Chapter 65
CHARLOTTE
རྨི41%
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The restaurant was dimly lit, the kind of place where no one paid attention to anyone else. I sat in a booth near the back, my fingers drumming anxiously on the table. The faint hum of conversations around me blended with the clatter of dishes. I wasn’t in the mood for small talk or pleasantries. My mind was spinning, my nerves stretched thin.
Liam arrived ten minutes late, sliding into the seat across from me without a word. His face was as composed as ever, but the tension in his jaw gave him away. He didn’t waste time with greetings.
“What happened?” he asked sharply, his voice low but firm.
I let out a sigh, leaning back at the booth. “I got an email yesterday,” I began, keeping my tone calm even though my stomach churned at the memory. “It came while I was at work. At first, I thought it was spam, but then I opened it.” I paused, my fingers tightening around the edge of the table. “It had a picture of me.”
S
“A picture?” Liam’s furrowed, his eyes narrowing.
I nodded. “Yeah. It was me, standing outside Damien’s office that day. The day I took the video.” My voice faltered slightly, but I pushed through it. “Whoever this person is, they caught me in the act. The picture shows me with my phone in my hand, right outside his office door.”
Liam’s expression darkened. “You’re telling me someone was watching you? That day?”
“Apparently,” I replied, my jaw tightening. “And it gets worse. The email wasn’t just a threat. It included instructions. The person texted me, told me to meet them at some abandoned warehouse today.” I leaned forward, my voice lowering even more. “They want five hundred thousand dollars, Liam. Five. Hundred. Thousand. If I don’t pay, she is going to Damien with everything.”
Liam’s eyes widened, and for a second, he looked like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Then his expression shifted, and his anger flared. “What the hell, Charlotte?” he hissed. “How could you be so careless? How did you let someone catch you like that?”
My head snapped up, and I glared at him. “Excuse me?” I shot back, my voice rising slightly. “You’re seriously going to sit there and blame me for this? After everything I’ve done?”
“You got sloppy,” he snapped, leaning forward. “And now we’re both screwed because of it.”
“Sloppy?” I repeated, my voice dripping with disbelief. “Are you kidding me right now? I’ve been the one doing all the work, Liam. I’ve been the one taking the risks, getting my hands dirty, while you sit back and bark orders. Don’t you dare lecture me about being careless.”
He opened his mouth to argue, but I cut him off, my anger boiling over. “Do you even realize how much I’ve done for this plan? How much I’ve risked for us? You think I wanted to be blackmailed? You think I don’t know how bad this is? Don’t talk to me like I’m some idiot, Liam.”
He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his hair. “Fine,” he muttered, his tone softening slightly. “You’ve done a lot, I’ll give you that. But this–this is a mess, Charlotte.”
“You think I don’t know that?” I snapped. “You think I’m not freaking out about this? But yelling at me isn’t going to fix it.”
For a moment, neither of us said anything. The tension between us was thick enough to cut with a knife. Finally, Liam leaned back in his seat, his jaw still tight but his tone calmer
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(Yes સબકા
14:37 Tue, 18 Feb
Chapter 65
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“Alright,” he said. “Let’s focus. Whoever this blackmailer is, they have to work for Damien. It’s the only explanation.”
“I know,” I agreed, nodding. “No one outside the company would’ve had access to me that day, or even known about the video in the first place. It has to be someone on the inside.”
“Did they give you any clues? Anything that might narrow it down?” Liam asked, his sharp gaze locking onto mine.
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I shook my head. “No. They’ve been careful. The email came from a burner account, and the texts are from some anonymous number. The person didn’t even show their face at the warehouse but from the silhouette, I knew it was a woman. Just a cloak, hiding everything except their eyes and fingers,” I paused, my voice dropping. “But I will find out who it
is.”
“How?” Liam asked, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t even have a lead.”
“I’ll figure it out,” I said firmly, my tone leaving no room for argument. “Whoever that person is thinks they have the upper hand right now. But the person doesn’t know who they are messing with. When I find out who it is, I’ll make sure the person regrets it.”
Liam studied me for a moment, his expression unreadable. “You’d better,” he said finally. “Because if this gets out, it’s not just you they’ll come after. Damien will tear both of us apart.”
“You don’t need to remind me,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I know exactly what’s at stake here.”
“Do you?” he challenged, his eyes narrowing. “Because if Damien finds out, it’s game over. There won’t be any second
chances.”
“I know, Liam,” I snapped. “I’m not stupid.”
“Then act like it,” he shot back. “No more mistakes. No more slip–ups. This is the last thing we need right now.”
I glared at him, my hands clenched into fists under the table. “Don’t worry,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’ve got this under control.”
“You had better,” he muttered, leaning back in his seat. For a moment, he said nothing, his gaze drifting to the table as if lost in thought. Then he looked up at me again, his expression serious. “We need to figure out our next move. Fast.”
“I’ll handle the blackmailer,” I said firmly. “You just focus on keeping Damien distracted.”
Liam nodded slowly, though the tension in his jaw didn’t ease. “Fine. But if this goes south-”
“It won’t,” I interrupted, cutting him off. “I’ll make sure of it.”
He didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t argue further. Instead, he glanced around the restaurant, his gaze briefly lingering on a waiter passing by before returning to me. “We can’t meet like this again,” he said. “It’s too risky.”
“Agreed,” I said, pushing back my chair. “This conversation is over”
Without waiting for him to respond, I stood up and grabbed my purse, my heels clicking against the floor as I walked away. My mind was already racing with possibilities, strategies, and plans to uncover the blackmailer’s identity.
Whoever that person was, she had made a grave mistake targeting me. She thought she had the upper hand, but I was about to prove her wrong. She wouldn’t just pay–she’d pay dearly.
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