Chapter One

PAISLEY TOOK A long sip from the black liquid in her mug. Hot black coffee, no sugar, no milk, no cream, just how she liked it. She was taking her last glance at today's papers headline. Lauren Beth's Black Murder or Tragic Suicide? She gave off a brief frustrated sigh before re-reading its contents, as if to check if it was all just an illusive dream.

...Lauren Beth, only daughter and sole heir to the Beth's fortune commits suicide after receiving phone calls and threat messages. Being a few months pregnant for Peter Black, renowned millionaire, slit her throat.

Aidan Beth publicly swears to sue Black Corp if Peter was involved in the mental frustration leading to her early death and depression. Investigations are being made...

Paisley tosses the paper back on the coffee table. Aidan was a damn good adversary. He wasn't going to stop till their heads were served on a golden platter. Her only hope was that her half-brother wasn't guilty.

Paisley got into her black Mercedes, her foot on the pedal trying to swift through the New York's early morning traffic. She hadn't bothered putting on the radio, she had already known the topic would have gone viral, hitting every media station and every gossip column at a forty mile radius. She preferred to keep her mind on the wheel than on some mindless gossip based on unsteady foundations of lies.

Walking briskly through the large building, a tall skyscraper with the name Blacks Inc. boldly written. Her dangerously high heels clicking on the marble floor. She had a board meeting right about now and she had a few things on her mind to talk about.

"Can someone explain how this shit got so far," she barges into the conference room and as expected everyone was in the hall.

"We're handling it," Damian, Paisley's dad says. A man in his late fifties and the ages still haven't shown on him, although you could see the streaks of grey hair across his black mane. He was huge, with powerful arms, but at this moment he seemed extremely frustrated.

"Look, the police can't do anything, they can't even get a search warrant without solid legal evidence, till then we're safe," Connie's voice was heard, she's the eldest Black sister, a lawyer working with their mother, but still held a few shares in the company. Right beside her was Paulina, second born, Penelope, Paisley's twin was seated to her left. Peter was seated anxiously across their father. A few other members who were considered family were there. Ingrid, Damian's thirty year old girlfriend and Xenia, one of their mother's close friends.

"By the looks of things, if the police don't arrest Peter, Aidan will kill us all," Paisley growled.

Everyone threw annoyed glances at Peter.

"It's bad enough Serena is pissed with me. You guys can't pin this on me," he complained.

"Sadly," Paulina sighs, "We can't do anything, we are trying to get intel on the case, but that's close to impossible."

There's an abrupt silence. Things had never gone this bad. Damian threw his head back in frustration.

"We can hire our own private investigator," Ingrid offers. Just before the opinion could be considered, Ohkiki the receptionist at the front desk bursts through the door. An office phone in her hand.

"Mrs.Monica's on the other end," her voice squeaked. She stretched her arm out to Damian. The phone enclosed in her pudgy fingers, long brightly painted pink nails sticking out from each one.

Ohkiki had been told to take all Damian's calls, but Mrs.Monica's calls were like no other. She was a force not to be reckoned with. She's the mother to the Black sisters. Damian's ex.

Ingrid was ice cold on her seat. The mention of Monica didn't mean anything good, well not to her. She feared her. It's hard knowing your boyfriend's ex was a strict woman, a lawyer who owned her own law firm and never lost a single case . That alone already gave off the idea that she made indisputable arguments, really good ones.

Damian stood and moved to get the phone. He clutches it in his hands and pulls it to his ear.

"Monica," he said blankly as he moved farther till he was standing by the floor-to-celling window.

Everyone waited anxiously, giving silent stares to Damian, but Paisley already had an idea of what her mother had to say. Something bound to piss the hell out of her father, maybe to top it all of she'll point out that reporters are flocking out her window and how Damian was a failure of a father.

Her suspicions were cleared when Damian lurched the phone across the room. It crashed on the wall before falling down in shambles. Ohkiki quickly scurried off.

"Meeting dismissed," he said between clenched teeth.

"But you just bro-" Xenia began before Damian caught her off with a cold dead look. Her hazel eyes still gave off the you-better-pay-for-that expression.

Everyone packed up there sheets and started for the door. Paisley left, slowly shutting the door behind her.

Ohkiki was seen with a few other employees by the water dispenser. Regularly she'll stop them from their regular gossip and send them back to work, but this time she wasn't interested in their slacking.

She got to her office and rummaged through her top drawer for her painkillers. The office was vast, just enough space for her to concentrate. The room was also plainly but beautifully decorated with complex patterns, reflecting her personality perfectly. Their was a kitty clock hanging on the wall, a picture of her and Aaron on her desk, a kitten paperweight on her desk and an aquarium to the left, right beside a black sofa.

Swallowing down a tablet, she sat on her chair and stared at her phone screen. She had gotten a few missed calls from Aaron and texts from Miley, maybe a few from company investors wondering the next course of action.

"Paisley," Sarah, her P.A. walks in. The eyes shielded by black-framed glasses. "The press, they're downstairs."

Great, she thought, A press conference just this morning.