LOGINAlliyah Agustin“What is it that makes you come all the way here and risk yourself—my plans, everything you’ve been working on?” I asked, unable to hide the tremor in my voice.How could I not feel nervous in a situation like this? For goodness’ sake.“It’s about your parents. We found them…but it seems like they’re not really your parents,” he said, handing me a video.For a moment, I couldn’t process his words. My mind refused to catch up, so I simply pressed play.The footage showed them inside an infirmary—bright lights, sterile walls, and an unsettling stillness that made my chest tighten. They were answering questions, but something about it felt wrong. Their voices were flat, their expressions distant, almost hollow.It was as if they couldn’t remember anything that had happened. Not a single trace of recognition, not even a flicker of familiarity. It was strange—no, more than strange. It was deeply, disturbingly wrong.And the way they spoke, the way they moved…it was obvious.
Alliyah AgustinThere was a long, suffocating silence—thick enough to feel, heavy enough to press against my chest.No one spoke. No one even dared to shift too much in their seats, as if the slightest movement might shatter whatever fragile control we still had left. It felt as though every person in the room was holding their breath, carefully choosing what to say next, weighing each word before it could even leave their lips. One wrong sentence…and everything might unravel beyond repair.Chester’s gaze flickered between Kass and me, uncertainty tightening his expression before he let out a slow, heavy sigh—the kind that carried far more meaning than any explanation he could offer.“Didn’t you ask me before why I was speaking to your parents?” he began cautiously, his voice measured, almost too careful.My gaze sharpened, but I didn’t interrupt. I simply stared at him, unmoving, waiting for him to continue—waiting to see where this would go.“It was about that,” he said, quieter no
Alliyah AgustinBefore that man left, I noticed how every employee seemed visibly relieved—like a heavy weight had been lifted off their shoulders. And for some reason, that only made my anger burn even stronger.“Why didn’t anyone tell me that someone new was hired here?” I demanded, my voice sharp as I scanned each of their faces.“Especially you,” I added, pointing directly at the person who was most likely the acting manager. “Shouldn’t you be the first one to inform me about something like that?”“I—I thought you already knew, ma’am…since it has your parents’ signatures,” they explained nervously.I inhaled deeply, trying to steady myself, but the explanation only made everything worse. My chest tightened, and my thoughts began to spiral.Before I could say anything else, someone gently pulled me away from the scene, giving me space to breathe.“Alliyah, you’re tense. Chill,” the voice said softly.I nodded, though my breathing remained uneven. I tried to process everything all a
Alliyah AgustinAfter we arrived at the clinic, the doctors examined her carefully and eventually handed us several prescriptions—ointments, creams, and other medications she might need for the next few days.Once everything was settled, we returned to the car. The air outside was cooler now, the sun slightly dimmer as clouds slowly gathered in the sky. I asked her to drive me to the locations of my parents’ businesses.Satana glanced at me curiously while starting the engine, clearly intrigued by the sudden request. As she drove, she began asking questions about it, and I could tell from the tone of her voice that she was genuinely impressed.“Wow, so like…your parents own the only mailing factory in this city, and they also sell parts for numerous cars?” Satana commented as she kept her eyes on the road. “Don’t you know that’s rare?”I turned to look at her intently, my brows furrowing in confusion. “My parents are the only mailing company in this city? That seems impossible.”“It i
Alliyah AgustinI sneaked inside Chester’s study room once again, hoping that this time I would find something more useful than ridiculous books about sex positions.Carefully, I checked every shelf one by one, my eyes scanning the spines of the books and decorative boxes that filled the room. My gaze lingered on the corners and edges, especially the ones that looked slightly out of place. I was specifically looking for a secret compartment—somewhere he might have hidden documents about his dealings in the underground.The study smelled faintly of polished wood and expensive cologne. Everything inside it looked neat, organized, and harmless.But I knew better.My hands gently brushed against the desk standing at the center of the room. My fingers moved slowly along its edges until I suddenly felt something uneven beneath the surface.A smirk slowly formed on my lips. “I knew it. There’s something here,” I murmured quietly.I examined the underside of the desk more carefully until I f
Claire CynthIt had been several days since the incident at that vessel, yet the memory of it still lingered vividly in my mind like smoke that refused to fade away.The boat had exploded after several minutes, the sound of the blast echoing across the water like thunder tearing through the sky. Flames had swallowed parts of the vessel, and chaos followed shortly after. Some people were injured, screaming in pain, while others scrambled desperately to survive, and there were bodies—lifeless bodies—that probably sank into the dark depths of the ocean once the wreckage collapsed beneath the waves.Even now, thinking about it made my chest tighten.Because of that incident, I couldn’t bring myself to return to the organization where I had been working undercover. Something in my instincts warned me against it. There was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that perhaps someone there had already recognized me or at least suspected something.If that were the case, returning would on
Alliyah Agustin-AstleyThe letters were supposed to distract me.That was the plan—to drown my thoughts in ink and paper, to bury the questions clawing at my chest, to silence the shameful fear that I might have lost something precious simply because I had been careless, drunk, and far too vulnerab
Alliyah Agustin-AstleyFor a moment, neither of us moved.The night was quiet around us, the porch light casting a soft glow over his face, and I was close enough to see the slight hitch in his breathing.“Alliyah…” he murmured again, but this time my name didn’t sound like a warning. It sounded li
Alliyah Agustin-AstleyThe event was a success.I smiled as I shook hands with everyone who had attended on such short notice. Despite everything that had happened, Alexander made sure they promised to come again next time. We apologized repeatedly for the blackout and the sudden disruption, but m
Alliyah Agustin-AstleyMy chest tightened at Alexander’s words, my thoughts spiraling back to that morning—him standing there shirtless, me wrapped in his oversized polo, waking up to find him sleeping beside my bed.He never actually explained what happened.Alexander kept saying it was payback th