Chapter 123 I FELT HER
Nikita was outside, eyes glued to her phone. She was trying to find Ricky and had paid a private investigator to help her find him. She's currently waiting for his call as he's said to be an expert in his field. It only takes him twenty-four hours to find a person, no matter where they are hiding.
Her phone buzzed, and she quickly unlocked it.
Her face lit up, her expectations high. She expects to see results.
On clicking the text, her face fell.
"What?" she muttered, dialing the number.
"The number you are trying to call does not exist," the sweet voice of the lady said.
Shock appeared on her face as she tried the number again. Same response.
"What is going on? Yesterday, his number was available, and now, it's out of reach." She tapped the phone in her hand and paced around. "It's confirmed, something is not right. There is someone ahead of them. Someone is plotting against them, but who could that be?"
A high-pitched scream reached her ears.
She jerked, accidentally dropping her phone on the ground.
She recognized the voice as Hazel's.
"What's happening?" she muttered, hurrying inside the house.
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"N-No, get away from me!" Hazel screamed, waving her hand in the air.
She was gasping for breath as her gaze locked on the horror-looking woman. Her mother, Maria.
"Don't you miss your mother?" Maria asked, smiling bloodily at her.
"No!"
She tried to stand but fell back, adding pain to the ankle.
"Come on, Hazel. Have you forgotten me after killing me?"
"N-No. You are not here! Don't come close to me," she said through broken words. Her eyes widened with horror.
Maria took a step toward her.
Hazel crawled on her butt, darting her gaze around for an escape.
"Don't try to deny it. We both plotted against..."
"No!!!" Hazel screamed, closing her ears with her hand. "You are not here! It's only my imagination. You are not here!" She shut her eyes, releasing heavy breaths.
Panic clawed in Winter's eyes as she thought about what to do.
Hazel can't expose herself. She can't.
She wanted to run, but someone grabbed her hand in the dark.
"Leave me," she said, eyes going between frightened Hazel and the person who held her hand.
"Aren't you happy to see me alive?" Maria asked again and took another step near her.
"No. You shouldn't be here! You should be six feet. I..."
A gunshot sounded, stopping Hazel.
Screams erupted from people's mouths as they began scrambling away for their lives.
The reporters ran away.
A heavy stampede began in the room. Some dropped their phones. Others stepped on it, destroying it.
Another gunshot rippled through the air.
The chaos got worse.
Tears rolled down Hazel's cheeks.
Winter wriggled her wrist before leaning in and sinking her teeth hard into the person's hand.
Drexton stood determined to hear the truth from Hazel's mouth.
No single light was in the room. Deep, dark room.
"Tell me, Hazel. You killed your mother."
Hazel trembled on the floor at the verge of peeing on herself.
"Who are you? Speak," Drexton's voice boomed in the dark, causing her to shiver.
She couldn't recognize the voice as Drexton's. She was in a state of mess. Her head spun, and her eyes rolled back and forth.
She opened her mouth to speak, but released choked sounds instead.
Drexton was about to talk again when he heard the steps of someone running like those of Usain Bolt.
The person was about to grab the dummy when he grabbed her hand.
Winter raised her hand and aimed for his face, but he held both her hands.
None of them could see each other's faces. They could only feel the attack on each other.
The gunshot did a good job of distracting from the ceremony. Some people were still running out.
"You can't save an impostor," he said, tightening his grip around her hand.
He could recognize the person's hand as a girl's.
But he didn't know if it was the girl that he had fought the other day. Back then, he was angry and couldn't feel her hand, but now, he's feeling it.
Winter struggled to free herself, sweat clawing at her forehead.
Drexton was determined not to release her.
In the fight for release, Drexton's leg collided with the table, and they began falling.
Winter landed on the floor, and Drexton lay on top of her.
Silence ensued between them as they released slow breaths.
He pinned both her hands to the ground, determined to see the person fighting him.
He could have said it was Hazel's bodyguard, but he couldn't see the blue-ray glasses. This person had no glass.
Winter's eyes widened as she fought harder for her release.
They can't be in this position.
His face was a few inches away from hers. Despite that, they could only see darkness.
Drexton stayed calm, letting her struggle.
Slowly, his senses kicked in. She had a familiar scent. The scent he has memorized better than anyone else. The one that has been haunting him. The one he could never forget.
He could hear her silent whimper as she twisted her wrist in his grip.
"Ixora," he said.
Winter's eyes bulged madly as she struggled harder.
This wasn't the plan.
How did he recognize her?
Immediately, she forgot about saving Hazel.
The thing is to save herself first.
"Ixora, talk to me," he said again, his breath falling on her face.
He released one of her hands.
He brought his hand to her face. Winter turned to the other side. Before he could feel it, a stick hit his head from behind.
"Leave."
The voice was Eric's.
Winter hurriedly pushed Drexton off her body.
She wanted to run, but he gripped her leg, barely conscious.
"Ixora, don't go," he said weakly at the point of passing out.
Eric hit his hand first and then his head with the stick.
He left her leg and fell on the ground.
Winter's wig fell, and without bothering to pick it up, she bolted away.
Eric looked around and dropped the stick. Making sure no one saw him, he left at a hurried pace.
Nikita rushed to Hazel, who had passed out. She curled her arm around Hazel and lifted her.
She was about to leave when the lights came on, startling her.
Luckily, her eyes caught the neck of Hazel's mother.
She saw it was not a human but a dummy.
She began leaving with Hazel.
Jaxon and Alexa rushed in, their eyes fell on Nikita and Hazel's backs. They saw Drexton's state and ran to him.
"Drexton, what happened? How did you get injured?" Jaxon asked, helping him up with Alexa.
Drexton wiped the blood off his forehead.
"Where is Ixora?"
"Ixora? I didn't see her," Jaxon replied.
"Ixora was here. I felt her. I held her," Drexton explained, almost losing control.
"You must be mistaken. The only person here was Hazel," Alexa said, brows etching in confusion.
"No. I'm sure it's her. We were here when..." His eyes caught the wig on the floor.
He picked it up. "This. It came from her. We were both on the floor. I was holding her hand. I can never mistake anyone for Ixora."
Jaxon held Drexton's hand. "Why would she come here wearing a disguise? Alexa and I were outside, looking for the person who shot the gun, and we can swear we didn't see her."
Drexton jerked Jaxon's hand and picked up a bottle.
"Drexton, what are you doing?"
"I... I felt her in the dark. She came to me in the dark. She will come again."
Before Jaxon and Alexa could say their next word, he threw the bottle at the chandelier.
The chandelier broke and began falling on him.
"Drexton!" Jaxon screamed and quickly pushed him away.
"Get a hold of yourself! Ixora is not here!" Jaxon yelled.
"I swear, I felt her!" Drexton yelled back and helped himself up.
"Drexton," Alexa called.
"Don't follow me," he warned darkly.
Without waiting for them, he bolted away.