Chapter 376: Chapter 160 Snake in the Box
Gemma’s POV
The safe house penthouse buzzed with anticipation as the girls prepared for the evening’s activities. Dominic’s security team had swept the building twice before allowing us inside, but tonight felt like a rare moment of normalcy in our dangerous world. I found myself seated in the center of our circle as Erica placed a bowl filled with folded paper slips before me.
"Time to start the fun, ladies! Everyone grab your gift boxes," Erica announced with a mischievous grin.
"Here’s how it works, Gemma," Audrey explained, adjusting her position on the plush sofa. "You’ll draw a paper and read the embarrassing story written on it. To win the lingerie gift, you need to guess which one of us lived through that mortifying experience. Get it wrong, and you have to share your own embarrassing moment. When you unwrap your present, keep your eyes closed and guess what it is by touch alone. Sound good?"
"This sounds absolutely wild. Let’s see what secrets you’ve all been hiding," I replied, reaching for the first slip with eager fingers. I unfolded it and read aloud: "On my first intimate encounter, my partner and I decided to educate ourselves by watching some instructional videos since we were both inexperienced. When we attempted to recreate a position we’d seen, I accidentally kicked him square in the face during our awkward maneuvering. He tumbled off the bed and broke his nose on impact. I spent the night still untouched and in the emergency room fabricating an explanation for his injury."
The room exploded with laughter as the absurdity of the story sank in.
"No way this actually happened! Are we really sharing stories this mortifying?" I couldn’t contain my giggles. "This has to be Zoe’s story. That woman researches everything before attempting it, even in the bedroom!"
"Way too obvious!" Zoe groaned, tossing me her beautifully wrapped gift containing an exquisite piece of black lace lingerie.
As the game progressed, each confession became more outrageous than the previous. Then I drew a paper describing a romantic encounter between a couple at a countryside estate, where passion overtook them under the stars until the woman stepped backward into a hidden creek, dragging her lover down with her as she desperately tried to regain her balance. With Erica already eliminated from guessing, it had to be either Audrey or my grandmother. I confidently selected Audrey and was completely mistaken.
"Grandma? You cannot be serious right now!" I gasped, my jaw dropping in complete shock.
"Oh, sweetheart, this happened during one of your childhood birthday celebrations at that estate your mother had rented for the party, remember?" My grandmother spoke with such casual ease that everyone dissolved into uncontrollable laughter. "Your grandfather possessed such passionate intensity back then..." She fanned herself theatrically, sending us all into fresh waves of hysteria.
"Hold on, I distinctly remember both of you returning to the house completely soaked! Didn’t you claim it was because a snake startled you and made you lose your footing, and grandpa fell trying to help?" I questioned, still reeling from this revelation.
"Indeed, darling, it was definitely because of a snake..." My grandmother delivered a scandalous wink, triggering another eruption of laughter throughout the room.
"Wait, there’s still an unopened present on the table," Nadia observed, pointing toward a mysterious package sitting apart from the others.
Audrey glanced around our circle with confusion. "But everyone already distributed theirs."
"Maybe Dominic arranged a surprise delivery?" Ivy suggested with curiosity.
"You think so? An unexpected gift?" Erica picked up the box with slight wariness and handed it to me. "Well, since there’s no corresponding paper to draw, Gemma, why don’t you share one of your own embarrassing moments and then open it?"
After recounting a mortifying story from my college days, I closed my eyes and began unwrapping the mysterious present. That decision proved to be a terrible mistake.
"DON’T PUT YOUR HAND INSIDE THAT BOX, GEMMA!" Audrey’s terrified scream cut through the air like a blade.
My eyes snapped open to find Audrey standing directly in front of me, her face drained of all color. I screamed in pure terror, reflexively hurling the box upward. She caught it with lightning-fast reflexes and immediately secured the lid back in place.
"What on earth was that?" my mother asked with growing alarm.
"There’s a live snake inside this box, and not the metaphorical kind grandma encountered in those bushes," Audrey replied, her voice trembling as she held the container with shaking hands. "What should I do with this thing?"
"A snake? What do you mean by an actual snake?" Bee asked with mounting nervousness.
"I mean a real, breathing, venomous snake! An actual reptile! Someone help me figure out what to do!" Audrey was nearly in tears, shifting anxiously from foot to foot while maintaining her grip on the dangerous package.
Nadia immediately contacted Dominic’s security detail, who arrived within moments and carefully removed the box from Audrey’s trembling grasp. Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably. This had to be Nick’s escalated retaliation—he’d been flooding my phone with threatening calls throughout the evening. But how had he discovered the location of our private celebration?
Zoe took charge of the situation and contacted Daniel directly, who immediately dispatched a specialized team to collect the package and conduct a comprehensive security sweep of the building. She managed to convince Daniel not to inform Dominic of the incident, knowing he would abandon whatever family business he was conducting and rush over, effectively ending our celebration. Yet I remained deeply shaken—the festive atmosphere seemed permanently damaged by this sinister intrusion.
However, my determined friends refused to allow Nick’s snake delivery to destroy our evening. Once the dangerous reptile was safely removed and police began investigating how the threatening package had been delivered past building security, Audrey and Erica took complete control of the situation, cracking jokes and serving the delicious appetizers they’d prepared earlier. Before long, we found ourselves completely absorbed in an amusing presentation of adult novelty items that had everyone laughing despite the earlier scare.
The evening’s true highlight arrived at midnight when three professional male entertainers made their entrance—dressed as a firefighter, police officer, and airline pilot. They performed sensual dances while gradually removing their costumes, ending their routine wearing only fitted swim trunks. The performance remained tasteful yet undeniably entertaining, with the gentlemen maintaining complete professionalism throughout their act. My grandmother enjoyed herself most when they positioned her chair at the center of our circle and performed an exclusive dance around her. The elderly lady definitely harbored more secrets than any of us had imagined!
