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“A deal is a deal, Sawyer,” Liana replied, her tone still calm, almost too calm. She took a sip from her coffee cup, her movements smooth as she reached for a book on the shelf. “Do I need to teach you the basics of business and contracts again?”
Sawyer’s jaw tightened. He stepped back, folding his arms in frustration, his sigh heavy with annoyance. “Olivia is already back, Mom. Ellie doesn’t need to stay anymore.”
Liana raised an eyebrow. “She’s back?” A faint smirk tugged at the corners of her lips as she feigned a surprise, pretending as though she didn’t already know. “I thought she’d be gone for at least five years.”
Sawyer frowned. "Why do you say that?"
“When I last spoke to her, I told her our business wasn’t doing well. I said it would take at least five years to get back to where we were, to climb back up the wealth ranks,” Liana explained casually. “The next day, she booked a flight overseas and left. I assumed she’d be gone for much longer.”
Sawyer’s frown deepened. “She’s not greedy. You’re wrong about that.”
Liana said nothing, only shrugging nonchalantly. “Well, you must be smarter than me then. I seem to have forgotten how to judge people. Though that Ellie girl… she seems alright.”
Sawyer’s face flushed with anger. His hand shot out, grabbing the book from his mother’s hand and slamming it shut. Liana looked up, unperturbed, as Sawyer barked at her.
“She seems alright to you? Ellie?! Do you have any idea what she’s been doing to me for the past three years?!” His voice rose with fury. “She told me she loved me, pretended to care for me, but in the end, she just wanted my money! She’s only after my checks. Give her what she wants, and she changes like that!” He snapped his fingers for emphasis.
Liana arched an eyebrow, unimpressed. “Really?”
"Yes! She admitted it! She told me she’s been pretending this whole time, just using me for my money! She didn’t even flinch! Can you believe that?" Sawyer was practically shaking with anger. "She says she doesn't care about me anymore, now that the agreement is almost up and Olivia is back."
Sawyer's voice cracked with disbelief, his broad chest rising and falling as frustration seeped through every word. "She never even raised her voice in front of me all these years, and now—now she just flatly says she’s tired of her ‘act’?!" His fists tightened at his sides, his knuckles whitening.
Liana’s usually stoic face cracked into a smile. Then she laughed, leaning back in her chair, shaking her head.
“Let me get this straight,” she said, her voice tinged with laughter. “You don’t want to break the agreement because Olivia’s back. You want to break it because Ellie’s annoying you?” Her brow arched, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth.
Sawyer's gaze locked onto her, completely oblivious to her amusement. "Yes! Obviously!" he growled, his frustration thick in his voice. "She’s been playing me for three years, and I’m done with it. I’m not wasting another second on her!"
Liana burst into laughter, her eyes squinting as she fought to compose herself. She let out a long sigh, leaning forward, her gaze steady. When she finally spoke, her voice was cool, but there was an edge to it.
"You are not breaking that agreement, Sawyer Stark, until it’s fulfilled. Until the three years are up. That is final."
Sawyer’s expression twisted into one of disbelief and frustration, his grip on his chair tightening. "What? Mom—"
"No more arguments." Liana’s voice was firm now, her tone leaving no room for debate. "You made a deal with me. You’re sticking to it."
***
Ellie’s entire body was drenched in sweat as she lay in the hospital bed, her face flushed with heat. Her eyes were squeezed shut, but darkness swirled behind her eyelids—not the kind of darkness that was peaceful, but a heavy, oppressive one. And in that darkness, there was someone—someone familiar—cackling above her.
"Did you really think you were my friend? Jesus, you’re dumb," the voice mocked bitterly. "How many times have I told you I’m jealous of you? Did you really take it all as a joke?"
The voice was sharp, filled with venom. Ellie felt herself shrinking in the darkness, unable to move, paralyzed as a figure circled her, a lighter flickering in their hand.
The girl standing over her—someone Ellie knew—was gripping a lighter in her hand as she circled Ellie’s injured body. Ellie lay helpless on the ground, unable to move.
"You have a rich family, loving parents, and the man I love the most. Why the fuck do you have everything I want, while I’m stuck scraping for leftovers and still getting nothing?!” the girl shrieked, her face red with fury. "I tried to seduce your boyfriend, but guess what? He said he’s disgusted with me! Do you believe that? He said he’s disgusted!"
She barked out a laugh, her grip tightening around the lighter.
"Well, let’s see who he finds more disgusting now." the girl sneered, twirling the lighter in her hand before igniting it.
"Once you’re left in nothing but ashes, he’ll be mine. Everything you have will be mine."
Then, she dropped the lighter.
Her entire body erupted in flames. Flames licked at her skin, the pain was excruciating, all-consuming. She screamed in agony as her skin burned, feeling helpless, unable to escape. She was on fire, and there was nothing she could do.