Chapter 47 CHAPTER 47
Something fishy
Ayisha knew her sister too well. Tessa wasn’t just a friend now, she was her sister. They were now sisters.
They had been through storms together—betrayals, losses, humiliations, and wars fought in courtrooms and boardrooms. Tessa had always been her anchor: steady, transparent, incapable of keeping even the smallest secrets. If she had a bad dream, she told Ayisha. If she had a new thought about their lawsuit, she shared it immediately.
But lately, something was different.
It started small. A missed phone call here, a vague answer there. Then came the strange silences when Ayisha pressed her about her feelings toward Chloe and Ares. Tessa’s eyes would dart away, her tone would harden, and she’d change the subject.
Ayisha noticed. Ayisha always noticed.
That evening, they sat together in their living room. Tessa was curled up on an armchair, staring at her phone as though waiting for a message she didn’t want Ayisha to see.
Ayisha watched her carefully from the couch. She tapped her finger against her chin. “You’ve been… off lately.”
Tessa blinked, glancing up. “Off? What do you mean?”
Ayisha crossed her legs, her tone casual but her eyes sharp. “You’ve been distracted. Slipping out when you don’t usually go out. Taking calls in hushed voices. Looking over your shoulder like you’re hiding something. So tell me, Tess—what are you up to?”
Tessa shifted uncomfortably, her phone still in her hand. “I’m not up to anything. You’re imagining things.”
“Don’t insult me,” Ayisha said flatly. “I’ve known you for what feels like my life. I know when you’re lying.”
Tessa’s face tightened. She set her phone down and stood, walking toward the window. Outside, the city lights shimmered in the dusk, cars honking faintly in the distance. “I’m not lying,” she said, though her voice lacked conviction.
Ayisha followed her with her eyes. Her shoulders were tense, her fingers fidgeting with the curtain. Something heavy pressed against Ayisha’s chest. She leaned forward.
“This is about the kids, isn’t it?”
Tessa froze.
Ayisha continued, her voice calm but unyielding. “I know you’ve been restless ever since that Bianca woman left here. I know you want them back. I want them safe too. But Tess, if you’re making moves without me, if you’re putting yourself in danger…”
“I’m not in danger!” Tessa snapped, whirling around. Her sudden outburst startled even herself, and she immediately softened her tone. “I’m… I’m just trying to think of every possible way to protect them, that’s all. You know how Lady Bianca is. You know how Ares can be. They don’t see those kids as children, they see them as pawns. Someone has to be ready to fight them.”
Ayisha narrowed her eyes. “And you think you can fight them without me?”
Tessa swallowed hard. Silence.
That silence was louder than any confession.
Ayisha rose slowly, her movements deliberate, her eyes never leaving her sister’s. “You’ve met with someone, haven’t you?”
Tessa’s lips parted. “What…”
“Don’t play dumb. Who was it? Was it Ares? Did he try to bribe you? Was it Chloe? Or…” Ayisha’s voice lowered, her suspicion sharpening like a blade. “…was it Lady Bianca?”
The way Tessa flinched gave Ayisha her answer.
“Oh my God.” Ayisha’s hand flew to her mouth, then dropped. Her eyes blazed. “It was Lady Bianca. Tessa, tell me you’re not that foolish. Tell me you didn’t actually sit down with that viper after we swore we wanted nothing to do with her schemes!”
Tessa’s face crumbled, torn between confession and denial. “Ayisha…”
“No!” Ayisha’s voice thundered through the room. She jabbed a finger toward her sister. “Don’t you dare justify it! What did she offer you? More money? Influence? Did she dangle Ares like bait again? Or did she whisper poison about Chloe to reel you in?”
“She offered me my kids!” Tessa finally burst out, her voice cracking. Tears pooled in her eyes, spilling over. “She said she could help me get them back, that she would frame Chloe, that she would finance everything…”
Ayisha staggered back, her heart pounding in disbelief. “And you believed her? Tessa, she’s manipulating you! Lady Bianca doesn’t care about those children, she doesn’t care about you, she only cares about destroying Chloe and pulling Ares back under her thumb. You’re walking into her trap!”
Tessa covered her face with her hands, her sobs muffled. “I don’t know what else to do, Ayisha. I can’t sleep at night knowing they’re over there, not loved, not safe. Chloe hates them, Lady Bianca despises them, and Ares—Ares is too broken to see straight. I feel powerless, and when Lady Bianca made that offer, for the first time I felt like I really had a chance.”
Ayisha’s chest heaved. She crossed the room, grabbing her sister’s wrists and pulling her hands away so she could look directly into her eyes. “A chance at what, Tess? At letting the devil run your life? At making a deal with the same woman who raised Ares to be cold and ruthless? Think about it—if she helps you, she’ll own you. She’ll own your kids. And you’ll lose more than you’ve already lost.”
Tessa shook her head, tears streaming. “You don’t understand.”
“I do understand!” Ayisha snapped, her grip tightening. “I understand better than you because I see the strings she’s pulling while you’re blinded by desperation. Do you think for a second that Lady Bianca would ever allow you to win? She’ll twist the story, turn Chloe into a scapegoat, and then use your children as leverage to control Ares forever. And you’ll be nothing but a pawn in her game.”
The room was thick with tension, the silence between them raw and jagged.
Finally, Tessa broke down, collapsing into her sister’s arms. Ayisha held her, though her anger still smoldered beneath her skin. She stroked Tessa’s hair, whispering fiercely, “Don’t let her use you. Don’t let her take the only thing we’ve been fighting for. Promise me, Tess. Promise me you won’t go down this path.”
Tessa’s voice was barely a whisper. “I don’t know if I can promise that.”
Ayisha froze, her heart sinking like stone. She pushed Tessa back just enough to look into her eyes again. “Then I’ll have to protect you too. Even from yourself.”
Tessa’s lips trembled, but she didn’t reply.
Ayisha stood, pacing the room, her mind racing. She knew now that Lady Bianca’s reach had grown longer than she imagined. She wasn’t just pulling strings with Ares or plotting against Chloe—she was inside Tessa’s head, poisoning her, warping her desperation into compliance.
Ayisha clenched her fists. Not if I can help it.
She turned back to Tessa, who sat slumped on the armchair, her eyes red and swollen. Ayisha softened, kneeling beside her again. “We’ll find another way, Tess. We always do. But if you let Lady Bianca drag you into her games, we’ll both lose everything. And I refuse to lose you, too.”
Tessa nodded faintly, though Ayisha knew the war inside her was far from over.
Ayisha felt fear—not of Chloe, not of Ares, not of Bianca, but of the possibility that Tessa might be slipping away from her, one secret meeting at a time.
And that terrified her more than anything.