When Trust Burns
Raisel – POV
It’s been a week. Just one. And yet, everything’s changed.
I had to get back to work at Terrain Motors. Normal life, right? Except it’s not. Gwen dropped the bomb—Killian's the new CEO, not Soren. That one stung.
The whole week passed in a blur. Killian kept me updated using coded language that made zero sense half the time. Thankfully,
Fiora was a pro at decoding it. Killian said Soren was doing fine, which was something, but the officers were still monitoring every call, every device. Translation: zero contact with Soren. For who knows how long.
Knock knock.
“You ready? You’re gonna be late,” Hazel’s voice called out gently.
“Coming!” I stepped out of my room, pulling down my green blouse and smoothing my black pencil skirt.
“Whoa, look at you. Total knockout,” Hazel said, giving me the classic head-to-toe scan. I smiled. She was trying her best to lift my
spirits.
“You don’t have to drive me. I’ll grab a cab,” I said quietly.
“Nope. I’ve got nowhere to be,” she said, her voice trailing off with a sadness I didn’t miss. Two days ago, she closed the doors on
her own company. A takeover she didn’t see coming. Now she’s... just floating.
Hazel pouted, and I knew right then—she needed to feel useful again. Doing something. Anything.
“Okay, fine. You can drop me,” I said, relenting. Her smile lit up. “I got up early and made pancakes,” she said proudly, and gestured
toward the kitchen, which looked like a hurricane had passed through.
My OCD twitched. Hard.
“I—”
“Don’t even think about cleaning,” Hazel cut in with a sheepish grin, already reading my mind. “I know, I know. It’s messy. I’ll handle it.”
I gave her a look. She sighed dramatically.
“Hey! I know I’m a mess—” she started, and then Nia walked in, face tight, clearly annoyed.
“Sorry, Nia,” Hazel said quickly, guilt flashing across her face.
“It’s okay,” Nia said with a tired smile. She was the kind, patient househelp we’d hired, thank God.
We ate breakfast in a weird silence, then Hazel drove me to work. Her phone buzzed nonstop. She kept ignoring it.
“Uh… maybe pull over and check that?” I whispered.
“Nope. Not worth it,” she said with a casual wave.
Then the phone rang. Caller ID flashed: Enemy.
I blinked. “Who the hell did you piss off that they earned that name?”
Hazel gave me a bitter smile. “Oh, he earned it alright.” She exhaled. “My fiancé. Or rather, soon-to-be ex-fiancé. He’s the guy who
bought my company.”
What?!
“Wait—what?!”
“Yep. Cain Henderson,” she spat. “He said he had nothing to do with the buyout, but it was a lie. My mom—desperate for investors
—reached out to the one man I loathe. Cain Henderson. My business rival.”
“You mean the Cain Henderson? As in billionaire CEO of Henderson Corporation?” I whispered like it was some dark fairy tale.
“That’s the one,” she said bitterly. “He swooped in and took everything. And the worst part? There’s a clause in our engagement deal. I can’t back out without paying five billion. Apparently, my mother took a loan with his firm as collateral. So technically… I’ve been sold.”
My stomach dropped.
“Why’s he calling?” I asked, already hating the answer.
“To set a damn engagement date. And if I want out? I have to pay the money. Only then can I be free,” she hissed, hands gripping the steering wheel.
“This is insane,” I breathed. “I wish I could help, but I—”
“You don’t have to,” she cut in, her voice firm but tired. “I’ll figure it out.”
I gave her a worried glance. I had no idea how she was going to crawl out of this.
“Don’t worry about my chaos. You’ve got enough on your plate,” Hazel said, brushing it off like it didn’t matter. But it did.
“I know. I just… I miss Soren,” I said, heart sinking.
Hazel nodded slowly. “Yeah. Crying over a fake funeral isn’t easy.”
The body cremated wasn’t his. The cops brought a corpse, ran the forensics. They claimed the dental records matched Soren’s.
I didn’t know how Killian pulled it off—but it worked. Roacher was arranging a safehouse for Soren and me, once the heat cooled off and the officers stopped watching us like hawks.
“Hey,” Hazel snapped me out of my thoughts. “We’re here.”
I stepped out of the car—and immediately spotted Fiora’s car screeching into the parking lot.
Hazel and I exchanged a look before getting out. Fiora looked panicked.
“What happened?” I asked, already bracing.
“There’s been a leak,” she said, breathless. “A video.”
My blood ran cold. “Who?”
“I traced the IP. It’s coming from your office,” she said, pulling up something on her tablet. “I need to check every address in the system.”
“You’ll need Killian’s clearance—”
“I have it,” she said, already heading toward the elevator. Hazel and I followed.
My mind raced. Who in the office would do this? Everyone seemed loyal. Trustworthy. But I guess… there’s always one.
Fiora walked straight into the IT room. The officers let her in after confirming with Killian. She logged in—and it didn’t take long.
Just seconds.
Then her eyes widened. Her lips parted.
“What is it?” I asked, my heart thudding.
She whispered, like the word hurt to say:
“Gwen.”
I shook my head. “No… no, that can’t be right.”
“It is,” Fiora said, her voice heavy.
“We need to confront her. Now,” Hazel said, rage bubbling under her words.
I took a breath. Steady. Focused. Even though inside, I felt like I’d been punched.
Gwen. The one person I’d started to trust in all this chaos.
And now… betrayed me.