Chapter 138 138. The Guy From Morocco
"What the hell?"
Still processing what I was seeing, another message appeared. "Check your phone."
The device in my pocket started vibrating immediately. No caller ID, but I answered.
Cold laughter. That was the first thing I heard, not an introduction, nor an explanation.
"She should have chosen better," the voice dripped with amusement. "But I suppose that's what happens when you let your gullible heart make decisions for you."
"Who the fuck is this?" I slammed my hand onto the desk.
"Oh, Lucien. You know exactly who this is. I'm the man who truly deserves Camila. The one who's been watching over her, protecting her, loving her from the shadows while you played your little billionaire games. And what did I get for my devotion? Rejection. A punch to the face. Public humiliation."
My blood froze. "Rhys."
"Finally catching up, are we?" His laugh returned, biting my ears. "And to answer your next question, no, I'm not from Morocco. I'm right here in New York, sitting in a place you'll never find unless I want you to."
"You sick fuck. You leaked the video."
"I did more than leak it, Lucien. Every dirty little secret you thought you buried? I have copies. But Camila's video was special. She rejected me after everything I did for her. She chose you. So now she gets to suffer. Now you both get to watch your perfect little love story crumble."
"Where are you, you coward? Let's finish this face to face. I dare you."
"I was hoping you'd say that."
The call ended, and a text followed seconds later with a 'come alone' warning and coordinate for a district on the edge of the city. I grabbed my keys and ran for the elevator.
Each hour on the drive stretched longer than the last. The city lights gave way to seemingly empty buildings and abandoned lots. My GPS stopped me at a decrepit building that looked like it hadn't seen legitimate business in decades.
I parked and approached the designated unit. The door was shut, but I didn't bother trying the handle. I stepped back and kicked it in, the wood splintering around the lock.
The unit was a mess. Monitors were everywhere, casting a sickly blue glow over piles of discarded hardware and tangled cables. Rhys sat in the middle of it all.
He wasn't the polished CEO I'd seen at the party or Camila's phone. He was wearing a wrinkled shirt and thick glasses, looking like a man who hadn't seen the sun in weeks.
"Welcome, Lucien Hayes." He didn't bother standing. "I'd offer you a drink, but I'm fresh out of hospitality."
"You're going to regret this," I growled, stepping into the room.
"Am I?" He spun the chair to face me fully, a smirk playing on his lips. "Because from where I'm sitting, I've already won. Camila's in a holding cell. You're spiraling. Your relationship is fracturing. I got exactly what I wanted."
"Why?" The word came out as a snarl. "Why her? What the fuck did she ever do to you?"
"Nothing." He shrugged. "That's the beauty of it. She did absolutely nothing. I saw her, I wanted her, and I protected her. Do you know how many times I could have exposed her? How many close calls I prevented? I was her guardian angel, and she didn't even know I existed."
"You're insane."
"Insane? Wrong word choice for someone that watched over her. I learned her routines, protected her from threats you didn't even know existed. I was there when Ronan's men followed her. I was there when Victor's associates tried to track her down. I kept her safe."
"By stalking her?"
"By loving her!" His voice rose for the first time. "I loved her in a way you never could. I knew every fear, every dream, every private moment. And when I finally worked up the courage to confess, to tell her what I'd done for her, she rejected me. She chose you. And you had the audacity to hit me."
"So you sent her to prison. Because she didn't love you back."
"No, because she needs to learn that choices have consequences." He turned back to the monitors, tapping a few keys. "While you two were playing house in Unit 4D, I was in your systems. And I've got everything, including the beautiful self-defense video. She looked magnificent covered in blood, by the way."
Something snapped inside me. I moved before I could think straight, crossing the room to attack him but he was ready. He stepped aside, and I stumbled past him.
"Temper, temper." He tsked. "Want to know the best part? Camila wants to go to prison. You don't want her to. And now she thinks you abandoned her at the station. I've driven a wedge between you without even being in the room. That's poetry."
"You're a stalker, Rhys. You're a sick, obsessed coward."
"I'm the one who knows her best!" he screamed. He reached over and yanked a heavy curtain off a massive board I hadn't noticed on the wall.
My eyes widened.
Hundreds of photos of Camila were pinned there. Most were grainy, taken from security camera angles. There were shots of her in the lobby of her building, at the grocery store, even through the windows of her own apartment. My stomach turned as I realized how deep his obsession went.
"I watched her through the CCTV of her building. I watched her at the park. I watched her while you were out prioritizing business. I know her favorite coffee, the days she wears certain flats, her favorite supermarket, her favorite bookstore-"
"What the fuck is that?!" I cut him off when my eyes landed on a picture of half naked Camila. Moving closer, I realized the photo was the same Lucas had used to blackmail me.
But that wasn't the worst part.
It was the crusty, yellowish stain on the bottom corner of the print.
"Is that... what I think it is?" I whispered, a wave of pure nausea hitting me.
Rhys grinned, a twisted, proud look on his face.
"I masturbated to that picture since the night she went to Lucas's house. I've cum to her nudes more times than you've ever touched her, Lucien. She's mine in the only way that matters now."
Now, I couldn't feel the rage anymore. It was replaced by a primitive need to erase him from the earth. I grabbed a heavy metal paperweight from his desk and lunged at his ugly head fast.
Rhys dropped to the floor, bleeding profusely from his head.