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Prologue
Tanggal publikasi:
2026-04-22 00:03:23LORETTA
I am a good girl.
I mean….I was a good girl. Until today.
My name is Loretta. Loretta Rea Sterling. The first child of George Sterling. Being born into the Sterlings family meant many things: power, generational wealth, fame, you name it
But being born as a girl meant only one thing, my life will never be mine. Not fully at least.
So I learnt to be invisible. For eighteen years, I mastered the art of being unnoticed.
Quiet daughter.
Dutiful child
Obedient niece.
Good, Sweet, agreeable Loretta.
It worked perfectly until a few weeks ago, when fate placed me somewhere I should never have been in
My father's office.
I witnessed something I shouldn't have, I heard a conversation that wasn't meant for my ears, and now... I'm standing in a courtroom full of people eager to hear my testimony.
“This way Miss” the kind officer says to me. I nodded silently and follow
I have never had so many eyes on me at once before, even the judge watches from above like an eager executioner as I make my way to the witness box
But none of these people terrifies me as much as...Him
“Don't look Loretta. Don't look” I whispered to myself like a mantra, taking my seat in the witness box
The hairs on the back of my neck stands.
He's watching me.
‘I can't do this. I can't do....” I'm about to turn back when...
“Miss Sterling,” A loud voice cuts through the murmurs in the courtroom. “Please proceed to tell the court what you witnessed that night.”
A heavy ball of lead clogs my throat. I try to pry my lips open, my brain sends the signal but my body fails to respond. I can't open my mouth let alone speak. Cold sweat trickles down my spine as I sit there in frozen silence
God not now. Please not now
I can't mess this trial up. There was too much at stake, too much to lose
Abel...Abel could die.
“I....I...” My voice shakes and my vision blurs with the tears I was holding back. “I saw him”
The silence that hangs in the air of the courtroom is so thick, I could almost reach out and touch it. Camera shutters clicks, a few people whisper and I swallow before continuing
“H...He picked up the paper knife on my father's desk, and stabbed him with it”
Collective gasps echo throughout the courtroom, and inside me something breaks. Something irreversible
The pricking sensation at the back of my neck intensifies. My entire body freezes out of fear
One mistake. All it would take was one mistake and everything would go up in shambles
I would lose something more important than my family's empire.
My fingers tremble against my thigh and I quickly hide them before anyone notices
The prosecutor looks behind me, towards where He's seated. I don't look back. I don't dare to
“Miss Sterling here has testified against you, saying you are responsible for the near murder of George Sterling." He pauses carefully “What do you say about this Mr Fitzpatrick?”
Silence
The silence was louder than anything I have ever heard. If the bead of sweat on my forehead dropped to the floor, I was certain everyone would hear it
The gravel strikes thrice. Bells ring in my ears and the loud silence threatens to turn me deaf
“Elion Fitzpatrick, You are hereby sentenced to three years in prison...”
I tune out the rest of the sentence. I can't hear it. I can't breathe. I cannot live with myself after what I have done
An officer approaches, guiding me out of the witness box, but as he does, I make the biggest mistake by following my intuition. I turn and look
At him
Elion
And my heart forgets how to beat
The courtroom has erupted into chaos around him. Lawyers begin leaning in, speaking fast and making calls, some reporters are surging forward
But all through it, Elion Fitzpatrick sits completely still, His huge frame filling up the seat, larger than the courtroom, bigger than life
And his eyes....
His eyes were focused on me. Not the lawyer trying to get his attention, not the reporters bombarding him with questions, not even the officer who was approaching him with handcuffs
Me.
Quiet, agreeable Loretta
Evil, wicked Loretta
My legs wobble, and oxygen thins around me.
Those coal black eyes give away the emotion his calm, unamused face doesn't; Anger. Boundless, unfathomable anger
If eyes alone could kill, my throat would have been slit open and I'd be dying a slow torturous death by now
I tear my gaze away from him and run out of the courtroom while I still can. I don't look back, but I know he's watching me
Just as I know with a chilling, bone-deep certainty that this wasn't over. Elion Fitzpatrick was going to find me, and he'd make me pay
It was only a matter of time
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LORETTA “Rea!”His voice was muffled by the loud thoughts ringing in my head. The cool night air brushed my skin like a tease. I heard another sound of a door slamming shut behind meI didn't turn, I just kept on walking.My legs felt heavy, and my heels unbalanced, my body swayed, and I couldn't see past three inches in front of me, not with how tears had misted my eyes“Loretta,” My name came out rough, none of his usual composure left in it. “Get back in the car” I couldn't just hear his voice; I could feel it beside me. Still, I didn't turn. “No”He caught my wrist before I could take another step, not roughly, not in the manner the man at the club had, just firmly enough to stop me.I froze, my step halting immediately. The warmth of Elion circled me as his hand landed on my shoulder, slowly turning me till I was looking into his face. “You're crying,” he said quietly.I laughed through the tears, my heart threatening to implode. “And you care?” His grip loosened immediately.
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LORETTA The tires screeched against the road, and my hand shot out to brace myself as the car jerked forward and finally lurched to a stop.“What was that?” I panted, my heart beat doubling The sound of the engine being turned off answered me. Elion's hands were still on the steering wheel, but his expression was so hard he was damm near snapping “Say that again,” he ordered very quietly.I was still breathing harshly, but I forced myself to calm down. “The man said Beatrice had sent him with a message for me.” My heart was still hammering from the swerve, “That's all” I could see his knuckles go white. “What else did he say exactly? Think harder, Loretta, there must have been something else”My head recoiled back in utter shock. “Excuse me, I am not one of your employees that you can interrogate.” My voice came as sharp as I intended, the three weeks of back and forth, of exhaustion, of secrets was finally catching up with me. “I need you to tell me who she is and why I might be i
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LORETTA Now that all was over, I looked down at my wrist, at the place where the man had grabbed meI rubbed the skin lightly.“Where were you tonight?” My question sounded loud in the quiet of Elion's car. The city slipped past the windows in streaks of gold and white, the silence broken only by the low hum of the engine and the occasional swish of passing tires on the road.When he came, I noticed, but he and Harlan had been dressed for a night out. Now, it wouldn't have been suspicious, but Elion was hardly one for casual outings. It has to be something business-related, and if it was, there was a reason why he chose tonight, when I wouldn't be involved “I had an impromptu meeting,” He answered with his eyes firmly placed on the road. I settled back into the seat, watching him from the corner of my eye. “What was this meeting about?"For a second, I saw the faint tick in his jaw, the way his shoulders grew taut, but all it took was a second, and he returned to normalcy. It was s
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