“Mom, I'm not going to take that lightly. I will destroy Amanda.” Ava screamed her lungs out as she adjusted her sitting position on the sofa.

Ava had found it difficult ever since Amanda stopped her from marrying Gabriel Slade.

Julienne who had her eyes fixed on the center table hissed for a moment before she responded, “Calm down. At this moment you have to be cautious. It's not over yet. The things we've done may not be completely flawless.”

Ava felt uncomfortable with her mother's words. She wanted more, she wanted everything to be hers. She occupied the position of the CEO of Romanus Emporium yet she still had her eyes set on more goals, desires, and achievements.

Ava grumbled, “Mom, all I'm saying is you have the absolute power in this house. Amanda doesn't have a share in the family's business and…”

“Keep quiet! Learn how to seal your mouth. The workers must not hear that. We must keep a low profile.” Julienne warned.

She happens to be the type who loves secrecy. She cherished secrecy and unholy plans more than anything else. When it comes to selfishness, she tops the ranking.

Julienne knows only about herself. She might appear caring towards her daughter but in reality, all she wanted was the power and fame that came with me.

The marriage contract between her daughter, Ava, and Gabriel Slade was a sham and part of her evil plan. She knew how to tame her prey and make them fall into it.

“Initially, when she showed up at my wedding with Gabriel, I thought she came back for revenge but she didn't. What does she want?” Ava stated.

“She's so scared, that's why my darling.” Julienne chuckled. “She can't face us. Moreover, an ant and an elephant aren't on the same level.” She brushed a sassy smile afterward.

“But Mom, I'm looking forward to knowing what Amanda is planning,” Ava said, shifting slightly towards her mother. Julienne locked her gaze into Ava's, “Come to think of it, since she married Gabriel Slade, we haven't seen them in public.”

Ava smirked suddenly. She was happy with the expression on her mother's face. She knew what she wanted and she would stop at nothing to get it.

Ava, who is cunning just like her mother, can easily come up with words to convince others.

“I will look into it,” Julienne promised while she folded Ava's palms in hers.

Wilde rushed in suddenly. He panted profusely as if he was in a hot chase by a wild animal. “Miss Ava… Mrs. Morales, there is a problem.”

Ava's mouth dropped open and Julienne looked lost. She knew she did not make a mistake in covering her evil deeds. After much thinking, Julienne answered, “Problem? What problem?”

“Amanda’s best friend, Sophia, is missing,” Wilde replied as he used his palms to cover his face.

“What?” Ava screamed. She blinked her eyes when she remembered she had not seen Sophia since the day they burned Amanda.

Sophia was Amanda's best friend, more like a handbag to her. She followed Amanda everywhere.

“Since the warehouse caught fire, no one has seen her. How come we forgot about her? Where could she have gone to? Did she know we attempted to kill Amanda but failed?” Wilde quaked.

“Mom,” Ava called gently, “Could she have discovered something and ran away?” She inquired.

With a serious look on her face, Julienne thought for a while before she came up with a reply. “Don’t panic. The warehouse area is fully secluded and no one goes there but now Sophia is missing. It makes me stressed.”

While they contemplated, one of their able-bodied guards stormed in. He greeted them all before he announced, “A detective is around. He requests an audience.”

Ava's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with her hands. Wilde rushed to stay behind Julienne but the evil master planner Julienne gave a smirking expression.

“We aren't home!” Julienne said after.

Before the guard left the room, a voice came in from outside, “Why are you denying the fact that you are home?”

Ava's breathing intensified as she glanced around nervously. She moved closer to her mouth and cupped her hands around her mother's left arm.

A figure entered. All arrogant confidence like he owned the world. Very tall, heavily muscled, and well-defined nose. Speaking of a dashing man, he was.

Julienne, Ava, and Wilde who were already seated stared at him. He looked at them all and smiled.

Just as Julienne was about to talk, he stopped her when his deep voice filled the room. “Amanda Romanus’ disappearance months ago is suspicious and I'm here today to ask you some questions. Also, we just found out Sophia, her best friend, had been missing since then.”

“How is that our concern? I was never close to Sophia and I never will. Why don't you go ask Amanda who is now the wife of Gabriel Slade?” Julienne answered boldly.

The detective tilted his head a little upward. He smiled as a woman descended the stairs slowly. She was in a Versace gray-silver dress that accentuated her round burst, tiny waist, flat midriff, and long tan legs.

That was Amelia. She had never been on good terms with her mother and sister. She was always treated differently by her mother so she preferred to stay with Amanda who showed her love.

As soon as she reached the living room, she ignored her family and walked up to the detective. She extended her hand for a handshake and he nervously shook hands with her all because he was stunned by her beauty.

Amelia blushed before she questioned, “Senior detective, what's suspicious about my step-sister's disappearance earlier?”

“After making a thorough investigation, we got to know that she slept at the Slade mansion overnight and that was confirmed by Mr. Gabriel. That same evening, her neighbors saw her drive out of her house alone. The surveillance cameras at this street's entrance had footage of her approaching but never came out even with the car.” The detective said before he released his grip on Amelia's hands.

“How is that attributed to us? She never came here.” Ava responded sharply.

The detective asked, “Nice! If she hadn't come here, where could she have gone?”

“I don't know. Moreover, your investigation is baseless. Amanda is alive.” Julienne replied.

“Anyway, I concluded that she must have argued with someone. There was also a long-shot footage of the abandoned warehouse burning. The warehouse couldn't have gone up in flames by itself so that brings it to the fact that the perpetrator started the fire to obliterate all evidence. Not only that, a manly figure drove the car to the warehouse. He was in black clothing and a hoodie covered his head. The car burned with the building. Can you explain how Amanda's body was found in it?”

“Amanda's body? Are you kidding me? Is Amanda not alive?” Ava asked numerous questions as she tried to convince the inspector. She thought for a while that she must get her lover to save her just in case things didn't go as planned.

“What if the person you called Amanda now is a doppelganger?” The detective questioned.

Julienne mumbled, “Does that explain why she hasn't made any move apart from stopping the wedding?”

“May I have Sophia’s contact please?” The detective snapped Julienne out of her thinking world.

Amelia tried to talk but Julienne stepped in front of her and gave her a warning look; you better be careful not to cross your boundary.

“To be honest, we don’t know where Sophia is nor do we have her contact information. Why are you asking all these from us anyway? Do you think we tried to kill Amanda? We are her family for Christ's sake!” Julienne screamed her lungs out.

“Fine. But, watch your backs, I will be back.” The detective warned with a look of victory on his face.