When Roses bleed

SHADOWS AND WHISPERS

While Maya was walking along the street, her mind started replaying every detail of the evening. She couldn't get over what she saw no matter how hard she wanted to. All she could think of was how Liam's face was, the faint scar, the woman on his arm – every fragment of memory tangled with new uncertainty. Something about the way he had looked at her, so shockingly yet familiarly, made her heart race.

And yet, the presence of that woman reminded her that she was no longer the little girl he had once known.

Regardless of what her mind kept thinking, all she could feel was that she had to do something immediately.

The following morning, Maya arrived at Silver Crest earlier than usual. The staff corridors' air was filled with a hum of preparation and a gentle prelude to the day's service, but her attention was fixed entirely on him. Liam entered, perfectly dressed, moving through the room with that effortless command she remembered from childhood but now refined by years of wealth and responsibility. He was still the same old Liam – sharp and attentive, aware but layered now with confidence and caution.

She couldn't help herself but notice the smallest details: the way his head tilted so slightly when he listened, the barely-there glance he cast at the woman beside him, and the gentle adjustment of his cufflinks that went unnoticed by anyone else. Each step was a piece of the puzzle. Every gesture carried a story he wasn’t telling. For the first few hours, Maya approached him indirectly; she asked casual questions about the restaurant, smiled when he gave out polite answers, and stayed just long enough in his line of sight to be noticed, but never too long to appear obvious. Each interaction was a test, and each response from him was a hint of the old bond.

By afternoon an opportunity had already presented itself. Liam had been called to the managers' office briefly, leaving behind his girlfriend at the reception desk. Maya grabbed the moment, approaching the table under the pretence of checking their drinks.

"Everything going well here?" She asked lightly, a hint of familiarity in her tone. The woman's eyes flicked towards her spark of curiosity, then polite composure. "Yes, thank you," she replied, her voice smooth but slightly tense. Maya noticed the barely-there tightening of her fingers on Liam's coat – a quiet possessive claim that didn't slip past her watchful gaze.

Maya returned back to the service corridor, her mind racing. There's more here than I first thought, she realised. And soon, I'll understand what it really is.

The next few days became a dance of observation and gentle engagement. Mayas planned "chance" encounters – brief conversations at the service counter, momentary touches while handing over plates, and smiles that carried just enough recognition to spark curiosity. She could see him noticing, though he still remained guarded. There was a tension building, a silent acknowledgement of a connection neither of them had yet dared to name.

One evening, as the restaurant emptied and shadows of a few people left stretched across the polished sparkling floors, Maya noticed something that made her heart pound faster. The woman's movements were detailed, almost too careful, yet there was a slight slip of a hand brushing against Liam's jacket pocket for a fraction of a second. He didn't even notice, or maybe he chose not to. But Maya's instincts fumed. Something hidden, something conscious. A secret.

She fell back into the hallway, pretending to adjust a tray, while her eyes never left the pair. Her mind ached with possibilities. Was this woman working against him, or worse, was Liam himself unaware of what was unfolding around him?

Mayas' plan remained in motion. She would remain close, observe, learn and gather the pieces of truth. Every smile, every laugh, every remembered moment from the past was a tool she could use. Yet she knew she had to be careful. Too much, too soon, and she risked everything.

As the night wore on, Liam's girlfriend finally left, leaving him alone at the table. Maya took a measured breath and approached him, her presence deliberate yet unobtrusive.

"Long night?" she asked softly, letting her tone carry the weight of their shared history without words.

Liam looked up, stunned for a brief moment. Recognition flickered in his eyes, a shadow of the boy she once knew.

"

Maya"…he murmured, unsure, hesitant.

"Yes," she replied, her lips curling into a gentle, assured smile. It has been quite a while.

The pause that followed crackled with unspoken tension – thick with memory, curiosity, and questions left unanswered. Liam's gaze caught hers, hunting for something nameless, while Maya caught and kept each flicker of movement, each fleeting shift in his face, sure these were the hairline cracks through which truth would one day bleed.

By the time she left the restaurant that night, Maya's mind was alive with possibility. The plan was eventually working. He remembered; he noticed her. But the woman – the secret she carried – screamed louder than ever in Maya's mind.

As she stepped into the rain-drizzled streets, a note fell from the woman's bag, unnoticed. Maya caught it instinctively. A single word, written in precise, intentional letters:

"Soon."

Maya's breath caught, and the tingle of the unknown surged through her. The game had shifted. The costs were higher. And somehow in the shadows, secrets waited, moving closer with every step.

Maya's chest tightened, a mix of eagerness and fear. She knew one thing for sure: to uncover the truth about her fathers' death, she would need to step deeper into danger than ever before – and Liam, unaware of the forces around him, was both her key and her risk.

The city stretched before her, slick with rain and shimmering under neon lights. Maya slipped into its glow – determined,

hurried, and ready for whatever waited in the shadows. She promised herself that she'd do anything in her power to bring Liam and his company down. no matter what it took, even if it meant joining forces with his so-called girlfriend, but first she had to start investigating undercover why his girlfriend would want to destroy him in the first place.