Andy's POV
The house was eerily quiet with Bree out, leaving just Jason and I alone. I had been a bit relieved but restless since he texted me and told me that he had finally gotten a lead and was very close to finding out who was behind all of this.
I walked out of my room and headed downstairs to look for Jason so I could talk to him. He was on the couch in the living room, typing on his laptop and going through some things on it. I walked closer to him, my legs shaky with each step I took.
“Hi,” I said as I finally got to him, my voice was as shaky as my legs.
He took his attention off his laptop and looked up at me, his eyes valence soft as they met mine. “Hey, come here. I want to show you something.”
I sat down beside him, close enough to see the image on his phone. Two men with cameras appeared on the screen, both looking out of place, even in the casual, sunny Miami backdrop.
“I found some people holding cameras but these two men were the most suspicious looking so I sent the picture to my investigator,” he explained to me in a small yet calm voice.
I looked at the picture, trying to see if I could recognize anyone of the two of them but nothing about them felt familiar to me.
“Do you know them?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No. Someone is looking into them though.”
I frowned, confused. “Then why do you think they are the ones behind it all?”
Jason shrugged slightly as he leaned back against the couch and looked at me.
“Honestly? I don’t know but they looked so weird. Two guys carrying a camera and being right behind us? It’s possible Marissa hired them, or someone else who knew exactly where we’d be.”
The mere mention of Marissa sent a chill down my spine, but I kept my expression neutral.
“But why would they go to these lengths? Why could they not just come to us and question us instead of doing all this?”
He opened his mouth to talk but the ringing of his phone cut him off. He looked at the ringing phone and he became alert.
“It’s the investigator. Let’s see what they’ve found.”
He put the call on speaker, and I listened closely as he answered. “Jason speaking.”
From the other end of the line, a man spoke up in a calm yet professional tone.
“Good day, Mr Miller. I looked into the two men in the picture that you sent to me yesterday. They’re professional photographers, specializing in local events and tourism. From what I’ve gathered, they were hired to document a private event near where you were.”
Jason and I exchanged a surprised look, we were now back to square one. The man continued talking,
“They don’t have a connection to Marissa or anyone else you might know.” he said.
Jason let out a sigh of frustration as he ran his hand over her his face.
“Thanks for checking. I appreciate it.”
“Of course. Let me know if there’s anything else,” the man replied before Jason ended the call.
After the call he ended, we just sat there in silence and the relief I was feeling earlier disappeared. Something was off and I could not shake the feeling away.
Jason was the one to speak up first and break the silence, his voice was filled with frustration. “I really thought we had something there.”
I bit my lip, my mind racing. “Can I see the other people with a camera from the footage?” I asked him, hoping I would find something that would help.
He opened his phone and swiped to the pictures and handed the phone over to me so I could see it. I looked at the pictures, the first was of the guys we had just confirmed from the investigator that they weren’t the ones
The next picture was of a school girl and the last was of a couple.
I let out a sigh of frustration and was about to drop the phone but something told me to zoom into the picture and that’s when I saw it. My heart stopped suddenly.
“Oh my God!” I exclaimed with a gasp as I felt my blood run cold.
Jason sat up as he looked at me in confusion. “What is it?”
I turned the phone toward him, pointing at the couple. “I know them. That’s Peter… and Rosalie.”
His confusion deepened. “And they are…?”
“My ex and my ex-best friend,” I muttered, an unwelcome wave of anger and resentment flooding me.
“We ran into them here in Miami, and the last time they saw us, they came to the mansion. Bree… well, Bree let them have it, and I guess they didn’t take too kindly to it.”
Realization dawned on Jason’s face. “And you think they are doing this to try to get back at you?”
“Yes, it makes sense. They are that petty,” I replied, almost not believing it myself.
“They must be pissed after what happened. And now they’re playing these games to scare me, to make me feel unsafe.” My stomach twisted into knots as guilt washed over me. I had blamed him.
“Jason, I really am sorry. This… this is all my fault.”
Jason placed his hand on my shoulder, his gaze steady. “Don’t apologize. You didn’t ask for any of this.”
“But I provoked them,” I insisted, feeling the weight of it settle in my chest.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have humiliated them like that. Maybe I should have just ignored them and walked away.”
Jason shook his head firmly. “They are the ones who followed us and tried to blackmail you. If anyone is to blame or apologize, it’s them. Don’t take that on yourself.”
Even though he was reassuring me, I could not push the guilt I was feeling away.
“It doesn’t matter, I’m the one that caused all this and now I'm dragging you into it. And Bree… if she finds out, she’ll be furious. I’ve only made things more complicated.”
Jason eyes became softer and he held my hand as he gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Look, just listen to me okay? You did not do anything wrong. They are the only ones to blame. Besides, if this is their idea of payback, we’ll handle it.” he said assuringly.
I nodded, though a part of me was still reeling, trying to process everything. The betrayal of Peter and Rosalie, the sickening realization that they would go this far to ruin my life.
Jason pulled out his phone, dialing quickly. “I’m going to send their picture to the investigator and they'll get to work, don’t worry. Do you have any idea where they stay?” He asked and I shook my head.
“They don’t live here, we just ran into them randomly one day,” I said as I started feeling relieved again. He was trying to do everything to make sure I calmed down and I truly appreciated it.
“Okay,” he said as he started making calls. I zoned out as I thought of both Peter and Rosalie, what were they trying to get out of all of this?
“They are on it and soon we will get a hold of them. We’ll know soon enough if they’re still in town,” he said, his voice drawing me out of my thoughts.
I exhaled slowly, feeling a weight lift, even if only slightly. “Thank you, Jason.”
“No need to thank me. I’m just happy we are almost done with this whole thing,” he said, giving me a small smile.
I should have seen this coming, I should have just ignored them and not played games with them.
“Don’t dwell on it,” Jason said, as if he heard my thoughts. His tone was gentle but firm.
“You trusted people who, at one point, were important to you. That doesn’t make you responsible for their actions now.” he said.
He was right. This wasn't my fault.
His eyes met mine and I could not help but blush.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
Hopefully, all of this will be over soon.