The silence in Tania’s house was oppressive, pressing in on her from every angle. She hadn’t left in days, choosing instead to hole up in her empty mansion, ignoring the calls and messages from the few friends she still had. She barely ate, barely slept. When she did sleep, her dreams were haunted by Ella’s face and the sound of Ethan’s voice as he walked away from her.
On some days, Tania wandered through the rooms like a ghost, stopping to talk to imaginary visitors at the dining table. She’d set places for Ethan and Grace, then sit there for hours, holding conversations that only she could hear. At times, she would laugh softly, as though remembering fond memories that had never truly happened. Other times, she would stare into space, her eyes glassy, her mind a fog of confusion and desperation.
Every whisper she’d heard, every finger pointed in her direction, every stare from people who once respected her it all played on an endless loop in her head. In her mind, the betrayal lay not with her own actions, but with Ella and Ethan. She was convinced that if Ella had stayed “dead” like she was supposed to, none of this would have happened. And if Ethan had truly loved her, he would have stayed by her side. But now, she was alone, shattered, and exposed to a world that no longer saw her as powerful, but as pitiful.
Just as she was sinking further into these thoughts, the doorbell rang, echoing through the empty house. She froze, her heart pounding. After a moment, she gathered herself and went to answer it, her hands trembling.
Two police officers stood at her doorstep, their faces impassive. “Tania?” one of them asked.
“Yes?” she replied, her voice barely a whisper.
“Ms. Tania, we’re here regarding an investigation,” the officer continued. “Your name has come up in connection with human trafficking and money laundering.”
Tania’s eyes widened, her face going pale. “What? That’s… that’s absurd! I would never…” She stammered, struggling to form a coherent sentence as panic surged through her veins.
“That’s what all criminals say,” the officer replied coolly, giving her a stern look. “We’re informing you that you’re a person of interest in these cases. You’re not to leave the city until the investigations are concluded, and you’re proven innocent.”
Without waiting for her response, they turned and left, leaving Tania rooted to the spot, staring after them in shock. She barely registered the sound of the door clicking shut behind her.
Once the reality sank in, a wave of fear washed over her. “I don’t want to go to prison,” she whispered, clutching her chest as though it would stop her racing heart. “Why is this happening to me?” Her voice cracked, tears streaming down her face as she stumbled back into the living room.
Tania’s breaths came in shallow gasps as she looked around her once-proud mansion. Every polished surface, every piece of art she had carefully curated, now seemed to mock her. The silence that once felt like a symbol of her power now weighed on her like a curse. She sank down onto the cold marble floor, clutching her phone as if it were a lifeline. Desperation bubbled up inside her.
“No… no… no…” Her voice trembled as she dialed Rick’s number again. He had always been her fixer, her confidant. But the call went straight to voicemail. She tried again, and again, but with each failed attempt, the reality of her isolation hit her harder. The people she’d once relied on, the allies she’d thought she controlled they had all fallen away. And Rick, who had promised to be her right hand, was nowhere to be found.
“This cannot be happening,” she whispered, her voice breaking as she stared at her phone in disbelief. She tried again, hands shaking. Still, no answer. The ringing in her ears grew louder, drowning out her thoughts. For years, she had played the game ruthlessly, believing that loyalty was something she could buy. But now, in her darkest hour, she realized the truth: loyalty bought with fear and manipulation wasn’t loyalty at all. It was fragile, vanishing the moment her power wavered.
Tania stumbled into her office, where stacks of financial reports and files lay in neat piles. She yanked open her drawer, her fingers trembling as she pulled out a list of contacts. One by one, she dialed each number, but the response was always the same. A disconnected line, an unanswered call, or a cold, distant voice that quickly shut her down. Even those who once feared her were now eager to distance themselves, as if her downfall were contagious.
“Cowards!” she spat, tossing the list onto the floor, her heart pounding with a mix of rage and panic. “After everything I’ve done for them, they abandon me like this?”
“how could they” Tania screamed, holding her hair in a tight grip as if she want to feel the pain to ascertain if everything was real or she was dreaming.
Alone again, her thoughts spiraled. To her, this was all a consequence of Ella’s return, the beginning of her undoing. She had worked so hard to get to the top, had sacrificed so much, and now it was all unraveling, and all she could do was watch helplessly. “It’s Ella’s fault,” she muttered under her breath. “And Ethan’s.”
Her voice grew louder, more frantic as she paced back and forth. She envisioned Ella and Ethan standing before her, blaming them for everything. She could almost see Ella’s face, calm and composed, laughing at her downfall. “Why didn’t you just stay dead?” she shouted at the empty room. “Why couldn’t you let me have this one thing?”
Her voice echoed in the silence, and for the first time, it struck her just how empty her world had become. A shiver ran down her spine as she realized the precarious position she was in. Tania, once so confident and in control, was now cornered, her entire world teetering on the edge of collapse.