The One Nobody Knew Novels & Stories

Was this a joke? Who tf is “he”? My stomach sank. I texted the number back, typing before I could even think— Me: “who is this? Is this some sort of a joke?” The response came almost instantly, like whoever this person was, he’d known I would respond, like he’d been waiting. Unknown: “I’m nobody. Pretty girl like you shouldn’t be in the locker room after dark, bad things could happen to you.” The air in my lungs evaporated, my fingers grew cold.

My vision blurred. Pain exploded, my body locking up. 'Am I dying? 'Is this it? Will I never see Mom, Dad... Antonio again?'

How dare he not save my contact information? Meanwhile, Vivian Morrow, who was standing beside me, grinned triumphantly. “You wench! Did you really think having Lucas’s number makes you special? Keep dreaming!” She looked at me with open contempt. “Even the janitors at Goodwin’s Group dress better than you.” I had always preferred simple, comfortable clothes and never cared about brand names. I never thought that would give people a reason to look down on me. “What era are you even living in? To think you’d still be judging people by their looks. Lucas must be out of his mind to call you his ‘sister in all but blood.’”

How they curled around the parts of me I didn’t like looking at. Unknown: Let me be the man you practice on. The one who shows you what you’ve been missing. Unknown: And when you’re ready, ready for him, you can thank me. I closed my eyes, breathing in and out. Unknown: One picture, baby. Just one. Unknown: You’ll see. You’ll feel different. Powerful. Unknown: And if you don’t... then I’ll go. You’ll never hear from me again. I sat there, thumb trembling above the screen.

Nobody’s POV Nobody knew the weight of it until the whispers began to spread—fragments of panic, fear, and confusion. Khalid Al-Malzoui had disappeared. Not into shadows, not into hiding. He had ended it. The truth surfaced slowly, a twisted, horrifying clarity. He had scammed Antonioni, taking nearly a quarter of his empire under false expansion deals. And Lorenzo? Although he’s the one who had sent him on the mission, Khalid scammed him too. Collected money from him twice, leaving even the shrewdest men fooled.

Wiping my cheeks, I picked it up, expecting a message from my mother or perhaps even one of the household staff. Instead, it was an anonymous number. And the message was chilling in its simplicity: “You don’t know everything about him.”

Grace appeared to be clueless “The Don” Ben said and almost laughed when he saw how her eyes looked like they would fall off from their socket “The Don?” She asked “I dont know what you are talking about. I have no enemy and I dont know who the Don is” she added, even if that was true, the fact that she said she didn't know the Don would make anyone raise their eyebrows, everyone knew who the Don was “Perhaps I should refresh your mind a little “ he said as he wondered why she pretended the Don hadn't just make her experience what he thought was the worst moment of her life

I could work with that. I reached for my phone to check the time and saw a new message from an unknown number. I almost scrolled past it. I sat up slowly. Unknown: Tick tock Raven. Today should be fun. By the way… does the neighborhood know what their precious Nicole does for a living? I stared at the screen. Unknown: Because they’re about to. Every single one of them. At the funeral. Today babygirl. My stomach twisted inwardly or if there’s any other way to describe it. That would have been the perfect word to use right now.

The one I'd never shown anybody. Seventeen weeks. Healthy. A Whitmore heir, alive and kicking, and nobody in the world knew except a doctor, a nurse with debts, and me. Not Damien, not even Rosalie, not Vivienne. And not Amora. I thought about calling her back. I thought about how her voice would sound. I put the phone in my pocket instead and started the engine. Amora didn't need to know. Not yet.`

The whole thing made my stomach turn. "Breaking news: a decomposed body was found in a trash pile near the old construction site by the reservoir. Police are working to identify the victim. Please stay tuned for updates." Crash. Glass exploded across the floor. Lucinda barely blinked. "They really play this kind of thing first thing in the morning?" She shut off the TV and waved a maid over to clean up. "Maverick, maybe you should send someone to look for Stella. I'm worried she—" "Not her!" Maverick snapped, cutting Quincey off mid-panic. Dude went ghost-pale, gripping the chair like it was the only thing holding him upright. Everyone stared.