CHAPTER FORTY-EIGHT: HIDDEN SECRETS

\-BELLA- 

The chiming noise of the cellar made my stomach churn with uneasiness. I knew not what I was expecting from this outing. I could only hope for the best. 

The sound of clanking metals rolled up made me gulp down the hesitation in my throat. He would never forgive me, not in a million years. 

"Prisoner 345, someone is here to see you." The prison warden let out as he jerked him out of the cell. 

His face was a mixture of pleasure and pain, his hands cuffed to his back. The only reason I was here was to get answers as to why the plan to throw Artemis has failed. 

"Hey, Jackson?" I let out a smile. 

He frowned, calling the prison warden back. "Are you really sure this is the lady calling me?". The warden didn't reply, his head aching in the storm. 

"What do you want, Bimbo?" He raised his eyebrows. 

"It's Bella, and I want an explanation on what happened. The plan failed woefully, and it wasn't even my fault this time." I heaved. 

"Wow. So I'm at fault right now? You women are unbelievable sometimes." He chuckled. 

"Don't give me that gender lecture; I care less about it. I've been doing this for years, but anytime I accept jobs from you, I end up in this fucked-up cell filled with crushed-up people." I said, barely audible. 

"I didn't force you to take the job. You accepted it wholeheartedly, took in the proposal, and here we have it. 

"It was him, the one man I'm unable to slit till dawn. He attacked us from behind when he heard we wanted to go and greet Artemis."

It was pretty obvious that that was the main aim of the house party. He would have known if he had been given the IV, a mistake I had made on purpose. 

"Alexander."

"Yes, that's his name. Alexander." He shivered, beads of sweat appearing on his face. "He's the prince of Hyperion Heights, the ruler of this soil you're standing on."

"He's no leader. He's the leader of a … The explosive sound of a gun sent me flying. Though guns were usual here, they were not in cells except for an execution. 

The sight of bloodstains on the walls sent my heart leaping. I couldn't ascertain what had happened, but Jackson's head was dangling on the chair, his neck slouched to the edge.

"Jackson!"

"Madam, it's time for you to leave." The warden came close, grabbing me by the arms. 

"I'm not done talking to him." I yelled. 

"He's done talking to you." He said, his grip on my arms lessened. 

The whirring sound of a siren filled the air, inmates shifting into their cell. Guns bolted up in their backs as they walked in, the SWAT logo printed out on their uniforms. 

"Suspect 345 has violated prison code 241 and has been executed according to the rules of the constitution. We shall now perform the retraction principle to bury the deceased suspect.

"Retraction? He's not dead." I clung to the warden, trying to get closer to Jackson. 

The warden jerked, kicking me out of the investigation room. "Heave!!!!" The SWAT groaned as they raised Jackson from the chair, a hole in his head.

"Madam, for your safety, you have to leave." The warden indicated, pushing me out the door.

…As I walked towards the suite I had booked earlier that morning, I couldn't help but wonder—what had I been doing wrong?

The world suddenly seemed to revolve around Artemis, and it had suddenly become a side character in my very own story. My life literally falling apart before my eyes. 

All the men I had believed would betray Artemis just like I did with Jarvis back then all played against me. They protected her, hurting me like I had not an ounce of emotion. 

I had to cook, so I decided to get some things at the grocery store. As I walk in, the sound of the grocery shop's TV reverberates in my ear. "Lady Artemis of Mercedes Enterprise donates 20 million dollars to the kids of Hyperion Heights." 

I hate how she thinks she's better than everyone. 

"Lady Artemis is just so great. She's done much more for the people than the average Hyperion princess." A lady said as she watched the reporter on the TV. 

"I heard she has a sister. Bella, the runway model." The salesman let out a gasp as he stared at Artemis's pic. 

"That girl is such a disgrace to the Mercedes. She literally has no future of her own. I'd say she stick with the CEO of LEON; that guy is rich enough to Carter for her and keep her away from the world of Insta. She literally pops up on my FYP, and I'm like, Why this bitch?"

Murmurs began, everyone giving their honest opinion about Artemis' and e. Turns out I was always the child of a prodigy; I never did belong to the Mercedes family.

My parents weren't dead, but they didn't want me. They claimed I was a failure, dropped me off at the orphanage, as they claimed they weren't ready to bring up a failure. 

I always smiled when I thought about those words because I thought being the daughter of rich parents gave you special entitlement to love. Little did I know that it was just a frantic lie they showed on TV. 

"Excuse me, excuse me, Miss." A lady's voice echoed as I got to the sidewalks. I motioned back, staring at the lady in a strapped-up top. 

Her legs were out, her thighs drawing her skin in. She looked pretty much like a prostitute with no caliber. Was she here to bullshit me?

"I don't give out to beggars." I said in a harsh tone. 

"Who said anything about begging?'

"Then what do you want?"

"I'm here for a proposal. You help me with exactly what I need, and I'll help you get rid of the small fry on the TV."