"Oh, sister. Why art thou looking like a jelly?" Eva drawled from her seat, sipping her black coffee like she didn't orchestrate the dumbest scam in the history of scams just twelve hours ago.
Ava walked into the dining hall like a woman fresh from a battlefield — hair in knots, blouse halfway tucked, and the faint smell of air freshener clinging to her soul.
She looked exactly like someone who spent the night in the dirtiest, most suspicious club known to mankind — ExoShaneey Not Shady Club — without getting a single autograph from Kim Junmyeon.
Adelle stood beside her, still combing through Ava's hair with the silent prayer of someone who had already drafted three resignation letters this morning but decided to stay just to see how this whole drama would unfold.
"I don't want to talk about it," Ava muttered, sinking into her chair with the grace of a dethroned monarch.
Eva's eyes practically sparkled — the exact same sparkle she always had when she was up to no good, which, if Adelle's secret notebook was accurate, was roughly ninety-eight percent of the time.
"But sister..." Eva leaned forward, her voice all sugar and venom. "Where did you... disappear to last night? I was simply worried."
Adelle's hand froze mid-hair fix.
Helen — who was currently pouring tea — poured straight into the saucer without breaking eye contact.
Even the aquarium fish stared — the same exact fish in ExoShaneey Not Shady Club, Ava simply went back to buy because she's already intoxicated by the smell of alcohol — pressing its face against the glass like it was ready to become a state's witness.
Ava named him Fishpher Columbus — the only witness on Eva and Helen's wicked plans but couldn't even bubble a word... unfortunately.
Ava didn't respond.
Instead, she slowly reached into her pocket, pulled out her phone, and tapped the screen. A photo popped up — clear as day.
It showed two figures lurking outside ExoShaneey Not Shady Club last night, dressed like they were about to commit tax fraud in the name of the honor.
One was wearing a long beige trench coat, oversized sunglasses, and a black cap pulled so low it was practically at chin level.
The other was wearing a full black outfit — head-to-toe like some failed mafia informant — with a suspiciously large hat and Helen's entire face exposed, frozen mid-sip from a Starbucks cup like she was just casually running errands at one in the morning outside a club that literally had Not Shady in its name.
Ava slammed the phone on the table like it was Exhibit A in a criminal trial.
Adelle's pen snapped.
Helen's hands shook.
Even Fishpher Columbus hit the glass with its little fish fist, Eva's entire bloodline felt that.
"Well?" Ava said sweetly, her voice barely teetering on the edge of homicide charges. "Would you like to explain why my dearest little sister was seen lurking outside the same club I magically received an invitation from? Or should I assume the Carmen Sandiego cosplay convention was in town?"
Eva blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Brain buffering at 2G speed.
Helen's lips were moving so fast she was already halfway through the Our Father.
Adelle scribbled in her notebook:
Lady Eva (caught in 4K Ultra HD) — 7:08 AM
Helen (next to snitch on God) — 7:09 AM
Finally, Eva leaned back in her chair, folding her arms elegantly like she wasn't currently facing federal conspiracy charges.
"What a strange coincidence," she said, with all the confidence of a woman who could lie through a polygraph test without breaking a sweat. "Perhaps they were... fans."
Ava's eyebrow twitched. "Fans?" she echoed.
Eva nodded solemnly. "Yes. It happens, you know? People say I have... a very common face — we even share the same face. Not impossible at all."
Adelle audibly snorted. Helen looked like she was already preparing her testimony for the afterlife court.
"Right," Ava said slowly, sliding the phone closer. "Then explain why this common-faced fan is wearing the same coat you stole from me last week?"
Adelle's snort turned into a full cough.
Helen visibly started praying.
Even Fishpher Columbus hit the glass like it was trying to submit evidence.
Eva's lips twitched.
Ava leaned in further, eyes narrowing into slits. "And why is this other fan sipping from a CoPhixo coffee cup with Helen's name spelled correctly on the label?"
Helen immediately made the sign of the cross, muttering, "I told you we should've used fake names, my lady."
Eva shot Helen a glare that could've ended three generations of her bloodline.
Adelle was writing so fast her notebook was starting to smoke:
Lady Eva (brainrotted mastermind) — 7:10 AM
Helen (future nun) — 7:11 AM
"Well?" Ava pressed, tapping the screen again.
Eva leaned back further, crossing her legs like she was auditioning for the role of Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss of the Year.
"I simply don't know what you're talking about, sister," she said smoothly. "Maybe... maybe you need more sleep. It seems the alcohol really did a number on your memory last night."
Ava's entire blood pressure spiked.
Adelle quietly confiscated every single butter knife from the table.
Helen mentally prepared her last will and testament.
Fishpher Columbus smacked himself against the glass in Morse code: RUN.
"You—" Ava started.
Eva smiled wider. "If you ask me," she interrupted sweetly, "it sounds like... you're just trying to find someone to blame for your own embarrassing behavior."
Ava's nostril flared so hard Adelle actually put her hand on her phone — not to call the police, but to search if sibling homicide could be justified under the Geneva Convention.
Helen straight up started whispering her prayers in the background.
Adelle's pen scratched harder.
Lady Ava (97% likely to commit murder before Q2) — 7:12 AM
Lady Eva (actual demon confirmed) — 7:13 AM
Helen (already booking her seat in heaven) — 7:14 AM
By the time breakfast was over, Helen had submitted two resignation letters, Adelle had hidden every single sharp object in the house, and Fishpher Columbus was actively considering self-deportation.
Eva walked out of the dining hall without a scratch — mostly because Ava was too hungover to commit premeditated homicide on an empty stomach.
Meanwhile at the AVA Incorporated, Ava's black car screeched to a halt in front of the headquarters — a towering glass building that screamed "money laundering" if it weren't for the massive gold plaque with Ava's name shining at the entrance.
Ava was still clutching her head like the ghost of last night's stupidity was still tap dancing on her frontal lobe. Adelle was typing at the speed of light on her phone, deleting comments from Ava's personal Instagram like she was on a holy crusade now that all of the sudden, she has been attacked by people she doesn't even know.
They barely opened the car door before they were greeted by a tsunami of reporters — microphones, cameras, and all kinds of human bacteria shoving towards Ava like they smelled blood.
"Ava Summers! Is it true you're dating Zach Ford?"
"Ava Summers! Who is the man you were seen with last night at ExoShaneey Not Shady Club with a mysterious black suitcase? Were you having an illegal meet up?"
"Ava Summers! What can you say about the circulating post claiming you're trying to seduce your own fiancé's twin brother?!"
Ava's hangover evaporated faster than Helen's prayer request last night.
"What—" Ava blinked, swaying slightly as Adelle immediately wrapped an arm around her like a mother supporting her emotionally constipated eldest daughter. "What post?"
"Here, my lady." Adelle opened her phone and shoved the screen in front of Ava's face.
It was a screenshot of a mysterious Twitter account named @NotZachFordButMaybeHim.
The tweet was pinned, gaining 100,000 likes in two hours.
---
Zach Ford is a well-mannered man and is definitely still in love with his late fiancé. He would never go in any clubs hooking up with other women especially not with Lady Ava who was having an illegal deal with some mysterious man in a cheap unsanitary club.
PS: This is not Zach Ford.
---
Ava's mouth dropped.
Adelle was already massaging her own chest like she was one breath away from a cardiac arrest. Even the reporters were holding their breath — mics shoved forward like this was some presidential impeachment trial.
Ava blinked twice.
Then thrice.
Her last brain cell—still marinated in last night's alcohol—was spinning in circles trying to connect the dots.
"Who... the hell... is this?"
Adelle typed faster, pulling up the entire thread under the post.
---
@KPopSisLover97: OMG he's still loyal to his dead fiancée 😭😭 #ZachFordDeservesBetter
@CEOStanForever: If Zach Ford ever cheated on me, I would simply tell him it's okay and offer him my entire family inheritance.
@NotZachFordButMaybeHim: Thank you for the support. I am indeed a very good man.
---
Ava's whole soul left her body. She snatched the phone and scrolled down faster.
---
@EXOSlayLover: But why did Ava Summers say his name during the press conference? Is she trying to use his good name to clean her reputation from the scandalous deal????
@NotZachFordButMaybeHim: I would never say anything bad about Lady Ava Summers. But... yes.
--
Ava's eye twitched. "IS HE GASLIGHTING ME RIGHT NOW?" she screamed, making every single reporter flinch.
Adelle, who was still in the car trying to avoid heaven's judgment, poked her head out like a cockroach. "M-My lady... w-what if... i-it's actually Zach Ford?" She stammered.
Ava wheeled around so fast Adelle's soul lagged. "If Zach Ford knew how to make a Twitter account, I would personally donate all my companies to charity."
Adelle scribbled in her notebook like a court stenographer.
Lady Ava (one more tweet away from hiring assassins) — 8:04 AM
@NotZachFordButMaybeHim (mysterious bastard) — 8:05 AM
The crowd was still flashing cameras when an emergency statement from Summers Corp suddenly appeared on the billboard above the building.
Adelle's eyes widened. "My lady... it's Eva."
--
OFFICIAL STATEMENT FROM AVA INC. regarding the recent rumors involving Lady Ava Summers:
Lady Ava is currently focused on business matters and has no relationship with Mr. Zach Ford other than a professional one. We request everyone to refrain from spreading misinformation. Please continue to support Lady Ava Summers.
Sincerely,
Eva Summers, PR Department Head.
---
Ava's eye twitched harder and slowly turned to Adelle. "Who approved this?"
Adelle pressed her lips together, holding back the entire Book of Revelations. "As per my investigation, Lady Eva personally... approved it this morning, my lady."
Ava's fingers curled so tight around Adelle's phone it creaked. "T-That sly fox."
Back at the Summers mansion, Eva was lounging in the sunroom with cucumber slices on her eyes, sipping fresh mango juice like she hadn't just rebranded herself into the unofficial CEO of AVA Incorporated overnight with the help of Helen of course, who else? An Helen's resignation letters were scattered on the floor like confetti.
The Fishpher Columbus tapped on the glass with a tiny sign that said:
#TeamAva