JESSICAMy phone beeped and I picked it from beside me. Checking on the message, it was from Blake. "Don't return home, Antonio is here to take you."My heart skipped a beat and I felt terrified. Just then, he sent me another text. "Don't call me now."I decided to call Vanessa. "Is everything alright?" Olivia asked. "Uhm... It's nothing. I'll just make a call now." I said, excusing myself. I tried calling Vanessa but she wasn't picking. At least I did that about four times and she wasn't answering.I wanted to know why Antonio had suddenly showed up and what he was up to. Blake wasn't open to answer my call, as if he knew I was going to phone him as soon as I saw his message.I almost gave up, but decided to call Vanessa for the last time when she finally picked up. "Did Blake send you any messages?" Her voice sounded as soon as she answered."Yes. But..."She didn't let me speak, she cut in. "Just stay back wherever you are. I'll let you know when to return home."I was fucking t
JESSICA Just as I was sure I couldn't see Olivia's car, I rushed into the mansion. Blake was sitting on his favorite couch, but when he saw me, he stood up. I rushed to him, jumping in his arms. He looked perfectly fine. I should have trusted him more than I had. "I was worried sick about you. Thank goddess you're alright." He kissed the side of my neck, his arms tighter around my waist. "You don't have to worry about me, Antonio wouldn't do a shit to me. And even if he does, it's either one of us ends up alive. And it's certain I'm the one walking out alive." I pulled away, staring into his eyes with a grateful smile on my face. "You never stop to amaze me." He bit his lower lips, causing a sensation in me to erupt. "What about Vanessa?" I asked. "She's in her room." We both sat on the couch. "Why did he show up in the first place?" "Who else? You." I frowned. "I think someone needs to tell that bastard I've found my mate." "I already did, so I guess that hit him i
JESSICAAfter a full month of training back to back without a break, at this point I'd say I was a more independent wolf who can save herself from trouble. Vanessa however was supposed to travel back abroad tomorrow, but I had to plead with her to spend an extra one week with us before she leaves."How about we hang out for a while? I mean, like a girl to girl outing?" I asked Vanessa and she accepted."Sure. What time?" She asked anxiously."How about now?" I said."Now?" Her eyes flew open."Yeah. I'm all set already. Besides, I've got nothing to do and I feel bored.""Alright then. But I need to have a shower first. Give me ten minutes, I'll be down." She said, hurriedly leaving for her room."Sure. Ten minutes it is."I sat on the couch, patiently waiting for her. Though she wasted more than ten minutes, but that was only five minutes extra."Five minutes late." I told her. She checked on her wrist watch. "I said ten minutes, you don't expect I should be done in exactly ten minu
BLAKE"Who are you?" I texted."Someone you wouldn't want to know." The message popped in, and for a while I thought hard but couldn't guess who it could be."Can we meet? Face to face." I texted."No." The message dropped. "Just know that I know everything that happened on that day. And don't think it's all in the past, because I'll make sure you suffer for this."At first, all my brain could imagine was Priscilla. The weight of the message spoke a lot. No one would want to take revenge on anyone, but then... Could it be that someone was recording this and had to send it to her family members?If I can remember vividly well, Priscilla had drank a very strong chemical, so there was definitely no way she survived that. And since we were both inside the physics laboratory, then it's definitely not her.Whoever it was that recorded that day must have known something bad would happen, or was a close friend of Priscilla or something."Shit!" I slammed my fist on the table. "Why can't I thi
BLAKE The days passed in a blur. Hours turned to minutes. It felt like the world had suddenly turned super fast, with everyday passing in just a blink of an eye.One week successfully passed, and Jessica was surprised to see Vanessa not making any sign of leaving. I believe she didn't want to say anything about it, maybe she thought if she did say, she'd only be reminding her to leave.I, on the other hand, tried to push every negative thought aside, focusing on the main purpose—work, training and keeping Jessica safe. Every time Jessica asked what was wrong, even as she noticed how disturbed I was in my sleep. I brushed it off, telling her it was nothing. How could I tell her the truth? That someone out there was watching, waiting, plotting to make me suffer?It was late one evening when the knock came. "Come in." I permitted.Reed walked in. "Sir, detective Harris from the police station has come to see you."I exchanged glances with Vanessa. "Did you ask the detective to come?" S
BLAKE "Confess."Vanessa gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. “Confess what?! This is... this is a nightmare.”I stared at the USB drive, “They’re trying to blackmail me. But why now? After all this time, why come after me now?”“Maybe they know something we don’t,” Vanessa suggested. “Or maybe they’ve been waiting for the right moment.”I nodded slowly. “Whatever the reason, we need to find out what’s on this drive. But we can’t do it here. It’s too risky.”Vanessa agreed. “I’ll take it to a secure location, somewhere we can check it out without anyone knowing.”“Be careful,” I said, handing her the drive. “And make sure no one follows you.”She took the drive, nodding her head. “I will. But Blake, promise me something.”“What?”“Promise me that no matter what it is, you must protect Jessica."I nodded affirmatively. "I will."She turned to leave but made a stop. "And... you’ll tell her the truth, before it’s too late.”I looked away, sighing heavily. That was something I wasn't su
BLAKEAfter Vanessa forwarded the video, I opened the file, and somehow my breath caught in my throat. As the footage began to play, I felt my heart drop for a second. The video was grainy, but it was clear enough to recognize the people in it—me and Priscilla.But something was off. Way off.In the video, I was strangling Priscilla, with my hands wrapped tightly around her neck as she struggled to breathe, her eyes wide with terror. This never happened. I knew that. Yet there it was, playing out in front of me like some twisted nightmare.Then the scene shifted. Now I was holding a bottle, forcing some kind of chemical down her throat. Her choked gasps filled the room. But that wasn’t the worst of it. The sound—my voice—was distorted, but the words I spoke were all twisted. They had me saying things I never said, things that painted me as a monster.“Fuck!” I cursed, slamming my fist on the desk. This was beyond bad. It was a setup, a calculated manipulation to frame me. My mind ra
VANESSA I walked in, though I had taken a little longer from when I arrived. I knew from the look on Blake's face that he was suspecting something."I was expecting you sooner than now." I said, and I expected that from him.I recalled Jessica had pleaded with me not to tell Blake about our conversation. I thought of a better lie to give, masking my thoughts so he wouldn't have to read my mind.I shrugged. "I met Jessica in the dining room and I thought I should take a little bit from the omelet.""So, you said you have a new plan, fill me up." She sat on the couch, changing the topic."I thought, what if all these were just strategies to get to us. Whoever is doing this is trying to get to our weak spot, to pull us down so they can strike when we least expect it?"I thought over these and I figured just how true his idea was. "You're right." I agreed. "They're luring us to believe this and fall weak to their threats, and when we do, they get to us just at our weakest moment." I adde