Chapter 12 Twelve

Chapter 12 Twelve
Rebelle Pov

I didn’t respond to his question; all I did was stand there and stare at him while my mind raced, trying to make sense of it all. The same question kept playing over and over again in my head.

Why me? Why would anyone go through all this trouble to send me? I was good, but you were not the best nor the strongest. The more I thought about it, the more it felt like I was missing something important.

“I don’t know”, I finally answered as I met his strong gaze.

Ezekiel didn’t look surprised, not even a little, like he had expected that answer from the beginning.

His eyes locked on mine as he stepped forward, “Then start thinking…because if you don’t figure it out, someone else already has.”

His words sank in like a heavy rock, and before I could say anything else, he turned around and walked out of the room, leaving me standing alone with my thoughts.

I let out a slow breath as I ran my fingers through my hair and began to pace the room. Seconds, then minutes passed by as I kept racking my brain.

“Damn it “, I muttered under my breath, clenching my fists in frustration.

There had to be a reason.

I finally took a seat on my couch, then closed my eyes for a second, trying to piece everything together. The job, the anonymous client and the information that was accurate enough to lead me to this place… to her.

My eyes instantly snapped open as I jolted from the couch.

“No…” I whispered to myself, but the thought was already there, making too much sense.

Waverly, my sister…

“They knew”, I said slowly, my voice breaking as the realisation settled in, “they knew I was looking for her.”

If they actually knew, everything else would fall into place. They knew I’d take the job, wouldn’t ask questions, and that I’d walk straight into whatever they set up for me.

“They used me,” I said, letting out a laugh, “they used me to get here… to get to her.”

I paused a bit as a thought struck in after.

It could be that they used me to get to them.

Before I could go deeper into that, though, a loud knock on the door pulled me back to reality.

“Get dressed,” a guard’s voice came from the other side “, you’re needed.” He said firmly.

I didn’t respond; I just turned and grabbed the clothes they had left for me, pulling them on quickly as my mind continued to spin.

As I stepped outside, two guards were already waiting for me, and without saying a word, they started walking, expecting me to follow, which I did.

Not like I could refuse.

My eyes roam around the estate. It was quiet, and there were fewer people than before; it felt completely different, like something was about to happen.

We moved through long hallways and down a set of stairs before stopping in front of a large door. When it opened, I immediately saw them.

Asa, Ezekiel, and Oliver, all standing inside like they had been waiting.

The moment I stepped in, their attention shifted to me.

“Good,” Asa said smoothly, his tone calm but sharp, “you’re awake.”

“I didn’t have much of a choice,” I responded sassily, crossing my arms slightly as I walked further into the room.

A small smile appeared on his lips like he found that amusing.

“I like that,” he said, “still holding on.”

At the corner of my eye, I looked at Ezekiel. He didn’t say a word; he just watched me the way he always did, like he was looking at something beneath him.

Then Asa gestures towards the table in the centre of the room

“Come here”, he orders

And I obediently walked over slowly, my eyes dropping on the large table the moment I saw what was laid out there.

Instantly, my chest tightened. There were files, photos, maps and eight in the middle… Sheild.

Blaine office.

Then it clicked.

“We’re going back,” Asa said calmly.

“To him?” I asked even when I already knew the answer.

“Yes,” he replied without hesitation, “and this time, we’re not asking nicely.”

My stomach twisted in a knot as u looked back at the images, because no matter what Blaine had done, no matter how badly he had set me up, I knew what that meant for him.

Without thinking, I asked, “What do you want from him?” My voice low.

“The truth!” Ezekiel barked, his voice cold as usual

“And if he doesn’t give it?” I pressed.

Ezekiel’s gaze met mine, and for a second, the room felt hotter.

“Then we take it.”

I looked away, swallowing the lump building in my throat because I already knew what that meant, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.

“He won’t talk easily,” I said after a moment.

“Everyone talks,” Asa replied softly, stepping closer to the table as he studied the files.

Finally, Oliver spoke from where he stood.

“Security around Shield has increased,” he said, “but it won’t matter.”

I frowned slightly. “Why not?”

He looked at me directly.

“Because we’re already inside.”

A chill instantly ran down my spine.

What do they mean, already inside?

But I shook it off and looked over at them, “When do we move?” I asked.

“Now,” Ezekiel said, immediately turning towards me, his expression unreadable.

“You’re coming with us.”

I didn’t argue.

I just nodded.

“I want answers,” I said.

“You’ll get them,” he replied.

But something in his tone told me I might not like what I found.

The drive to the Blaine office was silent. I finally looked out the window, getting to see outside the estate after being captured for a while. Eden still seemed the same, the noise still there and the people, but I felt disconnected from all of it.

I sat in the back with Ezekiel, while Asa was in the front and Oliver was driving. No one spoke because there was nothing left to say.

After what felt like forever, we finally reached our destination. I looked out the window and saw it.

The same building, the same place. But now it felt different, like walking back into a trap.

As soon as I stepped out, a soft breeze blew past me, but it felt suffocating. I looked at them. Asa adjusted his suit calmly while Ezekiel rolled his shoulders slightly. Oliver then gave a small nod, and without another word, they moved.

Fast.

The front doors opened before we even reached them, as if someone inside already knew we were coming, and the moment we stepped in, everything paused: people froze and became silent.

Fear immediately spread across the room as they all knew who had just walked in.

We didn’t stop; we moved straight through the building as if we owned it, like no one would dare stand in our way, and no one did.

When we reached Blaine’s office, the door was closed. Without wasting a second, Ezekiel aggressively kicked it open.

The sound echoed sharply through the room as the door slammed against the wall, and inside, Blaine froze. Angel sat beside him, both of them turning toward us in shock.

“What the hell!!” Blaine yelled, but his voice died the second his eyes landed on me.

Fear replaced everything else instantly.

“You…” he said under his breath.

I stepped forward slowly, my gaze locked on him.

“Miss me?” I asked coldly with a slight grin.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” he rushed out quickly, his voice shaking.

Ezekiel moved before he could say anything else, grabbing him by the collar and slamming him hard against the desk with enough force to make everything on it fall to the ground.

Angel let out a sharp scream and stumbled backwards.

“Don’t,” Asa said calmly without even looking at her. She froze instantly.

“You set me up,” I said, my voice low and steady as I stared at Blaine with a deep frown.

“No…no I didn’t...” he stammered.

Ezekiel slammed him again, harder this time.

“Lie again,” he warned.

“I didn’t know!” Blaine shouted, panic clear in his voice, “I swear I didn’t know!”

“Didn’t know what?” Asa asked as he stepped closer, his tone calm but dangerous.

“The job… the client… it was arranged,” Blaine said quickly, his breathing uneven.

“By who?” Ezekiel demanded.

“I don’t know!”

Another slam.

“You’re running out of chances.”

“I’m telling the truth!” Blaine cried out desperately, “It came through a third party, I never saw the client!”

Asa tilted his head slightly.

“A third party,” he repeated slowly, “name.”

Blaine hesitated for a bit.

Ezekiel’s grip tightened.

“Name.” He barked

Blaine’s eyes darted between us, panic rising as his chest rose and fell quickly.

“I only had a contact name,” he said finally, his voice shaking, “no face, no details.”

“What name?” I asked, stepping closer as my heart pounded harder with every second.

Blaine looked at me, and for a moment, he didn’t speak, like he was debating whether to say it or not, but then he broke.

“Sterling,” he whispered.

The room went completely still.

My blood ran cold instantly.

“That’s not possible,” I said, but even as the words left my mouth, I already knew.

Detective Noah Sterling.

The man at the diner, the man who watched me, who knew too much.

Asa’s expression darkened slightly while Ezekiel went completely still beside me.

“Say it again,” Asa said quietly. Blaine swallowed hard.

“Sterling,” he repeated.

Silence fell over the room, thick and suffocating.

Then Asa spoke again, his voice low and controlled as his eyes shifted to me.

“Tell me, Rebelle…” he said slowly, his gaze sharp and unreadable, “how long has Detective Sterling been playing you?”