เข้าสู่ระบบ"I can't believe you made me do that to her," Alec says when he reenters my office, a frown etched onto his face. He runs a hand through his shoulder-length black hair, sighing with frustration."Are you suggesting I should have done it myself?" I retort, arching an annoyed eyebrow.I don't get what his deal with my secretary is. Sure, she was the best, but her work contract was bound to end someday. It's just abrupt that today was that day."You should've seen her... She looked extremely sad when I told her," he says warily, settling into the chair in front of my desk.I grumble in response. "I saw her."Alec studies me with furrowed brows, probably wondering what's going on in my head. I can see the unasked questions floating around in his mind, but I still have no intention of explaining myself to him.He must figure that out because he asks, "So what now? Do you already have a replacement for Anita, or should I start searching for a new secretary for you?""I already told you not
CARLMy heart has been aching since the minute I stepped into my office three hours ago. Actually, I doubt that.If I recall correctly, I think this discomfort in my chest started right after I closed the door on Whitney.I had seen her crying, and I need no soothsayer to spell out the reason behind that for me. She was crying because I said no to her demand after she asked me for a job around the house.In my defense, I offered her something better, but she ignorantly refused it. I know the last thing she wants to do is work for me, especially in the same space. My wife totally hates my guts, but then again, that's the only job I have available for her.I wouldn't mind replacing my current assistant, Alec, with her if she happens to agree. Alec would definitely hire assassins to gun me down if he learned I traded his position for my wife as a new hobby, but the things we do for love, I guess.Love?That's funny—I don't love her. At least, not at the moment.Sure, I do care about her,
DEVIN.I sit outside the same café where I met the former volunteer before, staring through the glass at the empty table in the corner. The recovered records are inside my backpack, protected by a thick folder because I refuse to take any chances with them. Since finding the photograph, I have barely slept because every clue keeps leading to the same missing week. Carlos and Whitney are finally seeing the same pattern I see, but we still have no idea what happened inside those private meetings. The former volunteer might be the only person left who can tell us, and today I am determined not to leave without asking one final time.When he finally arrives, he looks even more nervous than before. He glances over his shoulder several times before sitting across from me, and I notice how tightly he holds his bag against his chest. I place the folder on the table but do not open it immediately. I want him to understand that I am not here to trap him or force him into saying something his is
WHITNEY.I spread Carlos's wooden box across my bedroom floor for the second time, even though I almost know every photograph and paper inside it almost by heart. The room is quiet except for the soft sound of rain tapping against my window, but my mind is anything but quiet. I keep thinking about the missing week, the private meetings, the arguments, and the fourth volunteer who seems to have been standing close to everything that happened. Something tells me we are still missing one small piece, and I cannot explain why I feel that way. I carefully lift each photograph, checking the backs and corners before placing them into neat piles."Come on," I whisper. "There has to be something."I reach the bottom of the box and find a small stack of photographs I have already seen. I almost put them aside without looking, but one picture feels slightly different from the others. It is among one of the stack of pictures from an old charity program, and its edge is bent as though someone shov
CARLOS.As I left my meeting, I cannot stop thinking about the new discoveries Devin informed me had made me. The missing week no longer feels like a mystery hidden behind locked doors. It feels alive again, as though every memory I tried to bury has started following me wherever I go. When Whitney sends me a message asking if I was done with my meeting so we could take a walk before going home, I agree almost immediately. The evening air is cool, and the streets around the park are quiet, giving us the privacy we both need. We walk side by side without speaking at first, and somehow the silence between us no longer feels like the silence of two enemies.Whitney finally breaks it.“I hope I didn't disturb your schedule or something,” she begins.“Nope,” I answer. “I was thinking of coming over to join you guys if I could.”She nods."Well, I've been thinking about everything we found today.""So have I.""I keep wondering why you never defended yourself."I let out a small laugh that
WHITNEY.I arrive at the library holding my notebook so tightly against my chest. Ever since Devin called us after meeting the former volunteer, I cannot stop thinking about the same sentence repeating inside my head. The real mystery is not the assault. It is the week before it. I walk into the quiet study room to find Devin already waiting for me. He informs me that Carlos had informed him of an important engagement, and that he had apologized for his absence.The table is covered with papers again, just like every other time, but today everything feels different because we are no longer trying to prove someone guilty. We are trying to understand exactly how the truth was buried.“What did he tell you?” I ask as I sit down. “Spare no detail, please.”Devin lets out a slow breath and rubs his tired eyes."He confirmed something we already suspected," he says. "Carlos and Jayden knew each other well. They worked together for months before everything fell apart between them."He looks
"You have until the count of five to decide," he adds, and I still stubbornly hesitate.I was hoping I'd finally come up with a wise choice during his little counting spree, but the bastard completely catches me off guard.Sighing in resignation, he declares, "Five."Motherfucker didn't even count.
"...Might as well drop the act and let me fuck you right here."He pumps one digit inside my soaked pussy and my whole body wrecks with forbidden relief.Fuck.This wasn't the plan...My erotic trance is shattered as the familiar, sharp ringtone of my bedside alarm pierces my ears.My eyes snap ope
Safe to say, my plans have tragically gone south.I've been caught by the devil — something that wasn't supposed to happen tonight.My heart pounds in my chest as I stare at the monster hovering above me. His dark eyes are menacing as he stares right back at me, intrigue written across his features
"You came for revenge. Too bad you're about to get fucked instead," he says darkly against my lips, waves of heat blazing through my traitorous body at his deep, husky voice.I stifle a moan as his hand smoothly glides down my stomach to cup my core. The sensation is intoxicating, but I hate it.I







