My turn

Disgust rose hot and fast in the back of my throat. The table erupted into howling laughter, catcalls, and wolf whistles.

I didn't even blink. I stood up from my chair so fast it scraped loudly against the marble floor.

"I'd rather commit suicide than put my mouth anywhere near him," I snapped coldly.

Without waiting for anyone to speak, I reached across the table, grabbed a full glass of clear, high-percentage vodka, lifted it to my lips, and slammed the entire thing down my throat in one long, burning gulp.

The alcohol hit my stomach like a ball of fire, making my eyes water, but I slammed the glass back down on the wood with a sharp clack.

The table went wild, cheering and clapping at my bold move.

But the shot seemed to trigger something in Aaron. He suddenly stood up, his dark eyes flashing with a reckless, dangerous energy. Without saying a word, Aaron started grabbing shot glasses, slamming them back-to-back, drinking faster and harder than anyone else in the room.

Within twenty minutes, the legendary Aaron Adams,the golden boy, the star athlete, the untouchable playboy was completely, heavily drunk. His movements were sluggish, his eyelids heavy, and he was slurring his words into total nonsense.

The rest of the partygoers started filtering away toward the dance floor or passing out on the couches. The VIP section cleared out, leaving Aaron slumped heavily against the velvet sofa.

This is my chance, I thought, my heart hammering in my chest.

I stood up and walked over to him. "Come on, Aaron. You're a mess. Let's get you to your room."

Aaron mumbled something incoherent, his head rolling back against the cushions. I hooked my arm around his heavy waist, hauling him up onto his feet. He leaned his entire body weight against me, mumbling nonsense into my hair as I dragged him down the private hallway toward the penthouse's master bedroom.

"Room key..." I muttered, patting his pockets. "Aaron, where is your key card?"

He groaned, his hand blindly pointing toward his jacket pocket. I shoved my hand inside and felt a cold piece of plastic. I pulled it out,a sleek, custom gold-and-black VIP hotel key card.

In the rush of grabbing the card, I had completely forgotten about my designer handbag, leaving it sitting abandoned back on the VIP table. But I didn't care about the bag anymore. My sole mission right now was to get inside that room, get his phone, get him to unlock it, delete the blackmail video, and finally walk out of his life forever as a free woman.

I dragged him through the double doors of the master suite and dumped his heavy, stumbling body straight onto the massive, king-sized bed.

Aaron groaned, his eyes rolling shut as he sprawled out across the expensive comforter, muttering absolute gibberish.

I didn't waste a single second. I dropped down onto my knees beside the bed and started searching his pockets frantically.

Phone. Where is his phone?

My hands patted down his pants, searching the tight pockets of his designer jeans. My fingers brushed against the fabric, sliding over his hip and then, my hand mistakenly brushed right across his front.

I froze instantly. My breath caught in my throat.

Oh, Lord.

Aaron was fucking huge. Even through the thick denim of his jeans, he was heavy, thick, and rock-hard. The sudden, intimate contact sent a violent, electric shock straight up my arm, making my stomach flip upside down.

Focus, Jessica! Focus! I scolded myself, pulling my hand away as if I had touched a hot stove. My cheeks were burning so hot I felt like I was running a fever.

I reached into his jacket pocket again and finally felt the hard, sleek edge of glass and metal.

I pulled it out.

It was the latest iPhone,an iPhone 18 Pro Max.

My hands were shaking so badly I almost dropped the expensive device onto the floor. I tapped the screen, waking it up, and stared at the lock screen.

Passcode. Of course it had a passcode. I didn't know his passcode. I tried my birthday, I tried random numbers, but nothing worked. The screen flashed red: Incorrect Passcode.

Panic flared in my chest. If I locked the phone out, I was finished.

Then I remembered. Face ID.

I quickly leaned over his sleeping body, holding the phone up directly in front of Aaron's face. I tapped his eyelids open with my thumb, hovering the screen over him.

Click.

The screen flashed green. The padlock icon clicked open.

It worked! Face ID unlocked the phone instantly.

A wave of massive relief washed over me. I pulled the phone back down into my hands, ready to dive straight into his photo gallery…

Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

The phone vibrated violently in my palm. A sudden, blaring incoming call lit up the screen.

The caller ID flashed in big, bold letters: MOM.

Mrs. Adams.

My thumb hovered over the red decline button. My first instinct was to reject the call immediately. What business did I have talking to that wicked woman?

But a strange, cold instinct deep inside my gut told me otherwise. My hand froze. Instead of hanging up, my thumb swiped the green answer button, and I brought the phone up to my ear.

I didn't say a single word. I held my breath and listened.

"Where on earth are you, Aaron?!" Mrs. Adams' voice screamed through the speaker, so loud and furious it practically blew out the phone's speaker. "Aren't you supposed to be home right now?! The after-party is ongoing, and the Francis family has been asking endlessly about you!"

I stayed completely silent, pressing my back against the edge of the bed.

"Emilian said she'd like to give you a goodbye kiss!" Mrs. Adams ranted, her voice cracking with stress and anger. "She said it would be her last request! And it's even more horrible that her father, Mr. Francis, is literally on his knees right now, saying he'd do anything for his daughter's happiness! Aaron, just this last time, okay? It's the last favor I'm asking you. I swear to God, after this, you can do whatever you want with your pathetic life!"

There was a heavy pause on the line.

"Aaron... Aaron? Are you even listening to me?" she snapped, her tone turning venomous. "Hey! You pompous little fool, come home right now! Look, I'm... I'm really sorry about today, okay? I'm sorry for putting you through that public stunt. I mean... even if you're going to find a girlfriend, not some nameless piece of trash from nowhere, Aaron, please! Are you there?! Aaron”

I sat there in the dark hotel room, completely stunned into absolute silence.

For a long, surreal moment, I completely forgot what my real aim was. Hearing the terrifying, high-society dragon woman,the woman who looked down on everyone like dirt,pleading and begging her son over the phone felt completely bizarre.

It shouldn't be any of my concern, I thought, shaking my head to clear the fog from my brain. I didn't care about Mrs. Adams, and I definitely didn't care about Emilian and her crying father.

I tapped the screen to end the call, cutting Mrs. Adams off mid-sentence.

Right back to business.

I swiped out of the call log and tapped on the Photos app. I went straight to the albums, scrolling frantically through his media files, looking for hidden folders, recently deleted items, and saved videos.

My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird.

And then, I saw it.

A video file with a blank thumbnail sitting in a locked folder.

My breath hitched. My finger tapped it. The video started playing on mute on the screen.

There we were. My naked body trapped under Wade, my desperate pleas for my father’s bestfriend to fuck me hard, the thrusts…. Aaron had captured it all on the camera and used it to get whatever he wanted.  It wss finally over.

A hot tear spilled over my lashes, but I didn't care. A massive wave of relief washed over me, cool and sweet. I found it. I actually found it.

My finger hovered right over the little trash can delete button at the bottom corner of the screen.

Do it, I told myself. End it.

I tapped Delete.

Delete from Album.

I went into the "Recently Deleted" folder inside the app, selected the file permanently, and hit Delete Forever.

It was gone. Erased into digital nothingness. He didn't have the leverage anymore. He didn't have the weapon.

I let out a long, shuddering breath, feeling like a hundred-pound weight had just been lifted off my shoulders. I was free.

I shoved the iPhone 18 Pro Max onto the nightstand, stood up off my knees, and smoothed down the front of my shimmering black dress.

"My mission here is finished," I whispered to myself, turning around toward the door. "Time to get the hell out of here."

I took two steps toward the exit.

Grab.

A heavy, bruising hand shot out from the mattress, grabbed my bare wrist with iron strength, and yanked me backward with terrifying force.

I let out a sharp gasp as I tumbled headfirst down, landing hard on the mattress right on top of him.

Before I could even roll away, a heavy body flipped over, pinning me firmly beneath broad, muscular shoulders.

"You've done your part," Aaron groaned right against my ear, his voice thick, raspy, and dangerously intoxicated, yet completely aware. "Now... it's my turn."

Before I could scream, Aaron's hand ripped down the thin silk strap of my gown, tearing the fabric right off my shoulder and baring my skin to the cold air of the penthouse suite.