Chapter 129 Surprised appearance
The sound didn't just cut sharply through the moment. It got both their hearts racing in fear as their kiss broke.
The silence that followed their first reaction was heavy as their eyes locked on each other.
Mac?
The same thought hit them at once. Tension snapped back into place, thick and suffocating. The phone continued vibrating against the bed.
Lucas swallowed, his chest tightening as he slowly reached for the phone. His fingers hesitated for just a second before picking it up. He glanced at the screen and then blinked.
“It’s… not him,” Lucas said, a hint of confusion in his voice.
Alex frowned. “Who is it?”
Lucas turned the phone slightly toward him.
“Your sister.”
Alex’s expression shifted instantly, to surprise, then concern.
He took the phone from Lucas. His brows knitted slightly as he answered. “Hey… what’s up?”
“Alex… you need to listen to me carefully.” Annie’s voice came through fast and tight with urgency.
Alex straightened slightly. “Annie, slow down. What happened?”
“I was going through the pictures from yesterday’s event,” she said, her words tumbling over each other. “Just reviewing everything I captured and, Alex… I saw him.”
Alex’s grip on the phone tightened as he perceived the fear in Annie's voice. “Saw who?”
There was a pause before Annie responded, “James.”
The name hit Alex like a punch and he went still.
Lucas noticed the shift immediately. The way all the air seemed to leave his body at once.
“Annie… are you sure?” Alex asked, his voice lower now, controlled but edged with disbelief.
“I’m very sure,” she replied firmly. “I zoomed in. It’s him. He was there, Alex… at the same event.”
Alex ran a hand through his hair, pacing. “That’s not possible,” he muttered, more to himself than to her.
But Annie wasn’t done.
“And that’s not all,” she continued. “You remember what he did to you. The lies, the blackmail, everything. He disappeared after that, right?”
Alex’s jaw clenched. He remembered, too well.
“I don’t think it’s a coincidence he suddenly shows up at the same place you get drugged,” Annie added, her voice dropping. “Alex, I think he might be involved.”
A heavy, and dangerous silence stretched. Lucas watched him closely, his own chest tightening as he tried to piece things together from Alex’s reaction alone.
“Send me the pictures,” Alex said finally, his tone sharp, decisive.
“I already did,” Annie replied. “Check your messages, and Alex, be careful, okay.”
The call ended.
For a moment, Alex just stood there, staring at nothing. Then he slowly lowered the phone.
Lucas stepped closer. “What is it?”
Alex looked at him, his expression no longer just tense, it was shaken.
“Annie said that James was there,” he said quietly.
Lucas frowned. “James? Who is he?”
“He was the man who nearly destroyed me,” Alex added, his voice hardening with every word. “He deceived me, blackmailed me, then vanished as if nothing had happened. Because of him I nearly killed myself at the hospital but you saved me.
Lucas’s eyes widened in surprise.
“And now he just happens to show up, the same night I get drugged.”
Lucas’s stomach dropped. The pieces were starting to connect.
And none of it felt like a coincidence.
Alex exhaled slowly, but there was fire beneath it now. He opened his messages and surprise flickered on his face.
“This just got bigger,” he muttered. “Because Annie was right. This wasn’t just a coincidence, it was an attack.”
Lucas leaned closer, squinting at the photo on Alex's phone. The moment his eyes settled on the man’s face, his breath hitched.
“Oh my goodness,” escaped his lips.
Alex’s head snapped toward him instantly, his expression tightening. “You know him?”
Lucas shook his head quickly, but his gaze remained glued to the picture, unease creeping into his voice. “No… not exactly. But…” he hesitated, swallowing hard, “That’s him.”
Alex frowned. “What do you mean, that’s him?”
Lucas finally looked up, his brows drawn together. “He’s the same guy who came up to me last night… at the party. I was already searching for you at that time.”
His voice dropped, as if saying it louder would make it more real. “He started talking nonsense, saying you might be with some escort for a quickie, that you were going to dump me, that I shouldn’t trust you.”
Alex’s jaw clenched.
“I thought it was weird at the time,” Lucas continued, running a hand through his hair. “He just appeared out of nowhere, as he knew too much. And the way he was talking… it didn’t feel random.”
He exhaled shakily. “Even on set, I kept feeling like he had been watching me. I haven’t seen him before, but I was already suspicious.”
“Then it’s not a coincidence,” Alex muttered.
Silence fell between them, and it was suffocating. Alex’s eyes darkened as he looked back at the picture, his voice turning cold. “He didn’t just show up to mess with you, Lucas.” He paused, something dangerous flickering in his expression. “He’s playing a game.”
Lucas felt a chill run down his spine. “But why? What does he want from us?”
Alex didn’t answer immediately. His gaze hardened, mind already racing ahead. Then his fist clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, his voice low and burning with restrained fury.
“If he thinks I’m the same Alex he blackmailed years ago… or that he’s smarter than me…” he let out a cold, humorless chuckle. “Then he’s in for a very rude surprise.”
He turned away, already pacing. “I’m not letting this slide again. I’ll take a shower, and then I’m going straight to the police, because if I handle him myself, I might commit murder.”
Alex inhaled. “I’m submitting his picture.” His jaw tightened. “And I’m reopening the blackmail case.”
Lucas nodded firmly, his expression set. “Good. It’s about time he pays for what he did.”
But then Lucas’s thoughts raced, pieces clicking together in a way that made his chest feel tight. The guy who pulled down Alex's pants from last night could be James, the strange phone calls from an unknown Mac. The way both of them seemed to know too much.
His head snapped up. “Alex…”
Alex paused mid-step and looked back at him. “What is it?”
Lucas hesitated for a second, then said it anyway, his voice uneasy. “Could James be working with Mac? Or could he be Mac?”
The room went still.
Alex’s eyes widened slightly.
Alex didn’t respond immediately, but something in his expression shifted…like a door opening to a possibility he hadn’t wanted to consider.
“Explain,” he said, his tone suddenly sharper.
Lucas took a breath. “Think about it. James shows up out of nowhere, starts messing with my head, talking like he knows about me… about you.” He stepped closer. “Then there’s Mac, calling you, playing mind games, always hidden, yet watching.”
He swallowed. “What if they’re not separate problems?”
Alex slowly folded his arms to his chest. “Hmm, you’re making sense. They're either connected or they're one person.”
Lucas nodded. “It would make sense. James already has a history with you. And Mac…” he glanced at Alex, “Mac knows too much to just be some random person.”
Alex’s eyes darkened, his mind clearly racing now.