Chapter 40: The Last Lie
Chapter 40: The Last Lie
The morning sun was pale, stretching its weak light across the cemetery grounds. The air was damp with dew, heavy with silence, the kind that pressed against the chest. Lucas stood by the gates for a moment, holding a single white rose between his fingers, before stepping inside. His polished shoes sank slightly into the soft earth as he made his way to the familiar gravestone.
It had become his ritual — every morning, before anything else, he visited Sienna’s grave. He placed a fresh white rose on the stone, as though it were a conversation between them, his way of keeping her alive in silence.
But today, he froze in his steps.
Daniel was already there.
The man’s shoulders were hunched, his tailored suit wrinkled as if he had slept in it. His hand clutched at the edge of the grave as he whispered something too low for Lucas to catch. His eyes were red, his face streaked with tears.
Lucas tilted his head, a faint curve tugging at the corner of his mouth. “You know,” he said, voice smooth, breaking the stillness, “Sienna hated it when people cried for her.”
Daniel flinched. He turned sharply, wiping his face with the back of his hand like a boy caught stealing sweets. When his eyes landed on Lucas, there was a brief flicker of panic — quickly buried under a shaky smile.
“Lucas,” Daniel breathed, straightening his tie though his fingers trembled. “Didn’t expect to see you here this early.”
“I could say the same.” Lucas walked closer, his gaze never leaving Daniel’s. He crouched by the grave, brushing his fingers over the carved letters of Sienna’s name, placing the white rose carefully in front of it. “She deserves better than crocodile tears, don’t you think?”
Daniel’s jaw tightened. “I loved her,” he whispered, the words sounding like a line rehearsed too many times. He shoved his hands into his pockets, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “But life moves on. It has to.”
Lucas looked up at him, eyes sharp. “Some people move on faster than others.”
A silence settled between them — heavy, uncomfortable. Daniel coughed, forced a brittle chuckle, and stepped back. “I should get going. Meetings, you know how it is.” He patted Lucas’s shoulder, though his palm was clammy, then hurried out of the graveyard without looking back.
Lucas watched him leave, suspicion coiling in his chest. Why is he acting so strange?
Days later, Lucas arrived at Lockwood Industries unannounced. The staff murmured in surprise as the tall man in a charcoal suit walked through the glass doors with calm authority. He had been silent for years, the mysterious second shareholder, rarely stepping into the empire Sienna once ruled. But now, he was here.
The boardroom buzzed with quiet shock when he entered. Eve, poised in her cream suit with pearls at her throat, blinked in surprise, though she quickly masked it with a charming smile.
“Lucas,” she said, her voice lilting, warm. “What a surprise. We didn’t expect—”
“Didn’t expect me to actually care about what I own?” Lucas cut in lightly, pulling out a chair at the long mahogany table. “After Sienna, I thought someone had to step in. You’ve been busy… but perhaps too busy to check the details.”
Eve laughed softly, tilting her head, though inside her stomach twisted. She had assumed Daniel’s control meant her control — but Lucas’s presence shifted the balance entirely.
“Of course,” she murmured, sliding into the seat beside him. “We’d love your input. I was just… adjusting to the projects.”
Lucas glanced at her, his smile polite but unreadable. “Then let’s adjust together.”
The meeting stretched long, filled with presentations and discussions about upcoming mergers. Yet Eve felt the weight of Lucas’s presence in every pause, every time his gaze lingered on her just a second too long. When he leaned over to explain details of a contract, his voice low near her ear, she found herself both annoyed and oddly drawn to the calm authority he exuded.
By the end, when the board dispersed, Eve turned to him with a practiced smile. “You’ve been… more helpful than I expected.”
“And you’ve been more careless than I expected,” Lucas replied smoothly, gathering his papers. “But don’t worry. I’m here now.”
“Well,” she said sweetly, stepping closer. “I suppose we’ll be seeing a lot more of each other then. Perhaps you can… guide me through the more complicated projects.”
Lucas smirked faintly, leaning just a fraction closer. “Careful, Eve. You might find I’m friendlier than you expect.”
And to her surprise — he was. Over the next few days, Lucas was at her side often, explaining contracts, introducing her to investors, showing her how the machinery of the empire really worked. To the public eye, it seemed like a partnership. But beneath his measured tone, Eve felt something else, something sharper, lurking.
Still, she couldn’t deny it — she liked his presence. His confidence unsettled her, yet it pulled her closer.
One night, in her bedroom, Eve sat before her mirror, combing through her hair. The silence of the room was broken only by the ticking of the clock. When she pulled back the sheets to lie down, her eyes caught something she hadn’t noticed before.
A folded piece of paper rested on her pillow.
Her heart skipped. Slowly, she picked it up, the paper trembling in her fingers as she unfolded it.
The handwriting was jagged, sharp, as though carved in haste.
“You should’ve made sure she was dead.”
Her breath caught in her throat. The comb slipped from her hand and clattered to the floor. She staggered back, staring at the words until her vision blurred.
“No…” she whispered. Her chest heaved as a scream tore through her lips, echoing off the marble walls. She slammed her fist into the mirror, the glass shattering, splintering her reflection into a thousand broken pieces.
Her breath came in shallow gasps as she reached under her nightstand and pulled out a small, black burner phone. Her fingers hovered above the keypad before finally pressing down.
The line clicked open.
“…It’s time.”