Chapter 1

"Hair… check. makeup…on point,

dark circles around the eyes… Check. Outfit... on point," Sarah gazed at her flawless slim figure in front of the mirror.

She'd spent a week putting the outfit together for the interview. She only had one shot, so she needed to nail it. 

Five weeks in the big city with no replies to all the eleven applications she submitted had taken a toll on her. She was on the verge of giving up when an email from Melrose Clothing line popped up. 

She had to contain her excitement. The chances of one getting a job at Melrose were next to zero, but an Ad for a Secretary position made her send in her resume, though she knew such a company would never open her application.

But she was wrong; they called her and set an interview date.

She looked in the mirror one last time. Her long blonde hair was perfectly tied behind her back and her glasses gave her the secretary vibe. The outfit was perfect; her black skirt fit her slender curves all the way up to her knees, and her white blouse coordinated with it. 

Clean, pressed, polished, well-fitting, and with no cleavage, no thigh showing, no bitchy clanging jewelry or accessories, hair off the face, and neutral makeup.

A knock at the door snapped her out of her gaze, and she quickly opened it. It was her roommate, Chelsea, reminding her of the time.

"How do I look?" Sarah asked.

"Perfect, now go before you are late," Chelsea urged.

Sarah looked at the watch; she had at least two hours until the interview, and the cab to the company was only twenty minutes away.

"I am so nervous," she cried out.

Chelsea grabbed her hand; "Remember, we need the money for rent. If you screw up, we will be on the streets," she warned instead of calming her down.

Sarah stared at her.

"Ooh, I meant you will do great, just do not freeze when you meet the hot CEO," Chelsea joked.

Sarah chuckled, she needed the laugh. "CEOs do not interview secretaries; HRs do," she corrected.

"Just in case you bump into him, do not act like those weirdos in those cheap Web Novel novels; I love reading," Chelsea joked

"Chelsea! I will be late, and I will act normal should I bump into the hot CEO," Sarah laughed and picked up her handbag.

Her friend, Chelsea was an angel; the two knew each other from college. She was nerdy and always reading cringe-worthy novels, but she was an angel who was allowing her to stay in the apartment without paying her part of the rent.

However, Chelsea recently lost her job, so Sarah needed to not screw up the interview or else they were going to end up on the streets.

Meanwhile, Ezra was surrounded by huge dark rocks, the same rocks in the old caves, that he used to play in as a child back in Pineyard. He looked lost, suddenly he began plunging into an infinite abyss.

He tried holding on to one of the rocks protruding inside the pit, but it broke, and he went on falling. He could hear his name being called, but he couldn't see who was calling. The voice kept calling, "Ezra, Ezra, Ezra, open your eyes, please." 

He attempted to lift his eyelids, but they were too heavy; they felt like they were glued to his face. He could see he was falling to his death, but he still felt like he was in bed.

Penelope, his girlfriend vigorously shook him and kept yelling at him at the top of her lungs, but she was unsuccessful. He was all wet, shivering, and screaming. She was certain he was having a nightmare, but it wasn't the usual kind.

The door opened, and Marian, Ezra's mother, entered the room. A very scared Penelope said, "I just woke up and found him like that."

Marian motioned for her to get out of the way as she climbed on the bed and cradled her son's head against her chest, clutching him as if his life depended on it.

 Penelope stood in the room's corner, her hands trembling; she was afraid and unsure of what to do. Ezra kept screaming and fidgeting as his mother fought him to remain still. When she took his hands in hers, she tilted her head and spoke into his ear, jolting him awake.

Marian wiped his blow and added, "It's all right, son; it was just a nightmare."

Penelope froze in the corner, unable to comprehend what she had just witnessed. Marian shouted, "Go bring him a glass of water," but Penelope just stared at the two.

"Water, Penelope!" Marian screamed angrily.

"Coming," she said as she bolted out of the room.

Ezra exhaled deeply. "I kept falling in a hole but this time it was different," he whispered.

"It's fine, son; this is why I objected to our coming back to this country. We're going back to France as soon as you wrap up everything," his mother said, as they both glanced at each other, confused. 

He hadn't had the falling nightmare in almost five years. It wasn't possibly the country. It was already a month since they arrived in the country, and all of his nights were fine. Something had set off the ten-year-old nightmare, but he had no idea what.

In the kitchen, Penelope stood on her toes trying to retrieve a glass when she slipped and was about to fall, but muscular arms caught her. 

She raised her head and was met with the familiar sight of lovely gray eyes staring back at her. "Hey, beautiful, watch your step," he whispered, his gaze fixed on her cleavage.

She snatched herself from his grasp and pushed him away. She quickly covered her chest area and asked, "What are you doing here, Liam? Not here!" She said looking around.

Liam smiled and pulled her closer to him

"What are you doing here?" She asked.

"I moved in an hour ago while you were all sleeping," he replied.

Penelope stared at him, confused.

"The guard was kind enough to let me in because of my striking resemblance with the owner of the house, though I'm better looking," he remarked with a grin and asked about her progress.

"Liam! Not here, have some shame!" She became enraged and pushed him off her.

Liam grinned and kept his gaze fixed on her breasts, which were visible beneath her nightgown.

"I am starting to think you are enjoying fucking a flat tire or do you masturbate in front of him while he cheers in the corner of the room?" 

Penelope raised her hand in an attempt to slap him in the face, but he anticipated her reaction and quickly grabbed her hand and pinned her. 

He whispered to her; "Do not forget why you are in this house or who fetched you from the sewers!" He warned her.

Before Penelope could respond, a voice from behind them cleared.

 Marian stood in the doorway when they both turned to check.

"Penelope, where is the glass of water?" she inquired.

Penelope tried to move, but Liam kept his stance, locking her in between his arms as if Marian wasn't at the door.

"Liam, what are you doing here?" Marian asked, trying to grab his attention. He turned and smiled. 

"Hey stepmother, I did not see you standing there," he said, walking towards her and giving her a tight hug. 

Marian shrugged and pushed him away. 

"I'm not your stepmother; get out of this house!" she yelled.

"Ouch," Liam replied, and walked out of the kitchen, leaving the two women pissed.

"Please do not tell me Ezra invited him into this house," Penelope asked, trying to pretend as if Marian did not see anything.

 Marian, who was furious, glared at her without replying. 

She couldn't stomach seeing Liam; he and her son shared the same father, but Liam despised them despite their best efforts to please him. Marian had given up a long time ago, but her son had a foolish fantasy of one day having a normal sibling relationship with him.

Liam was nothing more than a calculating, resentful little brother who was envious of his older brother and was not the kind to hide his true intentions. She could not understand why her son tolerated him, but she knew he was going to be his undoing. She took the glass and began pouring water for her son.

Upstairs, Liam smiled as he entered his brother's room and stood at the doorway. 

Ezra was busy trying to get to his wheelchair.

"You look terrible, brother. I was just wondering if Penelope did a boob job, or is she pregnant?" Liam asked with no intention of helping his disabled brother get into the wheelchair.

 Ezra looked at him in horror, the joke was out of test especially when he knew his condition. 

"Ooh sorry are you still not able to get it up!" Liam asked, raising up his hands and walking out of the room leaving Ezra breathing heavily.