CHAPTER 25

“Good luck? W-what do you mean?” Helene asked, suddenly became nervous in Minerva’s change of mood.

Minerva looked at her with scary shades on her eyes. “You know the consequences when you quit, Helene,” she said and smirked. “There’s no easy way to get out from this. You’re already informed about the agency.”

“Wait, Minerva…I don’t understand what you’re talking about,” she asked and blocked her when she tried to leave the bleachers. “Minerva…”

When the woman looked at her, what she saw in her eyes sent chills along her spines. She took a step back. “It was you…” she said in disbelief as the scenes on the night that she lost her memories dawned on her.

“It was really me, Helene,” she said and stepped closer to her. “Do you think I’ll just let you out peace? You’re wrong.”

“Why did you do that to me? I thought we’re friends?” she asked; tears are starting to pool in her eyes. “I trusted you—”

“I trusted you too that you won’t quit!” she said in a stern voice. “You’re such a disgrace in my image as a recruiter.”

Helene bit her lip. “It was you along…” she said, trying to hold back her tears.

“Yes, Helene,” Minerva said and laughed. “I was the one that put date-raped drugs on your drink. I am also the one with you doing all those nasty things in front of the camera.”

Helene felt dirty and ashamed of herself. “How could you do this to me, Minerva?”

“For the money,” she said casually. “You see, you forgot all about it and continued your life as if nothing happened to you in the past night. I was with you when you hailed a cab and helped you got home, but because I don’t know where your house keys are, I left you on your doorstep.”

Tears fell on her cheeks. “I trusted you…I thought we’re friends.”

Minerva smirked. “I befriended you because you looked weak and easy to trust people around you,” she said and narrowed her eyes at her. “And you’re so obsessed with Kpop too, like me.”

She clenched her fist. “I quit, Minerva. I don’t want to work with you again. I don’t want to do all those immoral things in front of the camera.”

“Immoral?” Minerva laughed. “Those sinful things that we did gave us a lot of money.” She took her hand holding her new phone. “That nasty job gave you the money to buy this expensive latest smartphone.”

Helene looked at her phone. Knowing that it came from a dirty job made Helene’s stomach turned up. She felt like throwing up as the dark memories lingered on her mind. She remembered it all, from the moment the door shut, to how Madame Chona and Minerva tortured her body in front of the camera…and everything was recorded.

“Like I said, I won’t just let you out,” Minerva said and put out her phone. “Everything was here.” She clicked on her screen, and after just a second, Helene’s phone beeped. “Check it out, sis.”

She opened the message that Minerva sent to her. Helene gasped when she saw her photo flashed on the screen. She was naked and sweating while holding a dildo pressed on her cunt.

“Don’t do this, Minerva. Please…” Helene held Minerva’s hand and begged her to don’t spread her pictures. “I’ll give all my money, just don’t do this, Minerva.”

But Minerva pushed her, making her fall to the ground. “I don’t need your money. You’re useless, and this is what a weak person deserves.”

“Minerva!” Helene tried to call her, but she was ignored.

Helene doesn’t know what to do now. She paused when she remembered that this scene was like the ones in her nightmares…she was afraid of humiliation, yet she did something rational to get it. She covered her face as she cried in despair. She trusted the wrong person. She thought Minerva was different from her other friends, but she was wrong because she was the worst.

She even used her weakness towards her addiction to The Beach Boys. She lured her to the lifestyle of lucky fangirls just to get her to apply for her job. She made her believe that their friendship was real, but Helene was wrong. And she was right about her thoughts towards other people—they’re all evil.

***

Adam halted when he saw Minerva walking hurriedly towards the school gate. When he looked from where she came from, she saw Helene sitting on the bleacher and looked as if crying.

“What happened to them?” he asked as his eyes followed Minerva. “Did they have an argument?”

Adam thought of going to Helene and talking to her but changed his mind. He had to know what Minerva was going to do. He’d been monitoring Minerva from the day that he saw her talking to Helene. According to some of the senior students in their university, Minerva had been involved in extortion before. Still, since no proof was collected, the woman stayed in their school.

He saw her turn on the corner beside the café. Adam followed her, and before she disappeared on the busy streets of City Hall, Adam grabbed her arm to stop her.

“Where are you going?” Adam asked Minerva. His jaw clenched as he studied her blank expression. “What did you do to Helene?”

Minerva snatched her arm from him. “Helene? The weak woman?” she laughed. “President, I know that there’s something fishy about that woman.” She took out her phone. “You know what I found out?”

Adam’s brows furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

She smiled wickedly and showed her the screen of her phone. “She’s working as a camgirl in a cyber-pornography site. I can’t believe that her innocent face can do those immoral actions.”

Adam clenched his jaw. He can’t believe that this woman lured Helene into this kind of cybercrime. “You can’t get away with this, Minerva.”

The woman’s eyes widened. “Wh-What? You should tell that to Helene and not me. Looked at the picture. It was her. That is not photoshopped. She was a slut who’s willing to do anything for the sake of money—”

“You made her do this,” Adam said. “It was you that brought her to this!” He grabbed her arm and gripped it tightly. “Now, delete all of it, or else I’ll see you behind bars.”

***