Without waiting for Laurel’s response, Audrey immediately played another surveillance video.
“This footage is from a camera outside the repair shop,” she explained, her cold voice cutting through the silence.
The new angle showed the exterior of the shop, focusing on a corner where Jennifer stood alone, phone pressed against her ear. The timestamp matched the previous footage.
Jennifer’s voice came through clearly, panic evident in her tone.
“Laurel, something terrible happened!“\
She glanced around nervously before continuing. “Guess who I just ran into while getting your phone fixed?”
“Audrey Sinclair!” Jennifer’s voice rose. “She’s not dead at all – she’s at the repair shop right now!*
I felt Laurel tense against me.
“She tried to grab that phone, but I wouldn’t let her,” Jennifer continued. “I’ve got men handling her right now… they’re teaching her a lesson as we speak.”
A pause, then Jennifer’s voice brightened. “Good, good! With your approval, I feel much better about this!”
Jennifer lowered her voice, but the microphone still caught her words. “These guys are all ex–military. They know exactly
what they’re doing.”
“Trust me, they’ll beat her half to death today!”
Audrey paused the video and turned to Laurel with cold eyes.
“Still want to claim the ‘Laurel‘ Jennifer was talking to is someone else? Some random woman who happens to know me?”
The room fell silent. Laurel’s face had turned whiter than my dress shirt. Her tears still clung to her lashes, but she couldn’t speak. She bit her lip hard, saying nothing in her defense.
How could she possibly explain this away?
Jennifer sat with her head bowed, not daring to look at anyone.
Grandfather broke the silence. “This is the woman you’ve been defending?” he asked me, voice heavy with scorn. “The one you said Audrey should apologize to?”
He laughed harshly. “Audrey only slapped her twice – that’s merciful! If it were me, I would’ve hit her until she couldn’t spout more lies!”
I stared at Laurel, disappointment flooding through me.
Where was the gentle woman who rescued me five years ago? The one who cared for me when I was blind?
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The Laurel I knew would never order someone beaten.
I slowly pulled my arm away from her shoulders. The physical distance between us seemed to symbolize something greater.
Laurel panicked immediately, grabbing my wrist.
“Blake darling…” her voice shook. “Let me explain…”
Audrey interrupted by opening another video file.
“While we’re at it, let’s discuss what happened at NYU last night.”
The screen showed security footage from a university hallway. The same men in black suits moved through the corridor,
knocking on doors and questioning students.
“This is from the university’s security system,” Audrey explained. “It shows what happened while students were sleeping.”
As the footage continued, the men grew increasingly aggressive, forcing their way into rooms and searching through belongings.
Laurel and Jennifer stared at the screen, their faces draining of color. Jennifer collapsed onto the floor, legs giving out.
Laurel remained standing, but looked ashen.
When the video ended, I turned to Audrey. “Where did you get this footage?”
A slight smile touched her lips. “I don’t have your connections to the university president, but I worked in campus security during college. The guards there are still my friends.”
“I see,” I said, eyes narrowing.
That makes sense. Audrey has always been good at connecting with older people. She even won over my grandfather – the most difficult man I know. Making friends with a few security guards would be easy for her.
Grandfather sat back. “Who is this Ethan Davies they were looking for?”
Audrey turned to him with a softer expression. “William, Ethan is the young man who stood up for me online yesterday. He found evidence that people were being paid to attack me on social media, and he published it. That’s why these men were hunting him:”
Understanding dawned on Grandfather’s face. “So that’s who he is!”
He shifted in his seat. “Good–hearted young man! Defending someone he barely knows against such attacks.
He shot me a cold glance. “If not for that boy, you might never have known about the online attacks against Audrey. Some people would never have investigated or defended her.”
His criticism was clear. I said nothing, which only irritated him more.
“This young man,” Grandfather continued, “they didn’t catch him, did they?”
Audrey’s lips curved slightly. “Keep watching.”
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Laurel’s POV
My heart stopped as the next footage appeared. The timestamp read 10:47 PM, and there, clear as day, were Audrey and Blake walking together down the university corridor.
Blake was with her last night? At
nearly cleven?
I whipped my head toward him, shock overtaking me.
“Blake darling!” My voice came out shrill. “Why were you with Audrey so late at night?!”
I couldn’t believe it. Last night around this time, I had texted Blake repeatedly. He never responded, and I thought he’d gone to bed early. Instead, he was with Audrey at a men’s dormitory!
William gave me a withering look. “What’s all the fuss about?”
“Blake doesn’t need your permission
him!”
to
see anyone,” he said dismissively. “You’re not his wife. You’re not even engaged to
His words stung. I pressed my lips together, swallowing my reply. This wasn’t the time to make William angrier.
I focused back on the screen, my body tense as I watched Blake and Audrey together.
The footage showed them entering what looked like a maintenance closet, where they met a young man – presumably Ethan Davies. After a brief conversation, Blake began unbuttoning his shirt.
My face darkened watching Blake and Ethan exchange clothes.
Those so called ex–military are complete idiots!
The video then showed exterior footage. Blake and Audrey ran hand–in–hand across campus, pursued by men in black suits. My teeth clenched seeing their joined hands.
In four years, he’s never run with me like that. Not
once.
He was always too dignified, too concerned with appearances. Yet there he was, racing across a college campus at midnight, holding Audrey’s hand like it was natural.
The scene shifted to Blake helping Audrey into a car – his company car. The black SUVs that had been chasing them quickly followed.
An icy chill settled in my stomach as realization dawned.
That car… those SUVs… last night’s accident…
The pieces clicked together with horrifying clarity. My breath caught.
The couple reported dead on the beach wasn’t Audrey and Ethan.
It was Audrey and Blake.
Cold sweat broke out across my body. I had personally ordered Jennifer to tell those men to crash into that car. I wanted
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them to hurt Audrey and that college student.
But Blake had been in the car instead.
Oh God. I nearly killed Blake.
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