MARIANNA

"..........and we want to specially thank Miss. West and her team for putting this in place for us. The cross-cultural magazine is the first of its kind and we are not stopping here. Expect more from us." While Riley's voice resonates around the room, my eyes land on my not so favorite person in the world. Nancy.

She is adorned in the most exquisite of dresses. That is supposed to be me, even though the money does not freak me but that is still supposed to be me.

From the day dad married her mom, they bullied me and eventually after dad died, they took everything and kicked me out.

"Smile, at least." I hear Lucas say.

How does this man expect me to not catch feelings with all these lovey dovey things he does with me? The feeling is exhausting.

"Let's go." I state to him. I stand up and wait for him to follow me. Together, we leave the hall under the watchful eyes of many.

"I just want to relax." I sigh, resting my head on his shoulders the moment we get to front the car.

"I'll take care of you tonight." He retrieves the key from the valet and opens the door for me. Once I get in, I angrily slam the door behind me.

"Easy, Marie." He says.

"Just shut up and drive, Lucas." I hiss, rolling my eyes afterwards.

"Sorry." He apologizes, lifting both of his hands in the air.

"I'm sorry too." I quickly say, this time in a low voice. I guess my emotions got the better of me.

"It's nothing, Marie. Your actions are justified." He shrugs and starts driving.

"Did I tell you about how you look like a rabbit when frowning?" I know what he is trying to do. He wants to take my mind off the situation and lighten up my mood. I laugh a little and soon join in the discussion. At least, he is doing an amazing job at making me feel better.

In no time, we arrive at my house and bid ourselves goodbye.

As the week progressed, the nervousness kicked in. The day set aside for my confrontation with Harlot and her daughter began drawing near. Definitely, the nervousness is expected. Am I even doing the right thing? What if my thoughts are just assumptions?

"I'll have some steak and rice." I say to the attendant at the counter.

"Make that two." A voice says from behind me. A light tap on my arm is what prompts me to look back.

"Are you now following me?" I ask with raised brows.

"What's wrong with that?" He asks, placing his hands in his pocket. The audacity!

"Everything. For starters, I don't know who you are. Plus, it's violation of privacy and I can sue you for that." Why am I talking to him?

"Then do it." He replies, shrugging his shoulders as a smirk dances on his lips.

"Uhh.." Well, I didn't expect that response.

"I guessed as much. You know this place is a public place and as such, I can decide to do as I please. So your case holds no gravity." He gives a sweet smile to me while I just ignore him.

I move to the end of the counter to collect my order and he follows me to collect his too but still, what sort of creepy behaviour is this?

"I'll be paying for both." He says, his voice sounding above me. I just ignore him and slide the dollar bill to the cashier.

"No." I say in a stern voice. I turn to him and glare before walking to sit.

"Stubborn, huh?" I hear his voice again.

Nobody invited you. I wanted to say but I just chose to focus on eating my food.

"You'll get tired of ignoring me." He chuckles, chewing a chunk of steak off his plate.

"Can't you get the memo? I don't want to talk to you." I say and pause a minute to heave a sigh before eating.

"Why?" He asks.

"Nothing." I shrug.

"My name is Jake, by the way. What's yours?" He asks. Dude, I didn't ask you.

"I don't owe it to you." I say in annoyance.

"Well, then. Till the next time we meet."

"There will be no next time."

"We'll see about that." He shrugs and stands up to leave the restaurant. His food still remains untouched, except the little amount of steak he ate earlier. I don't get why people would buy food and waste it when there are others who have little or nothing to it.

I do a hand signal to an attendant to help bag the food in a take-out pack. After eating, I collect the food from her and head out.

"Here, eat this." I stop by a beggar and hand the food over to him.

"Thank you." He smiles widely, exposing his teeth. As much as I didn't buy it, wasting it is not an option especially when the food is still fresh and healthy for consumption.

I nod my head and smile, get into my car and zoom off to my house. Another work day completed.

Friday came faster than expected. I woke up earlier than normal today and for some strange reason, I felt very light-headed. I do my usual morning routine and put on a dress.

Work went on with my mind constantly drifting to the later happenings planned for the day.

As the clock struck 12pm, I did not have the patience to wait anymore. I quietly sneak out of my office, making sure nobody sees me. Yeah, I know it is wrong to bail on your boss like this but frankly speaking, I have no choice. If I am to keep waiting every week, I won't get this done. So why not throw caution to the wind and get this done with.

•••••

I knock on the office door and without waiting, I barge in.

"Well, Hello, step mother." I say each word with spite.

"Get rid of her." She says and two security personnels enter the office to do her bidding.

"Really? Like you did with my dad?" Mixed emotions flash though her eyes and almost immediately, she masks them.

"Excuse us." She says to them, waving her fingers.

"Charlotte." I say her name in disgust.
Behind this strong girl persona I put up in front of her is a scared person. If she could kill my father, what are the odds that she won't kill me too after this confrontation? I really have to push her to talk.

"I killed him, so what? Little girl, you have no proof." She says, laughing wickedly. Well, I didn't even need to put in so much effort.

"You sure?" I ask, raising an eyebrow and smirking at her.

"You see, girl....." She says in disdain, standing up from her seat and walking slowly towards me.

"I cover my tracks well. I leave no traces, so looking for proof about your dad's death is a dead end for you." She towers above me and looks at me wickedly.

"Your father was a weakling." I hate this woman for berating him like that.

"You bitch! He wasn't. A weakling does not set up the fortune you are sitting on." She lets out a laugh and clapped her hands.

"Not a weakling in this sense. He was a weakling of love and I took that to my advantage. He initially didn't have heart issues, I started it with poisoning him slowly." She chuckles without a care. Growing up, I thought she was wicked but now, I have come to realize that she is not just wicked but the devil's incarnate.

"DON'T BOTHER DIGGING IN!" She raises her voice, slamming her hand on the table. She has on the most evil look I have ever seen on someone.

I shudder in fear and give a reasonable distance between us.

"Oh..okay." I say and make my way for the door.

"Oh, and Marianna girl." She calls out behind me. I turn to look at her. I so want to wipe the smirk off her face.

"Never ever present your miserable face in front of me again. Never." Let's see who will have the last laugh.

Immediately I step out of the building, I let out a sigh. I have been sighing so much today due to mixed feelings. To be honest, I don't know how I got to my car because I am nervous and broken.

"Lucas, did you get it?" I speak into the devices.

"Yes. Every bit of it." He says.

"Thank you."

"Come to my house now." He says.

Did I mention that I made a stop at LETHAL Headquarters while coming here?

Flashback...

As the clock struck 12pm, I did not have the patience to wait anymore. I quietly sneak out of my office, making sure nobody sees me. Yeah, I know it is wrong to bail on your boss like this but frankly speaking, I have no choice. If I am to keep waiting every week, I won't get this done. So why not throw caution to the wind and get this done with.

Immediately I'm settled in my car, I dial Lucas.

"Hi." I sigh in relief before responding.

"I'm about to leave for there now." I say.

"I'll send an address to you now. Key it into your GPS and meet me there. There's something you need to have before going."

"Alright."

"I'll be waiting."

Carefully driving, I follow the guide from the map and arrive at my destination.

LETHAL

The building reads. Wow, so they have a building? I never knew. Well, it's not like I know much about what they do, anyways.

"I'm outside." I say to him over the phone.

"Alright. I'll be with you shortly."

So, that was how I got a mini camera that was attached to my blouse and a microphone too.