LOGIN~LUCAS~Fiorella knows she's winning, and she's looking at me like she already decided the outcome.My jaw tightens.No.Not today.This is the only chance I have to prove myself against her.I watch as she calls her final witness.He is a regulatory official and he gives clean testimony…. structured and too solid.I cross-examine, push, and probe, but she blocks everything.She blocks every opening, every angle, every weakness.She's really good at this defense thing, and it's the hardest to do in a court trial.And when I step back…I know.If I stop here…she wins.Then, the door opens soft and barely noticeable.But I see Charlotte, standing at the back, and watching.She's the woman I promised to surpass Fiorella in a month.But here I am, on the verge of losing to Fiorella.Her eyes meet mine, and she doesn't speak or move.But the message is clear.‘Don’t you dare back down.’Something shifts inside me, sharp and unyielding.I step forward again.“My Lord
~LUCAS~The room doesn’t breathe.It tightens like something is about to snap.I rise slowly, buttoning my suit jacket with deliberate calm. My fingers don’t shake. My pulse doesn’t betray me.Across from me, Fiorella rises too.Of course she does.Perfect timing. Perfect posture. Perfect control.God… she’s good.But so am I.I step forward first.“My Lord,” I begin, voice steady, cutting clean through the silence. “This case is not about uncertainty. It is not about speculation.”I let my gaze sweep the room briefly… then land on the judge.“It is about choice.”I pause for a while before speaking again.“A pharmaceutical company… entrusted with lives… chose profit over safety. They developed a drug. They tested it. And within those tests… they discovered adverse effects which were severe, dangerous, and fatal.”I let the words settle, then I take a step closer.“And instead of halting distribution… instead of warning the public, they buried it.”My jaw tig
~FIORELLA~*One week later*I wake up before my alarm.My eyes open slowly, but there’s no heaviness, no lingering distraction from sleep. Just clarity. Sharp and immediate, like my mind has been awake long before my body decided to follow.I stare at the ceiling for a moment, breathing steadily.Today is the fake courtroom presentation.The practical case.A small, controlled exhale leaves me as I sit up, pushing the sheets aside. There’s no anxiety, no uncertainty, no hesitation.There never is.I don’t lose.That truth settles in me the same way it always does…..quiet, solid, unquestionable.And yet…There’s something else beneath it.Something I don’t like naming.It's awareness of Lucas.My jaw tightens slightly as I stand and walk into the bathroom.Cold water runs over my skin, grounding me, sharpening every thought into something precise and controlled. My mind automatically begins its routine…..arguments, counterarguments, possible interruptions, witn
~LUCAS~*One week later*The morning doesn’t feel like any other.I know that the moment my eyes open.There’s no grogginess. No resistance. No heaviness clinging to my body like there usually is after nights of overthinking and exhaustion.Just clarity….. sharp, clean, and focused.My eyes stay on the ceiling for a few seconds, breathing evenly, feeling something unfamiliar settle deep in my chest.It's confidence.Not the kind that talks loudly or tries to prove a point.It's the quiet kind, the dangerous kind, the kind that doesn't need validation.A slow breath leaves me as I sit up, running a hand through my hair.Today is the day.The fake courtroom presentation.The practical case.The stage where everything I’ve done over the past week finally comes together.And for the first time since this started…I don’t feel pressure.I feel ready.I swing my legs off the bed and stand, stretching slightly before heading into the bathroom. The cold water against
~LUCAS~By the time evening rolls in, the office begins to empty one by one.Chloe leaves too, waving at me.I hear the other colleagues leaving too, and I'm sure Fiorella must have left too.Voices fade, and lights dim until it's just me, and the sound of typing again.Again, the door opens quietly.“Mr. Lucas?”I don’t need to look up this time to know it's Chloe again.“Hmm?”“Why are you still here?” she asks.I glance at the clock briefly to see it's late, but not late enough.“I should be asking you that,” I tell her. “I thought you left already. Why are you back again?”“I figured out you might still be at work, so I came to convince you to go home,” she replies.“I still have a lot to do,” I reply simply, eyes already back on the screen.“You can continue tomorrow,” she says gently, stepping closer. “You’ve already done so much today.”Not enough.“Not yet.”She hesitates for a while before speaking again.“I can stay,” she offers softly. “Just for a l
~FIORELLA~The door closes behind me soft, controlled and final.And still, I don’t move.My hand remains on the handle a second longer than necessary, fingers tightening slightly against the cool metal.My pulse is steady, too steady, and too deliberate.Like my body is trying to prove something my mind already knows isn’t true.I inhale slowly, then exhale in composure…. always composure.I step into the hallway, heels clicking against the polished floor in precise, measured rhythm. Each step is calculated. Each movement is intentional and untouchable.That’s what they see.That’s what I’ve built.And I don’t let anyone take that from me.Not clients.Not opponents.And certainly not him….Lucas.The name lingers longer than it should.Annoyingly so.I tighten my grip around the file in my hand.I need to focus and work, that's what matters.Not the way his voice dropped when he spoke to me.Not the way he looked at me like he wasn’t intimidated.Not the way he s
~FIORELLA~The next morning, I wake before the sun fully rises, my eyes opening with sharp awareness, not a trace of sleep lingering in them. My body feels rested, but my mind…..my mind is already working, already calculating, already controlling.Juliette is gone.Of course she is.I don’t keep wh
~MARCELLA~The air changes the moment Daddy Vincenzo gives the order.“Kill them.”It’s like the entire room inhales at once…and forgets how to breathe.Fear spreads instantly……thick, suffocating, and alive.I see it in their eyes.Every single one of them.The men who had been
~MARCELLA~I just got home not quite long from a breakfast date with Lucas.Lucas had free lessons today, and I…I decided to skip classes to go on a breakfast date with him.I got a message from Stephanie in the car on our way back home asking that we have lunch together becau
The decision is made the moment Albert walks out of that bar.It's not written, but sealed somewhere deep in the cold, calculated part of him that no longer hesitates when it comes to getting what he wants.And because he doesn't rush or act on impulse, he plans every move, every action, every seco







