The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven)

Madeline said, "I'm still not hungry."

Sasha nodded in agreement. "Right. We'll just skip a meal or two if we're short on money."

Madeline's head bobbed once. "I'll look out for him after work. You can leave through the basement parking lot if he's waiting by the door. If he isn't, we'll leave through the main entrance." "Thank you!" Sasha threw her arms around Madeline gratefully. "You're the best. I love you!"

Madeline chuckled as she said, "Don't mention it."

They chatted some more before their supervisor came over to urge them to return to their workstations. Only then did the two women let each other go.

Before starting work, Sasha leaned close to Madeline and whispered, "We'll talk after we get off work."

The latter nodded imperceptibly, "Got it."

Upon getting home, Jessica sat in the living room and fell into deep thought. Steven seemed to always have to bear the brunt of whatever favor she asked of him, including speaking up for her.

that were the case, she would have to resort to other

conversation and found that he had left her a torrent of messages, none of which she replied to. She reckoned he would be apprehensive if she told him the real reason she was

couldn't help but feel

that Jessica had replied to his messages. Could he have misunderstood her all this while? Perhaps she was

to

texts.

M

still grinning from ear to

it was time to strike. She laid bare her purpose and typed, "If I remember correctly, you recorded yourself sleeping with Annalise, right?" She had told Zane about

no one else knew about the incident. If she posted the video of Annalise and Casper on the Internet, would Zane still be willing to overlook

Casper's delight vanished when he read Jessica's text. He had convinced himself that she only

give her an immediate confirmation.

hesitation, "Could you

me what you plan to do with it, and I'll consider it," was all Casper wrote. He had more or less figured out what Jessica wanted to do with the video, but he refused