"Tori—"
"This marriage is a lie, you’re trying to convince the entire city that you love the devil. If I were in your situation, I would lose my fucking mind. But Catherine, you’re now incorporating that lie into your real life, and that could have pushed away, but I’m still here because I know, I can feel sothing’s wrong."
"I’m sorry..." I murmured. "I wanna tell you, but I can’t drag you into this. It’s dangerous."
"Dangerous? Cat, what’s going on?"
Shit.
She’s worried and panicked. That is the last thing I want her to feel right now. The less I drag her into this, the better, but lying to her would only prove everything she just told true. I never realized how much I was lying to the people I love. My grandparents, Tori. It wasn’t fair to them or .
My phone vibrated, and that was my cue.
"Listen, after this I’ll tell you everything, but it’s gotta be at my own pace, things I think it’s safe to know. But right now I need your help. This works out, then I know what I have gotten myself into."
Tori hesitated for a bit. "Okay, one hour. Anything longer than that is gonna make it suspicious, and I’m sure that’s not what you need right now." She pushed to her feet. "You owe ."
I nodded frantically, watching as she walked to Nico and Reed, who were alerted by her presence. But Nico seems surprisingly welcoming.
"I have to sit with you guys. Cat needs a bathroom break, a long one. What do they put in their coffee here?"
Okay, that’s a load of mortification, and it’s probably gonna be a core mory, but hey, that works! That was the window I needed for this.
I quickly rose to my feet, walking towards the direction of the restroom, but midway, I redirected my steps, making my way upstairs to the far corner and out of sight.
My eyes road the space and pinned on Jenna, who took off her sunglasses.
"One hour," I said when I got close. "That’s all we have or less."
I won’t risk Tori. Which ant the faster I got this done the better.
"Nice to see you too..." Jenna said, amused.
"This is not a friendly eting."
"I totally agree." She leaned against the wall and folded her arms. "I’m guessing there’s no ti to sit because you’re on borrowed ti?"
"Probably less..."
"You never replied when I spoke about Theo rcer, and then suddenly you were requesting to et up."
"That—"
"No cause for alarm. Theo was seen recently, so he’s not missing," she explained. "All well and alive."
H-He’s alive?
I felt a strong wave of relief. "That’s um... Good news."
Jenna fixed with a pointed stare. "Yes, it is, but it doesn’t change the fact he’s involved in sothing. My source strongly believes he was dragged by Ares’ n."
"But hey! He’s alive..."
She scoffed and shook her head. "That aside, I got so info."
"Info about what?"
"It’s not objective, but it has sothing to do with a partnership that involves rcer Systems. It’s still a silenced rumor, but the bloggers are running about it."
Partnership? I thought Theo only set out to have a sponsor?
"Partnership with who?" I asked.
"With Voss."
"Voss? As in Noel Voss?"
"No, Noah Voss, the son. He’s recently been in charge after his father’s freak accident."
I blinked. "Wait, when was this?"
"I think after the eting with King Corp. My guess is your husband didn’t give a satisfying answer, and Theo rcer saw a better opportunity and took it."
Woah! Woah! Woah! The tiline of this was far apart from when he told he got a sponsor. Was he with Voss the whole ti?
"How true is this?"
"I told you there were rumors, but things like rumors can also be created if they didn’t want the real truth out. The rich sotis like to keep their agenda hidden."
Then why did Theo stick close to Agatha if he already had a partnership? That was enough to push rcer Systems for life! Why did he subject himself to Agatha’s manipulation then?
There’s sothing very fishy about this.
Jenna checked her watch. "We have to stop eting like this, limited ti won’t bear fruit. We’re going in circles here."
"But we’re getting sowhere."
"How so?"
"You tell things no one else would, and now I’m gonna need you to be very honest with ."
"I’ve always been honest, but it’s all up to you to believe or not."
I opened my mouth to speak, but she didn’t let .
"I have a strong guess that the reason you decided all of a sudden to talk with again is that you saw proof of what I told you."
"I don’t even know what I saw..." I whispered.
"But you saw sothing." She pushed off the wall and closed the distance between us. I didn’t realize how tall she was until now.
Jenna sank her hands in the pockets of her high-waisted pants.
"That’s enough..." she murmured. "I’ll look you in the eye when I say this: Ares King is a dangerous man. You don’t just know it as I do."
"He doesn’t work for the mafia."
Jenna chuckled, amused. "Who gave you that idea?"
"Well, it’s—"
"Ares King is the mafia."
My breath shuddered, my chest feeling as if it’d co apart. Unlike before, I flipped when she told sothing like this weeks ago, but now...? I just can’t because I can’t take off the image of Ares holding that gun.
He claid it was for protection, but his aura didn’t feel like soone who wanted to protect himself.
He was the shark.
"I feel all this is personal for you..." I stated. "Why?"
Her chest rose and fell heavily. "Because my wife was on to Ares King. She got too close and deep..." She gulped tightly. "It got her killed."
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