Millicent Atkinson sits under the bright studio lights, adjusting her posture slightly as the cameras focuses on her. She is currently wearing a stunning emerald green dress that highlights her sharp features, and her signature blonde hair is neatly styled.The interviewer and talk show host, Sarah, smiles warmly at her from across the table.The screen behind them shows clips from the upcoming melodramatic movie, Broken Ties, where Millicent plays the lead role of Amanda, a lawyer navigating a complicated divorce case that mirrors her own past divorce."So, Millicent…" Sarah begins, a gleam of curiosity in her eyes, "Let’s dive into the movie. How did you get along with the staff and crew during filming? I know people can be a handful with beautiful people."Millicent gives a polite smile, smoothing out a non existent crease in her dress. "Oh, they were nothing less than fantastic and accommodating. The director, the cast, everyone was incredibly professional. We really felt like a f
In Campbell hospital, Arthur enters into the elevator alone, making sure the doors close before Charles can get on, Daisy just keeps her head down, not wanting to say anything to anyone and John stands a ways off form her, too ashamed to come too close.Inside the ICU, Bethany holds Quinn’s bruised hands and massages it gently, hoping to get the girl to sleep.As soon as the elevator pings open, Arthur stalks out of it, his fists so clenched that his knuckles are completely white.Daisy senses it first and looks up, seeing the look in his eyes, the eyes that are specifically trained on where John is standing. Down the hall, the staircase door opens and Charles bursts in, panting heavily.“Dad! Run!” he yells.John snaps into attention while Daisy jumps out to hold Arthur back.“Artur, don’t do this! Don’t make a scene here.”“You knew he cheated on you, you know he has a child outside, because the child herself called you. And here you are trying to protect him?”Daisy dives into the
The next morning meets John Worth slumped behind his medium large desk at Worth Construction. The office is quiet, weirdly so, and the usual hustle and bustle of staff has disappeared.The window blinds are drawn shut, casting long and dim shadows across the room, and the stale smell of coffee lingers in the air. His shirt is wrinkled, his shirts cuffs loosened, and his eyes are bloodshot, an obvious sign that he hasn’t left the office since the day before and did not have a good sleep or rest all through the night.He had barely slept.Not that he could anyway, with everything collapsing into shambles all around him.The papers sit untouched on his desk, the ones he is going to fill and have submitted to the company commission, filing for bankruptcy, their presence looming like a black cloud over his future.Campbell Hospital, the last lifeline of his company, had cheated them out of the project at the worst possible moment. No new contracts, no ongoing projects, nothing. And now, ba
Just as Gabriel leaves the office, closing the door behind him with a quiet click and then the call of doom, John slumps back in his chair.“The siblings played me. She certainly used Mason to do this to me. She used it to take revenge for her supposed hurt while with Charles. If she has some grudged against Charles, it is only mature to go after him, why did she use him to target me?” He keeps rambling on to himself, angry at everything including himself for not finding out about the duo’s relationship sooner.Before he can gather his thoughts, the phone on his desk rings again, startling him. Frowning, he picks it up, expecting another reminder about the bankruptcy proceedings. "Worth Construction…" He says flatly.“Mr. Worth, I presume?” A smooth voice replies on the other end.“Yes. Who’s this?” he asks, his interest piqued since it’s not a voice he has heard before.“Let’s just say I’m someone who can help you with your current situation,.” The man says, his tone slow and calm.J
The next morning, the Worth household is anything but peaceful.Arthur stands by the window, looking out at the scene unfolding outside. Reporters are swarming the front gate, the grounds, cameras flashing at even the most mundane things, some of them giving live interviews from the front of the mansion, all their voices rising in one annoying mix of questions, accusations, news and lies.Behind them all, a group of angry fans gathers not far from them, some holding up signs with frustrating slogans such as…"Justice for Millicent!""Bethany, Homewrecker!"“Arthur, Come to your senses!”Arthur clenches his jaw.This is way worse than he had expected. He thought he would have the day to do something before it all gets out of hand like this. After watching the whole interview himself the night before after Bethany had slept, he was furious to say the least.It’s not the fault of the people who are advocating for the wrong thing, at least they had no idea that the person they are doing s
Some thirty minutes later, Arthur steps into the quiet restaurant downtown, scanning the room quickly before heading toward the private booths at the back.The dim lighting and soft atmosphere offer a level of privacy he needs for this meeting.Millicent had insisted on a booth, keeping her profile low, and for once, Arthur agreed. The last thing they need is more public attention, especially with the scandal she’s already stirred up. They cannot afford to have more wrong presumptions with the one on ground causing a lot of issues already.If they are caught together, he won’t be surprised to wake up and see on the news as top news and headlines that the couple had met and planned to get back together or something like they have reinstated their marriage, bye bye to Bethany or corny headlines just like that.It will be infuriating for him but it will be heartbreaking to see and watch Bethany listen to that bull crap.As he approaches the booth, Millicent is already seated, sunglasses
Sienna paces in her small apartment, disturbed by the silence pressing down on her.A whole day and a couple of hours have passed since she last heard from Charles. She thought revealing herself to him or at least Daisy would stir things up, force some kind of reaction from the family.But nothing has come.No calls, no messages, nothing.She feels like a ghost, haunting the edges of their lives while being completely ignored. And being ignored is not what she has been looking forward to being. She wants to be seen and recognized as the one who reveals what kind of a monster John is but now his family is paying her no heed.Her phone sits on the table, taunting her, just like it had the day before. She stares at it, her mind racing. She can’t just wait around anymore. If she’s going to get what she wants, she has to act.Taking a deep breath, Sienna picks up her phone and dials Daisy’s number. It rings once, twice… but there’s no answer. She frowns, biting her lip in frustration.Is D
Daisy sits beside Quinn’s hospital bed, her heart heavy with worry and every other apprehensive emotion. The mixture of everything that’s going on is unhealthy for a forty year old woman. She holds her daughter’s limp hand, gently stroking it as if her touch alone could heal the wounds life has dealt them.The rhythmic beeping of the machines fills the room, but all Daisy can focus on is the phone in her lap because of the number that had called her earlier.Her thumb hovers over the screen, debating whether to call back. She had tried to push it aside, to ignore the questions clawing at her mind, but something about that call gnaws at her.She needs to know the truth. She needs answers. She claims to be John’s daughter after all, she needs to know if it’s true enough to know what the next step is.The bed had been cold all night.She glances down at Quinn, her voice soft and filled with regret. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I’ve failed you in so many ways. I’ve failed everyone.”Quinn do
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