Lahat ng Kabanata ng STEP ASIDE EX-HUSBAND: THE RISE OF LIANA: Kabanata 91 - Kabanata 100

Liana's PovIt felt surreal. "I…" he started, then lost his train of thought. "I should get going now. You're going to be fine when I am gone, right? ."I nodded, as much as I did not want him to go."Yes, I will."“Call me if you need anything.” He said and turned away in the other direction, hands stuffed into his pockets and head bent low. I waited for a little longer, watching his form disappear around the corner before I turned round and finally entered the room. Serena's hospital room was too quiet, it began to feel uneasy. I slumped into the chair beside her, my body charged with emotional exhaustion. I hadn't even properly looked at her when I came in, not before this moment.She was so still. So unnervingly still. Her face was pale, white, except for the soft purples of the bruises and the fiery red of the stitches on her temple. Her chest moved in a soft rhythm under the thin hospital blanket and machines beeped softly in the background.I placed my hand on hers. It was qu

Liana's PovI slowly walked back to the room, the cold bottled water in my wet hands. My heart was thudding in my head, the sting of Serena's vacant stare still fresh in my chest. I paused by the doorway, breathed deeply, and walked in.Serena sat up, her hands playing with the blanket folded at her lap. Her eyes flitted around the room as if she was trying to ground herself in something that felt familiar."Hey," I said softly, holding the water out to her. "I figured you might be thirsty."She took it with a soft, polite smile but didn't utter a word. I held my breath for a moment waiting for a miraculous moment of recognition or something but her gaze went right over me as if I was some stranger in her space. I sat beside her, allowing a little space. "You okay? Headache? Nausea?"She shook her head with a half-shrug. "It's… foggy. Everything is strange."I swallowed hard against the lump forming in my throat and inched closer."Serena…" I said softly. "I realize everything is all

It wasn't clear… but it was clear enough.And as I watched the video cycle over and over, pixels snapping and shuddering before settling on that shot of that hallway, I could feel my heart thumping like it was trying to break through the walls of my chest. I knew that face. I knew those sunken eyes, that mousy posture, the way he was glancing around like he was in trouble for something and about to grab sweets.Mason.Mason, the very same stuttering, nervous, geeky Mason who'd been with Edgar all these years. Edgar's IT sidekick of choice. The man who handled sensitive data without flinching. The man who once brewed me a cup of coffee because I looked fatigued.Why did I doubt Stanley?He'd told me, he'd warned me that day. "The suspect may be closer than you think, Liana." But I'd laughed it off, dismissed it as paranoia. I'd even ordered Edgar to keep an eye on his boys, but I never believed any of them were capable.How wrong I'd been. The mole was under our nose the whole time. Sm

Liana's PovThe rain tapped against the hospital windows, a soothing lullaby to the storm raging in my chest. Outside, gray streaked the sky, a gray that swallowed light as well as hope. My fingers were freezin' gripping the rim of a scalding paper cup, left untouched since the nurse had brought it to me. Over the café table in the hospital lobby's quiet waiting area, Stanley sat with his fingers clasped together, his knuckles white. He hadn't touched his drink either.His forehead was creased, etched with worry, and his eyes flicked to the corridor every few seconds, as if he was commanding himself to hear footsteps or bells or something that would inform him Serena was okay.“We can’t leave her here anymore,” he said finally, voice low and urgent. He leaned forward, speaking just above a whisper so the elderly couple behind us wouldn’t catch wind of our conversation. “She said she saw someone by the window, right?”I shook my head slowly, the fear tangling in my chest again. "She wa

Dominic povThe paper sat on my desk like a time bomb, silent but demanding attention. I leaned back in my chair, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the sealed manila envelope Mason had delivered just a little while before. The air in my office was cold despite the afternoon sun pouring through the high windows. I should have opened it by now. I should have been eager to flip through the pages, seize the leverage, and plan my next move. But something in the ease with which Mason relinquished it stayed in my hand.It was too easy. That was the thought that had been pacing back and forth in my mind like a prisoner in a cell. Mason had not blinked when I instructed him to dig deeper. He had not asked many questions either, he just nodded and disappeared. Now, not even two days later, he returns with something that by any standard should've required longer to dig up. And worse? He had that sparkle in his eye. The same sparkle a street magician gets when he knows he has the crowd in the palm of h