Chapter 5

As soon as I stepped out of the apartment complex, I saw Ryan’s car parked by the curb.

He spotted me and immediately rushed over, grabbing my arm, his eyes bloodshot.

"Chloe, you finally came out! Please, let me explain, it’s not what you think!"

"Oh? Then what is it?"

I looked at him calmly, my heart completely undisturbed.

"I… Blair and I really have nothing going on! She's just… just helping me with psychological therapy!"

He was still spouting that ridiculous excuse.

"Psychological therapy?"

I held up the USB drive, shaking it in front of him.

"Like the kind in this video, where she threatens you with a knife and calls you her dog?"

The moment Ryan saw the USB drive, the color drained from his face completely, as if he'd seen a ghost.

"You… how do you have that?"

His voice trembled, his eyes filled with terror.

"What, afraid I'd see you begging on your knees?"

I pulled my arm free from his grasp, stepping back to maintain my distance. "Ryan, you're pathetic."

"No! It's not like that! Chloe!"

He seemed provoked, lunging at me in a frantic, emotional outburst.

"Give me that! Give it to me now!"

I was prepared, sidestepping him.

He missed, falling awkwardly to the ground.

Just then, a flashy red sports car pulled up beside us.

The window rolled down, revealing Blair’s exquisitely made-up face.

She took off her sunglasses, looking at Ryan on the ground with no hint of concern, only disdain.

"Useless trash."

She got out of the car, clicked her ten-centimeter heels, and walked up to me.

"Give me the drive. Name your price."

She always spoke so directly.

"What if my price is to ruin both your reputations?" I countered.

Blair’s face hardened.

"Chloe, don't push your luck. You think a crappy video can take me down? You’re too naive. I advise you to know when you're beaten, take a nice chunk of cash, and disappear."

"Cash?"

I laughed.

"Do you think I’m short on cash? What I lack is justice."

"Justice?"

Blair scoffed as if I'd uttered the funniest joke of the century.

"In this city, *I*, Blair Hayes, am justice."

She snapped her fingers. Two men in black suits emerged from the sports car, closing in on me from either side.

"I'm giving you one last chance. Hand over the USB drive."

Her voice was full of menace.

I clutched the USB drive tightly, my mind racing.

Going head-to-head, I was certainly no match for them.

I looked at her, suddenly changing my strategy, a flicker of panic on my face.

"What are you trying to do? In broad daylight, are you trying to rob me?"

Blair seemed satisfied by my apparent "compliance." She raised her chin.

"You can try calling the cops. See if they believe you, or the Hayes family’s legal team."

Just as the bodyguards' hands were about to reach me, I suddenly threw the USB drive with all my might towards the other side of the road.

"Want it? Go pick it up yourself!"

Everyone’s attention was drawn to the flying USB drive.

Blair’s face contorted. She immediately yelled:

"Go get it!"

The two bodyguards and Ryan rushed towards the road without a second thought.

And I, seizing the opportunity, turned and ran.

I heard the screech of brakes and screams from the crowd behind me, but I didn't look back.

I couldn't look back.

I sprinted, running until I reached a subway station before I dared to stop and gasp for air.

My heart pounded fiercely, half from terror, half from… exhilaration.

Blair, do you really think you’ve won?

The game has only just begun.

That USB drive I threw? It was empty.

The real video, the moment I discovered it, had already been uploaded to the cloud.

And sent, encrypted, to my lawyer.