LOGINMike froze in the doorway.For several seconds, nobody moved.His eyes went from Ivan to Valeria, then back to Ivan again. The unfinished sentence died on his lips as the reality of what he had walked into finally registered.Ivan stepped away from Valeria immediately, Valeria's face burned with embarrassment. She lowered her eyes, unable to look at Mike or Ivan.“I…” she began.“You don't have to explain,” Mike said quietly.That somehow made the situation worse.Valeria swallowed hard, grabbed her bag, and walked toward the door. She avoided looking at Ivan as she passed Mike. “Excuse me.”Mike stepped aside.The moment she disappeared down the hallway, Mike slowly closed the door then he turned toward Ivan. “What was that?”Ivan didn't respond. Mike stared at him. “Ivan.”“I know what you're going to say.”“No, I don't think you do.”Ivan walked back toward his desk and picked up the file Valeria had found earlier, but he didn't open it.Mike followed him. “You told me she was
Ivan sat behind his desk, staring at the documents scattered across it. The meeting with one of his most important clients was less than thirty minutes away, yet the file containing their previous agreement was nowhere to be found. He opened the drawer again, checked the cabinet beside his desk, then went through the folders for the third time. “Where the hell is it?” he muttered.His manager stood across from the desk, looking increasingly nervous. “Sir, are you sure the file was brought here?”“Yes. I reviewed it with Sofia before my last meeting.”The manager hesitated. “Should I ask someone to search the archive?”Ivan shook his head. “No. Sofia would know exactly where it is.”The moment he said her name, another problem came to mind. His client had disputed one of the terms in their agreement, insisting that Ivan had approved an extension on the second payment. Ivan remembered the negotiation clearly, but Sofia had been present throughout the meeting and had recorded every imp
Valeria stared at her phone for what felt like the hundredth time, she had spent the past several days convincing herself that Ivan's manager would eventually call and tell her to return to work. At first, she had been certain the week would pass quickly. But she was wrong.The days dragged on and still no call, no message, no explanation. She finally placed the phone on the table and sighed. “Maybe I'm not going back.”The thought hurt more than she expected, because despite Ivan's behavior toward her, she had loved her job. It had given her something she desperately needed after leaving her father's house. Independence, and a reason to wake up every morning.Now even that seemed to be disappearing.Valeria opened her laptop and began searching for vacancies, and by afternoon, she had applied for several positions.One company responded quickly, wanting to interview her.Valeria smiled to herself. “Maybe things were finally turning around.”Then, several hours later, she received ano
Ivan stood outside the bedroom for several seconds before finally knocking, but there was no response. He knocked again. “Valeria?”When the door opened slowly, Callista stood behind it, looking unusually quiet. Her hair was tied loosely, and there was no trace of the confidence she usually carried around him.Ivan studied her for a moment. “I came to apologize.”Her eyebrows lifted. “For what?”“For yesterday.”She looked away.“I shouldn't have scared you.”Callista remained silent, and Ivan continued, his voice calm. “What you did was wrong, but I shouldn't have reacted the way I did.”She looked at him again. “You were angry.”Ivan's expression softened slightly.“That room contains information about my parents, things I've spent years searching for. When I saw someone had accessed the files, I lost my temper.”“I didn't know.”“I know.”He paused. “You have every right to ask me about them, just don't go into that room again.”She nodded. “Okay.”Ivan gave her a small nod b
Valeria stared at her phone for the fifth time that morning, then she opened Callista's chat again and typed a message.=Are you okay?She waited, but got no reply. Valeria frowned. Callista had never been the type to disappear without explanation, even when she was busy, she usually found a way to send a ridiculous sticker or complain about something.She called, but the phone rang and rang, then the call ended. Valeria stared at the screen. “She rejected my call?”She tried again, this time, it went straight to voicemail. She began to have a strange feeling that something was wrong, little sis she know that Callista was deliberately ignoring her.Across the city, Callista sat in the back of a car, staring at Valeria's name flashing across the screen. She watched it ring, then she silenced it.She had no intention of speaking to Valeria.Not now, not when she had finally discovered the weakness in her marriage.Ivan.Callista had spent the past few days studying everything she knew
Ivan's phone rang just after eight the following morning, he glanced at the screen and answered immediately. “Mike?”“We found him.”Ivan straightened. “What?”“The man from the financial records, the one connected to the old accounts. He's at an address in Westbridge.”Ivan's expression changed. “Are you sure?”“I'm sure enough to risk following him, but not enough to walk in there without backup.”Ivan was already reaching for his jacket. “Send me the location.”“I already did.”Ivan ended the call and looked toward the staircase, where Callista was still asleep.He had no intention of telling her where he was going, not about this, not about his parents.For years, he had lived with the same unanswered question. Who killed them? He remembered the sound of the gunshots, his mother's scream, his father's body falling. The blood, the terrified faces of the people around him, and then the man who had walked away.Ivan had never seen his face clearly enough to identify him, after a
“He’s my husband," Valeria cuts in, chuckling. Dominic's eyes widened, so did Ivan’s. " I like the sound of that,” Dominic said." “And baby," she continued. “This is my new boss." The two men shook hands. Valeria was tense, she knew Dominic would soon start talking so she had to get them apa
“I think I'd stop here," she suddenly said.Relief flash across his face.“Why, did I say something bad?," he asked, feigning regret.“Oh, no. I forgot I needed to get groceries." “Oh," he smiled. “That's totally necessary." Valeria nodded and faked a smile, her heart racing in her chest.The dri
“Are you going somewhere?" Callista yawned, rubbing her eyes as she settled into the couch.“I have an interview," Valeria replied. “I told you I'd be getting a job soon." “An interview," Callista repeated. “Shouldn't you be feeling nervous? You look happy like you're assured of the job." Valeria
“I can't do this, there's no way I'm doing it," Valeria Cruz murmured to herself.She sat at her usual table in her favorite coffee shop, her coffee sat in front of her, untouched.She kept sighing to herself, as she replayed her father's proposal over and over again.No matter how hard she thought







