LOGINHayden POV Morning came without mercy.The bright light from the sun streamed into my room casting a warm glow on me. I grunted as I sat up right taking in the noises from outside my room. I could hear the footsteps of maids moving tro and fro the the mansion, the grounding scent of warm coffee thag drifted into my room. It felt like a normal morning, but to be honest, that was what unsettled me most.I sat still for a long while, staring into the darkness behind my eyelids. But my mind was already sharp and awake, as memories from last night slammed into me.Charlotte walking in.The sound of her phone hitting the floor.I could hear the way her breath had caught as she took in the scene. The silence that followed after that, heavier than any scream.That kiss wasn’t supposed to happenCecilia initiated it! She fucking caused it.. But if I was to be honest with myself I couldn't blame all of that on her. It was just as my fault as it was hers.I exhaled slowly and pushed mysel
Hayden POVThe office had never felt this quiet.Normally, I loved the quiet, I enjoyed it..But this wasn't that type.This wasn't the calm and productive silence I was used to…, but this something heavier.This silence allowed all the thoughts to flood in, almost forcing me to acknowledge it..I sat behind my desk, my hands folded tightly in front of me my cane resting against the edge of my desk where I could reach it without thinking.The feels from the chaotic night kept flashing in my mind after every three minutes.I couldn't shake if off, not today…Charlotte had been arrested under my roof.Agnes, my oldest maid… was dead.The words circled endlessly in my mind, refusing to settle.I replayed the night over and over again.Charlotte’s scream that tore through the night, the start of this.Hearing her scream so loudly, I knew something had happened.And when I arrived at the garden, the smell of fresh blood followed that's when I knew someone had died.Agnes!Agnes had worked
Charlotte’s POVThe moment I pushed the door open, the image infront of me stilled me completely.For a moment, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me.That what I was seeing wasn’t real.I hoped, I really hoped for my mental health that it was the exhaustion or the fear, or the humiliation I faced some hours hap from the paparazzi’s….I hoped it was everything I had been holding together since I saw Agnes’s lifeless body at the garden, fjag it had finally snapped something inside my head.But I blinked hardly and pulled it open, I was here, they were here…, and it was the reality.My phone slipped from my fingers and hit the marble floor with a dull clatter, the sound echoing louder than it should have in the dining room.I stared at them for a moment, unable to even speak.Hayden.Cecilia.The image of her lips pressed against his still replayed in my mind as I staggered back a little.“Hayden…” My voice came out broken and hollow. “What the hell?”The room seemed to hold its br
Cecilia Pov I sat in front of the mirror longer than necessary, running my comb through my hair slowly and deliberately and practically enjoying the way the world outside my room seemed to be unraveling without me even lifting a single finger.Talk about fate…Agnes was dead, not that cared even if she wasn't…Charlotte had been taken in by the police and it's all over the news.Her image has been tainted for good.Hayden wasn't in his right state of mind…And the house, was in total chaos.I smiled faintly at my reflection in my mirror.It was working, all of it, even better than I had imagined when I first heard the news.Charlotte getting walked out of here as an oddly satisfying sight.She had always believed that good intentions were enough to protect her from the evil in this world.She never understood that the world didn’t care how kind you were.It only cared who stood in the wreckage when the dust settled.Right now, that person wasn’t her.It was me.I tilted my head sligh
Charlotte’s POVThe InterrogationThe room was smaller than I expected, but then again, it didn't make any difference.The interrogation room has only two chairs and one desk between them.That's all.No windows or other items at all.It felt like a white room.I could hear my own breathing too clearly as I stepped inside, the sound my steps echoing loudly off the walls.The door closed behind me.I moved toward one of the chairs and sat, folding my hands in my lap because I didn’t know what else to do with them.They wouldn’t stop trembling if I let them hang free.This wasn’t real. This was just one big nightmare happening and I couldn't just wake up.That thought came first.Then another one followed immediately.Harry.My mind kept circling back to her face. The way she had looked at me this morning and then that cold smirk she had on her lips.That wasn't just me seeing thing, right?My stomach twisted violently, and I swallowed hard, pressing my tongue to the roof of my mouth.D
Charlotte’s “Lead suspect”Those words rung in my ear a moment after he said it.I was a lead suspect for killing a dear friend to me…Then it happened.I felt it before I heard it… the shift.The rooms energy suddenly snapped up like a charged wire.Hayden’s cane struck the marble floor once, and the son alone was sharp and commanding.“No.”The word cut through the chaos like a blade.Every voice stilled.The officers froze mid-step, one of them already reaching for my arm.I hadn’t even realized I was shaking until Hayden was suddenly beside me.His arm came around my shoulders, firm, protective, anchoring me to him as though I might vanish if he loosened his grip.“You will not take my wife anywhere,” he said calmly.But there was something terrifying about the quiet in his voice.“Mr. Maxwell,” the male officer began carefully, “we’re only asking her to come in for questioning.”Hayden turned his head slightly in the direction of the voice.He didn’t need to see him.“You alread







