"What are you doing here?" The manager demanded as he pulled Evie back to sit on the bed by her collar, his brows pulling together in a frown as he eyed Marissa suspiciously.Merissa pulled her lips together in a thin line while fidgeting with the paper in between her fingers. "I need to speak with Evie," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. Hearing her words, the manager's frown deepened, almost scowling at her."Why would you need to speak with her?" He asked, and Merissa tried to step into the room, only to be stopped by a glaring Mila."Stay out, I'm sure you can tell you are not welcome here by just looking around," she sneered angrily.Merissa scoffed and stepped back as she stretched out the paper in her hands towards Mila, who took it with a suspicious expression."What's this about?" Mila demanded coldly after reading the letter handed over to her."What is it?" The manager asked curiously as Mila handed the letter to him. His eyes darkened with rage as he scanned t
All team four members sat in the girl's room, fully packed and ready to go, as they huddled together watching the press conference organised for Evie and her team to apologise and clarify the scandal on the internet."I can't believe Merissa would throw them under the bus like that; she should have also been left accountable for her crimes," Celina voiced in dissatisfaction as she heard Evie's apology to Merissa."I'm surprised Evie agreed to be her scapegoat in the first place; no matter how far the scandal has affected her, she's not supposed to just succumb that way. The Thompson family is much more famous than the Smiths, so it should be the other way around," Light joined in."Merissa is cunning," Lily voiced calmly, "I'm sure she has something on Evie or someone on their team, and she blackmailed them with it. Having her reputation sullied before she goes to the nationals is more like a death trap for her," she explained as she put away her phone, having had enough of the insinc
"With what you've explained, we will have to make a proposal to the real estate company to revise their designs," Mr. Wallace said. "It's not compatible with the software we have developed," he added."I don't think so," Director Alvin countered. "This project is just a support project for the villa project; why would they need to change the main project just to accommodate the support project?" He asked with a deep crease in his brows and an accusing glare directed at Mr. Wallace.Being one of Frederick's men, there was no way he could readily agree to have them change the villa design just to accommodate Mark's tech project. If that happened, Mark and his team would take credit for the whole project, and the people—both the higher-ups and their consumers—wouldn't acknowledge the design of the villa; instead, they'd all be focused on the security project."Is there a reason why you are so against it, Director Alvin?" Mr. Wallace asked knowingly, and Director Alvin gritted his teeth.
{Now that you are done with that impromptu fashion show, it's time you get back to the main task at hand, no more breaks until it's completed,} the system voiced as Lily flopped on her dorm bed, exhausted from the long flight back home just after touring the whole city."Aren't you going to let me rest, at least?" She grumbled on the pillow. {You'll have enough time to rest in the future, but for now, you can't. The clothing businesses you started need a lot of boosting, and then there is the Hamilton family that is silently making their move to expand.}Hearing the name of her ex-family mentioned, all forms of tiredness drained from her eyes as she hurriedly sat up.Although she had been away on the fashion trip to Paris and had been busy trying to keep up with the show, she had also been planning her life and how she'd make her comeback and sweep her ex-family off the market in a grand way, leaving them no room to stand again.It was inevitable that she would need strong allies as
Once everything online has been settled, Lily goes to sleep only to be woken up by the constant buzzing of her phone.She groaned heavily with her eyes still closed as she picked it up."It's better be something important for waking me up," she threatened subtly, and Alana chuckled."Of course it is important! The online store is buzzing with orders, and now we have a lot of work to do," Alana reported excitedly. "In just a few hours since you made the post, we already have ten orders for dresses and summer wear," she reported as Lily got up with a yawn."That's bad. I wasn't expecting such a huge turn-up for the first day. I guess we will have to employ some other people soon. I'll be there in a few hours. Did you get everything I asked you to get?""I got all the materials ready; we just need to go into production," Alana replied, and Lily nodded, forgetting the other person could not see her."Get as much rest as you can before I get there; it's going to be a busy week."Upon arri
Sinful: What do you think about my last proposal? Do you think we can work on it?Lily's hands hovered over her keyboard as she typed the words out. Deliberating between sending the message or not, she paused for several minutes before hitting the delete button, afraid that it would come out as pushy.Just as she was about to close the site and get back to sewing, Alpha's profile turned green, showing he was online. And immediately after, it showed he was typing.Alpha: It's good that you are online today. If I may ask, how are you?Without hesitation, Lily typed out her reply.Sinful: I'm alright, just a little bored these days. There's nothing much to work on. The jobs posted on the site are a little too easy, and they don't fetch as much money. I don't want to have to dig around for other people's dirty laundry. What about you? Is everything alright on your side?Mark paused as he read her reply; his eyes flickered at the opened chat on his phone. He had been on the phone with his
William walked into the large, exquisite suite, one that had previously been used by the late Victoria and George team when they had an important meeting to hold.The room service attendants dropped off his bags and bowed as they left him to his device. With an expressionless face, he walked to the centre of the room, where a glass bottle was placed in an ice bucket alongside two glass cups.He poured himself a glass of wine as he removed his tie before standing behind the window, looking out into the city.It's been a month of constant hope and failure. One month of tracking through Victoria records to find a way to unlock the software she had left behind proved to be futile as he was unable to find any clue.Even the gadget she used while she was alive had been erased, cleaned, and left behind like a brand new one.This was the last place for him to check before he began using an underhanded method to deal with her teammates. It was a method he never wished to use again, not after V
As Light walked out of the room, Lily's eyes found Gary's cold ones. Seeing the accusations in his eyes, she lifted her hands in surrender."I was not aware he was coming. I swear I was not in the know," she hurriedly explained, and Gary let out a frustrated sigh."I know. He has our family traits in him; he's determined and stubborn, he would not have stopped until he met me, it's something I had done when I found out about him also." Gary scoffed as he relaxed into the chair."It runs in the family, and seeing the bruise on his lips, I can tell he fought with his father before he came to see me," he added."I thought you were the one that hit him," Alana chimed, earning a glare from Gary."And why would I hit him? On the face, no less? You think I want to ruin his pretty boy appearance?" He asked, and Alana shrugged.Lily sighed as she examined Gary. Although he was putting on a strong front, she could tell he was affected by the sudden meeting between him and his twin brother. She
"Given the report received about Frederick Watson's involvement with both Anderson and Hamilton family. An investigation has been launched against him. However, our latest report says he is currently in hiding and possibly out of the country." "Search parties will be sent out to go after him, and the local authorities will be collaborating with international authorities to bring him to justice.""In the meantime, after the case with the Andersons had been settled, the internet users speculated about how Mark had gotten close to Roseline for his revenge.""And although there has been no statement agreeing or disagreeing with the people's speculations, Mark had officially proposed to the beautiful, raiding star in the business sector, Lily Turner—a lady who has been an enigmatic figure since her first appearance in the fashion competition. And has further spread her wings.""To commemorate their beautiful engagement, Lily and Mark had announced a new product they worked together on. Th
Destroy It From The Inside Out"You know?" Lily muttered as she stood by the large window of her bedroom, looking down at the bustling city night. "I never really figured out how my mum was able to know I would be reborn." "I had hoped that gathering all her work in one place would provide me some answer. I thought she would leave an explanation behind," she said while swirling the wine in her hand. "With everything she left behind, she was sure I would be reborn as Lily Turner. Yet, I can't figure out how she know and how she did it." {...} The system remained silent as it listened to Lily's rant. "There has to be something I'm missing right? She's never one to leave me this confused and lost about anything," she continued. "I mean, since you are involved in this you should know better right?" {That was your goal from the beginning wasn't it?} The system asked with a knowing sigh. {You want to know how I came to be?}"Yes." {I already told you when we first met. I'm not from th
Lily sat at the dessert store, her fingers lightly drumming against the table as she stared out of the window. The bustling streets outside felt distant, a blur compared to the storm in her chest. The message from Mark replayed in her mind."Can we meet up?""I'm an idiot, I know, but we really need to talk."She had almost ignored it. Almost.She wanted to make him desperate, but somehow, she found herself picking the most sexy dress in her closet and dressing up to meet up with him.The sound of a chair scraping across the floor snapped her out of her thoughts. Mark stood there, hesitating, his usual confident demeanour replaced by uncertainty.“Hey,” he said softly.Lily didn’t respond immediately, her gaze steady and unreadable. “You’re late,” she said finally, her tone flat.“I know,” Mark admitted as he sat down. “Thank you for coming.”She crossed her arms, leaning back slightly. “What do you want, Mark?”"You didn't tell me anything; I found out through the news, and then you
"We received a tip from an anonymous sender," the news anchor announced. "Evidence of crimes committed by a certain family whose name has recently been on the internet where a certain banquet video was uploaded." "This evidence includes the cause of both Mabel and Victoria Hamilton's untimely deaths. As well as many other criminal cases that would ultimately lead to the downfall of the prestigious family." "At the same time, we got news that the leadership position of the corporation owned by this family has changed hands. For now, this particular news has not been confirmed." The following morning, chaos erupted. News outlets were flooded with breaking stories about Henry and Kate’s crimes. Social media exploded with outrage as videos and documents went viral. Law enforcement agencies were forced to respond, launching immediate investigations."Oh goodness! Why are all the big corporations and names getting exposed this year?""Is justice finally coming out into the open?! My moth
"It's turned on," Lily reported to Bryan over the phone as the other asked about the computer that was delivered to him. "And I've confirmed that it really was the one that has been sending those messages to Hamilton.""It's connected to that AI-powered robot in the vault." She continued. "And to top it off, all evidence of Henry's misdeeds was recorded in it. Including notes written by my mother." "Are they enough to send Henry out?" Bryan asked "Yes, and his wife too." Lily replied. "There are several videos of Kate poisoning my mother while she was still pretending to be a housekeeper. And also a clear video from my last moment as Victoria." Bryan's voice grew tense. "Lily, if we release this information, it won't just end Henry and Kate's hold on the Hamilton family. It could ruin Hamilton completely.""It won't," Lily breathed out. "At first I just wanted to ruin everything and get it over with, but now I want to cherish my mother's hard work and the legacy she left behind."
"Is that Mark's private car?" Lily asked with a frown as she watched the video gotten from the camera close to the factory address sent to her.{The plate number index matches that of Mark's private car. However, this video was made about three weeks ago.}Frowning, Lily replayed the video again. It was a car driving on a highway in the middle of the night. Seeing the date, she recalled she had a date with Mark that night and after he had hurried off. All through their time together, it was even more restless than usual. "Is this all you found?" {There is a similar video of him returning back to the city. But he hasn't gone back to the factory after that.}She jumped off her chair, got changed into a comfortable sweatshirt and pants, and a black sneaker. She picked a small hiking backpack from the closet and her wallet as she exited her apartment.{You are going to the factory?}"Yes," Lily replied calmly. "I at least need to figure out why they sent the note even if I don't know w
"Can you arrange a meeting with Annabelle Wilson?" As she sent the message, Bryan replied almost immediately. Lily glanced at Bryan's text and smirked. "De Ox tonight, between 8 PM and 9 PM. Perfect."She quickly tapped out a reply: Thanks. It's such perfect timing.Bryan: Need help?Lily: I'll be fine on my own. With her plan in motion, Lily pulled up the files containing Henry's promiscuity, one she had meticulously prepared for Henry’s misdeeds. Photos, text messages, and financial transactions—everything she needed to plant the seed of doubt in Annabelle’s mind was compiled neatly in a folder.At exactly 8:15, Lily walked into the dimly lit lounge, her heels clicking softly against the marble floor. She gave off an air of confidence, dressed in a sleek black dress that hinted at authority and poise. Her eyes scanned the room until they landed on Annabelle Wilson—a striking woman in her early forties, elegantly dressed in a champagne-coloured gown.Annabelle looked up as Lily a
"I think now is the perfect time to get the computer," Lily announced over the phone. "Given the news about his wife's scandal, Henry and William will be too busy to guard the company like a guard dog." "You want me to send people in there pretending to be electricians to retrieve the computer?" Bryan asked, and Lily hummed. "It will be a bit difficult for me to retrieve it at the moment." Lily replied. "Heard you've not been out of your apartment since the announcement. That's a week ago; that's unhealthy." Bryan sighed. "I'll come pick you up later today, and then we can discuss whatever your plans are." "There won't be a need for that," Lily gritted out as she worked away on her laptop. "I can't afford to be distracted right now.""Is this about Mark's engagement to Roseline?" Bryan asked, making Lily pause as her eyes narrowed at the screen of her laptop. "This has nothing to do with Mark or his engagement." She breathed out, massaging her forehead as she felt her eyes stingi
Lily walked into the living room with an extra sway in her hips as she remembered the event from the previous night. A small smile played on her lips, feeling giddy and excited about the news from the previous night's banquet. She picked up the remote and turned on the TV while waiting for the news with a warm cup of tea in hand. However, instead of the scandal she was expecting, she was met with Mark and Roseline's red carpet photos. Frowning, she turned up the volume just in time for the reporter to announce:"Next on the line of news is Mark Watson, the newly appointed CEO of the Watson Group. The genius businessman has finally announced his engagement with Roseline Anderson, the popular A-list actress."Lily’s smile froze, the warmth from her tea doing little to quell the chill that spread through her chest. Her hand tightened around the cup as she stared at the screen, unable to believe what she was hearing.“Engaged?” She whispered, her voice shaky. “That’s not possible.”The