12. Tara Moore

"Oh, no, such a shame Mr. Watson, now I can only wait till they break up or if they ever break up!"

Keira was laughing; mocking her Nana, who missed an opportunity to get her married to Mr. Watson's son.

"You brat! Okay, you can go back to your office now, but please make sure to inform me regarding your plans, and always be cautious; I can't afford to lose you too."

Nana was laughing at Keira's stunts; she wonders how she will be perceived as a CEO with this personality. She certainly cannot be seen as a weakling. This is one aspect of her persona that needs improvement; an amiable CEO will not last the evil vultures watching and waiting for her to make a mistake.

Keira kissed her Nana before she left the president's office.

"ring..ring"

Keira received a call from her best friend Tara; she wants to get together with her for dinner. Keira happily agreed to meet her, for she has so many stories to tell her best friend. They decided to meet at seven in the evening in a posh restaurant near her office.

Keira did not have enough time to go home and change for their dinner, good thing she was always ready with an extra pair of clothes. She wore a beige wrap dress that looks great with her white pumps.

"Keira! Do you have a date? You look stunning on that dress."

Thea instantly noticed Keira had changed her clothes.

"It's not a romantic date; I will just be meeting with my best friend."

Keira stated transparently; she is still checking if Thea is someone she can trust. She is following her Nana's advice; to always be cautious because the villains often wear masks.

Jude who just went out of the manager's office saw the gorgeous Keira and he can't help but praise the woman in front of him.  Jude is too pellucid for Keira; he does not impose such a threat but admittedly he is quite annoying for Keira.

"Where are the two witches? Keira noticed Rebecca and Georgie were not around the office.

"They disappeared; probably meeting up with their sugar daddies." Jude was laughing while mocking the two girls who were not around.

Keira shrugged it off and went on her way. It was quiet at the VIP parking; she never expected to see anyone at that time but she heard Rebecca's voice. She decided to hide and see who she's with.

"Oh, that dirty old man Manager Leo."

She waited for them to leave the parking space, but they took a fair amount of time in the manager's car. She can't go to her car since her car is parked directly in front of the manager's car.

A few minutes had passed and the Manager's car was shaking; Keira finally understood what was taking them too long.

She took this opportunity to sneak in her car while the two were "busy". She made sure they saw her car as she left the parking lot. She blasted a high beam on them which made their silhouette visible from the outside.

Keira was laughing hysterically while she was leaving then suddenly her friend Tara was calling. She answered her phone which was connected to her car. She was still laughing when she answered the call, but on the other end of the call, Tara was not talking. It was just as if she wanted Keira to listen, she heard two men having a discussion.

"We are going to make it look like an accident, like what we did with the CEO and his wife."

"Oh Fu*k this who*e sure looks nice; it's such a shame that she's passed out, she wouldn't be able to enjoy this."

"Oh sh*t her phone is on a call."

"toot toot toot"

Keira was shaking while she heard those words. She could not drive properly, she decided to call Mr. Watson to come and pick her up at the garage. Mr. Watson also called in the authorities to check for any sign of Tara in the vicinity.

Keira was still shaking, stating to the police what she heard over the phone. They were lost, who could have targeted a woman belonging to such a prominent family without a proper motive. Keira was positive that she needed to find Tara's phone, she might have left Keira some clues.

Keira and Mr. Watson drove to the Mansion while closely coordinating with the authorities. Her whole world stopped when she saw breaking news that interrupted the regular news reporting. 

"The heiress of Dragon Networks Tara Moore was found dead when her car plunged after falling off the cliff."

Just like that; Keira's heart sank it was just a few months ago that her parents left her and now another important person in her life is gone. Sadness is taking over her as she sulks in a corner and cried her heart out. It is her best friend; she was the last person she tried to call. She could've done something; she could've saved her best friend. But she's just a powerless little girl that cannot save her friend.

Her Nana saw her cowering in a corner; without a second thought, she wrapped her hands around Keira.

"My poor baby, you have gone through a lot, don't let this stop you from doing what you should, but push yourself and make sure that justice will be served."

Keira was bawling her eyes out and had enough power to let out her promise for her parents and her best friend.

"I will get to the bottom of this."

Mr. Watson applied for a four day leave for Keira to give her a moment of grieving. Keira volunteered to Tara's family to help during her wake up to the interment.

Keira wears a black dress and a black coat and partnered it with a black netted veil hat. She also wore a pair of dark sunglasses; wanting to hide her emotions, wanting to appear strong in front of Tara's family. Even though Tara's family is a high-profile one; they made sure that her entombment was private and intimate.

Keira was asked to say a few words for Tara, by the organizer but she humbly refused; not wanting to take over the light from the grieving parents. She kept her silence, while she cried and vowed to her best friend's grave that she will find justice and crush the culprits to pulp.

After Tara was laid to rest, and everyone had already left, Keira decided to stay in her car watching from afar. She did not know what made her stay for longer, but she felt like Tara wanted her to stay; so she did.

A few minutes later, she thought she saw a familiar man, who approached Tara's tomb. He went on his knees, he was holding white roses on his hand, when he took off his hat, he started weeping; he wept uncontrollably that his shoulders were shuddering.

And that's when Keira confirmed who he was…

"That is him; it is Stephen… why is he here? Why is he so affected by Tara's death?"

She observed Stephen, and what she saw gave her shivers, it is as if she can feel his pain. It is as if they were sharing the same amount of grief. Are they that close? Tara never mentioned Stephen to her other than the day she basically destroyed Stephen's character in front of her. Did Tara lie to her about Stephen?           

This is the first time she saw Stephen after the passionate night they shared together, he left her without a word but why is he here for her best friend? It made no sense for Keira; and what made more nonsense is the feeling, she's feeling right now; she's jealous of her dead best friend. 

"Were they together?"