Chapter 1

Larisa's POV

“Congratulations, Larisa,” one of the guests said as they walked in and shook my hands. “Benjamin’s about to make waves in the business world.”

“Thank you,” I replied gingerly, barely able to contain my excitement. Tonight was the night Benjamin and I had worked so hard for, and I couldn't have been prouder.

It had been a tough few weeks working so hard on that presentation, proving to Mr. Paterson why Benjamin deserved to take the reins instead of his elder brother, and everything had been worth it in the end. The announcement has been made already, and by Monday Benjamin would officially take over Paterson Financial Group.

I turned to look across the hall and spotted Benjamin standing near the window, his face illuminated by the soft glow of his phone.

His eyes were narrowed in concentration, and then, as if sensing my gaze, he looked up. He gave me a smile, no, not a real one, it looked forced, hollow.

Just as I was about mouthing what's wrong? He turned around and headed upstairs.

Fifteen minutes had passed and there was still no sign of Benjamin.

“Excuse me,” I said, touching the hand of one of the board members who was in the middle of a story. “I'll be right back.” I didn't want to be rude, but I needed to know what was going on.

Making my way upstairs, I went straight to the first place I thought he'd be, his room.

“Babe?” I called out softly, as I twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

The room was empty.

“Where did he go?” I mumbled under my breath, closing the door behind me.

Making my way down the hallway, I noticed the study door was slightly ajar.

“Benjamin?” I pushed the door open fully and froze. “Oh my God!” I gasped, rushing forward but stopping just shy of the blood pooling out of Lara's lifeless body.

“Larissa, I–” Benjamin's voice cracked and he looked at me, his hands trembling and his face pale. “I– I–” he stammered, shaking his head as if trying to clear his thoughts.

“Benjamin, why is she…. How did this happen?”

He buried his head into his hands and took a deep, shaky breath. “She tried forcing herself on me, and–”

“What?” I stared at him with wide eyes before my gaze dropped over to Lara.

“She….she came to me a few months ago and... confessed her feelings for me. I told her—” He paused and swallowed hard as though the words were bitter.

“But you never mentioned anything about this,” my voice came out thin.

He ran a hand through his hair, visibly struggling. “I didn’t think it was worth mentioning. She apologized and said she understood after I told her I loved you,” he continued. “Everything went back to normal...” he trailed off. “But tonight she... God, I didn’t mean for this to happen!”

“Okay, okay," I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself and also calm him. “Babe, it was an accident, okay? I understand. We’ll just tell the police the truth—”

“No!” Benjamin shouted, startling me. He got on his feet, his hands raised as if to ward off the idea. “The press is here, Larissa; do you understand that? One headline and my reputation is gone if this gets out...”

“Benjamin, this was an accident!” I insisted, reaching for his arm. “They’ll understand once you explain.”

“You don’t get it!” he said with wide eyes as he backed away, momentarily running his hands through his hair in frustration. “Everything will be destroyed,” he mumbled. “All those nights working to get my father’s approval– it's over. The board will pull out. My enemies would have a field day dragging my reputation through the mud.”

“But Benjamin, Lara is dead; what are we supposed to do? Hide her body and act like this never happened?’ I protested, my voice trembling as I fought the urge to scream. “This is too big to cover up!”

Benjamin’s expression softened, and he took a step closer. “Larissa, listen to me,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper as he reached for my hand. “I love you; I love you so much, and I…. I need you right now. This can ruin our chance of a perfect future together. I need you to protect our future; it's only you I can trust.”

I took a step back, my mind racing with different thoughts. “What are you saying, Benjamin?”

He took my hand in his. “Larissa,” he muttered. “I need you to take the fall.”

“What?!” I yanked my hands away, shaking my head as I moved backward. “Are you insane? Benjamin, no,” I said firmly. “This… everyone would understand. You need to explain–”

“Larissa, listen to me.” He grabbed my arms a little too tight and pulled me closer, his face inches from mine. “This is just a temporary sacrifice. For us, for our future. I’ll hire the best lawyer in the country. By Monday, when the company’s officially mine, we’ll be able to fix this. You’ll be out before you know it.”

Benjamin’s words hit me like tons of bricks. My mind struggled to grasp what he was asking

“How can you ask me to take the fall for something I didn’t do?” I whispered, fighting back the tears that threatened to fall. “I didn’t… I didn’t do anything.”

“Exactly.” He said softly like this was just a walk in the park. “Which is why they’ll believe it was a mistake. You’ll say she surprised you, and it just happened. The police will go easy on you. You’ll be out in no time.”

I parted my lips to respond, but the sound of the door creaking open behind us made us both freeze.