The next morning, Sarah leaned against the kitchen counter in her sleek apartment, sipping her coffee. Her phone whirred with a new message, breaking the early-morning stillness. She set her mug down and unlocked the screen, reading Axel's cryptic text from the night before.Axel's Message:"There was a hitch, but that need not affect a thing. Tomorrow, let's meet. We must make certain next steps are understood."A small, knowing smirk curled her lips. She wasn't surprised that Axel's plan had hit a hitch. He was methodical but reckless in the execution. Still, it didn't matter: the damage was done - Jayla's paranoia would fester and she'd doubtless lash out at her sisters.She sent him a reply right away.Sarah's Message:"11 AM, usual place. Won't tolerate your latecomer stunt."The next step of their scheme whirred in Sarah's mind. Jayla's ordeal at the party had gone just far enough to stir the pot. Now it was time to double down. They needed to widen the divide between the triple
Jayla's Brewing StormAs Jade furiously set into her notebook-her plotting mind piecing together how to bring the sisters down-Axel had set the stage for the next act in this dark theatre of theirs, and that was the playground: an exclusive party. Paranoia, for Sarah, was not good enough; she wanted to see annihilation, the bond between them sisters completely devastated.At the cafe, Sarah drummed her fingers on her coffee mug as Axel outlined this elaborate scheme for the public humiliation of Jayla. But Sarah had a whole lot more in her ambitious tank than Axel did: She wanted them to do worse than just fight-she wanted them to destroy each other.She took a step forward as she smirked, her voice a purr. "Axel, good, the Jasmine look-alike idea, but it's too. Tame. In case Jayla wakes up somewhere strange, humiliated, sure, she will suspect Jasmine. But what if we go further?Axel's eyebrow arched, intrigued, yet a tad guarded. "Further how?The smile now spreading on Sarah's face
Jade paced around her room, her bare feet silent on the plush carpet. The dim light emanating from her night lamp itself had a slight flutter to it, casting eerie shadows across the walls. Her fingers toyed with one hanging thread of her cardigan, telling all the turmoil brewing inside. The mayhem of the party had left her restlessness, yet exhilarating all the same. Well done: Jayla's embarrassment was all but choreographed to the poetic script of events. Of course, Jade wasn't feeling all that happy. Not just yet, anyway.It still echoes within her mind from the call of tonight, a haunting melody-a symphony of smooth calculations thrown across. It would revert to the voice in her brain to confirm everything apparently working for her and let Jade know that she was indeed no pawn but at play as a puppeteer.Jade had been in the middle of rearranging the books on her shelf when her phone buzzed on the desk behind her. She let it ring twice before answering, deliberately slow.“Hello?”
Anger brewed inside her like a silent storm as Jayla stared at the screen of her laptop, her fingers frozen above the keyboard. The voice message replayed in her head like a tape, each word lighting another spark to the ones that had already been lit. Jasmine and Jade had teamed up, didn't she. Her sisters. She bit into her teeth as humiliation replayed in her head, giggles, murmurs, and judgmental stares. They had planned her downfall, and now they were going to pay. But not with the petty games they had gotten so used to. This time, Jayla would play for keeps. Her eyes had fallen on the anonymous message displayed on her phone: "Time to even the odds." Shivers ran down her spine, as that just fed determination she simply could not avoid. Whoever this was, he certainly seemed to understand the amount of anger and needed some payback; it sounded almost like a voice into her most hidden soul part. A plan was beginning to formulate in Jayla's mind-the crystallization of her thought
Jayla paced her room; her thoughts were turbulent as the storm raged within her heart. She had fisted her hands by her sides, her jaw set tight in anger as memories of that party replayed themselves in her mind like a broken record. The smugness radiating from Jasmine grated on her like fingernails on a chalkboard, as did Jade's incessant trying to play mediator. It was infuriating how Jade always came off as the calm, neutral sister, yet somehow she had a knack for keeping them all under her thumb, pretending she wasn't part of the chaos she secretly fueled.Jayla sat on the edge of her bed-no, perched, like a predator waiting for exactly the right moment to strike. Her gaze flickered toward her laptop, the messages glowing on the screen, anonymous. "Do it right, and no one will suspect you." In her mind, those sounded like a whispered encouragement for her plan. The tension in the house had built up, like a pressure cooker, over weeks, and Jayla knew just how she could use that.Jad
Jayla's hand had been shaking the whole time as she finally hit the lock on the screen of her phone and buried it deep in her pocket as if it would make the message go away. She stepped out into the chill late evening breeze that bit into her skin as she entered the parking lot of the hospital while passing headlights blurred into a kaleidoscope of color as her mind whirled with two questions: Who? How?She had planned it down to the last letter. The timing and the setup were all supposed to be perfect. Instead, that message, dripping with sarcasm, whispered against the back of her neck, as if someone had begun to unwrap the layers of her plans and were giggling at what lay beneath.But who could it be? Sarah? No. Jayla hadn't caught any hints that Sarah was suspicious of her, and she had always seemed more focused on Jasmine anyway. Axel? The thought sent a ripple of doubt through her. He was cunning enough to play a double game, but why?Jayla clenched her teeth, forcing herself to
Sarah's heels clicked loudly against the floor of her dark apartment as Sarah tread back and forth, holding tightly onto her phone, with the cryptic messages seared into her brain. "Jayla isn't the only one with secrets." Words cut into her like a knife through confidence so laboriously built. And she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her every move, someone dangerous.The possibilities swirled in her mind. Who was behind these messages? Axel? Not likely. He did not need to spook her like this, not when he also benefited from their arrangement. But the idea that someone else, someone outside her control, pulled the strings left her cold.Her glass of wine remained untouched on the counter; she didn't dare pour another, not now, not when her head needed to stay sharp. Whoever this unknown force was, they were playing a dangerous game, and Sarah would be damned if she let them win.Her phone buzzed again within the grasp of her palm.Unknown Number: "Tick tock, Sarah.
Jayla sat cross-legged on the plush velvet couch in the living room of the Johnson mansion, a smirk twisting her lips. The dim light from the antique chandelier above outlined features that were almost sinister. She swirled the wine in her hand absently, as if it was the glass that was the perfect metaphor of the chaos she had unraveled.She leaned back and blew a harsh breath, the thought running like sugar on fire in her head. It was almost too good. Jade lay in the hospital after that near-fatal car accident. She hadn't died-unfortunately-but was shaken enough to keep her off-balance."Not dead yet," Jayla muttered to herself, a hard smile tugging on her lips-" but shaken. That's good enough for now."She was pleased with that image of her sister being helpless, lying in that hospital bed-so meek and weak. The whole neighborhood had thought of Jade for all those years as the "peacemaker"-way too sweet and far too good. But Jayla knew better. Jade does have ambition, and with each p
Four Days After – Jasmine's ApartmentJasmine's head was a war zone.Two days hence, her head would not sleep. It hit her for the umpteenth time—this awareness of Jayla not being the one—whoever ever came near Jade. It lingered in her mind like a tune she was unable to turn off.Why?Who killed Jade?And the letters—the threats. Somewhere, someone had worked it all out and had played chess, and they were pawns.Jasmine had slept in bed last night, awake and lying there, empty inside. She hadn't slept, she hadn't eaten. Her flat was free of space.She needed out of it.She took deep breaths and collapsed onto the bed, legs hanging over the side, fingers relaxed with loose hairs. Anchor arms, anchor legs, and yet she moved.Air. Coffee. Something mundane on a ritual schedule.With which she might perhaps remember herself.An Hour Later – 12th Street Coffee ShopThe small café fi
That Night – Axel's Apartment Axel paced the length of his bedroom, forward and backward in front of his bed, the pictures still grasped in hand in the envelope. The previous day or so had weighed on his shoulders. The pictures. The letters. Burglarizing Jayla's apartment. No coincidence. Something was happening outside of one's control, and Axel could not help but wonder if and why he was nothing more than a pawn in someone's game. His bed phone beeped. He gazed at the screen. Unknown Number. His stomach constricted. He let it ring once. Twice. Then, on a whim, I picked it up. "Yeah?" Nothing. Then that smooth voice, razor blade sound tone. Sarah. "You sound tired, Axel." Sarcasm infused her tone. "Sleep at all?"
The Same Night – Jayla's Apartment Jayla felt like she was being watched. As soon as she entered her apartment, she shivered down the spine. Something was off—too quiet. She looked into the room, faint light, sharp eyes scanning it, pounding heart. Everything was fine with her stuff. Something within her was warning otherwise. She moved stealthily into the kitchen, phone in hand. She placed her keys on the counter, standing—and listening in. Nothing. She breathed in again. Paranoid, perhaps. Perhaps— Click of noise behind. Jayla spun, thudding heart thudding in her head. --Nothing. Own quiet hiss of air as she moved towards reach
Three Days Later – Jayla's Apartment Jayla wrapped herself in her couch, twirling a coffee cup around in her hand, the warmth that could not be shed still running through her system. She awoke in the dead of night, struggling to breathe, after images of the shootout played out in her head. Her bandaged shoulder ached, reminding her she had been nearer death than she wanted to remember. She hadn't heard from or spoken to Jasmine and Jade since she'd gone out with them the night at the club. Like they even called her, anyway. Something was bothering her about why they would do that. Her phone, which sat on the table beside her, rang. No caller ID. She waited a second before she answered it. "Hello?" Stop, then Axel's raspy, deep voice. "Jayla, we need to talk." She got to her feet. "Now you want to talk? After leaving me high and dry?" "I didn't have any choice." His voic
The next evening, Jayla sat down her cross-legged on her bed, a glass of water in one hand and her phone in the other. The soft hum of the ceiling fan did little for the silence marshaling its forces against her. Her fingers hovered over Axel's contact name. They hadn't spoken since that night party, the drinks, the indistinct memory of his worried face as he hailed her a cab. Her thumb finally pressed "Call." The ringing felt eternal before Axel's voice crackled through the speaker. "Jayla?" Axel sounded surprised. "Hey… it's been a while." Jayla smiled faintly, leaning back against her headboard. "Yeah, it has. I wasn't sure you'd pick up." "Of course, I would. You kinda disappeared after… everything. How are you? You sound different." Jayla's smile faltered. "I was in the hospital, Axel. I… I was poisoned. Almost died. The line went dead. She could hear Axel's hitched breath. "Poisoned?" he repeated, his voice low, slow, measured. "Jesus, Jayla. Are you okay now? Do you--do
Jayla’s chest heaved as she stood frozen in the doorway of Room 408, the sight of Axel slumped on the bed and Jade standing beside him sending white-hot fury coursing through her veins. “Jayla,” Jade purred, her voice mocking as she leaned casually against the bedpost. “I didn’t think you’d show up. Brave of you.” Axel stirred; still groggy, his eyes tried to take better focus. "Jayla, wait.it's not what you think—" "Not what I think?" Jayla crackled her tone as her shaking fists jammed beside her. "You're in bed with her, Axel. Her! After all that we had gone through?" Jade scoffed, each of her words sharp and biting. "Oh, don't be so stunned, Jayla. Probably, if your nose were not constantly up your asshole, then maybe, just maybe you might have seen it coming. The words were gasoline to the fire running rampant inside her body. She strode closer, each step more adamant, her voice going louder. "You manipulative little-" With a quick dodge to her advance and strength that was a
Jade's Hotel Room — Midnight The room was pitch black except for the bleeding light of the city through diaphanous curtains. She sat at the end of a king bed, soft light befalling her face from the phone in her hand, one leg over the other. Lying beside her, Axel was spread across the bed, his shirt unbuttoned, his breathing deep but irregular since the drug she'd slipped into his wine still did its work of keeping him very sluggish and unaware of what was happening around him. A sly smile played upon Jade's red lips, curled as they were hand-flipping the pictures she had managed to click throughout, each frame showing something sensual, well-thought-of with calculation. Her hands were over Axel's chest, rubbing casually across his bearded cheek snaps told it all sans loud words of recognition for proximity. Her gaze shifted to the figure that lay before her, serene and soft-as-a-petal in his sleep. "Time now for the thickening of the plot." She clicked the Messaging app first to
The silence of the house enveloped Axel as he stepped inside, the sweet scent of lavender and vanilla comforting perfume so frail in nature wafting through it. Soft light spilled from the living room, casting warmth against the chill of the emotional vacuum that had filled him.As his eyes acclimatized to the brightness, he saw her there: Audrey.She had been curled on the couch, her body sheathed in one of his immense sweaters from her miniature body, and flowed right down her back, where long red hair gave a cascade when the fuming teacup heated her hands.Then she'd raised her gaze, and now her eyes just met Axel."Ach Axel." She sighed soft,.And before another word could escape his lips, Audrey was pressed against him, her face buried in his chest, her fingers digging into his shirt as though he'd disappear if she loosened her grasp."I thought you weren't coming back," she choked.Axel’s throat tightened as the guilt pressed against his chest like a weight he couldn’t lift off,
Outside the Café, moments after the Ultimatum, Axel staggered to his car, the night chilly and nibbling on skin that felt nothing. His head was spinning on a roll-out of control with that threat of Sarah inside his head.The image on her phone imprinted into the brain - damning evidence against him.He was holding on to the roof of his car, his head hung low, sharp, labored gasps of breath.She's mine now.It was his ringing phone that managed to wrench him back from that spiral of thoughts. His fingers moved over his pocket for his phone, as did his eyes, locking their focus on the screen.Audrey: "Baby, I miss you. You're back from your trip, aren't you? Cause I feel like I am freaking out. I need you."Audrey. His wife. The woman he'd promised to protect, to love.Axel sank his teeth hard as the knuckles whitened with the grip of his phone. He couldn't let her take down everything. Whichever way, a choice seemed to enslave him; every step to choke the breath out of his neck.He jam