Nina sat in the living room, letting the mild scent of freshly brewed coffee wash over her, right before one of the servants put the cup down on the glass table. Briefly, she tore her gaze from the magazine on her lap and thanked the man with a nod of her head. Once the servant left, she turned to face her younger son, having summoned him for something she needed to talk about. “Ben said you paid a visit to Simon,” she said to her son, not exactly a question but a statement, as if letting him know there was no point in lying or denying or ignoring even. It was better to come clean, instead of wasting both of their time. “Would you like to talk about it?” Derek rolled his eyes, not at his mother, but more at the question itself. “There’s nothing to talk about it.” He grunted. “Are you sure?” her question was almost instant, as if she was already prepared for his pointless attempt to brush her off. “Because the last time I checked, you weren’t a huge fan of Simon. Even the sight of

Cortez woke up with a groan, warm rays too harsh on his face, the soft touch on his lips almost feeling like a dream, his brain foggy with the last dredges of sleep still hanging around him like a soft mist, clouding his thoughts and senses. It was the touch of that hand on his lips again, followed by a soft brush of fingers through his hair that he slowly woke up from the deep slumber, and felt the first hints of reality slip in, and a soft smile make its way to his lips. The sun was warm, the air in the room chilly and fresh, the light breeze of the air-conditioner brushing against the skin that was bare, and that touch… “Finally,” he heard the voice that had become way too familiar in the last few hours. “I thought I might have to give up, you were so peaceful like that, sleeping. It was almost a shame to wake you up.” Cortez almost chuckled but stopped himself just in time as he finally opened his eyes and faced Danika. His sharp gaze instantly took in what she was wearing, or

Elena was helping Caleb get ready for school when Betty Adams came rushing through the main door of the mansion and doubled over, panting, as if she had run a marathon to get to the place. “What’s wrong with you?” Elena asked, as she took one look at the assistant who was bent at her waist, breathing heavily, before looking at the butler who looked equally confused by the situation. Caleb, who always had been playful around Betty perked up from the table as soon as he heard her coming. “Bets! Bets! Look at me, look at what I’m eating!” But Betty, who seemed to have trouble breathing at that moment, shook her head at the excited little boy, a small smile appearing on her face, nonetheless. “Caleb, you look great and that looks, well, yummy,” she managed to say before looking at Elena. “Madam, I’m sorry, but there’s something that needs your immediate attention.” Elena could tell from the face of Betty that whatever had her worried enough to be so out of breath had to be big news. S

“We’ve found something!” One of the uniforms yelled from upstairs, making Elena turn in his direction with a scowl on her face. She looked back at Cortez, who seemed just as surprised by the news.He immediately gestured to a couple of other men standing behind him.“You take it from there, I’ll handle this here,” he pointed at Elena before taking off towards the stairs and leaving her behind with the other uniformed man who seemed to be taking a bit of interest in the vase right beside him.A couple of minutes later, the sound of someone walking down the stairs echoed in the hallway and had Elena turning in the direction of the staircase just in time to see Cortez appearing with a plastic bag in his hand, something silvery and shiny.For a second, Elena thought about why these men were interested in her wardrobe instead of looking for clues or whatever the hell they were there for.But when she looked closely and thought deeply, that’s when it hit her.It wasn’t something she owned.I

“Why did you do it?”“I did not do anything.”“Oh yeah?” Cortez scoffed, staring directly into Elena’s eyes from across the small wooden desk. They were back to the interrogation room after Cecelia’s clothes were found at Elena’s place. It was time for a confession as all the shreds of evidence were piling up against her.“Then why don’t you take a moment to enlighten us how that hell Cecelia McDowell’s clothes ended up in your closet? How do you explain that, huh? That’s pretty fucked up, Ms Matthews, don’t you think?”Elena leaned forward and said the same thing again.“I did not kill her. I don’t even know why her clothes were at my place, because I did not have anything to do with her.”“But you were the last person to see her before she went missing, or should I say, you killed her,” Cortez said, not giving her even an ounce of rebate.Elena let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose as a migraine began to settle in. She had no clue how she could explain things to him or anyo