With her influence and her husbands’s steadfast support, Es and her family had beco the majority shareholders in the company. Removing them would require a battle no one was ready to fight. The other shareholders? Minor players, barely a nuisance.
Her attention also turned toward the Valhale Group, her aunt’s pride and joy. Es was ruthless and unrelenting in her pursuit to "clean house." If sothing was rotten, she believed it should be uprooted completely. Half-asures weren’t in her nature.
Diana, though good at business yet, had no strength to oppose Es. Her aunt and the remnants of her family were swept aside with ease. Es’s vision of a spotless future didn’t leave room for sentints or second chances.
And then there was Katrina. Suspended indefinitely. Her disappearance was shrouded in mystery, and no one seed to know—or care—where she had gone. Katrina’s mother hadn’t fared much better. With charges piling up against her—murder, corruption, and countless abuses of power—her fall from grace was swift and irreversible.
As Es moved forward with her plans, ti was ticking. Ray’s due date drew nearer, and Es’s urgency grew. She couldn’t afford any loose ends, any threats that could jeopardize the future she envisioned.
.
.
.
Es sat in her office, her fingers flying over the keyboard like she was hacking into the Pentagon. Across from her, Aaron lounged in the chair, but his usual smug attitude had evaporated, replaced with a look so pitiful it could have been bottled and sold as "Gloom."
Pausing mid-typing, Es arched a perfectly sculpted brow. "What’s with the face? You look like you just licked a hundred lemons. Sour doesn’t suit you."
Aaron glared, his patience visibly thinning. "Can you, for once, talk like a normal human being? Just once?"
Es smirked, leaning back in her chair as though she had all the ti in the world. "Oh, I can talk like a human. I just choose not to because it’s so boring." Her voice dripped with exaggerated sweetness.
Aaron groaned, dragging a hand down his face. "You know, if you keep this up, you’re begging for to shut you up."
"Promises, promises," Es quipped, spinning her chair dramatically. "But seriously, what’s your problem? Did your mirror tell you you’re not the prettiest today?"
Aaron hesitated, his jaw tightening before he finally muttered, "I t him."
Es’s fingers froze on the keyboard for a beat before continuing their rhythmic tapping. Her voice turned cool, almost too casual. "Oh? And how’s he doing?"
Aaron’s lips pressed into a thin line. "Living the dream, apparently."
Es tilted her head, her lips curling into a wry smile. "Hmm, interesting. Let know how that well they are".
---
Flashback:
A few days earlier, Katrina sat in her massive living room, staring into the void like it owed her money. How had her life flipped upside down so fast? One day, she was an officer riding on her mother’s coattails; the next, she was suspended, humiliated, and practically invisible. Her mother—once untouchable—was now in jail, charged with enough cris to fill an encyclopedia.
She clenched her jaw. "This has to be so kind of nightmare," she muttered.
Before she could spiral any further, the front door slamd open with a dramatic bang. In walked Aaron, his hands in his pockets and a cocky grin plastered across his face. His shoes clicked against the marble floor as he took in the mansion like he was touring a museum.
"Knock, knock," Aaron called out, his voice oozing with sarcasm. "Anybody ho? Oh wait, I don’t care. I already let myself in."
Katrina shot up, her face a mix of anger and confusion. "You! What the hell are you doing here?"
Aaron turned to her, his grin sharpening into sothing more dangerous. "? Oh, just admiring the décor. Nice place you’ve got. Sha about the owners, though." His tone was light, but his eyes were ice-cold.
"Get out!" Katrina snapped, her voice cracking under the weight of her rage.
Aaron chuckled, a low, mocking sound that made her skin crawl. "Oh, sweetheart, if this is your house, then I can co and go as I please. Isn’t that how your family operates?"
Before Katrina could respond, a deep voice cut through the tension. "What’s going on here?"
Her father appeared, his shirt loose and slightly rumpled, but his presence still commanding. His eyes fell on Aaron, and he froze for a split second—a mont Katrina didn’t miss.
Aaron’s gaze slid to the older man, and his smirk widened. It wasn’t a friendly expression.
Katrina blinked, her mind racing. Why did Aaron look... familiar? And then it hit her like a truck.
The sharp features, the piercing eyes—they weren’t just similar. They were practically identical.
Her stomach dropped. "Wait... no way." Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Aaron’s smirk deepened as he caught the realization flickering across her face. "Oh, don’t stop now," he drawled. "You’re this close to figuring it out. Go ahead—say it."
The room seed to shrink as Katrina’s brain finally put the pieces together.
Aaron stepped forward with a smirk that could cut glass. "Well, hello, lovely sister," he drawled, his tone dripping with mockery.
Katrina froze, her wide eyes darting to her father. The man, on the other hand, looked like he’d seen a ghost. He pointed a shaky finger at Aaron, stamring, "Y-you? You?"
Aaron cocked his head, a sly grin tugging at his lips. "Yes, . Your long-lost son. You know, the one you ditched in a storm like yesterday’s trash?"
The man’s face went slack, his mind clearly struggling to catch up. Katrina, still trying to process, sputtered, "Brother? My brother?" Her voice was as shrill as a tea kettle.
Aaron gave her a pitying look. "Oh, sweetie, yes. Surprise! I’m about a year older than you. Daddy dearest and Mommy not-so-dearest decided they’d had enough of before you ca along. Lucky you, huh?"
Katrina’s jaw dropped, her gaze snapping to her father. "Is this true?"
The man opened and closed his mouth like a fish, clearly scrambling for an explanation. Then, as if on cue, he dropped into the performance of a lifeti, clutching his chest dramatically. "My boy! My son! I... I never ant—"
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