"So," Abigail turned to Mark, "What about you? What was it like for you growing up?""Hard," Mark said. "But not impossible. It was really only difficult for a few years, I made smart choices, and I got very lucky very early on. And everything just kind of went from there."Abigail pursed her lips. He wasn't saying much about his life, and she didn't want to press him if she was asking too much. This was the first time they were properly sitting down together, after all. Where they hadn't just bumped into each other."I graduated high school with amazing results," Mark told her. "Got a full ride to college and business school. And everything got better from there."Nothing had just been handed to him, then. Sometimes, Abigail still felt a little guilty about her own position. Because while she had struggled and lived a difficult life before this, it wasn't like anything here had been acquired through her own doing.This had just been handed to her. Maybe, she mused, that was why s

'This is hardly proof of anything.'Adam's words kept replaying in Charlotte's mind for the rest of the day. A simple dismissal of all her efforts for the morning.She barely heard a word he said after that, all she knew was that the little miss b*stard had such a control over Adam's mind that he wouldn't hear a single bad word about her. Even if it was in contrived, fabricated and highly distorted videos. The audacity was shocking to behold.And Charlotte, well and truly, for not the first time in her life, wanted to kill someone.She would settle for making a scene.________________________________________Abigail left work that evening, absolutely excited. She made it all the way to the elevator, excitedly messaging Mark all the details of everything that had just happened.Abigail had been wanting to message him all day, but she didn't want to be on her phone all the time. And she definitely didn't want her dad thinking he'd brought her here all this way just for her to be

Almost a second later, Olivia returned through the doors, looking decidedly different.She was both more controlled and less, somehow.Olivia cleared her throat, "Lyall is here," she announced.And like those words were magic itself, the room suddenly transformed.Adam sat up straighter and handed the earring back to Abigail, Charlotte immediately stopped her screeching and Abigail slipped the earring into her pocket. This might be done for now, and it might have no meaning later whatsoever, but she had learnt, from being around these people.And she would keep the earring for later, should she ever need it. Just like she had kept the little note Olivia had sent her along with her dress. "Mr. Woodtriche," Lyall greeted, walking over to Adam and shaking his hand."Lyall," Adam greeted, "So nice of you to stop by."Abigail thought she could sneak away right about now, with everyone focused on Lyall. She definitely needed to be anywhere but here."Abigail," Lyall turned to her b

Abigail woke the next morning, and immediately reached her hand to cradle her head. She had never before felt a pain like she did right now.She groaned and turned slowly to the dresser on her left. If she moved slowly enough, then the headache didn't bother her so much. She turned on her side, staring at the pedestal. She wanted to message Mark, but she just needed a moment before she could move again without any pain shooting through her.Everything from yesterday went through her mind again. Lyall was turning into a problem, a real problem. And he seemed to have Adam's favor. Adam, who was completely oblivious to Olivia's feelings for Lyall.Abigail sighed. She hoped her dad wouldn't ask anything more ridiculous out of her. She actually hoped he wouldn't ask any more out of her at all, but even she knew that was too much to hope for, now.Without moving too much, she slowly propped herself up on her one elbow. Since that didn't cause her too much pain, she reached for her phone.

Abigail blinked, not believing the scene in front of her. Charlotte was speaking to the man that had been naked in her bed.The man was dressed now, and how Abigail couldn't believe, because her bedroom floor was still littered with the stranger's clothes. So, he had a change of clothes here, then. Since she hardly believed her father would have given some of his to the man found naked in his daughter's bed.How much of this plan had been given such explicit detail, Abigail wondered. Where had this man been hiding?"That wasn't easy," the man complained, running the back of his head. "You could have given me an easier way to get into her room, you know. And I didn't sleep the entire night, in case she woke up. You gave me absolutely no directives to work with. What if she had woken up? At least she was already naked and in bed when I got there. Who did that part? You?""Of course me, who else was going to do it? You worry too much," Charlotte said. "She wasn't going to wake up. I d