Day Sixty-Three…
~~*****~~
Karina was in a grumpy mood after talking to Tom. She tried contacting him again but he was no longer responding. "I'm gonna beat him!" she mumbled through gritted teeth. She was pissed off since Tom asked for another amount of money. "What a greedy man!"
She checked her time and she still had an hour before meeting Tom. She was on her way to meet Abigail. She texted her and requested her to meet somewhere. Fortunately, Abigail agreed.
"I'll deal with her first," Karina said as she started the car. Since Dave refused to take responsibility, then she should involve Abigail. She went to Dave's apartment to confront him again but he wasn't there. The apartment was locked.
After fifteen minutes, Karina arrived at the Formosa Cafe. She reserved a private booth wherein she could talk to Abigail alone. She waited for five minutes before Abigail showed up.
Abigail was expressionless when she faced Karina. "Why did you call me here?" Abigail didn't bother to sit down.
"Because of Dave," Karina promptly responded.
Abigail frowned when Dave's name was mentioned. She already expected this. She just maintained her composure. "What about Dave?"
"Something happened between us. I want Dave to take responsibility for what he did to me. Please convince him. Let him go," Karina shamelessly demanded.
Abigail reminded herself not to show vulnerability in front of Karina. She didn't want to look pathetic. "Why are you asking me that? Go to Dave. Talk to him."
"But he won't listen to me. He didn't want to take responsibility because of you." Karina insisted.
Abigail clenched her fists. "If you want me to break up with him, then you don't have to tell me. I'll do it. But his decision has nothing to do with me anymore. Now, if you may excuse me. I shall leave now."
"Wait! Dave raped me!" Karina played the victim role again. Her last remarks made Abigail stop on her track.
"If he won't marry me, I will sue him. And he will lose his career! My father will do anything to make him suffer. So, please… convince Dave to marry me!" Karina walked closer to Abigail as she could see that Abigail doubted her words. She didn't believe that Dave raped Karina. She was enjoying what they were doing yesterday.
Karina picked up her phone and showed the sex video wherein Dave was forcing him into Karina. She was begging him to stop but Dave continued sexually assaulting her.
Abigail was shocked beyond belief when she saw that video. It was far different from what she had witnessed yesterday. Dave was very rough like a wild man hungry for sex.
'No! This is not Dave whom I know…' Abigail covered her mouth using her hand, finally showing up a different emotion.
"If I can't have him, then I will destroy him. Now his fate is in your hand. Convince him, Abi. You are the only one who can convince him." Karina threatened her. If Dave was still important to this woman, she believed that Abigail would cooperate with her.
After her long silence, Abigail spoke up. "Will you delete that file once he agrees to marry you?"
Karina's eyes lit up when she heard that. It seemed that Abigail was now willing to help her convince Dave. "Yes. I will. I won't sue him."
Giving her a cold sharp glare, Abigail turned around to leave. She could no longer stay there. The room was a bit suffocating because of Karina's presence. She stormed out of the Cafe as her eyes started to get misty. She failed to hold her tears.
She was about to grab a taxi when a car stopped in front of her. The window rolled down and Nathan's face greeted her sight. "Hop in." He had been following Abigail since she left Hiroshi's Villa.
Abigail didn't expect to see him. She was still contemplating when Nathan alighted from his car and opened the car door for her. His expression turned grim when he noticed Abigail's teary eyes. "Are you crying? Come with me." He handed his handkerchief over to her.
"Thank you," Abigail softly said, accepting his handkerchief. She didn't refuse his offer as she entered his car.
"Where do you want to go?" Nathan asked her.
"Can you send me to Dave's apartment?" Abigail requested him.
Nathan was taken aback for a moment. He thought she wouldn't want to see Dave. But here she was, wanting to go to his apartment. He didn't ask her further. He just nodded his head and drove the car away from the Formosa Cafe.
*Twenty minutes later…*
Abigail and Nathan reached Dave's apartment. But there was no sign of Dave in the vicinity. Abigail had been wondering why Dave never contacted her. Did he run away? With no choice left, Abigail dialed Dave's number, not knowing that her sister, Jane was the one keeping his phone right now.
While Abigail was trying to contact Dave, Nathan began tracking his number. He also wanted to know where Dave had run to. It did not take long before he traced Dave's location through his phone number.
*****
[ At Tom's Apartment… ]
Meanwhile, Jane was getting ready for Karina's arrival when Dave's phone rang. She frowned upon seeing the caller ID: My Beloved Woman. It was Abigail's number.
"Why is my sister calling Dave? Does she wanna talk to him?" Jane wondered to herself.
She didn't answer the call. Instead, she typed a message for her. [ I'm sorry, Abi. I can't answer the phone right now. Why? ]
[ Where are you? I'm here at your apartment. We need to talk. ]
Jane massaged her temples. She didn't know where Dave was at this moment. She didn't get his new phone number. She just advised him to continue investigating Veronica. He might be following her.
[ Later. I'll talk to you later. ] Jane dialed Cherry's number.
"Yes, Sis. Do you need anything?" Cherry answered her right away.
"I want you to track Dave's location. I think he is following Veronica. If you can contact him, tell him Abigail wants to see him. He should contact her asap." Jane gave her command.
"Got it, Sis. I'm working on it now," Cherry responded. "By the way, has your target arrived?" she asked her curiously.
"Not yet. But she is on her way now." Jane was also tracking Karina's location. She was on the move now.
Jane and Cherry were still talking using her other phone when she received another message from Abigail.
[ This can't wait, Dave. I met Karina. We must talk ASAP! ]
Jane tightened her grip on Dave's phone when she read Abigail's message. She had a nagging feeling about this. "Don't tell me Karina showed Abi the video." A rage surged up in her heart just thinking about her sister getting shocked and devastated upon seeing the video. She bet Abigail was crying again.
"This cunning woman is forcing me to be ruthless. I won't be merciful." Jane mumbled to herself.
[ I'll explain everything. Wait for me, Abi. ] Jane sent her last message to Abigail. She immediately screenshots their conversation, sending them to Cherry.
Then Jane called her again for final instructions. "Cherry! This is an urgent matter. Find Dave now. Give him the recorder revealing that he is innocent. Then tell him that Abigail wants to see him. Show him my conversation with Abigail. Karina met my sister, I'm worried that she fed her some lies. I don't want my sister to suffer emotionally because of their lies."
"I understand, Sis. Aw. You are so protective of her. How I wish you are my real sister too. Abigail is so lucky to have you." Cherry shared her thoughts, her eyes sparkling. "I'm jealous."
Jane let out a soft giggle. "What a silly girl. I'm your big sister already. Blood-related or not, you will always be my sister."
"Thanks, Sis. Now. I'm more motivated to work. I'm leaving now. Off to search for Dave. I'll take care of Abi on your behalf." Cherry reassured her.
"Thanks, Black Rose. I know I can always count on you. I'm hanging up now. My target just arrived." Jane bade farewell and ended the call.
She heard Karina's car stopping at the front gate of Tom's house. Jane simply took a peek through the window. She heard the doorbell ringing. But she ignored it. She already unlocked the gate a while ago so that Karina could go inside the house.
She waited for her, secretly watching Karina's movement. Karina entered the gate with a dark expression on her face. She was annoyed because Tom didn't even bother to open the gate for her. She was holding a small pouch, containing some cash. She dropped by the bank before heading to Tom's apartment.
"Tom!" Karina was now approaching the front door. She pushed the door so hard, looking for Tom. "Fuck you, Tom. I'm going to beat you," she mumbled to herself.
Karina headed straight into Tom's room. Jane, on the other hand, came out of her hiding spot and locked the door from the inside. Then she followed Karina. The predator was now on the move to corner her prey.
"Tom! Don't play hide and seek with me. I'm not in the mood. Where are you!" Karina's voice echoed inside the room. She dialed his number and his phone rang. She turned around, following the sound of Tom's ringtone. But to her surprise, she saw a figure wearing all black, instead of Tom.
"Who the hell are—" Karina was not able to finish her words as Jane already took her first move. Charging in her direction, Jane threw a hard punch, hitting her face.
Bam!
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l