Chapter 81 TAKE HER!
Erica's POV
“Turn around, please.”
The photographer’s voice cut through the clicks of shutters. I tilted my head, letting the fierce makeup catch the light: sharp cheekbones, blood-red lips, eyes that promised ruin.
“God, Erica is unreal. She could walk any runway or headline any film,” one of the staff muttered behind me, admiration dripping from every word.
I flashed a practiced smile. I was only here because Aurora had practically dragged me.
But the moment my gaze slid past the lights, it darkened.
There she was, Aurora standing too close to Giselle, heads bent, whispering like conspirators. They had always been tight, but something about this felt… wrong. Or maybe I was just seeing shadows where there were none.
Aurora was the colder one, the sharper blade. She knew the line between right and wrong and danced on the right side of it most days. That’s why we clicked.
“C’mon, turn around, let that fine ass steal the shot!” The photographer hyped, grinning.
A low chuckle slipped from my lips. I spun slowly, deliberately.
Then Aurora gave me that smile small and tight. The kind that never reached her eyes. The kind jealousy wears when it’s trying to look friendly.
She was supposed to be the one in front of the lens today. Until they handed the gig to me on a silver platter instead.
“That’s a wrap! Thank you, Erica!”
I smiled politely, slid the hairpin from my hair, and walked straight toward her.
Aurora mirrored my smile low, yet guarded. “You were almost more professional than me.”
The word landed like a slap. “Almost?”
She nodded, smile stretching wider. If she hadn’t sent those gifts to my mother while I was gone, I’d have written her off as another fake in this glittering cesspool.
But she was my friend. The only one who ever felt genuine.
“Then I guess I need lessons from the master,” I said sweetly.
Giselle burst into shrill, forced laughter, trying to insert herself to feel among. My glare met Aurora’s icy stare. Giselle’s lips snapped shut.
“I’ll… be off,” walking away.
My eyes dropped to her legs. She had concealed the marks well.
My best masterpiece let her with a striking trauma.
That night I had paid an army to make sure she remembered. Slipped haloperidol into her drink right before she arrived here. Just enough to tip her into paranoia. Just enough to keep her haunted. It worked beautifully.
“Something wrong?” Aurora asked, following my line of sight.
My expression softened instantly. “Giselle looks like she got hurt.”
Aurora raised her brow, squinting. “I don’t see anything.”
I pressed my lips together, forced another smile. “Maybe because she’s one of my most priceless assets.”
I turned to leave, Aurora fell into step beside me.
“Dinner?” she asked.
“Sure. I’ll drive.” I didn’t wait for an answer.
The car door thudded shut. Aurora slid in, still sipping her latte. I said nothing, just pulled out.
Then my phone rang.
I slipped the earpod in. “Hm?”
“Miss, he’s not breathing!”
My grip crushed the steering wheel. I didn’t notice Aurora’s eyes locked on my face, studying every flicker, every micro-twitch, like she was peeling back a mask.
“Really? Only three days. How weak can he be?” I said, my voice coded calm.
“Are you with someone, Miss?” Nine asked carefully.
“An old friend,” I murmured.
Nine muttered words of hush confirmations and the line went dead.
Carter dead? It was toke easy, to good to be true. Monsters don't die easily.
H had faked it before, played dead under pressure, but a few electric jolts, a hard smack with a golf club, choking him underwater until bubbles stopped… he always came back gasping.
A dark laugh escaped me. My eyes glittered, cruel and bright.
“What’s so funny?” Aurora asked.
I turned to her, that slow, skin-crawling smile still in place. “Nothing.”
Her phone dinged. The screen lit up 'Bitch' flashing across it.
Aurora snatched it, killed the call instantly.
She had changed.
For some reason the whole meeting felt… off.
“Actually, you’re Celina’s friend, right?” I asked out of nowhere.
Aurora choked on her latte.
“What about Celina?” Her voice was stripped of emotion.
“I heard she sold herself. The video went viral. Everywhere.”
Aurora let out a dry chuckle. “Why drag that up? It’s ancient history.”
I shrugged. “She was a whore for sleeping with someone like that.”
The silence was thick.
Aurora’s voice dropped. “She was no whore.”
I slammed the brakes the car jerked to a stop.
“What was she then?”
“Why stop here?” she countered.
“We’ve arrived.”
I reached for the door handle but froze when her next words hit.
“She was like a sister to me. Please… don’t bring up that trash again.”
Cold raced across my skin. I watched her step out, her back rigid, disappearing into the restaurant.
It was only the second time, after Aaron...someone had defended my name with real protectiveness. A faint, twisted smile curled my lips.
I pulled out my phone.
Dialed.
“Status.”
“He’s awake, Miss. Just passed out from the stress,” Nine reported.
I licked my lips and exhaled.
Whatever I had done to Carter meant nothing. Not really.
I still remembered the night before it all went public. They stripped me naked, called it “fun.” Told me to join.
I said no....So they forced me.
It was the first time, he touched m, before my sex tape got leaked. I fought, then finally gave in..naive and stupid.
They flogged me. Spanked me, called it BDSM.
Yet I was bruised, bleeding, but I hid every mark from my mother.
From everyone.
Carter went further that night, sucked my nipples while I was tied. Forced his dick down my throat.
“You’re no fun, Celina. Common, show us you’re a big girl.”
They all watched Hyping and laughing.
The video still lives on that porn site, with the highest view. I died that night died that night, but my shame didn’t.
My jaw clenched so hard my teeth ached.
“Strip him naked,” I told Nine quietly. “Drop the room temperature. I want to see how long he survives”
But a knuckle rapped my window. I cut the call and lowered the glass.
A man...mid-thirties, eyes like ice stared in.
“You bumped my car.”
“Bumped?” I echoed, lip curling in faint disgust.
I pushed the door open and stepped out.
A crowd had formed. Not fans gangsters that had surrounded by car.
A sleek black car opened, two figures emerged.
I sighed, tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
“Do I know you?” My voice was ice.
He stepped too close. His hand cupped my cheek, his fingers squeezing just enough to sting.
“You’ve learned to lie so well, Erica.”
I slapped his hand away.
Aurora appeared at the restaurant entrance, watching, her glare visible.
I turned back to him.
“Who. Are. You?”
His fingers twisted into my hair, yanked my head back.
“I like the new, flashy version of you.”
He shoved me forward, straight toward the first man.
“Take her.”