Daria sat there wearing a dark red silk dress with a golden sheen, a symbol of wealth and status.
“Sit,” she commanded with a slight lift of her chin.
“Wasn’t this about a settlement agreement? Where is it?” I got straight to the point, uninterested in her high-class theatrics.
“What’s the rush? Have some tea first. Let’s talk slowly.”
I raised an eyebrow suspiciously.
Looking at the tea in front of me, I picked up the cup and examined it carefully. “You didn’t poison. this, did you?”
Daria scoffed. “If you’re worried about poison, don’t drink it.”
I set the cup down and pushed it away. “Better safe than sorry.”
Daria laughed dismissively, about to launch into a familiar insult. “That’s what happens when you come from such a small family-“
“Enough with the tired old lines. Doesn’t it get exhausting? If we’re here for business, let’s get to it without the useless chatter,” I interrupted sharply.
Her face turned ashen with anger.
She took out a compensation agreement and pushed it across the table to me. “Sign it.”
I picked it up and read through it page by page.
A simple compensation agreement should have taken one page, yet she’d created a document over ten pages long, filled with meaningless text.
Clearly designed to prevent me from reading it thoroughly.
After finishing, I set the contract down casually. “I need to review this with my lawyer. I’ll give you my answer by noon tomorrow.”
“If you have any concerns, just tell me directly. I’ll make the changes.”
“If I can request changes, why don’t I just draft a new agreement myself?”
“That won’t work. It must be according to my terms.” Daria’s face turned cold.
I leaned back leisurely. “You just said you could make changes for me. Now you’re saying it must be according to your terms. Which is it?”
Daria glared at me. “It means you must sign this today before you leave.”
I didn’t get angry.
????
Pretending to reconsider, I said, “I’ll step outside to call my lawyer. If she says there are no issues, I’ll sign immediately.”
I stood up and walked out with the contract.
Once outside, I quickly walked away without looking back.
A sense of foreboding grew in my chest. Those clauses hidden among a dozen pages had made my scalp tingle as I read them. One clause in particular stood out: “If the divorcing party engages in improper relations with another man before the divorce, the contract will automatically become void.”
At first glance, it seemed innocuous enough. But upon further thought, it was terrifying…
I hadn’t had any improper relations with another man, but such things could easily be fabricated.
I had grossly overestimated Daria’s conscience.
Author
Daria waited until the door clicked shut behind Celina before reaching for her phone. Her polished nails tapped against the screen, her lips curling as the call connected.
“She’s left with the agreement.” Her voice was smooth, but beneath it ran a current of satisfaction. “Cira, can you really help me save this divorce settlement?”
On the other end, Cira’s laughter was light, almost playful. “Don’t worry, Auntie. I’ve arranged everything. I guarantee the Grant family won’t spend a penny, and she’ll never dare try to extort you again.”
Daria exhaled, tension seeping out of her shoulders. “That’s wonderful, Cira. You’re so capable. It’s all up to you now.”
“Leave it to me, Auntie.”
The call ended, and Daria leaned back in her chair, lifting her teacup to her lips. The steam curled around her face, but her smile was sharp, unbothered. Tomorrow night’s charity gala would be perfect-no more loose ends, no more me to ruin the grand announcement of the Grant-Ward alliance.
And as for whatever Cira had planned?
Let Celina suffer.
Across the city, Cira lowered her phone.
Her reflection smirked back at her from the darkened screen.
The quiet hum of the city barely touched her.
Tonight would be Celina’s death.
Celina
As I navigated the twisting, dimly lit hallways of the Amanson Hotel, a knot of anxiety tightened in my chest. Every few steps, I found myself glancing nervously over my shoulder, straining to catch any hint of footsteps behind me. The eerie silence of the hotel only amplified my unease. Since parting ways with Daria, I hadn’t seen a single staff member, and the stillness around me made my pulse quicken with an uneasy rhythm.
After a few minutes of walking without any sign of pursuit, I allowed myself a brief moment to breathe a little easier. Maybe I was just letting my imagination run wild. If Daria had intended to use deceitful tactics against me, surely she would have acted by now-especially not at a moment when I was willingly distancing myself from her son. Yes, she was angry about the settlement money, but to the Grant family, fifty million was barely a drop in the ocean.
No, Daria wasn’t foolish enough to make a move at this stage.
The main lobby was just around the corner, its faint glow visible ahead. I pulled out my phone to check the time-7:40 PM. Perfect timing to reach out to Lian. I began typing a message: “I’m here, in…”
But before I could finish, I rounded the corner and collided suddenly with a woman dressed in a black hotel uniform. She immediately apologized, her voice soft and hurried. “I’m so sorry, excuse me.”
She reached out to steady me, but before I could protest, a sharp, icy pain stabbed the back of my neck. My vision blurred rapidly, the edges of the world melting into a hazy fog. It felt as if I were falling endlessly down a dark well, my body becoming heavy and unresponsive. I wanted to resist, to scream for help, but no sound escaped my lips.
The woman’s smile twisted into something sinister as she tightened her grip on me under the guise of support. “Are you alright, miss? Which suite are you staying in? This way-I’ll help you back to your room.”
Without waiting for an answer, she began dragging me down a narrow, secluded corridor.
Panic surged through me like wildfire.
[Someone, please help…]
I remembered my phone-still tucked in my coat pocket after our collision. The unfinished message was still on the screen. Summoning every last shred of strength, I painfully moved my hand toward the pocket.
My fingers fumbled slowly, relying solely on touch to locate the keyboard. Trembling, I managed to type the word “help” and hit send.
Sebastian
The hotel courtyard was unnervingly quiet-too quiet. The meeting I’d just finished had gone off without a hitch, the client satisfied, and the whiskey in my glass was starting to dull the sharp edges of the day when Lian’s phone buzzed.
I noticed his brow crease deeply as he read the message.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, though I already suspected the answer. Lian wasn’t one to show confusion unless something serious was at stake.
Without a word, he handed me the phone. “I arranged to meet Celina at eight o’clock. She just messaged saying she’s arrived, but the last words are strange. Can you help me figure out what she means?”
I gave him a cold, sharp look before my eyes dropped to the screen.
“I’m here, in help.”
A pause.
Help.
Not “in the hotel.” Not “in the lobby.”
“In help.”
My grip on the phone tightened. This wasn’t a typo. It was a desperate warning.
Without hesitation, I initiated a video call.
Lian blinked. “Alpha-?”
I ignored him.
The call connected, but all I could make out were blurred shapes-dim orange and gray hues, like a poorly lit room. No face. No recognizable features.
Then came the sounds.
Footsteps. Slow. Deliberate.
The dragging scrape of shoes against the floor-not walking, but being dragged.
Heavy, labored breathing.
I ended the call abruptly and tossed the phone back to Lian. “Ask if she’s been to the hotel.”
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