Chapter 251 - 250: Betrayal
"I overheard one of the guards talking, not even an hour ago. He mentioned someone, some powerful big shot got their eye on you—been pursuing you for a while now. Or should I say coveting you, to be exact." His tone was detached, his eyes looking straight and expressions, like it was a small talk between a couple. "Apparently, he gave explicit orders to ’secure’ you tonight."
And this party? The whole thing’s a setup. A carefully staged trap to get you alone. The plan was to spike your drink or maybe use some other method. I don’t know all the details yet."
He paused, his eyes locking onto the path ahead.
"But I know enough to tell you this: if he gets his hands on you, what happens afterward... well, I think you can probably guess what ’afterwards’ means better than I can."
Her breath caught in her throat. For a moment, the music, the lights, the clinking of glasses—everything faded into a dull hum behind her ears.
Rex pulled back slightly, his gaze unreadable. "I don’t know who he is yet, but whoever he is, he’s got resources, and reach. You need to be careful. Don’t trust anyone here."
"What...?" she breathed, barely audible over the low thrum of music.
"I know how it sounds," he said, his tone still even. "And trust me, I wouldn’t be wasting my time if it wasn’t serious. The guy pulling the strings? He’s not some random creep. He’s the type of man who doesn’t hear ’no.’ Of course I think you should have some idea, who he is."
"But the worst part is—he has people. Guards. Staff. Maybe even your so-called friends. They’re all part of it, or at least being paid to look the other way."
Her lips parted, as if to say something, but nothing came out. She looked past him for a moment, scanning the crowd now with fresh eyes. Suddenly, everything felt different. The clinking glasses, fake laughs, perfect smiles, all of it felt sinister. She had thought that only the group behind her was after her, but hearing this now, she didn’t know what to feel or react, the same people she’d danced past, smiled at, talked with... any one of them could’ve been in on it.