Chapter 96

DIANNA’S POV

I hissed the moment the call with Lilith was cut.

“Stupid girl,” I muttered and flopped back on my bed. My chest rose and fell fast with anger. “She is nothing but a big, rich, dumb fool.”

I pressed a hand against my forehead.

“If only I were born in her family,” I whispered. “She is rich… yet so stupid.”

Jealousy stabbed me again.

I took a slow breath through my nose, trying to calm the fire inside my chest.

I was born into nothing.

Just a common family.

No money.

No connections.

No shortcuts.

Everything I had now… I had fought for. Crawled for. Bent for. I had climbed on different men’s beds to get where I was.

Meanwhile Lilith? She only threw money at her problems.

And she still messed everything up.

I picked up my phone and unlocked it. The screen brightness hit my eyes, but I ignored it. I opened my gallery and scrolled until I found the picture Lilith sent me.

I stared at it.

My lips twisted.

“How could she not just make this plan go well?” I bit my lip, annoyed. “This picture doesn’t show what I wanted at all.”

I zoomed in.

Mannie wasn’t even touching the guy. The man wasn’t even leaning properly. It looked like a normal accident.

If I send this to Dominic, he would find nothing wrong.

The whole plan would fail.

I sat up sharply and opened my contact list.

Scroll.

Scroll.

There.

I tapped on the number.

The phone rang once.

Twice.

Then a man picked up.

His voice was low. Lazy. “You rarely call this late.”

“Hey, brother,” I said sweetly. My tone softened instantly. “Sorry for calling at this hour.”

“What do you want?” he asked, clearly already guessing.

“I have a job for you,” I said. “Just the usual.”

He chuckled softly. “You’ll explain what you want me to do to the photo then. Same rate.”

“Cool. I’ll send them now.”

I smiled and cut the call.

My brother wasn’t my blood brother. Just a man who called himself that. A man who owed me favors. A man good with editing photos.

Too good.

Most of the photos I used to blackmail people, I tell him to edit the photos in the manner I want and voila.

I quickly attached the pictures and typed the instructions.

Then I sent them.

Ting!

A message popped up almost instantly.

“Expect the result by 3:00 AM.”

I typed, “Okay.”

Then I lay back on my bed and stared at the ceiling.

But time felt slow.

Too slow.

My fingers tapped restlessly on my stomach.

My toes curled.

My mind raced.

I quickly tried to distractions myself but nothing was forthcoming. It's either I got bored by it too quickly or wasn't Interested enough.

Restlessness sipped into my skin.

"Let me put an alarm and try to sleep. When I get up I will immediately see it."

I tried sleeping but it became a war between me and my bed.

I stood up with a huff and strolled around the room, my mind filling up with thoughts.

“What should I type? What words should I use? Should I pretend to be caring? Or pretend to be worried?” I muttered to myself.

I laid back down on the bed.

I rolled to my left.

Then to my right.

Then back again.

Nothing helped.

My body buzzed with expectation.

Ting!

Ring!

My alarm and the notification rang at the same time.

"He sure is punctual. " I muttered.

My heart jumped.

I snatched my phone.

The message was from him.

My eyes shined as I waited for the picture to d******d.

“Hurry…” I whispered.

The moment the image loaded, I opened it.

My breath caught.

“Wow,” I whispered. “Great. He really did it well.”

In the edited picture, Mannie looked like she was being held around the waist.

The man’s hand was gripping her tightly—too tightly.

Her face had been changed.

Instead of fear, she looked… like she was smiling at him.

Perfect.

Exactly what I wanted.

I grinned.

I sent my editor an extra tip.

Then I stretched my fingers and whispered, “Now… let me send this to Dominic.”

I wondered how he would react. Would he be angry?Would he stop trusting Mannie? Would they fight?

“Will Mannie finally be pushed aside?” I whispered to myself.

That thought alone made my shoulders relax.

I opened my laptop.

Clicked.

Typed his personal email.

Attached the photo.

Then I wrote a message.

“I was deeply saddened to see Mannie fall.

I pressed “send.”

A small thrill ran up my spine.

Being his secretary had its perks.I had access to his personal email.I had access to him.

And soon… maybe I would have his heart.

I waited.

A minute passed.

Two.

Three.

Then—

My phone rang.

My breath caught.

Dominic.

I almost threw my phone up from shock, but I steadied my hand and answered.

My voice came out sweet and soft. “Good morning, Sir.”

“Is Mannie injured?” His voice was sharp yet i could sense the underlying worry in his tone.

My smile vanished.

“Why is he asking about her?” I thought. “Does he really like her that much?”

Every tiny bit of happiness I felt earlier went cold.

“She’s fine,” I said softly. “She managed to avoid the floor.”

I tried again.

I added, “She just seemed… very close to the man who helped her. I thought you should know—”

Dominic chuckled.

He actually chuckled.

“How cute,” he said.

My heart jumped with excitement.

“Cute?” I thought. “He thinks I’m cute!”

But I was wrong.

So wrong.

Before I could bask in it, he ended the call.

My smile stayed frozen on my lips.

Then my phone buzzed again.

An email.

From Dominic.

I clicked it.

One line.

“The company doesn’t need employees who lack self-awareness.”

My breath hitched.

The room suddenly felt too warm.

Sweat filled my palms.

I swallowed hard.

“W-What…?” I whispered.

Fear rushed up my spine so fast it made my fingers tremble.

Did he send that to… me? I thought he said I was cute. Is this a mistake?

My chest tightened.

My phone slipped slightly in my grip.

A chill crawled down my arms and i broke into sweats.

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