Chapter 126: 126-Caught Red-Handed
Verity:
I had been losing my mind ever since Jaguar sent me that news.
I didn’t even sleep for a minute before dragging myself out of bed, heading into the bathroom, and standing under the shower until I was fully awake.
When I came back out, I grabbed my phone and texted Jaguar.
Me: Have you obtained it yet?
I hit send, biting the corner of my nail.
At the same time, I felt like I could fall asleep standing up.
His reply came almost immediately.
Jaguar: Not yet. He was away for a while, and we don’t even know if his security camera was working. I think he got back yesterday. But my grandma is coming today, so we have to go pick her up. It’s a whole thing. Don’t worry. We’ll get the footage, and that man will never come near you again.
After reading his message, I cracked my knuckles.
So today was my only chance to get that footage.
My heart started pounding.
Or maybe it was just the medication making me see stars despite the cloudy day.
Me: That’s okay. As long as we get the footage.
After sending the message, I looked toward my closet.
Somehow, it felt as though it was moving farther and farther away from me.
I shook my head and blinked a few times.
Finally, the closet stopped looking like it was drifting away.
After what felt like forever, I finally reached the closet and put on a black dress, a black hat, and a black trench coat.
Then I went into the kitchen and made myself a very strong cup of coffee.
After drinking it, my head felt even stranger. I couldn’t tell whether I was waking up or falling asleep.
By the time I stepped outside and locked the door behind me, my body no longer felt like it belonged to me.
The coffee had only made everything worse.
My eyes refused to stay focused for long, and the world kept tilting ever so slightly before settling back into place.
Yet I somehow made it to the street because today was my only chance to get the footage.
I hadn’t even cleaned my wounds that morning, so my entire body ached.
Everything was going wrong.
But it would all be worth it.
Every bit of pain would be worth it if I could get my hands on that footage and destroy it.
I stopped across from the flower shop and stared at it, blinking a few times to make sure I wasn’t imagining things.
For a terrifying moment, I wondered if I had fallen asleep back in my bed and was only dreaming that I was standing in front of the flower shop.
That would be a disaster.
The shutters were open, though. Someone was inside, moving between the shelves of flowers.
Relief washed over me, but it was dulled by the thick fog clouding my mind.
I stood there longer than I meant to, trying to gather myself before crossing the street, silently praying my legs would cooperate long enough for me to make it into the shop.
After that, I still had the hardest part of my mission ahead of me.
I kept both my hands in the pockets of my trench coat, hoping it would hide how badly they were shaking.
If I looked calm, maybe no one would notice how close I was to collapsing.
Taking a slow breath, I pushed the door open and stepped inside.
A little brass bell above the door chimed.
The shop smelled of fresh soil and flowers, with wooden shelves lined with colorful bouquets and potted plants.
It was small, warm, and surprisingly cozy.
An elderly man with silver hair looked up from behind the counter and smiled at me.
"Good morning. Can I help you with something?"
I smiled back before letting my gaze wander over the flowers, pretending to admire them while discreetly scanning the rest of the shop.
That’s when I noticed another door at the back.
It was partially hidden behind a shelf of hanging plants.
That has to be where the security system is.
There was another door farther down, much wider than the first, with a wooden sign hanging above it that read, Garden.
"I was actually hoping to get a bouquet with ghost orchids," I said, giving him a polite smile. "It’s for my boyfriend."
The old man chuckled softly before scratching the side of his head.
"Those are quite rare. Nice choice," he said with a smile. "Let me check my little garden out back. I might have one blooming, or at least one that’s ready."
"I’d really appreciate that," I replied, eagerly smiling. "Thank you so much."
He nodded and slowly made his way toward the back of the shop, disappearing through the garden door.
Once I was sure he was gone, I moved quickly.
My steps were faster than they should have been, but they still felt clumsy, as though my body was struggling to keep up with my mind.
Another wave of dizziness washed over me, forcing me to steady myself against one of the wooden shelves.
A cold shiver crawled down my spine.
I squeezed my eyes shut for a second before forcing them open again.
’Not now,’ I told myself.
I hurried toward the narrow door at the back of the shop.
My heartbeat pounded in my temples as my trembling fingers wrapped around the doorknob.
It turned.
Relief flooded through me. Thankfully, the door wasn’t locked.
For a split second, I simply stared at it in disbelief before slipping inside and quietly pulling the door almost shut behind me.
The room was barely large enough to fit a desk, a monitor, and a recorder tucked beneath it.
Wires ran along the walls, while tiny green lights blinked throughout the cramped space.
Another violent shiver ran through me as the room swayed and my vision blurred.
’Just a few more minutes,’ I whispered to myself.
Swallowing hard, I lowered myself into the chair in front of the monitor.
My fingers hovered over the keyboard for a brief moment before I reached for the mouse.
’Please don’t let me black out.’
I quickly began going through the recordings until I finally found it. The exact date I had attacked Oliver.
I clicked on the footage, skipped to the exact time, and my heart sank.
There I was.
Even with the hoodie on, a few strands of my silver hair peeked through.
It wasn’t enough to identify me outright, but it was enough to make me nervous.
That was only the first problem.
The bigger problem was the footage of me seeing Oliver, walking away to buy a coffee, then coming back and pretending I’d just found him.
And now it was all right there in front of me.
"So this is what you came here for?"
The old man’s voice froze me in place.
I looked up to find him standing in the doorway, his jaw clenched.
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