Chapter 23: Who Killed Gloria?

Chapter 23: Who Killed Gloria?
Bella’s POV

As I sat on my bed, it all came rushing back

—FLASHBACK – TWO MONTHS BEFORE ELENA’S ACCIDENT—

After class, we were lounging in our private room when Elena’s phone buzzed.

She scoffed, her face tightening with irritation.

“Elena, what’s wrong?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s just some freak,” she muttered through clenched teeth.

But minutes later, her mood shifted.

“You know what? I’m meeting Gloria,” she announced, standing abruptly and walking out of the room.

I was about to follow her when Emris held me back.

“Allow her,” he told me, as I sat back on the sofa.

A few minutes later,  Elena walked back in, with a dark expression.

“What’s up?”

“That pathetic girl had the nerve to threaten me,” she snapped, her voice dripping with disgust.

A sharp wave of anger surged in my chest.

“What did she say?”

“She claimed to know some secret about me,” Elena muttered, angrily. “And had the audacity to threaten me—told me to call off the arranged marriage with Adrian, since it wasn’t real anyway.”

My fists clenched.

“Where is she?”

“At the pool,” Elena replied with a cold shrug. “Probably waiting for someone.”

Without a word, I turned and stormed out.

At the pool, I spotted Gloria standing at the edge, nervously kicking at the floor tiles. She looked anxious, like she was waiting for something—or someone.

Before she could even look my way, my palm met her cheek with a sharp slap that echoed through the air, sending her crashing to the ground.

“How dare you?” I hissed. “Do you have any idea who Elena is? Who do you think you are—speaking to her like you’re equals?”

She held her cheek, struggling to get up, but I wasn’t finished.

“Elena’s too cold, that’s her problem,” I sneered. “But I’m not. If you ever try something like this again, you won’t live to see the next morning.”

And she looked at me with anger written all over her face, but I didn’t care, I hissed and walked out.

“Hey,” I murmured absent mindedly as I passed by someone who looked familiar.

—END OF FLASHBACK—



A gentle knock on my door snapped me back to reality.

“Who is it?”

“It’s your stepmother,” came a soft, practiced voice. “Dinner’s ready.”

For a second, I was confused. Wasn’t the maid supposed to do this? Why was she at my door?

I rolled my eyes and fell back against the pillows, not responding as her footsteps receded. I wasn’t in the mood for her gentle deception tonight.

Then my phone buzzed. A message from Elena.

Elena: I know you didn’t do it. But you still need to tell your side of what happened.

At least she still trusted me. That alone lifted my mood.

I stood and headed for the door, deciding to eat after all.

As I reached the stairs, my phone buzzed again.

Emris: Want to get some air?

Bella: Yes.

I replied instantly. With Dad out of town, there was no one to stop me. I stepped outside, already dialing Emris to find out where he was.



The next morning, I was seated at our private lounge with Emris and Elena. The air was unusually quiet, like it had decided to hold its breath with us.

“Do you want to talk to us about it?” Elena asked, with a calm voice, but her eyes were waiting.

I hesitated, glancing down at my hand curled around Emris’. He gave it a gentle squeeze, a quiet nudge to go on.

“I know I was angry that day,” I said softly. “But I didn’t push her into the pool, El. I promise you.”

She didn’t say anything, just nodded slowly, like she wanted to believe me—but needed more than words.

“I slapped her, yes,” I continued. “After you told me what she said about Adrian… how she wanted you to step away from the engagement just because he hated you.”

Emris didn’t flinch. Elena’s gaze dropped to the floor, thoughtful.

“But I didn’t push her,” I added, firmer now. “I walked away. And something weird just hit me 

“Wait,” I gasped  “I saw someone as I was leaving the pool that day.”

Both of them looked up.

“Who?” Elena asked, straightening on her seat, while Emris leaned forward slightly.

“It was someone familiar. I even said hi. I didn’t think anything of it until now.” I paused, my eyes widening. “It was Lucas.”

Silence fell between us.

“Lucas?” Elena echoed.

“Yes! I saw Lucas just as I was walking out. He passed by me.”

Emris frowned. “That’s not possible. Lucas wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near the pool that day.”

“But I’m telling you, I saw him,” I said, my voice rising with urgency. “I even greeted him. He had those dumb earbuds in, like always.”

“Wait,” Elena interrupted, turning toward Emris. “Lucas—the one on your basketball team?”

Emris gave a slow, reluctant nod.

Elena’s expression grew serious. “So now we will have to ask Lucas just to know what happened, he might give us a clue.”

I felt my stomach twist. “Why didn’t I remember this earlier?”

“Because you were never really concerned, now you are,” Elena said gently. 

Emris reached for my hand again under the table. “We’ll figure this out,” he said. “Together.”

I believed him.

“Let’s go for business class,” he added, checking his watch.

We all stood and began walking out, but just outside our private lounge, we ran into Adrian and his group. As usual, Lucien gave me a wink that made my heart do wild backflips. 

I smiled—stupidly—but quickly caught myself because Elena was right there. I straightened up and looked away before she could notice. Then, together, we all headed toward the private business class.

As we entered the classroom, I leaned closer to Emris and whispered,
“Can you come with me tomorrow?”

“No, Bella. I have plans,” he replied almost instantly.

“Pleaseee,” I nudged him with my elbow, giving him that killer look I always used when I wanted something from him. It worked every time.

He groaned softly. “Okay, okay,” he gave in as we slid into our seats.

I turned slightly to glance at Elena, who was staring at her phone, with a serious expression.

“What’s wrong, Elena?” I asked.

She held up the phone silently.

“The unknown texter just dropped a new message,” she said flatly, passing me the phone.

Unknown: I want to meet with you.
I’ll text the time and address.
Note: You’re to come alone.

I looked from the screen to her face, trying to get her reaction.
“There is absolutely no way we’re letting you meet someone we don’t even know—alone,” I said firmly, handing the phone back. “Don’t even think about it.”