After being closed for over twenty four hours by the police, while they were investigating the murder of two men, the Vipers club was finally reopened, and it was more crowded than it usually was tonight.The club was dimly lit, with disco lights flashing randomly around the club. The low hum of bass and chatter vibrating through the floor. Jane was slouched over the bar, a half-empty glass of whiskey in front of her. The bitter taste did nothing to numb the frustration and humiliation still burning inside her. There had never been a dull moment with Jane at the club. She was even there the night of the killing. She was so wasted she had to be dragged out by her friends as everyone was running out, but tonight, she didn’t come with anyone. It was just her, her sorrows and her glass of whiskey.Two days ago, she had thought she was in control of her life. Everything was perfect.At the office, she had her bosses in the palm of her hands because she knew their deepest secrets. Two

Axel nearly screamed in shock when she noticed someone was standing there, but she managed to swallow her scream.She just held her chest and closed her eyes tightly from the shock. “Ava, you scared me,” she inhaled deeply when she opened her eyes.Ava just stood there, watching her.Her posture was perfect with her still, unreadable eyes, the kind of stillness that made you forget she could move like a blade when she wanted to.Ava’s eyes walked over Axel, her bag, the shoes, her suit… she took everything in, then, in a calm voice that showed that she was five steps ahead, she asked:“Where are you going?”Axel paused for a moment. She considered lying, but she knew better. Ava was the scariest woman she had ever seen. And the way she was looking at her right now, Axel was sure Ava knew the answer and was only asking out of formality.In Axel’s head, Ava wasn’t someone you lied to. She didn’t even think Ethan himself would ever lie to her.“I’m going back to work,” Axel said, squar

Axel watched the security guard till he disappeared into the hallway like smoke.‘Wait… what? That’s it? You’re leaving? You’re leaving me with him?’Her chest tightened painfully.‘I’m really on my own.’Around her, she noticed her coworkers staring.Some were whispering.She even spotted someone behind a potted plant trying to discreetly lift a phone to record.She almost shook her head seeing that. Alexander will kill that person if he notices.But he didn’t notice. His eyes were entirely on her.“So.” He clasped his hands behind his back, his voice soft. “When are you coming back to me?”Axel’s spine went rigid at the confidence in his voice.‘When?’ she found his choice of words incredulous“I am never coming back to you,” she bit out.“And what do you mean coming back? I was never yours!” she spat.Her voice was getting firmer, partly from her anger and disgust at his words, but also because she realized they were in a public space, his hands were quite literally tied at this

The young woman spent another minute asking Axel to come to her if ever she needed someone to assist with one task or another, and then she hurried off to continue with her tasks for the day.Axel watched her go, feeling a bit of pity in her gut.Here this lady was, working diligently, trying to build something for herself, but some demon called Alexander Cole was plotting to ruin her life.Axel almost hated herself for it. It was because of her that these people got a chance in life, and now because of her, they could very much lose that chance at the snap of his fingers.She managed to shake off the feeling and walk to her office, convincing herself that Alexander was evil, but he wasn't so heartless that he would ruin people's lives on a whim.But deep down, she knew he could do a lot worse than that to hurt her.It was scary to even think of the extent to which he could go for revenge, so she didn't think about it.She just locked the door to her office, ready to bury her problem

Axel’s hands clenched at her sides. “One week?”“You heard me,” Mr. Wade said, not giving any room for negotiation.“That… That’s insane sir,” Axel blurted. “With all due respect,” she quickly added.Mr. Wade frowned but since she had added the last part, he couldn’t justify an outburst.“Forgive my reaction sir, but you have to understand, some of these tasks took me days on end to sort through before I even began working on them properly,” Axel explained.“Some of it required coordination with other teams, detailed reports, and full financial breakdowns. Those things would take a while sir.”“Compressing that into seven days is… impossible.”Mr Wade just shrugged. There was no sign of emotion on his face.“You said you had already done it before right? Surely it shouldn’t be too heard to redo it again,” he smiled cruelly. “But sir…”“Axel, please,” Mr. Wade raised his hand, silencing her.“You have one week to finish up here. You are wasting your time here. You are wasting both ou