SABRINAMarco handed him the envelope without a word.I stood motionless across the room, hands folded neatly in front of me, chin lifted. Composed. Silent.Theo George didn’t look at me right away. He took his time. Fingers slid under the flap of the manila file like he was opening a weapon, not a résumé. Then he pulled the documents out and began flipping through the pages slowly, methodically.“What’s your name? I saw it in your files, but I want to hear it from you” Theo asked, eyes locked on mine.“Aurora. Aurora Lancaster,” I answered, voice steady, clear.His gaze narrowed. “And your pay? How much do you want? I need to know what you want, you can’t just work for me if I don’t know.”“I don’t want your money,” I said calmly. “I just want to serve the Georges.”Rory scoffed. “That’s weird.”Theo didn’t blink.Rory pressed, “So where do you live?”I turned to her, slow and deliberate, then back to Theo. “I believe you’re the one hiring me. Not your wife.”Theo smirked. He liked
The phone rang.A sharp ringtone sliced through the tension just as the security guard crouched to lift the bloodstained blanket. He flinched, hand snapping to his earpiece.“Yeah?” he said, straightening.Clarissa froze. Rory held her breath.Beneath the bundle—bleeding, broken, but still conscious—Sabrina heard everything. The voices. The panic. The lie.The call that interrupted her rescue.“Copy that,” the guard muttered before hanging up. He didn’t lift the blanket. Didn’t look again. “Let’s go.”He returned to the driver’s seat, staring ahead, never glancing back.Sabrina stayed limp. The pain was unbearable, but she didn’t move. She couldn’t. She had to wait.The car drove through winding roads and dense woodland until it stopped beside a thick stretch of bush.“Help us get her out,” Clarissa ordered.The guard didn’t budge. “Not part of the deal. I’m the driver—you said this was private.”Rory pinched her mother’s arm. “Why would you ask him that? Are you trying to get us kill
SABRINA “It was a mistake, Mom!” Rory hissed, rubbing her cheek. “But he didn’t suspect anything—yet. I’ll force Sabrina to spill everything. Their childhood, where she saved him, what happened. I’ll memorize every detail before morning, in case he asks.”Clarissa clenched her jaw, nodding slowly. “Good. That’s a better idea. But no more slip-ups. One wrong word and this entire plan falls apart.”They moved toward the window again, peeking through the curtains.“Why is that man still out there?” Clarissa asked, voice tight.Rory squinted. The man in black—the guard who had arrived with Theo—was still by the SUV, arms folded, expression unreadable. He raised a hand in a slow wave.“Maybe… maybe Theo asked him to wait?” Rory guessed.Clarissa’s mouth curled with suspicion. “Or maybe he’s watching us. Listening. Theo doesn’t trust us—yet. I need to shut Sabrina up before she ruins everything.”Without waiting for a response, Clarissa turned on her heel and stormed down the hallway.Clar
SABRINA “Rory, help her with the candle,” Clarissa said.“What for? What are you going to do with that?” I asked, stepping backward.“To burn your skin. I don’t want to see that mark on your shoulder.” Clarissa said it like she was talking about wiping dirt off a table.“No, Mom—let’s not burn it yet. Let me take a picture of it first so I can get the same one. Matching birthmarks could work, right?”I let out a humorless laugh. “You really think a fake tattoo will fool a billionaire? This is a birthmark. Yours will look like a cheap copy, just like everything else about you.”Rory’s eyes flashed with rage. “Shut up!”Clarissa reached for the candle again. “We don’t have time for this. Hold her still. We’re doing it now.”“You’re sick.” My voice was shaking, not from fear—but fury. “You’re really going to burn me? Over a man you’ve never even met?”Clarissa didn’t blink. “He’s not just a man. He’s power. And I won’t let you ruin this for us.”She lunged forward, candle in hand, but I
SABRINAI was in the kitchen washing plates when I heard the doorbell ring. Loud. Sharp. The kind of ring that tells you something important is about to happen.Clarissa’s heels tapped fast against the tiled floor as she opened the door.“Yes?” she said with that fake sweet voice she used for strangers.“I’m Mr. Hart. Legal representative of the George family. Mr. Theo George sent me here on his behalf, he wanted to be here but something came up.”I froze. Theo George? The name sounded like thunder in my chest.He was the young billionaire everyone whispered about. Powerful. Untouchable. And apparently—I am sure he is looking for a wife? Because we have no business with George and their lawyer is here because of something important.I wiped my hands and stepped into the living room just in time to see Rory strut down the stairs in her tiny shorts, smacking her gum like she owned the place.The lawyer pulled out a document. “Mr. Theo has requested the hand of the eldest daughter of the