Chapter 172: Trapping a Cat
Bradley is pulling his hair again. His life hasn’t improved at all since he ran away from Thea and Liam that day.
If anything, it’s getting worse.
He is still living in fear, under constant stress. And when he’s stressed, gambling is the only release he has. Then he loses, owes more money, and adds even more stress to his life.
The vicious cycle continues.
Ryan Blackwood may have run away from Arvion, but that doesn’t an he has stopped calling and nagging Bradley. He still does. Now, he even calls more than twice a day.
When Ryan first disappeared, Bradley loved it. Ryan didn’t contact him at all. But after a few days, the calls started again. More frequent. More aggressive.
Ryan keeps demanding that Bradley sohow get money from Thea Montrose.
"Blackmail her! She lived with you for five days. Don’t tell
you don’t have anything on her!"
"You should at least have a video or photo of her naked or sothing!"
Ryan sounded malicious.
But Bradley really doesn’t have anything on Thea. During those five days, they slept separately. They showered separately. They didn’t even get that intimate.
And Bradley never once thought he would need to collect incriminating photos or videos. That is not his style.
He may be a gambling addict.
He may hate won in general.
But he is not like Ryan
His phone vibrates.
Bradley glances lazily at the screen, already prepared to ignore it, when the na that flashes almost gives him a massive heart attack.
Thea Montrose.
Thea Montrose is calling him.
Bradley freezes. Completely. He can’t move. He just stares at his phone screen, his mind going blank.
What does she want?!
A flood of possibilities crashes into his head all at once.
Thea wants payback.
She’s calling to yell at him.
It’s not Thea at all, but Arthur calling using her phone.
Or maybe Julian. Or Sam. Or the police.
One scenario more absurd and terrifying than the last.
His heart pounds so hard it hurts. His fingers feel numb. He keeps staring at the screen until the vibration stops.
Bradley lets out a loud breath.
"You okay, Brad?" his colleague from the cubicle next to him asks, genuine concern in his voice.
"Huh?" Bradley turns and looks at him like an idiot.
"You look like you’ve just seen a ghost. Are you okay?" the colleague repeats.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I’m okay," Bradley answers awkwardly. "I was just... thinking about sothing else."
His phone vibrates again.
Bradley’s breath catches.
He looks down.
There’s a text from Thea Montrose.
His breath hitches again. His hands start to shake. He hesitates, wondering whether he should open the text at all.
Maybe if I ignore it, she’ll give up.
Bradley knows that’s wishful thinking.
But curiosity gnaws at him. He wants to know what Thea has to say. He needs to know.
He abruptly pushes his chair back and gets up, walking quickly toward the n’s room.
He slips inside one of the stalls and locks the door behind him.
Sitting down on the toilet, he pulls out his phone and stares at the screen again. The na at the top still feels unreal.
Finally, with a trembling hand, he taps the screen and opens the ssage.
It reads:
"Hi Brad, hopefully this text finds you well. I want to apologize for not contacting you all this ti. As you probably know, I was in a coma for a few weeks. And when I woke up, I couldn’t contact you again. My family had been watching
very closely.
I miss you, Brad. Please call . I want to see you again."
Bradley’s brain freezes again.
It takes a few seconds for the words to sink in. Then, when they finally do, his mood shoots straight into the stratosphere.
His laugh starts low and quiet, almost disbelieving. Then it grows louder. Fuller. Unrestrained.
Real happiness.
Finally.
Finally!
Finally!!
"HAHAHAHAHA!"
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Theo stares at his phone, waiting for Bradley’s reply.
When nothing cos, he smirks.
Just as I thought. You coward.
Arthur takes a seat across from him and asks, "Well?"
Theo shakes his head. "He didn’t answer. He hasn’t replied to my text."
"But you’re smirking." Arthur studies his face. "You look pleased. Why?"
"I’m smirking because he’s behaving exactly as I predicted."
Theo gestures toward the thick folder on the table.
"You gave
his background. His gambling addiction. His connection to Ryan Blackwood."
Then Theo lifts his gaze to et Arthur’s.
"Based on what I’ve read, I doubt this was all Bradley’s plan. Ryan Blackwood must be involved. One way or another."
"I’m sure he’ll reply soon. Or even call."
Theo’s phone vibrates.
Theo glances at it and slowly smiles.
"Speak of the devil. He just texted ."
Theo opens the ssage. It reads:
"Oh my god, Thea! I can’t tell you how happy and relieved I am when I received your text! I’ve been worried sick about you! But I can’t call or text you either, because the situation was never an ideal one. Please forgive . And I’m sorry I didn’t answer your call either. I’m currently at work. I can’t look at my phone. You know how it is, don’t you? Why don’t we et after work? Can you escape?"
Theo shows the ssage to Arthur.
As Arthur reads it, his expression darkens. He glances back at Theo and lets out a quiet sigh.
"I really don’t want to let you et him alone. He reads as delusional, Thea." Arthur pauses. "I can accompany you. I’ll watch from afar."
Theo shakes his head.
"No. I need to do this alone, Art." Theo’s voice is firm. "He needs to understand the consequences of what he did to ."
I owe this to Thea.
I need to do this alone.
Arthur sighs again.
"Can you at least tell
what you’re going to do?"
"I want him to know how strong Thea Montrose really is." Theo’s voice is calm. "I want to put the fear of Thea into him, so deeply that he will never be able to think about doing sothing like this ever again."
He smiles very sweetly.
"Then you can put him in jail."
Seeing Theo’s smile, a cold feeling creeps up Arthur’s spine.
I need to remind myself to never piss her off.
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