Shane’s POV “Mr. Shane.” I looked up when Dr. Richard called from the autopsy room. My fists were already balled before I got inside. The forensic pathologist glanced at me, his gloves smeared. “We found something.” “What?” I asked, hearing him flip the page to the next and read whatever was on it. “There were traces of poison in your father's blood. It wasn't fast-acting. That means it was slow.” “I know what it means. Can you get to the point already?” My voice thundered. The doctor didn't flinch, but continued reading the file and closed it. “The poison acted as very slowly masking it as a natural death. That was what caused his heart attack. I bet whoever did this has been doing for years but that wasn't strong enough to kill him so quickly.” My jaw clenched so tight I thought my teeth would snap. “You said poison?” “Yes. It mimics heart failure. Anyone without detailed tests would have ruled it natural.” I slammed my fist into the metal table. The echo shot through th
Shane’s POV“Mr. Shane.”I looked up when Dr. Richard called from the autopsy room. My fists were already balled before I got inside.The forensic pathologist glanced at me, his gloves smeared. “We found something.”“What?” I asked, hearing him flip the page to the next and read whatever was on it. “There were traces of poison in your father's blood. It wasn't fast-acting. That means it was slow.”“I know what it means. Can you get to the point already?” My voice thundered. The doctor didn't flinch, but continued reading the file and closed it. “The poison acted as very slowly masking it as a natural death. That was what caused his heart attack. I bet whoever did this has been doing for years but that wasn't strong enough to kill him so quickly.”My jaw clenched so tight I thought my teeth would snap. “You said poison?”“Yes. It mimics heart failure. Anyone without detailed tests would have ruled it natural.”I slammed my fist into the metal table. The echo shot through the room. “W
QMelissa's POV It was me at the club some months ago, rocking a man with a very low dress that revealed my lower bum. My hands pulled down the dress in the video and I kept twerking. “Shit!” I hissed. I had been so drunk that night that I forgot myself. “Who took this damn video?”Then I remembered I had been with Petra and she was the one cheering me on the video. She had been the one to take the video but how was it on the internet at the moment? I texted her back. “Petra, did you send anyone that video of us at the club?”She didn't text back and my heart raced. “Petra!!!” I typed back and yet she didn't respond. I could see she had read it and it made me angry. “Petra. I can see that you have read my messages. Answer me.”“I sent it only to my boyfriend, I promise. I didn't mean for it to go, this public. I'm sorry,’’ she replied and I groaned. Well, now it was. How could she? Then I paused the video and slid my fingers on the screen. It took me to another post and it was ba
Melissa’s POV“Next model, please.”I blinked. My robe was still tied, makeup half done, and I stared at the assistant who brushed past me like I was invisible.“What do you mean next?” I asked sharply. “I haven’t even changed into the outfit.”The woman didn’t look at me. She waved her clipboard. “You’re not needed anymore. Management brought someone else.”Someone else?The door opened and in came a younger girl—barely out of her teens—with hair shining like she’d stepped out of a shampoo commercial. She looked at me once, smirked, then turned her face toward the lights like she already owned them.I stepped forward. “Excuse me, but I was booked for this shoot. Why is she here?”No answer. People just moved around, fixing lights, carrying clothes, avoiding my eyes like I’d grown horns.“Hello?” I snapped, louder. “Does anyone care to explain why I’m being pushed aside like garbage?”One of the makeup artists finally sighed. “Melissa, please don’t make a scene.”“A scene?” My laugh c
Shane's POV“Can you believe him?” Lucy's voice rose. “He's such a ….”She was struggling to find the words in her anger, and I sat still, watching her.“I can't believe he would go that far.” Then she scoffed. “I mean, I should, since the only thing he's been trying to do since I came into this house is kill me or you.”“And all that nonsense about Melissa helping him set me up with you in that hotel is just crazy. He's trying to pin everything on her.”“What if he's telling the truth?” I asked.“What?” Lucy said, looking at me, surprised.“What if he's not lying,” I repeated calmly.“How can you say that?” Lucy asked, her voice going softer.“Look at it this way,” I began. “You were brought to the party by Melissa, were you not?”“Yes, but she's…”“How long have you two been friends?” I asked, cutting her words off.“A couple of years. We lost contact for a while, then met again over a year ago at the audition center for Zhao's film.”“I see,” I said calmly. “Did you get it?”“Well,
Dwayne’s POV“What? Speechless, aren’t you?” I asked, enjoying everything. I shook my head and sipped my cup of coffee. “Instead of yelling at me, tell Melissa to tell you the truth.”“Melissa wouldn’t…”“You’re a disappointment. I thought you would be smarter than this, Lucy. She wouldn’t what?”“Dwayne, watch your mouth,” Shane said in a warning tone.I turned to him and smiled. “Or what? I let you hit me because of how I treated you in the past. If you hit me again, I won’t hold back,” I said and checked my wristwatch.The time was exactly ten minutes. I took a long sip and my phone buzzed. I didn’t need to check who it was. I picked it up, balanced my cup in one hand, and answered the call. The voice on the other line was clean. “We’re here, boss.”“I’ll be outside,” I said, finished my coffee, then stood up. Glancing at them one more time. “You should ask yourself why I pulled away from claiming the company, brother.”“I thought it was because you were incompetent,” Lucy spat.“T