The party had come to an end early as The Castellans hurried their guest out of the estate quickly in fear of any further backlash from the guest and investors who had come to celebrate this evening with them. The reporters had already left long ago in an attempt to follow after Marilyn and her husband as they disappeared into the night. And while the guests were being escorted out, Luke, Aria and Ella made sure to leave as well, perfectly blended in with the crowd. It took them only a few minutes to reach the side of the estate where he had parked his car before the party started. Once inside the vehicle, Aria began to fidget nervously with the hem of her dress after noticing a small stain on it. As Luke was about to start his car, He received a new message from the strange box. 'Great job in showing the truth of your sister to the world. You are one step closer to your rehabilitation. Your reward is waiting for you within the manor. Don't forget to take it before you leave.' "Hmm
Luke hurriedly exits the manor interior using the same pathway he used to get inside, when he finds that the ladder he had placed earlier was moved. "The maintenance guys must have moved it during their routine." Luke thinks while looking at the ground below. Although he was only on the second floor, It was still too big of a jump than he was willing to take. "I guess I'll just have to leave out of the back door?" Luke ponders as he remembers that the front entrance was still under watch. . "Well, at least I won't have to worry about my father skulking about the manor. The press should be able to keep him busy for a while." Luke heads back inside the manor to make his descent towards the first floor and. Luckily for him, the halls were all but barren. It felt as if no one was around which left Luke with a conflicting feeling. It was unusual for the manor to be so quiet but Luke pushed the thought to the back of his mind. "Why complain about something that benefits me?" He thought a
Pulling into his estate, Luke exits the car and lets his companions inside. "You guys go ahead, I'm going to head into the office for a bit." Luke informs them while standing outside the door. "What time will you be back?" Ella asks while walking over towards her partner. "If I'm lucky, I'll probably be home in a couple hours, I just want to get a head start on a new project of mine." Luke states as Ella plants a kiss on his cheek. "Well don't take too long. It's already late and I'd rather not sleep in such a large bed by myself." Ella teases as she heads inside the house. Luke watches her walk away for a moment before closing the door and walking back to his car. Stepping inside of it, he starts to drive back towards the office to get started on the production of the new platform. The first thing Luke did upon entering into his office was to copy the information he had acquired with his phone onto his laptop. Doing this would make it easier for him to access the documents later
Luke wakes up feeling as though he hadn't slept a wink. He looks over at Aria who was fast asleep next to him, with her chest rising up and down pleasantly in her sleep. He slowly gets out of bed and walks towards the bathroom. Taking a shower, Luke finishes up and goes to get dressed when he hears a knock on the door. "Hey! What's up?" Luke yells while throwing on his clothes quickly. "Luke? Why are you in Aria's room?" Ella questions as she barges into the room with a curious look on her face. "And where are your clothes?" Luke sighs and rubs the back of his head before answering. "Well, our friend was feeling a bit left out, so I offered her some company." Luke answers honestly without batting an eyelash. Ella looks between Aria and Luke for a moment before giving them a stern frown. "Cheater." Ella accuses before leaving the room and shutting the door behind herself. Luke sits on the bed for a second staring at the closed door. He had no clue why Ella would be so pissed abou
The day passes seamlessly as Luke's employees are capable of following the directions that were sent out to them without any issue. They worked together and were very efficient throughout the day, which allowed Luke to sit back and relax knowing that everything was working smoothly. But as much as he liked to relax, Luke's thoughts kept returning to Ella as he wondered where she could have gone. He knew that she must still be mad at him but it worried him to know that she could have been somewhere alone in the streets. She had spent so much time living with him, and to his knowledge, she had no finances or friends besides Aria. So where would she be hiding? What kind of state would she be in? Luke couldn't stop thinking about these things as he went on in his workday, hoping for some sign that Ella was alright. but as he continued to think something hit him. "Finances! That has to be the thing that Caroline adored the most. She was always bragging away about her vast riches to anyon
With the exception of one boy, Ella was the center of attention as she played and laughed with the children. Luke continued to watch Ella from afar, not ready to confront her just yet. And even though he couldn't face her, He was perfectly content just watching her smiling and having fun with the kids. After some time, Ella looked towards the doorway, spotting Luke leaning against the wall. Seeing him staring directly at her caused her to hastily turn away from him as fast as she could. She had never been so nervous before. Her cheeks began to warm up as her mind raced at how he was able to stand before her. She had never expected Luke to show up here of all places. This was a safe haven that only she and Aria knew of. Looking behind her once more, Ella see's Luke waving towards her and turns away once more. "I am so not ready for this right now. What is he going to say? What will I say?" Ella tries to calm down, but she could feel that her hands were trembling and she could hear h
"We're never going to make it out of this room alive if we keep going at this pace." Ella jokes with a smirk before kissing Luke once more. Luke begins to gently rock Ella back and forth as he kisses down her neck while she wraps her arms around his head and pushes her body closer against him. The two edge closer together until they are abruptly stopped. *Ahem.* The two quickly break off from one another with their faces red in embarrassment. "Are you two finally satisfied? I know I said you could play with the children Ella, but I didn't say that you were allowed to put on a show as well." An older woman walks into the room with a slight grin plastered across her face. Ella quickly wipes away the tears that she was unaware were still streaming down her cheeks while Luke attempts to compose himself as best he can. The woman looks between Ella and Luke with an expression filled with interest. "So what's your name, young man?" The woman questions Luke, who takes a few moments to
"Caroline? That's an interesting coincidence." Luke thinks to himself. "I guess it's a pretty common name nowadays." Luke states absent mindedly while gazing at his hands. "What's common? Is there a problem?" Ella asks as she notices the confused look on Luke's face. "Uh no, I was just thinking about your friend. She just so happens to share the same name as my cousin. I just didn't realize how common of a name it was." Luke responds while trying not to look embarrassed as he realizes how dumb that sounded. "Hmm, I don't really think Caroline is that common of a name around here. Are you sure it's not the same person?" Beth asks curiously before adding with an amused grin "I'm kidding! there's no way such a coincidence is possible." Although she had said that, Luke couldn't shake the idea from his mind. "Could it really just be a coincidence?" Luke clears his throat before speaking again, this time with a bit more confidence in his voice. "Can you remember what she looked like?"