CHAPTER 040: Hidden Cameras
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~~FINN~~
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Delilah is panting and bouncing on top of me, her manicured hands braced on my chest. She throws her head back like she‘ s in the middle of some kind of religious experience, but all I feel is the weight of her–skin against skin, motion without meaning.
My mind is elsewhere.
I’m not even in the room.
I’m in Asheville.
Still in that damn house.
Still stuck in the moment Sloane slammed the car door and refused to look back at me.
I try to focus–on Delilah’s hands on my chest, on the way she gasps my name–but every time I close my eyes, I see Sloane. Her expression blank, her silence louder than any goodbye she could’ve given me.
She’s not answering my texts. Not my calls. It’s been over forty–eight hours, and all I’ve gotten is radio silence. My father had practically chased me out of his house, red–faced and yelling, threatening to set everything on fire if Delilah didn’t leave immediately. I hadn’t even argued. I packed up in a hurry and caught the first flight back to New York that same afternoon with Delilah.
Delilah had refused to take off the wedding gown.
Not through the drive to the airport. Not while waiting at the terminal. Not even when boarding. She sat beside me on the plane like a scorned bride in a gothic movie, mascara smeared, tulle dragging, drawing curious stares and whispered questions from passengers and flight attendants alike.
I didn’t care.
All I could think about–painfully, obsessively–was Sloane.
She’d vanished.
And worst of all, she left with Knox.
I bet she’s waking up beside him right now.
God, I think I’m going to be sick.
Delilah’s moans get louder. Her rhythm stutters, and she trembles, collapsing onto me with a satisfied, breathless sigh. That breath is hot against my neck.
“Did you finish?” she asks, still panting.
I stare at the ceiling. “No.”
She lifts herself up with a sluggish groan. “Want me to suck you off?”
“No. You’ve drained almost all the semen from my body. We had sex like ten times yesterday.”
She chuckles like that’s a compliment and flops beside me, dragging the sheets halfway over her legs. “That’s usually never a problem for you.”
“Guess I’m getting older.”
“You know I’m going through a heartbreak, Finn,” she says. “This is how I cool off.”
“I’m heartbroken too, you know.”
She turns her head. “Heartbroken? Because Sloane left you?”
I don’t answer. I push the sheets off, swing my legs over the side of the bed, and stand. The floor is cool beneath my feet as I head to the bathroom. I already know how this goes–Delilah brings up Sloane, and we end up arguing. I don’t have the energy. Not today.
The light flickers as I turn it on. I brush my teeth in silence, letting the sound of the bristles brushing against each tooth mute the screaming inside my head.
Successfully unlocked!
Togging the glass. My hands press against the
Afterwards, I step into the shower and turn the water on 58 tile wall, head bowed, letting the water beat down.
A few seconds later, I feel her behind me–Delilah’s arms snake around my waist.
“You should be happy she’s gone,” she says softly. “You were being charitable even keeping her around.”
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CHAPTER 040 Hidden Cameras
“Lila, I just want to shower and get to work.”
“She left you for your brother, she says. That ungrateful bitch. Why can’t you just let her go?”
I feel her hand start to move down, sliding over my stomach with a familiar intention. I catch it, gripping her wrist, stopping her.
Then I turn around.
“I promise I’ll get over it soon,” I say, eyes locked on hers. “But for this week, let me grieve. Okay?
She steps back, lips pursed. “Fine. While you’re grieving, I’ll figure out how to get my fiancé back.” “What?”
“Hunter, she replies, tossing her hair. “He’s asking for the ring back. I don’t want to give it to him.”
“Why are you with me if you want to go back to him?”
She doesn’t answer. Just rolls her eyes and steps out of the shower, her wet body gleaming as she purposely sways her hips on the way out.
I sigh, resting my head back against the tiles.
I can’t let Sloane go.
I shower quickly, get dressed, and head to work. My body moves on autopilot, but my mind is nowhere near the office. It’s stuck on her.
Hours later in the conference room, I wrap up a meeting with our newest signing, some fresh Gen Z rapper who’s already going viral on TikTok. He was late to the meeting, obnoxious, and clearly high, but whatever–he has a fanbase, and that’s all this industry cares about. My only business with the kid is doing my job as his talent manager. After all, that’s what the music producing company I work for pays me to do.
After the kid leaves, Joe–one of my colleagues–leans in the doorway.
“You know that kid’s trouble, right?” Joe says, arms folded.
“Gen Zers love rap artists with issues.”
“This one’s got psycho issues. Last year, his ex accused him of being a stalker. Said he hid cameras in her bedroom.” My head jerks up. “Cameras?”
“Yeah, but nothing was proven. Her story didn’t hold up. His fans chewed her alive online. You know how it is. I’m just saying–keep him on a leash. And maybe stir up a little chaos before the album launch. You know. Something juicy for the press.”
But I’m barely listening.
My brain has already clicked into motion. The idea is sudden and intrusive, but it settles in like it belongs there.
Hidden cameras.
I blink slowly and turn to Joe with a smile. “Thanks for the advice.”
He squints. “Seriously? You never agree with me.”
I shrug. “There’s a first time for everything.”
What I mean to say is he never gives any advice a novice wouldn’t know.
Joe laughs and starts talking again, but I’m already walking away.
“I’m heading out for lunch,” I toss over my shoulder.
“Can I come?”
“No.”
Joe’s always trying to become pals with me, but the only friend I’ve ever had or wanted was Sloane. And now she’s gone. I walk out of the office building and into the open air, letting the noise of the city wrap around me. The hum of traffic, the honks, the chaotic shuffle of bodies trying to get somewhere–it should all be distracting. But nothing is loud enough to drown out the static in my brain.
I make a quick stop at a high–end surveillance shop in Midtown. The kind with a low, unassuming sign above the door and a chime that sounds when you walk in. A bald guy behind the counter eyes me like I’m either law enforcement or trouble. “Four discreet cameras,” I say. “Something small. Motion–triggered, high–def. And I want to view them remotely.”
He doesn’t ask questions. Just nods and moves behind a curtain, returning with a slim black box filled with gear and a small instruction manual.
I pay in cash.
CHAPTER 040: Hidden Cameras
Back in my car, I study the guide briefly–long enough to understand what connects where–and then I drive. Straight to her apartment building. Every traffic light is a beat of guilt. Every turn is another step off the edge.
But I can’t stop.
I pull out my phone and dial Sloane’s sister’s number.
“Finn,” Serena answers after the second ring, wariness already in her tone.
“Hey. Have you talked to Sloane lately?”
“Why?”
“I was wondering if she’s going to your mom’s barbecue this weekend.”
“She might.”
“Can I come over too?”
She pauses. “Umm, you could just follow your best friend.”
“See, the thing is… we’re in the middle of a break.”
“She left you?” She sounds shocked. And then, delighted. “Good.”
“It’s under control,” I say tightly.
“Uh–huh. I’ve been waiting for her to be free of you. Don’t ruin this breakup, Finn.”
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