"Rena... Rena, please, can you come save me? I-I need you. Please, can you come?I think... I think it’s your family’s hired goons. They’re watching me. They’re close. I don’t know how long I can hide or escape..Maybe if you’re with me they might...." Owen’s voice trembled as he left the sentence hanging and stared at his reflecti
\on in the mirror. He rubbed his hands together and sighed. "No. Something is missing." He rubbed his chin. He needed to put more into his voice.
He didn’t sound scared enough. Desperate, yes, but the raw panic, the edge that would make her feel it, make her understand how real this was and coming running to him—it wasn’t there. How was he supposed to get it... He closed his eyes and imagined his childhood, the anger and then tried again.
This time letting the terror build in his throat as he cleared it, his voice cracked with every word. "Rena... please. I-I don’t have much time. They’re coming for me, I know it. They’re watching. I don’t know what they’ll do if they find me. Please... help me. They need money... I don’t have that kind of money... Five million dollars..."
There it was—the panic. The desperation. He could practically hear it in his own voice now, the trembling undertones, the slight hitch in his breath. It was good. Better. With this, she would believe him, and if not... he could always find someone else to blame- like her most recent husband.
Yes, he thought, a small, satisfied smile creeping across his lips. If things went sideways, he could always claim it was Aiden Hawk, Serena’s dear husband, who had sent the goons because he’d discovered his identity as Serena’s lover. He could spin it any way he needed, but for now, he needed to get this done.
Without wasting any more time, Owen snatched his phone off the counter and quickly dialed a number from memory. His foot tapped nervously as the line rang, each second ticking by feeling like an eternity. Finally, there was a click, and a rough voice answered.
"What do you need?"
Owen swallowed. Talking to this man somehow always gave him the chills. "I need to hire some men. Good ones. The kind that can make a show, rough me up a little but leave me intact. Just enough to make it look convincing."
There was a brief pause on the other end before the voice responded, a hint of amusement creeping into its tone. "So, you’re looking for a scare job. Easy enough. When and where?"
"Tonight," Owen said quickly, his mind already racing. "Outside my place. Just make sure they look professional. I need this to be convincing."
"Done. But it’ll cost you more this time," the voice replied smoothly.
Owen frowned. He had enough money for it to not be a concern, but it was money he had worked hard to gain. After all blackmailing people was not an easy job," Why?"
"Tsk tsk. Don’t try to negotiate. Hitting required only brute force. Hitting and not hurting requires more skill so, get the money ready."
"Money’s not a problem," Owen said impatiently, "Just make sure the job gets done right."
The man on the other end chuckled darkly. "It always does. We’ll be there. Keep the money ready"
The call ended, and Owen exhaled sharply, feeling the tension release from his shoulders for a brief moment. Now came the tricky part—making sure Serena was primed to react the way he needed her to.
With a grin, he quickly typed out a message," Rena. I think someone is following me. I... I know I told you I won’t contact you again, but if they are people from your family, then chances are my life might be in danger and yours too. Be careful, Rena. Goodbye."
Once the message was sent, he smiled. Perfect. The plan had been set. Quickly, he moved to start packing his bags now. At least there was one good thing about this entire fiasco of Serena losing her memory. He didn’t have to rack his brains to come up with a new plan and could simply reuse the old one.
***
Aiden smiled as he read the message that Serena had received. It was a good thing that he’d taken her sim card out or else he could just imagine how disturbed she would be about the entire matter, right about now...This man was really smart. No wonder he’d been able to get her to come to Sancity and into the clutches of her parents.. He wondered if this man could also be responsible for the accident that had put her in the coma...
But this time, the man had messed with the wrong person.
Lazily, Aiden made a call, "So, what did you find out?"
"Owen Thompson. Studied in Shen Town. I think Miss Serena also studied there but we are yet to find much information about her. The profiles of a few students are more protected than the others. Also, you were right, he has been receiving large amounts from a foreign bank accound. He sent a small portion to the Thompsons every month which they then gambled away. Anyway, Owen has just hired a few goons to launch a pretence attack."
Pretence? Tsk tsk. The man wanted to blackmail and get good money and couldn’t even take a few jabs? Nah..."Good work. Just do one more thing for me..."
After giving his instructions, Aiden stood up and slipped the phone into his drawer as he walked outside. It was true. The apple never fell far from the tree. The Thompson couple were nothing but thieves and so was their dear son...Well too bad, this family decided to mess with him. Time for them to pay the prize now.
Straightening his red shirt, Aiden walked out of the library, towards Serena’s bedroom. Soon, it would be time for another shocker. Sidney was going to be a prized guest and he couldn’t wait to see the man’s reaction when he saw Serena...This was just the beginning...