'Memento Mori.' - We all must die. But some die too early. RIP, Sienna Minton. You fought for what killed you. Wednesday, February 5th, 2025. Oh, and Happy New Month to you guys... Will you be my Valentine?
The emergency responders move quickly, but their grim expressions don’t need to tell Daisy everything she already knows.Sienna lies still on the cold apartment floor, her blood soaking into the tiles. One of the paramedics turns to Daisy, who now stands nearby, trembling, her mind in a fog. Someone had wrapped a blanket around her since she had been trembling heavily just before.“I’m sorry, ma’am.” The paramedic says gently, but his words still hit Daisy like a punch to the chest. “She’s gone.”And yet something still lingered. Isn’t it just a little bit fishy that the day she reveals herself as his daughter, she turns up dead? And the same man supposedly killed her mum, because why will a dying person lie about something as grave as a murder? If he killed the mother, he could have killed the daughter too, right?Daisy swallows hard, her mind spinning. Everything around her feels distant, muffled, as if she’s trapped in a nightmare. She can’t make sense of anything. Sienna is dead.
Bethany walks briskly through the hospital corridors, her heels tapping lightly against the tiled floor. Her heart is heavy as she approaches Quinn’s room. She had been meaning to visit sooner but got caught up in her responsibilities at the office, not even including the throng of people still protesting outside, calling her names and even hurling things at her staff. Well, she took care of those ones and no one dared throw anything.It'll all soon be over anyway, it’s just abuse of power by someone mature enough to know better than that. She has absolute trust in Arthur.Which is why she left her company, although Jade had nagged her into a cap, change of clothes and a face mask, and then made her leave through the back. Something had nagged at her all morning, and she felt compelled to check on Quinn since the state she left her the previous day hadn’t been one she got to say bye for.And she is yet to find out why Quinn had insisted on seeing her.As she reaches the room, one of t
At the police station, Detectives Marsh and Officer Halloway sit in a small, dimly lit briefing room, reviewing the latest updates on Sienna Minton’s case. Marsh, the older and more experienced of the two, taps his pen against the table rhythmically, his mind already at the crime scene before they’ve even left the station.“We’ve been assigned to this one.” Marsh says, sliding the case file across the table toward Halloway. “Get familiar with it. We’re heading to the scene once we get authorization.”Halloway, younger and still relatively new to homicide investigations, nods as he picks up the file. “What do we know so far sir?”“Victim’s name is Sienna Minton.” Marsh begins, leaning back in his chair. “Found dead in her apartment. Blunt force trauma to the back of the head. She managed to reach out to Daisy Worth through her phone before she died, asking for help. We need to keep an eye out for that phone at the scene since there is no record of one being found there when the body wa
*Previous day.**Few minutes to Sienna’s tragedy.*John Worth stumbles down the narrow staircase after shoving Sienna away from him just seconds before, his feet dragging as if they’re weighted down by a stone, one that is as heavy and real as the one that has just hit him. His breath comes in sharp, uneven gasps, and he grips the banister tightly to steady himself. His mind is a whirlwind, the revealing that Sienna is his daughter colliding with the horrifying truth that she now knows what he did to Anita.No young girl, much less a child to the victim, should know about things like that.Struggling and finally reaching the bottom of the stairs, John nearly trips as he staggers toward his car, his drunken haze starting to clear from his eyes. He should not have had so much drinks with Kevin before but that man had kept insisting while chattering on and on about plans when his company is restored.Fumbling for his car keys, he manages to unlock the door and slumps into the driver’s sea
Kevin Fitzpatrick walks into the towering glass building of Unique Auditing with a feeling of purpose. His steps are confident as opposed to the ones he had when he had been thrown out of Campbell, as he makes his way through the lobby, exchanging nods with a few familiar faces, but he wastes no time in heading straight for the elevator. His destination is clear, being a supposed VVIP here, he is headed to the top floor, the CEO’s office.The elevator doors slide shut, and Kevin feels the weight of the briefcase in his hand. It’s not just paperwork, it’s a lot of leverages, plans, and promises and even threats and evidences that could change the future of the entire Campbell Conglomerate, not in an exactly positive way, that is.As the elevator rises, he reflects on the slight game he’s playing. He’s already secured John Worth’s company, and now it’s time to report on the progress to the one who is sponsoring all of his current lifestyle, safe to say his current boss.The elevator ding
Bethany stands in the hospital corridor, her hand resting on the elevator button. She had previously planned to head over to Arthur’s in just a random visit but then there’s the distance and it can’t be arranged just randomly like that so instead of going to her own office to face those insisting protesters, something in her gut tells her to check on her brother, Mason, instead.She’s already at the hospital anyway, so it wouldn’t hurt to drop by, he’d probably be even more disappointed to hear that she came by the hospital and did not check up on him. After all, it had been a priority to visit but she had never gotten around and visited his office, and with everything going on, she just feels the need to see how he’s holding up.They haven’t met since that night he ruined her dinner.And it’s been a while since she has been able to visit her mum too, even though she makes to call her every day, she should ask about her from Mason as well and help her pass on her regards, she should g
“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
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