FALLING INTO THE TRAP

Talk of the devil! I turn around to face her, standing tall and soaked in superiority as if she owns the world. I can't wait to see her crumble.


"Actually, you can, Gracia! Tell me where my friends are and how they are." I ask calmly with concern, but like the heartless monster that she is, all she does is smile, mocking my miseries. "You don't have a conscious, do you?" I add, trying to act strong.

"Not when I know you are hurting for what I am doing, Ellie. Seeing you this shaken gives me a lot of satisfaction. Don't even try to act strong because you are failing miserably." She sneers.

So, she can see through me, huh? Well, she better be weary because I don't know what I can do in this fear. There is no way I will let her hurt my friends or anyone else. "Why do I have to suffer like this? What wrong did I ever do to you?" I query, and she smirks.


"I thought you were wise? Why haven't you figured anything out until now? Your father has always bragged about having the smartest daughter in the world. Where did that go, huh? Did you bury it together with your father?"

"You mean, your supposed husband? Or was he only your husband when he was alive?"


"You tell me since you seem to be so observant and stick your nose where you are not needed. Did you ever see your fucking father treat me like his wife, even for a single day, in the five years we stayed together?"

Okay?! She is losing it! And I am winning! And that is my plan. I just need to push a little bit, but with caution.

"Actually, no," I retort, softening my gaze a little. 'I would be a big liar if I said that I ever saw my father even look at you the way she looked at my mom with so much adoration and respect. The love between him and my mom was so obvious that even a fool could notice it, but with you? He was just flat, like he never felt anything at all for you, and..."

"And that is what you will pay for, you bastard!" She blows up, her eyes turning red with venom, but I don't move even an inch. Come on, fool! Spill it all out! 'For being that witch's daughter, you will also pay for all of their sins and everything they made me and my daughter go through."

Whoa! Hell is breaking loose, and this office is becoming too hot for both of us. I might have nailed her hard. I can see tears in her eyes. She loved him so much, huh? But her love was never reciprocated. So what did he marry her for? Is Nelly really...

"I'll make you pay for their sins, Ellie, and I am making you pay already. This is far from over."

Don't get too suspicious, Ellie! She can't know you are digging out information from her; otherwise, she will rip the ground off you before you can attain your goal.

"You are punishing me for the mistakes I never committed? For the sins I never knew were committed? Is this revenge really working, or are you just this evil to punish an innocent person?" I ask.

She shakes her head, blinking back the tears. "I don't care what works for others, but this is how it fucking works for Gracia Andriano. I thought seeing their graves would finally give me peace of mind, but it is not, because you remind me so much of them, especially of that disgusting mother of yours."

I see. That is why she had to go first. May thunder strike this monster dead right now. "You. are . so . rotten, Gracia!" I fume, trembling with rage.

"Thank you, and be ready for the worst because you have seen nothing at all. I give you three days to give me what I asked for because I don't understand what games you are playing. By the way, your two stupid friends said hi."

Three what? How did seven days fly down to three?

"Why don't you just take me, Gracia? It is me you want, right? You don't have to involve innocent people." I plead because this is how the justice of sane people works.

"This is my game, and I make the rules. You have no right to tell me how to play my own game," she fires back.

I have it in my head, and though I am unaware of how I will do it, I am taking her challenge with faith and determination. "Three days it is, Gracia. But don't hurt them, I beg you."

"I will think sparingly about their pathetic lives after I get the company. In the meantime, my daughter might be winning your filthy husband's heart in his office."

Shoot! She is already there.

"What?" I query.

"Why? Are you worried you might lose him to him too?" she asks.

"No, I am worried that she might end up embarrassing herself because Damian isn't like Leo or any other man, and clearly, you failed miserably in installing some morals in your slut of a daughter," I fire back. If only she knew that that shameless bitch walked right into my trap, she wouldn't be parading herself as the winner here.

"How dare you..." She flings her hand to slap me, but I hold it midair, digging my nails in her fresh.

How dare she? "I can be anything to you, Gracia, but not your punching bag! I won't even hesitate to slap you back so know your boundaries," I fume, and she yanks her hand away, massaging her wrists. '

"Truth hurts, right? I wonder who Nelly takes after—you or her father? You should probably take her to her father for some disciplining," I dig deeper.

"I would, but too bad because her Father is dead!"

Dead? Her father is dead? Does that mean she is my father's bastard child?

"Ooh, since when?" I ask.

"None of your business! Three days! I either get the company or you burry your friends and your husband in one day!" And she stomps out of the office, and I sit in my chair to think.