Chapter 165 CHAPTER 165
She wasn’t the only one
Lila had never slept well in silence. Silence meant thinking, and thinking meant remembering.
So she kept every light in Ares’ penthouse glowing, warm, expensive, golden like she could burn the truth out of the air if she tried hard enough.
The flash drive was gone. No—destroyed.
She had smashed it into the marble floor with Ares’ own dumbbell, shards scattering like broken teeth. Then she swept the pieces into a crystal bowl, poured lighter fluid from one of Ares’ ridiculous boutique candles, and set it on fire in the sink. It melted, it smoked. It died, and with it, the evidence.
Lila gripped the countertop now, forcing her breath to stay even. Her reflection in the kitchen window looked unstable, wild hair, mascara smudged, lips pressed too tight.
She whispered to herself,
“You did what you had to do.”
Because if Ares ever saw that video, if Tessa ever saw it, if the world ever saw it, everything would fall apart. And Lila wasn’t ready to lose.
She lifted a glass of wine to her lips. Her hand trembled so badly she had to put it down again. She curled her fingers into a fist.
“No more mistakes,” she told herself. “Ares is mine and mine only.”
Ares was out of town for a security conference. Tessa was quiet for once. The world, for the first time in days felt still. Lila let herself breathe.
She walked back into Ares’ room, sat on his bed, and sank into the familiar scent of dark, expensive, masculine. She closed her eyes. You’re safe. It’s over. No one will ever know.
Her phone buzzed, it was a single vibration, then another, then three in a row. She frowned and reached for it.
1 NEW EMAIL — UNSPECIFIED SENDER
Her pulse stuttered. She opened it. No subject line. No greeting.
Just one sentence:
“You destroyed one file. Not all. Pay up or the world sees everything.”
Lila froze, her chest tightened. Her vision blurred.
“No,” she whispered.
Her phone buzzed again—attachment received.
Her thumb hovered, shaking. She tapped it. A single still frame loaded onto the screen. Lila nearly dropped the phone. Her throat closed, this wasn’t a threat. This was proof, the footage wasn’t gone. Someone else had it. Her heartbeat slammed against her ribs, painful and violent.
She typed back with trembling fingers:
Who are you?
The reply came in less than five seconds.
“Someone who prefers wire transfer. You have 48 hours.”
Lila’s breath came short and sharp. This wasn’t the camera guy. Was he? He was greedy, yes but sloppy. He begged, he panicked. He called her, voice shaking, offering the footage like a rat offering stolen cheese.
This message was different. Clean, cold, strategic. Someone smarter definitely!
Lila swallowed hard and typed again: How much?
No reply, not immediately. Which was somehow worse. Her stomach twisted. She stood abruptly, pacing the room, her heels clicking against the polished floor. Think! Who would want this out? Who benefits? Who hates her? Who hates Ares? Who wants Tessa destroyed?
Her mind raced through names like a roulette wheel—Bianca, Marcus, Dorcas, the camera guy, even random staff…
Then her phone buzzed again: You should be more careful where you leave your things. :)
Lila’s eyes widened. She typed: What does that mean?
The answer came instantly. Check your gallery. Her hands went numb. With dread crawling up her spine, she opened her photos. A new image sat at the top. A picture of her, taken from behind.
Inside Ares’ bedroom, today, not yesterday, not last week, now. Lila’s knees nearly gave out. Someone had been watching her. Someone had been inside the penthouse. Someone who walked these halls. Someone who had access. Someone close. Her pulse hammered so loudly she could hear nothing else. The screen buzzed again.
Another message: “Forty-eight hours, Lila. Don’t disappoint me.”
No name. Just a countdown clock attached beneath it. 48:00:00. Lila’s breath shook so hard she had to grip the bedpost. She wasn’t being blackmailed. She was being hunted.
She pressed her palm to her forehead, trying to think, really think but panic was crawling through her system like poison. There was only one person she could call. Only one who wouldn’t judge. Only one who wouldn’t ask why.
She reached for his contact then froze, if she told Ares, everything would explode.
Tessa? His real kids? His entire world. Ares would never forgive her for hiding the truth. The phone slipped from her hand and landed softly on the bed.
“No,” she whispered. “I can handle this.”
She walked into the bathroom, splashed cold water on her face, and stared at her reflection. You’ve survived worse. You won’t break now. You break other people, she straightened. She would pay. She would stall. She would find out who was behind this. And then she would end them.
Her breathing steadied. She walked back to the bedroom, collected her bag, and headed toward the elevator. Halfway there, her phone buzzed again. She didn’t want to look.
But she did, it was a new email. From an anonymous account.
Subject line: “Tick-tock.”
No message. Just a video thumbnail. Lila opened it. The footage played for two seconds: The ballroom, the music. Ares turning toward the camera, then the screen cut to black. And a voice distorted, unrecognizable whispered:
“Did you really think you were the only one watching?”
Lila’s heart stopped. She didn’t move, couldn’t. Her phone slipped from her hand and hit the floor. Her blood turned to ice. Because suddenly sickeningly, she understood something. This wasn’t about money. This wasn’t about revenge, it was just wickedness.
The final email arrived. No threat. No countdown. Just a name.
From: Chloe.
Lila stared at the screen, unable to breathe. Chloe! Chloe smiling, harmless, background standing Chloe. Chloe, who never spoke unless spoken to. Chloe, who always seemed to know things she shouldn’t.
Lila’s voice came out in a whisper: “…how?”
Her pulse raced violently. Chloe wasn’t just watching. She wasn’t just blackmailing. She had been waiting. Patient, hidden. And now she had stepped into the light. For the first time in her life, Lila felt genuinely afraid.