Behind the Shadows

Back in her new apartment, Anya stood by her bedroom window, watching Alexandria City's nightscape. The countless lights below were like a reflection of the starry sky above. It welcomed her, like an old friend she hadn't seen for years.

In her hand was a glass of red wine. The bottle, already halfway empty, was on the coffee table. She had developed a habit of drinking before bed in the past couple of years. It helped her sleep and avoid having nightmares.

The day had been exhausting, not just physically, but also mentally. She was tired, but her mind was still racing from the events that happened.

"Actually, this dinner invitation wasn't without any reason," Vic had told her while they were finishing off their sundae at the fast food restaurant.

She raised an eyebrow. Of course. She knew he had ulterior motives. She just didn't know what it was.

"There's something I wanted to ask you."

"What's it about?" she asked as she stirred the remaining melted sundae in her cup.

"Cailtin Reinhart."

She paused and looked up, staring at him for a second. She could feel her heart starting to race. She looked down at her sundae, then looked up again. "You've read my file," she said, smiling calmly.

"Of course. As CEO, I need to know my employees' backgrounds."

"Caitlin Reinhart," she muttered as she took a deep breath and placed the cup of sundae down on the table. "That brings back memories. We were schoolmates in Juilliard, both Dance majors. She was a really great dancer. We were close back then but lost contact when we graduated. I couldn't believe it when I heard the news."

As Vic listened to her, his expression became somber. "So you're just like me," he said in a low voice. "You're another person that she had left behind."

She looked at him quizzically.

"Cate and I grew up together," he said. "We were best friends, inseparable up until high school. We went our separate ways in college and she pursued her career as an idol while I worked in my father's company, so we lost touch. The next thing I knew, she was gone."

Anya recalled how sorrowful he looked that time, sitting in front of her at the fast food restaurant. She couldn't help but feel a stab of pain in her heart as she listened to him talk about his memories of her.

The soulful notes of a saxophone playing a jazz tune broke her reverie. On her phone screen flashed the name "Madame".

"Bonsoir."

"How was your first day?" a familiar voice asked in French.

"Eventful. It turns out Evelyn's been pulling the strings until recently."

"That confirms our suspicions."

"You didn't tell me Vic Marquez is the new CEO."

"That was something you should have found out yourself."

She kept silent. None of the reports she was given before mentioned anything about Vic Marquez being the new CEO.

"Does knowing that change anything?"

She shook her head. "No, my goal is still the same."

"Then that shouldn't be a problem. Focus on your objective. Don't waste the effort I made to put you in there."

"You don't have to worry about that. I know what I'm here for."

"Good."

The call ended. Anya stared at the screen for a few moments more. Then sighed and turned her attention back to the night scenery.

She felt uneasy after everything that had happened that day. The revelations Vic Marquez shared added a lot of weight to her mission, yet she knew she had only scraped the tip of the iceberg. She needed to dig deeper.

Still, she wondered how deep she needed to dig. Who else was involved?

Was Vic even telling the truth?

She shook her head once more. Regardless of what Vic showed her today, she couldn't really let her guard down, not even with him. She was there to find out the truth.

She looked up at the night sky, biting her thumbnail, wondering how much darker the night needed to get before dawn breaks.

—-------------------------

The next day, Anya was busy drafting a proposal when one of the trainees, Allie Sandoval, barged into her office.

"What the fuck is this?" she said, tossing a piece of paper on Anya's desk. "Why are you changing the shortlist?"

Anya looked at the paper and saw it was a memo she released that morning. She removed her glasses and leaned back into her chair. "The current shortlist was approved by the previous director. As I am the new Creative Director, I was given the prerogative to decide who will debut in six months. Hence, I'd like to see everyone's abilities first before making a final decision."

"You can't remove me from the list! Don't you know who my father is?"

"No, please enlighten me."

"My father is Jeremy Sandoval."

"And?"

"He's the owner of Sandoval Pharmaceuticals, the biggest manufacturer in the country!"

Anya leaned forward and asked, "Is he involved in the entertainment industry?"

Allie paused. "N-no…"

"Then I still don't know him, nor does he have anything to do with me. What's your point, Ms. Sandoval?"

"My father contributed a lot of money to Queen of Hearts!"

"And I'm sure the company is grateful for his donation. I'm very busy, Ms. Sandoval, and while your father sounds like an interesting person, I still have a proposal to draft," Anya said, turning her attention back to her laptop.

Allie stomped her foot in frustration. "My father will hear about this!" She turned and walked out the door, slamming it hard behind her.

"Miss—" her assistant, Erica, began in protest but was cut off when Anya raised her hand.

"Don't. I'm sure there will be more people coming in to introduce themselves."

Just as she predicted, six more trainees entered her office one after the other. Each claimed to be the son or daughter from a wealthy family—one was even the daughter of a high-ranking official.

All of them recently joined Queen of Hearts under Evelyn Reinhart.