LOGINEleanor“The defendant is hereby sentenced to fifteen years at the State Correctional Facility for Women, without the possibility of parole for the first ten years.” The judge’s voice resounded in the quiet courtroom. He continued speaking, reading out terms and dates, but I barely heard another word.Fifteen years.I sat frozen at the defense table, my hands resting flat on the polished wood. My lawyer, Mr. Richard, sighed beside me and leaned over to whisper something about filing an immediate motion, but I didn’t even turn my head.Instead, I looked over my shoulder toward the gallery.The courtroom was packed with reporters, onlookers, and former business associates who had come to watch the fall of Eleanor Sterling.And there, in the very front row, sat Jason. He looked terrible. His hair was messy, his dark suit rumpled, and dark circles shadowed his eyes. He was the last person I expected to see here. He had lost his position as CEO, his reputation, his whole life. Yet he sat t
EleanorI sat in my usual armchair in the living room, holding a mug of tea that had gone cold hours ago. The house was quiet as a graveyard.I stared at the empty fireplace, too exhausted to think about anything else.I knew I was going to be convicted. After everything that had come out in court, there was hardly any hope left. The evidence, the numbers, the expert witnesses, everything. It was only a matter of time before the jury delivered its verdict. They couldn’t even get one person to testify to my character, not even my own daughter. My plea to Jasmine had fallen on deaf ears; there was nothing left for me.I had no energy left to think of a way out.I heard the sound of footsteps coming down the staircase, and as they drew closer, I knew it was Victoria.“You’re always sitting there, looking sad and defeated,” she said as she walked up to me. “Drinking that stupid tea…” She scoffed. “You are miserable, you and Jason. You act like they have won. You don’t fight back.” She sho
SebastianThe drive to Saint Jude’s took less than fifteen minutes, but it felt much longer. Beside me, Marcus kept his eyes on the road, his hands gripping the steering wheel.Soon, we walked through the doors of the hospital, stopping at the records desk, where a young nurse was busy typing on a computer. She looked up, her eyes widening slightly when she saw us. Her gaze lingered on me, looking me over from head to toe before she swallowed and lowered her gaze.“Can I help you gentlemen?” she asked, her voice softening.“We’re here to see Leo Simmons,” Marcus said, keeping his tone even. “Room 204.”The nurse frowned. “Leo? Visiting hours for non-family ended an hour ago. And besides, Nina didn’t leave anyone on his approved visitor list.”“We’re close friends of Nina’s,” Marcus said smoothly, leaning slightly over the counter. “She asked us to check in on him.”She hesitated, glancing at me again before sighing.“He’s been completely unresponsive all afternoon. You really shouldn’
SebastianI stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows in my study, staring out, watching the rain hit the pavement below. The house was dead quiet. Jasmine was still upstairs in our bedroom, buried under the covers in the dark. She had managed to eat a few bites, and it was such a relief to me.There was a knock on the door, and then it opened. Marcus walked in. He looked exhausted. His eyes were bloodshot, his sleeves were rolled up his arms, and he had a folder tucked under his arm. He walked over to my desk and dropped the folder on it.“The investigator got back to me an hour ago,” Marcus said. “We managed to track the truck that hit Sasha Monroe’s car.”I turned away from the window and walked back to the desk. “Did you find the driver?”“No.” Marcus shook his head. “The truck was stolen from a construction yard three miles outside the city, two days before the crash. It was abandoned in a junkyard about an hour after the accident. Whoever drove it wiped everything clean. No fingerpr
EleanorI sat in the back seat of my car, staring out the window, my lawyer’s voice coming through the car speakers. I didn’t care what he was saying. Today had been another brutal lashing in court. The prosecution had brought in a financial forensic specialist whose testimony tore through my defense line by line, and my attorney hadn’t even been able to offer a decent rebuttal.Worst of all was the jury. I had looked at their faces while the numbers were being read. I saw the judgment in their eyes. I knew what their verdict would be before the trial even ended. They hated me. They hated women like me, women who had power, women who looked like they were above the rules. They were going to send me off to prison unless I did something about it. Which was why I was here…“Driver,” I said quietly, interrupting my lawyer on the speakerphone. “Stop the car up ahead.”Across the street, on the pavement, Jasmine was jogging at a steady pace. She wore an oversized grey hoodie with the hood p
JasmineI lay on my side in the dark bedroom, staring blankly at the wall. My eyes were swollen, and my vision was blurry from unshed tears. I hadn't moved in hours. I hadn't eaten anything, even though Sebastian had fussed and insisted. I hadn't spoken more than three words since they discharged me from the hospital.The silence in the room was loud. I suddenly felt so alone, unlike anything I had ever felt in my life. Every time I closed my eyes, I was back in that moment, struggling on the couch, feeling the terrible pain in my stomach. I was back there, imagining how much pain my child had been in. She was so close. In only a few months, I would have held her in my arms.My lips slowly curled into a sad smile despite myself. I was still adamant about calling our child a girl. Now I'd never know who won the bet.I sniffled, fresh tears spilling over my cheeks and onto the pillow. My lips quivered as I covered my mouth to muffle the sobs. I felt so drained inside.The mattress dippe
JasmineThe car was still on the inside, but outside, it was the complete opposite. The rain lashed against the bulletproof windows, blurring my view of the city.And then I finally broke.The cold mask I had worn in the penthouse and on the driveway crumbled. I pulled my knees to my chest, buried
JasmineThe camera on my phone didn’t shake. I held it perfectly steady, watching the little red ‘LIVE’ icon blink. Thanks to the master access credentials I’d quietly retained after helping design parts of Sterling Media’s shareholder communications network years ago, this wasn’t just going to my
JasmineThe background jazz music was soothing as it wafted through the large dining hall. I found myself humming along until…“Another glass of the Dom Pérignon, Madame Sterling?” the waiter asked in a thick French accent, tilting the bottle. “Mr. Sterling is delayed, but there is no reason the ni
Jason“Are you that dumb, Jason?” Eleanor screamed. This was the first time I had seen her in a state of disarray. She was always perfect, not a hair out of place. Now, her clothes were damp, and her hair was sticking to her forehead as she paced the marble floor of the foyer. The storm outside was







