THE MASK SLIPS****The next morning started like any other, or at least that’s what Manuel told himself.He adjusted the cuff of his shirt inside the backseat of the car, eyes fixed ahead and his jaw tight. He had barely slept, he was thinking of everything that happened last night and how he saw. He couldn't still believe anyone would go so much length to hurt another. He swallowed hard, accepting the reality before him. He couldn't eat that morning, he had lost his appetite. He had seen the worried look on Laura's face when he said he wasn't taking anything.He didn't want to hurt her in anyway, but sometimes it happens.The file from last night sat heavy in his mind. Tommy Lyden. The name still echoed.Laura was driving him and all the time they were in the car, they didn't speak to each other. It looked as though, they both had something that was bothering them.Just then, the car slowed. Manuel frowned slightly. They weren’t at the entrance yet, but they weren't far either. Fr

DINNER WITH ME?The office was quiet again, but Laura was still staring at where Orland stood few minutes ago, before she finally settled.Manuel on the other hand stood still for a moment, staring at the closed door like he could still see through it. Laura watched him carefully. She knew that look. When he stopped reacting, when his face went blank like that, it meant he was thinking ten steps ahead.Without saying anything, Manuel walked to the bookshelf behind his desk. It wasn’t one of the decorative ones. This shelf was different and it belonged to his father.He ran his fingers along them slowly, then stopped at one. He pulled it out. It looked ordinary, with a dark brown cover and no title on spine He walked back to the desk and placed it in front of Laura. “Open it,” he said.She raised an eyebrow but did as he said.The book wasn’t really a book, it was hollowed out in the middle.Inside were folded documents, old papers and handwritten notes and it also contained names.L

THE SURPRISE Christopher didn’t even hear her. He was slumped halfway off the bed now, mumbling something about Laura.Mira grabbed her top from the floor and put it back on quickly.She looked at him one last time. All that admiration she carried quietly for months faded immediately.She walked to the door and stood to look at him again. “Pathetic,” she muttered. Then she left him there, alone.____HAWTHORNE HOTEL Manuel and Laura's dinner stretched longer than they expected. They were talking and laughing at silly jokes.The Hawthorne Hotel had that quiet warmth to it. You could just relax and forget all your worries.Laura noticed something different about him from the moment the food arrived.He wasn’t distracted and he wasn’t on his phone. He was focused on her. “You didn’t have to do this,” she said quietly, fingers brushing the edge of her glass.He leaned back slightly, watching her in that calm way of his. “I wanted to.”“For what?”“For everything,” he replied simply.S