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    “I saw you die.”

    Mia’s voice cracked, barely above a whisper, and then she squeezed her eyes shut like she was bracing herself for the

    world to copse.

    She waited. Waited for the sharpughter. Waited for the cold dismissal. Waited for Esther to call security, to have her dragged out of the office like some crazy woman who had finally lost it.

    But nothing came.

    The silence stretched out instead, wrapping around her until it felt like she couldn’t breathe.

    Slowly, carefully, Mia peeled her eyes open.

    Her gaze collided with Esther ckwell’s. I

    And her chest tightened.

    Esther wasn’tughing. She wasn’t even smirking. She wasn’t yelling for anyone to get Mia out. She was just staring at her,

    her face unreadable. Not angry. Not annoyed. Not amused.

    Just nk.

    And somehow that was worse.

    Mia swallowed hard, her throat aching with dryness, her heart still pounding in her ears.

    She had already started. There was no turning back now. If she stopped here, if she bit back the rest, she would spend the

    rest of her life regretting it.

    She would see Esther’s face in her nightmares, and she would wonder what if.

    Esther is Aiden’s grandmother, she has to do everything she can…

    So she can’t stop here.

    She had to say it all.

    “You saw me die,” Esther repeated softly, echoing Mia’s words back to her.

    Mia nodded quickly, her head bobbing nervously. “bYes/bb,/b” she whispered again, her voice shaking. She looked away, unable to bear the weight of Esther’s eyes on her.

    Her fingers curled into fists in herp, nails digging into her palms. She needed courage. She needed to get it out before she lost her nervepletely.

    “I uh-” she tried, but the words caught in her throat. Should she tell her everything? Should she mention him?

    Her stomach twisted at the thought.

    11:08 Fri, 29 Aug

    Her husband.

    Charles ckwell.

    That name alone was enough to make her whole body seize up.

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    Her mind raced. What if Esther was still in love with him? What if she still spoke to him, still trusted him? What if Mia

    mentioned his name and this woman, this powerful woman, called him straight after? What if he found out Mia was here?

    Oh God. Her son.

    Her sweet boy.

    Her chest rose and fell sharply. Panic wed up her throat.

    Breathe, Mia. Just breathe.

    But in the dream… in the dream Esther and Charles hadn’t looked like they were in good terms. In fact, it had been the

    opposite. There had been so much anger, so much hatred between them.

    It was true…they wanted no ties with Charles anymore, ording to what she heard.

    But still… Esther was technically married to him, wasn’t she?

    Mia squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

    Maybe after this, she would have to pack her things and leave. Maybe she shouldn’t stay here anymore, not when there was a chance Charles might find out she was so close to Alex.

    She can’t let her child’s life be put in danger.

    She peeled her eyes open again, sucking in a shaky breath.

    “Your husband,” she blurted out, her voice almost tumbling over itself. “Uh–Mr ckwell is setting a trap with the Lujo

    Advertising Company for you.”

    The words shot out of her mouth so quickly, like ripping off a bandage. She didn’t even give herself the chance to nce at Esther’s face, to see her reaction. She couldn’t. She didn’t want to.

    The silence that followed was unbearable,

    Mia’s chest tightened. Her ears rang.

    She waited for questions, for Esther to scoff, for her to yell. But nothing. Esther was still quiet, still just staring.

    The pressure built in Mia’s chest, and she felt the tears prick her eyes. She had to finish this. She had to get it all out, and

    then she would leave.

    “I know how ridiculous this whole thing is,” she whispered, her voice shaking. “But it’s happened before, and every time… it’se true. Every time. You have no reason to listen to me, I know that. But please-”

    11:08 Fri, 29 Aug

    “Tell me in detail what exactly happened,” Esther cut in suddenly.

    Mia froze.

    Her head jerked up, her mouth falling open in shock. That wasn’t what she was expecting her to say at all.

    “What?” Mia breathed out, her voice small, stunned.

    Her stomach flipped. Her reaction or rather, herck of reaction…

    was theplete opposite of what Mia had prepared for.

    She had expected anger, rage, disbelief. She had expected to be thrown out. But calmness? Curiosity?

    Why was she so calm?

    Did she… did she actually believe her?

    “Tell me the dream in detail, Miss Rivers,” Esther said again.

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    Mia sat up straighter again, her heart still pounding hard, her hands trembling in herp. She cleared her throat, trying to steady her voice.

    Then she started.

    “It’s all nned,” she said softly, her words slow, careful. “Once you get there, you’ll be kidnapped. There’s a ne already waiting, ready to take you to Willowcrest. You’ll fight with him..because he tries to use you to bring Jullian and uh-” she paused, the next name heavy on her tongue.

    She swallowed, her throat tight, and forced it out.

    “Alex.”

    The name hung in the air

    For the briefest moment, Mia saw something flicker in Esther’s face. A twitch in her lip, a flicker in her eyes. But then, just like that, her expression went nk again.

    Mia blinked. Had she imagined it?

    “1uh–he’s going to try to use you to get to them,” she continued nervously. “You’ll get angry. You’ll start fighting. And then… you fall. You fall down a building. And you die.”

    Thest words came out in a rush, her hands rubbing together on herp, her whole body trembling.

    Mia thought she might throw up.

    She had to be the bravest or the stupidest…person alive to sit here and tell her boss, her ex mother to her face that she was going to die. And not just that, she was using her husband to be the cause of it.

    “Did he push me,” Esther asked softly, “or did I fall?”

    11:08 Fri, 29 Aug

    Mia blinked, takenpletely off guard.

    Her lips parted, a confused sound escaping her. “Huh?”

    Did she… did she just believe her?

    “I said, did he push me, or did I fall?” Esther repeated, her eyes steady, her tone unshaken.

    Mia’s whole body froze.

    She blinked rapidly, her mind scrambling. “I uh–you were trying to run. And he was dragging you back. And you fell. All the times I’ve seen it… you were arguing and dragging each other, and then you fell,” she whispered.

    Esther hummed softly, as if the answer didn’t surprise her.

    Then she leaned back in her chair, pulling out files from a folder, her movements slow, deliberate. “I’m sorry you have been burdened with this, Mia,” she said calmly.

    Mia’s head jerked up.

    What?

    Her eyes widened. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

    “Point of correction,” Esther said firmly, her eyes flicking up for just a second before returning to the papers in front of her. “He’s not my husband anymore. I’ve been trying to get a divorce from that bastard.”

    Mia’s mouth fell open slightly.

    She was stunned. Completely stunned.

    Nothing….absolutely nothing about this conversation was turning out the way she had thought it would.

    She should have been thrown out. She should have been humiliated. She should have beenughed at, fired, dragged

    away.

    But instead… Esther ckwell was calmly correcting her.

    Mia sat frozen in her chair, her whole body tense, her mind spinning.

    “Go back to work, Miss Rivers,” Esther said then, her voice final, dismissing.

    Mia blinked at her, her brain struggling to catch up.

    “…should go back to work?” she repeated dumbly, sounding like an idiot. Her voice was small, shaky, like she was asking

    for confirmation

    “Yes, Miss Rivers,” Esther repeated, her eyes already on the papers in front of her “Go back to work.”

    Mia stood up slowly, her legs feeling heavy, her body numb

    Her thoughts were a tangled mess.

    11:08 Fri, 29 Aug

    Is this a trap?

    Has she just made everything worse?

    Has she dug herself into a deeper problem?