The house was quiet again after Marren and Donald had left. Janice had excused herself to make a phone call upstairs. Freya had offered to clean up but Janice told her not to worry.“No need, sweetheart. Just relax. You’ve been so helpful already.” She had said. Freya smiled and nodded. Now, she stood in Janice's study, about to do something very risky.Janice wasn’t careless, but she also didn’t expect sabotage from people she thought were on her side. Freya sat down on the table where Janice's home computer was, and moved the mouse. The screen came on, and luckily for her, there was no password prompt. Why would there be? Janice lived alone after all.Freya calmed herself down and started navigating through the computer. Not that she expected to see anything, especially with the way Aunt Jan was good at hiding everything, but she just had an inkling that if she looked, she would find something, so here she was. She checked the main documents folder which was filled with the expecte

Victor Hosè arrived at Freya's apartment only a few minutes after noon. Annabel was already waiting near the entrance for him by the time he came. She greeted him with a kiss on his cheek and let him in. Freya had offered to stay in the kitchen to give them space, but Annabel had asked her to stay nearby. After all, everything they were about to discuss had been a joint effort.Victor was a tall man in his mid-forties. He was dressed in a gray suit, and had a quiet kind of authority that didn’t ask for attention. He was the type of man who commanded respect without making a sound, and Annabel trusted him because of it.He paused at the doorway, looked around the apartment, and then at her.“You’re thinner,” he noted without judgment.“long story.” she replied as she let him in.He nodded once, dropped his briefcase on the small table, and unbuttoned his jacket. “Let’s get started.”They sat together in the living room — Annabel and Victor sat on the couch, while Freya sat on the armre

The next morning, Roman arrived at his office way earlier than usual. He didn’t greet anyone in the hallway or even nod at the receptionist as he usually did. He went straight to his office, shut the door, and told his assistant not to let anyone in unless he called for them. Ten minutes later, he called for someone."Get Lara Morell up here. Now.""Yes, sir." The assistant said immediately. Lara was sitting silently and shamefully at her desk when she got a call that the CEO wanted to see her. Immediately she heard the word 'CEO,' she knew she was in deep trouble. She got up and made her way to the last floor where Roman's office was situated. When she finally entered the office some five minutes later, her steps were very slow and had no confidence in them. She carried her tablet as support for her idle hands, but didn’t open it. Roman was behind his desk, staring at something on his screen. He didn’t look up immediately. "Sit." He ordered. She obeyed and sat down. A long silenc

As they had initially discussed, Roman's legal team had reached out to Annabel's own legal team. The call from Roman's lawyer reached Victor that mid morning. Martin had placed the call himself.“Good day, Mr Hosè,” he started smoothly with a professional tone, “I am calling from the Averne Company. I am one of Mr Averne's legal representatives. I have called to inform you that we would like to propose a collaborative approach, given as our teams are aligned in goal and burden. A united front may serve both clients — and this case — better.”There was a long pause on the other end of the line. Then, “Let me get in touch with my client, and get back to you,” Victor replied. “Thank you very much.” Victor immediately phoned Annabel. “Annabel, I just received a call from a legal representative of Mr Averne's, saying that they would like to join us in this case,” Victor said immediately Annabel picked up the phone. “No. I want nothing to do with them.” Annabel said flatly. “What if th