights dimmed slightly, signaling the start of the conference, Arthur stepped forward.His demeanor was calm, collected, and resolute, most especially since his wife now knows everything that happened in his past
Up in Arthur’s office after the short conference that is safe to say had left all of the reporters with even more questions than the answers that they have come for, Bethany sips some orange juice, laughing at something that Arthur had said.“You know, you are like the regular kind of CEO but you are a money grubber too. I can’t believe you said it out loud that you will get only richer with the lawsuits, come on.” Bethany comments, while laughing.“Well, if there is one thing I know people hate in our society, it is the rich getting richer… and yet, they are not helping themselves either. So I know that if I make that statement that I will use their money to get even richer, they will stop, or at least, it will reduce.Bethany bursts into another round of laughter.“Why were you at the hospital anyway?” Arthur asks, coming to sit on the same couch as she is.Bethany’s face lights up and then dies down. “I learnt quite a lot of things there today. I’ll start with Quinn. She told me th
The invitation arrives in a black velvet envelope.No name. No logo. Just a gold wax seal marked with a wolf’s head.Bethany turns it over twice before she slits it open with a knife and slides the lacy edged card out.It reads,“The Campbell Conglomerate is cordially invited to the Sterling Foundation’s Annual Black-Tie Gala.Theme: Midnight Masquerade.Date: This Saturday, 8 PM.Location: The Glass House, Midtown.Dress Code: Formal. Masks mandatory.Life’s a game, play it.”Bethany does not react for a second, and then reads it again… “This is either someone’s idea of a costume party or a shoddy job at making an actual party.”Arthur reads it as well, over her shoulder and frowns, not even the flicker of a smile either. “That’s not real.”“Oh, it is real,” Bethany murmurs. “And it’s bait. It is so obviously so… Sterling Foundation.”Arthur’s jaw tightens. “So we’re not going, it’s that simple.”Bethany turns slowly to face him, eyes clear and determination firm. “I do not run from
The Campbell Conglomerate headquarters is as full as it always is during the days of the week, and the staff are pretty loyal even when their boss has not been in to work for quite some time. The rumor has start to spread that she died or something most especially due to the fact that they had seen as she had been flung into the air two weeks before, had watched as her husband, with bruises of his own, had lifted her off the ground into the ambulance by himself and still making sure that everything, about her, was all in control…For the time she had been at the hospital, Arthur had made sure that Jade was always within reach and every of their works in progress, not out of reach, it had all been in control even when he had been devastated at the foot of her bed.And for it being so early in the morning, it is not silent, it is quite the opposite actually.There’s movement everywhere, in the halls and corners. Phones ringing and staff picking up. Meetings booked not minding that the b
He steps out of the car and closes the door behind him, Bethany is at home now and he just needs to stop by somewhere to make his point known, now that he knows who it is and his wife now does too, there is nothing to hide but to tell her to own up to her crimes and mistakes and just leave them be.Arthur Worth steps out of the sleek black elevator on the top floor and into hell, the dim lighting down the hall, the glass doors that do not reflect anything, looks like a child’s imagination of the opposite of heaven.The top floor of the glass building is colder than a morgue, the air conditioning in strategic positions not exactly helping either. Polished concrete floors. Steel framed windows. Air that smells faintly metallic, Ew.The place seems a little bit deserted and a little bit too silent for this mid afternoon period where staffs are supposed to be wandering around, talking and gossiping over cups of coffee and snacks, waiting for the time they can head for home.Ahead, the gla
It takes about an hour.One long, slow, silent hour between the couple.Bethany stubbornly keeps her back turned toward Arthur, stewing in her own complicated swirl of already fake anger and her pride not wanting to speak first.Bethany tries.God, she tries to stay mad at him but...For a full hour, she gives Arthur the full on, patented silent treatment, staring stubbornly at the wall on the other side of thr bed, answering in one word grunts if he so much as breathes too loudly so he’ll catch himself from disturbing her ‘sleep’.But she’s very terrible at it.She’s always been terrible at it when it came to people she loved.She cracks before the sixty minute mark, because when she finally turns her head, awkwardly and carefully because of the neck brace, she sees him sitting at the very edge of her hospital bed.Not looking at her.Not doing anything visible to her.Just… sitting there by the bedside.Palms flat on the mattress. Head bowed.Like he’s waiting to be sentenced. He do
The hallway is dim and seemingly never ending. Just like is her job to do this once in a while, she is going to do it once again before clocking out of work for the day.Ana Yang walks briskly down the sterile, silver lit corridor of Unique Auditing’s private floor. Her heels click sharply against the marble tile, echoing between the glass walls and chrome doors, ignoring everyone she meets on her way since she has one single focus in mind, do this and get the hell out of here.She clutches a thick folder to her chest, filled with updates, invoices, coded communications. The usual weapons of their currently losing war, she’ll be dropping off the file with the ceo before leaving.Ahead of her, the double doors to the CEO's office loom like the gates of some modern day hell.She swipes her keycard.The lock clicks and the doors swing open.Inside, the room is dim, only thin shafts of light cutting across the floor from narrow windows.And, as always, the swivel chair behind the vast mah
The fourth day in the hospital after the blast seemed just as bleak as the first three days that had come and gone, waiting for Bethany to wake up and open her eyes to absolutely no avail.Arthur hasn’t left her side. Not once, making sure to make sure that she is attended to every single time and cleaning her unconscious body every morning and night.The nurses have stopped trying to convince him to take a break and go home or something. At this point, he’s more permanent than the IV drip standing by her bedside. Martha comes and goes, bringing fresh clothes, home cooked meals that Arthur barely touches, whispered encouragements he barely hears but nods smilingly at anyway, the old woman already has too much on her neck so Arthur always manages to persuade her to go back home as well each time.He sits beside her now, as he has for four days, one hand curled over Bethany’s motionless fingers, holding them as though he is using his body’s warmth to remind her of the way back to him, b
Time slows.Bethany’s fingers brush the handle of the driver’s side door just as the second beep-beep fades into the air. A bird chirps from the lamp post above the lot. The wheels of a nearby shopping cart squeal as someone exits the pharmacy across the road. Arthur opens his mouth to say something…And the world erupts.BOOM.It’s not just a noise., it’s a force. A living, monstrous thing that tears through air, glass, and metal like paper. The car explodes in a big explosion of fire and shrapnel, its roof splitting, hurling into the sky. The windshield vaporizes in a white hot flash and for the person standing right next to the explosion...Bethany is thrown violently backward. Not a stumble. Not a fall. She is launched into the air like a ragdoll and what goes up, always comes down.Her body hits the ground very hard. The sound is sickening, skin on pavement, ribs crunching, skull cracking and the audible sound of all of it.Then stillness.Alarms scream in every direction. The
The man walks in front of the station like he’s trying not to walk into a landmine, slow, tentative steps. He stops at the top of the stairs, takes one deep sigh, rubs his weak looking eyes and takes the few more steps into the building.He does not take big strides and no waving hands. Just quiet, precise steps through the front doors of the Precinct, wearing a weather beaten hoodie and jeans that have seen better years. His eyes are the kind that don’t blink enough, too haunted to remember how.Or at least that is what it looks like to whoever cares to give him a glance.At the front desk, Officer Laney gives him the once over. She’s halfway through sipping her third iced latte when she asks, “Can I help you sir?”The man doesn’t answer at first, first choosing to check if she is a police officer since she is in civilian clothes, then seeing her badge in her hands, he sighs audibly before responding, saying…“I need to talk to someone. Someone in charge of a particular case here.”L
Rumors begin less than three days later.Apparently, grabbing a cup of coffee with a beautiful female Major is grounds for rumors, and even people whom you don’t know who begin to study your every move. The rumors, with truths in them however, rage on the barracks.They spread like heat on dry bush. Fast, wild and pretty much unstoppable. A Major seen sneaking smiles at a Lieutenant during drills, the same Lieutenant caught slipping out of the officer's quarters too early in the morning.Chara doesn’t as much as flinch when she hears then, she’s pretty much used to the weight of judgment.Chara doesn’t pretend to care, not at all.She keeps her chin high, her stride sharp like the boss lady that she is, like no one dares say it to her face, because they really do not dare say it to her face.But Mason hears it.He hears them and unlike Chara with her own steely indifference, he is not indifferent to it.And it gets harder to ignore, mostly because it is not all about him but her.Mason