Michelle placed a lunchbox between them, forced smile painted across her lips.
"You still need to eat properly, y'know..." Michelle said softly, her tone strained but warm enough to seem natural.
"Take it," she added, her eyes darting toward the officer watching through the glass.
Mira tilted her head, amused.
"Oh... thanks" she said loudly, playing along.
The officer stepped in, opened the sealed partition, checked the box, then set it down for Mira.
Michelle smiled weakly.
Inside the lunchbox, beneath the rice and meat, sat a paper napkin slightly too thick to be just paper.
Mira's eyes flicked to Michelle's. She said nothing.
But her smirk grew.
*Scene: Michelle's Apartment – Night*
The rain tapped lightly against the windows.
Michelle stood by the kitchen counter, arms crossed, staring at the untouched lunchbox Mira had returned through the officer.
She hadn't touched it since coming home… but something about Mira's smirk, that strange calm — it haunted her.
With slow hands, she opened the box.
Inside, tucked beneath the napkin — was a *folded note*, handwritten.
Her hands trembled slightly as she opened it.
*"You're already too deep. But I'll still offer you a rope. Choose wisely."*
Her eyes widened.
*What rope? How did she...?*
She rushed to the window, pulling the curtain open — nothing. Just wet streets and humming streetlights.
Then—*a knock.*
She froze.
Another knock.
Then silence.
Swallowing hard, she walked to the door slowly, each step heavier than the last. She opened it.
No one was there.
Only a *small black flash drive* lying just beyond the doorway, barely visible in the corridor light.
She picked it up, heart pounding.
Back inside, she plugged it into her laptop… the screen flickered once. Then—
*Surveillance footage.*
A dark alley.
*Viki.*
Covered in blood.
Dropping something into a bag.
Someone filming from afar, shaky hands.
Timestamped: *Two days before Vince was declared dead.*
Michelle covered her mouth.
Then the screen went black.
A message appeared in bold letters:
*"There..an article, make it an article, I won't repeat myself"*
Michelle yanked the drive out, chest rising and falling rapidly.
She sank to the floor, clutching her knees, whispering to herself:
*"What did I get myself into..."*
---
*✿ FC INC — CHAIRMAN'S OFFICE, LATE AFTERNOON*
A sleek black car pulled up in front of the mirrored skyscraper of *FC Inc*. The guards stood straighter the moment they saw who stepped out—*Viki Llyod*. Her stilettos clicked against the polished marble as she entered the building. Unlike the others from Imperial, she didn't need permission. This place was part of her bloodline. Or so she used to believe.
*Chairman Llyod*, seated like a king behind his desk, glanced up with a calculated smile as she walked in.
*"Oh... Viki, my little pumpkin."*
His voice was warm—but fake, the kind that made her skin crawl.
Viki's eyes narrowed not at him, but at the *woman seated beside him*. Perfect posture. Red lips. Eyes like sharpened glass.
Her *brows furrowed*. Her gut turned.
*"This is Lisa,"* Chairman Llyod continued, tone eerily calm.
*"Your new mom. Do very much to be respectful."*
The "request" was not a request—it was a veiled *command*, wrapped in silk.
Lisa stood, smiling like a porcelain doll.
*"You must be Viki. I've heard so much."*
Viki let out a scoff. Sharp. Dangerous.
*"I can't believe you, Dad. Really?"*
She took a step forward, voice rising.
*"Mom's not even dead yet. Can't you give her that respect?"*
*"Funny,"* he replied, looking at the whisky glass in his hand, swirling it.
*"She's been in a coma for over a year now. That's not living."*
Viki's hands clenched around her designer bag like it was the only thing keeping her from shattering glass.
There was a heavy silence, until Chairman Llyod's voice turned darker.
*"How's you and Nathan getting along?"*
Viki froze slightly.
*"I heard some news... about a boy dying. Right after you said you'd *take care of him.* By any chance—"*
*"I'm not a murderer, Dad,"* she snapped before he could finish, eyes glowing with rage.
*"Yes, he pissed me off. But I'm not the only one who hated him. Still... I wouldn't mind killing *this thing* trying to take Mom's place."*
She spat the last part like venom, glaring at Lisa.
Lisa didn't flinch—
Viki turned to leave, rage pulsing in her every step.
*"She's already three months pregnant,"* her father's voice rang out behind her, calm, cruel.
*"And I hope it's a boy. If so... heir placement will shift. I can't entrust my empire to a nuisance like you."*
That stopped her.
Viki didn't turn. She didn't blink.
Just stood.
A thousand screams behind her silence.
But she left. Quietly.
The *click* of the door shutting echoed like a gunshot.
✿ MOUNTVIEW PRIVATE HOSPITAL — VIP WARD 03*
The soft hum of machines echoed in the quiet room.
White walls. Sterile air. A vase of lilies sat untouched on the bedside.
The woman in the bed — *Madam Celene Llyod*, once the Iron Lady of FC Inc — now lay still, tubes attached, her face pale but peaceful. Her legacy… paused.
The door creaked open.
*Viki stepped in slowly*, her heels quieter than usual, her expression unreadable. Dressed in all black, she looked out of place — like a shadow visiting light.
She walked toward the window first, slowly placing *fresh white tulips* in the small vase beside her mother.
Then she pulled the chair closer and sat beside the bed, her gaze falling on the unconscious woman who once ruled rooms with a glance.
*"Mom…"* she began softly, her voice trembling but steady.
*"Everything's getting messy. Chaotic, even."*
She reached for her mother's hand, not expecting movement, but needing to feel the warmth.
*"Dad's lost it. He's using his new wife like a weapon, and now—he's trying to marry me off like some corporate pawn."*
She chuckled darkly.
*"Nathan. Son of Mr. Williams. You know? The ones behind Imperial?"*
She leaned in, as if whispering a secret.*"He thinks he'll gain control over Imperial's influence by binding our names. Power marriage, he calls it. And what's worse? The board is eating it up."*
Her hand tightened.
*"But guess what, Mom?"*
A small smirk tugged at her lips, something wild flickering in her eyes.
*"I'm playing along. Let him think he's pulling the strings. Let them all believe I'm the helpless daughter being dragged into the plan."*
She stood slowly, brushing her mother's hair gently back with her hand.
*"But I have my own plan. Bigger than his. Smarter. Deadlier."*
She leaned down, pressed a soft kiss to her mother's forehead, then whispered:
*"You once told me… we only take the exclusive stuff. Even if it means stealing it."*
Her heels clicked once more as she walked to the door.
She stopped.
*"Watch me, Mom. I'm about to steal everything."*
The door shut behind her — but her scent, her fire, and her war had just begun.