Laura walks into her room, the dim light casting shadows on the walls. Her heart skips a beat as she suddenly sees Anna seated in the corner, her face expressionless. “Oh good lord!” Laura instinctively clutches her chest, her breath catching in her throat. She lets out a sigh of relief as she realizes it's just Anna, but the fear lingers."Anna, you scared me," Laura says in a shaky voice, her hand still pressed against her chest as if to calm her racing heart.Anna's eyes narrow as she looks at Laura, her gaze piercing. "Were you drinking again?" she asks coldly, her voice tinged with disappointment.Laura opens her mouth to deny it, but Anna raises a bottle and holds it up, her eyes fixed on the label. Laura's heart sinks as she realizes her secret has been exposed. She looks down, unable to meet Anna's gaze."I found this by your bedside," Anna says, her voice soft but firm. “Want to tell me something about it?”Laura takes a deep breath, her shoulders slumping. She knows she can

Mrs. Gray walks down the hallway, her steps hesitant as she approaches her husband's room. She had been hoping to spend some quality time with him, but as she pushes open the door, she's greeted by the sound of her husband's deep snores. She sighs softly, her heart sinking with disappointment. It seems like he's always either busy with work or asleep these days.As she leaves her husband's room, Mrs. Gray can't help but feel a pang of worry. Jackson had recently resigned from his position as CEO and handed it over to their son, yet he still seemed preoccupied and distant. She couldn't shake off the feeling that he was still prioritizing work over their relationship, despite his retirement. If he had not time for her now, when would he?She sadly makes her way to the sitting room, where she can hear giggles coming from. She's curious to see what Laura and Anna are up to, as they had become close friends over the weeks. Mrs. Gray knew they often spend time together these days, she was j

Anna sat on the edge of her bed, her cellphone pressed to her ear as she spoke to her mother, Mrs. McCurry. She had been worried about her parents ever since their house had burned down, and Stephen had taken them to a new place.She had not been able to communicate with them aside from the day of their arrival, she had been unable to reach them and whenever she asked Stephen, he assured her that they were fine. It was almost two weeks now and she could finally get through to them."Mom, how are you and dad being treated there?" Anna asked with concern, her brows furrowed.Mrs. McCurry's voice came through the phone, sounding relieved. "Anna, we're being treated like royalty here," she said. "Stephen has been so kind to us, and the people here are really friendly."Anna couldn't help but roll her eyes playfully, even though her mother couldn't see her. "So, you're too busy enjoying your queen's treatment to even bother asking about your own daughter, huh?" she teased, trying to hide h

Stephen leaned back in his chair, his eyes flickering between the figures on his computer screen and the man sitting across from him. Dominic, his friend and business partner, was nodding attentively, scribbling down notes as they discussed the details of their upcoming project. Stephen's focus was intense, but his ears were alert to the sounds beyond the closed door of his home office.Even though it was the weekend and he had originally planned to spend it in Florida with Jenny, he was kind of glad that she turned him down because he still had a lot of office work to do. As he couldn’t go to the office today, he decided to work from home. Just like his father, he had a study room; there were so many books on the shelves, but maybe they were just there as interior design because he barely touched them.The door suddenly opened, and Stephen's father walked in, his face creased with worry. "What's going on in our house?" he asked, his voice gruff.Stephen looked up, surprised. "What do

Laura lay on the hospital bed, unconscious, as her family members stood in the waiting hall, anxiously waiting for any news. Stephen had rushed to the hospital straight from a meeting, his face contorted with worry. Mrs. Gray had arrived from the nail salon, her perfectly manicured nails forgotten as she fretted about her daughter’s health. Mr. Gray was not able to join them yet as he had traveled out of town, but he was expected to return that night and it was getting dark already.Anna and Jenny were also present, but while Jenny paced back and forth, trying to keep her cool, Anna was lost in thought, wondering what could have happened to Laura. Why was she sick?The female doctor approached them with a solemn expression, and they gathered around her eagerly, hoping for some good news. "Laura had ingested poison," the doctor reported, her voice grave. "But the good news is that it wasn't strong enough to kill her. She will recover from it."The family members let out a collective s