Chapter 180 Doing the right thing

Chapter 180 Doing the right thing
Rowan's POV
My mind immediately went to Zayne. He needed to know. 

I had to tell him first because I wasn't sure what my monster of a mother could do. If she was planning something against his mom, then he had to be warned before it was too late.

I grabbed my phone from the bed and opened my contacts. Oh well, I didn't have his number.

I clicked my tongue. Then I opened our class group chat instead and started scrolling through the members until I found his name.

I quickly saved his number and stared at it for a second.

Glancing at the time, I realized it was 3:45.

Fuck it. 

It didn't matter.

I tapped the call button, and the phone began ringing.

It rang once, then twice.

My patience was already running thin.

It was at the third ring that someone finally answered.

"Hello?" His voice was low and groggy, obviously pulled out of sleep.

"Zayne," I called in a low tone. "Hey, you have to listen carefully."

There was silence.

Then his voice immediately sharpened as if he'd just fully awakened. "Rowan?"

"Yeah."

"How the hell did you get my number?" he snarled.

I opened my mouth to explain. "Look. That shouldn't be the problem right now. You need to—"

The call ended.

I stared at the screen.

He fucking hung up.

"Cazzo." I let out an irritated hiss. "Seriously?"

I called again. This time, it rang and rang and rang.

No answer. 

I tried again. Nothing.

And again. The dummy still wasn't picking up.

"Come on, Zayne," I muttered.

I called for the fourth time.

This guy was testing my patience.

Finally, on the next attempt, the call connected.

"Why are you blasting my phone at this early hour of the morning?" Zayne's sleepy voice came through, much more irritated this time. "What the hell do you want? It's fucking too early to have a conversation with you." 

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Now, listen to me."

"Why the fuck should I listen to you?"

"I need to tell you something.".

"About what?" 

I swallowed hard. "Your mom."

The silence on the other end lingered.

"I know you're angry that I danced with Valeria. I'm sorry about that. I just couldn't help it. It—"

"Spare yourself the shitty apology. What about my mom?" he asked.

"Do not leave your mother's side," I warned. "Whatever you do, don't get her out of your sight."

"What... what's happening?" He asked like he'd just sprang out of bed. 

"Send me your address. We need to talk. And not over the phone." 

"Okay."

He ended the call. The next minute, the message containing his address dropped.

I checked the time again. It was four in the morning.

If I suddenly left the house now, it would raise questions. There was no way my mother wouldn't notice. And considering everything I'd just heard, the last thing I needed was for her to become suspicious of me.  

So I just had to wait till six, at least.

I dropped my phone and forced myself to go back to bed.

I lay on my back, staring at the ceiling, then turned onto my side. A few minutes later, I rolled onto the other side and pulled the blanket over my head.

Every time I closed my eyes, I heard my mother's voice again.

I want Elena dead.

I kept turning from one side to the other, my mind refusing to shut down.

I just wanted to now exactly what my mother planning. How was she going to infiltrate the security? Who was she working with? And how far had she already gone?

I glanced at the clock again.

5:57 a.m.

I sat up immediately, eyes fixed on the clock. The second it changed to 6:00, I jumped out of bed. 

Quickly, I pulled on a t shirt over a pair of pants, grabbed my car keys, then reached for the one thing I couldn't leave behind. 

The flash drive.

I stared at it for a second before slipping it into my pocket. Then I left my room.

I moved quietly through the house, making sure not to wake anyone.

A few minutes later, I was behind the wheel and driving toward Zayne's house. By the time I arrived, the sun had already risen, casting a pale glow over the streets.

I parked outside and climbed out of the car.

Taking a deep breath, I wondered how this conversation was going to go.

Then I walked toward the front door and knocked. A few seconds passed before the door finally opened.

A girl stood there. She looked like she'd just woken up, her dark hair slightly messy and her grey eyes narrowed sleepily at me.

I stared at her.

She looked so much like Zayne. Then I noticed the resemblance in her features.

Oh fuck I didn't even need to ask who she was. She was the spitting image of my dad.

She looked me over, clearly surprised to see me standing at their door so early in the morning.

"What are you... doing here?" She asked, looking confused.

"I need to talk to Zayne."

Before she could respond, footsteps sounded behind her. Zayne walked past the hallway, his hair messy and his expression still tired.

His eyes landed on me. "Get in."

I nodded.

Quinn stepped aside, allowing me to enter.

I followed Zayne as he walked down the hallway and into a bedroom, presumably his. The moment the door closed behind us, he turned to face me.

"Okay. What's going on?" he asked. 

I released a breath. Then I reached into my pocket and pulled out the flash drive.

His eyes immediately dropped to it. "What is that?"

I held it out. "I found it."

He stared at me. "What?"

"The flash drive."

He lowered his gaze to it again, then slowly, his eyes widened. He stepped closer, staring at the drive in my hand.

"Where? How did you find it?"

"My mother's study."

"Your mother?"

"It's... unbelievable."

"How are you sure it's the same drive?" He stared at me again. "Did you... did you have it with you this whole time?"

I couldn't look him in the eye as I answered. "Yes. I didn't know it was the one you were looking for at first." I quickly shook my head. "I didn't. But when I saw what was inside, I realized what it was."

"Then why the hell didn't you tell me even after I told you I was still looking for it?" His voice wasn't loud, but the anger in it was enough.

My jaw tightened. "Because of my mother."

He went quiet.

I took a shaky breath. "There was a video on it. A video of my mother with another man."

Zayne's brows furrowed. 

"I didn't want anyone to see it. I thought... I thought I was protecting her." I swallowed hard. "But it was stupid of me." 

He didn't say anything.

I tightened my grip around the flash drive and continued. "I thought I was giving her the benefit of the doubt, but she failed me again."

Zayne only looked at me.

"I heard her making a phone call."

"What kind of call?" he asked.

"She wants your mother dead."

His jaw dropped, his eyes widening with shock. "What?"

"That's why I have to stop protecting her. I can't let her hurt people and just get away with it. I can't let her plan someone else's murder."

"Wait, hold on." Zayne still had that look of disbelief on his face. "I... I... this doesn't make sense."

"It has to make sense." I walked over to the bed and sat down, my gaze fixed to the floor.

He didn't say anything. He was still recovering from the shock.

Then he suddenly looked at me. "So... what's gonna happen now?"

I slowly looked at him. "We're gonna tell Dad."

"Okay." He nodded. "Yeah." 

"You're gonna tell him everything that's going on with you. Cause I won't let you have this flashdrive," I said, holding it up. "I know that determines your freedom, but we're not sure. And I can't let you give them all the evidence  we need when there are the right sources we could talk to."

He ran a hand through his hair. 

I inhaled deeply, still holding up the flash drive. "I'm going to report this to Dad and to the police. That's the right thing to do."

He licked his lips, then swallowed. "Then the bikers. I'm screwed with them, right?"

"This drive contains everything about them. Their location, their operations, lists of people involved. They're gonna be tracked down and they'll no longer have power over you. You just have to tell Dad everything. So his men will keep an eye on you until everything is over."

He let out a heavy breath, staring into space. 

"I guess I'm done here." I stood up to leave.

"And how is this going for you?" He suddenly asked. "You're really going to report your mom to the police?"

I clenched my jaw. "It's the right thing to do."