Chapter 26 Twist play
Mark’s POV
Sweat dripped from my shoulders, hitting the floor in steady drops.
The mat beneath me was soaked.
I’d lost count after seventy push-ups, but I kept going.
The heartache kept me focused.
My eyes were red from last night. My thoughts and guilt didn't let me have a proper rest.
Becca wasn’t home when I got there. I thought she must have calmed down a bit but nahhh.
I tried to reach out to her but she wasn't picking up.
I’d called her eighty-seven times. Then ninety.
Now it was ninety-eight.
Each one went unanswered.
I hit the floor again, pushing until my arms shook.
Becca, where the hell are you?
I rolled over, breathing hard. The phone on the bench lit up.
Still nothing from her.
I picked it up, dialed again.
Ninety-ninth call. It went straight to voicemail.
The air in my chest burned. I was about to hit redial, one last time when the screen flashed another name.
Collins.
I answered immediately. “What is it?”
His voice was too calm. That tone he used when something was about to go very, very wrong.
“Sir, you need to turn on the news.”
“What are you talking about?” I snapped.
“Now, sir.” Then the line went dead.
My gut clenched. What the heck was wrong with him
I grabbed the remote, turned on the screen above the treadmill. The moment it flickered to life, I froze.
There it was.
Me and Olivia.
On the fucking news.
My heart dropped to my stomach.
The video played on loop, my half-naked body, Olivia’s voice, our blurred figures tangled in the sheets.
This was a different video from the one I had.
The headline screamed across the screen:
“EXCLUSIVE: Billionaire Mark Simmons’ Sex Scandal with Famous Model, Olivia Reeds,”
For a full minute, I just stood there, breathing hard.
The gym walls felt too small, the air too heavy.
That bitch couldn't shut her mouth for long.
I didn’t even bother changing. I grabbed my keys and stormed out.
At Carmen’s house.
The guards barely had time to react when I pulled up. I slammed the gate open and walked straight through the front door.
Olivia’s laughter echoed from the living room.
It stopped the moment she saw me.
“Mark?”
I didn’t answer. I crossed the room, grabbed her arm, and yanked her up from the couch so fast she stumbled.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” she shouted, trying to pull back.
“Don’t play dumb.” My voice came out rough.
“Why did you leak the video to the media, do you really have no shame?”
Her eyes widened. “What video?”
I pulled out my phone and shoved it toward her face. The paused frame showed everything she needed to see.
Her lips parted, speechless. “I… I didn’t…”
“Don’t lie to me.” My grip tightened.
“Mark, I swear, I don’t know anything about it!” she cried.
“You soon will,”
I turned toward the guards at the door. “Take her to the den.”
Olivia froze. “Wait, what are you doing?!”
“Maybe you’ll remember something there.”
Carmen came running down the stairs. “Mark, stop! What are you doing to her?”
“Stay out of this, Carmen,” I warned.
“She didn’t leak it!” Carmen said, her voice trembling. “You’re making a mistake!”
I looked at her. The same face that had smiled while ruining Becca’s life.
“You made the first mistake,” I said coldly. “You broke my trust,”
Carmen stepped in front of me. “Mark, please. You’re scaring her.”
“Good,” I said, and signaled my men.
They dragged Olivia down the hallway, her heels scraping against the tiles as she cried, “I didn’t do anything, Mark! I swear!”
Lying bitch!!
The den was cold and dark.
No windows. Just one hanging bulb that flickered every few seconds.
They tied her to the chair. She was shaking, her mascara running down her cheeks.
I leaned forward, my hands on the table.
“Talk.”
She sobbed. “I don’t know anything!”
“You were in that video.”
“Yes, but I didn’t leak it, I swear!”
“You expect me to believe that?” I said.
“I didn’t send it!”
I nodded to one of my men. He stepped forward and cracked his knuckles.
Olivia’s breath caught. “Mark, please, don’t do this. You’re not that kind of man.”
“You don’t know what kind of man I am right now.”
The man grabbed her chin. She whimpered.
“Start talking, Olivia. Who had access to that tape?”
“I don’t know!”
“Then think harder.”
She shook her head violently, crying harder.
Carmen burst through the door. “Mark, enough! This isn’t you!”
I didn’t turn around. “Get out.”
“Mark, please,”
“Out!”
She froze at the tone in my voice. She had never heard me sound like that before.
For a long second, no one moved.
Then my phone rang.
It was a private number.
I stared at the screen, reluctantly picking up.
“What?”
“Don’t hurt her.” a feminine voice muttered from the other end.
I froze. “Who is this?”
“She knows nothing about the game I’m playing.”
The line crackled.
“What game?” I demanded but there was no answer from her.
“Who the hell are you?”
A soft chuckle came through “You’ll find out soon enough.”
Then the call ended.
I looked at the screen , no number, no trace.
My chest tightened.
Whoever she was, she knew too much.
How did she even have this number?
It was my burner line only Collins and two others had access to.
More so, how was she aware of Olivia's state? I was with her all through so I'm definite she didn't make a call to anyone.
I turned to Olivia.She was still crying, trembling against the ropes.
I motioned to my men. “Untie her.”
Carmen rushed forward, pulling Olivia into her arms the second she was free.
I stood there, silent, the sound of the woman’s voice still echoing in my head.
The game I’m playing.
Something about the way she said it chilled me more than the video itself.
Who the heck was this mysterious_all_ knowing lady?