118 — JULIAN ADAMS (POV)

[……] *“I want you to break up with Eric. We should have told you a long time ago, but Eric was unsure…. Anyway, since you saw it with your own eyes, you must know what’s going on.”*
*“Oh, yes… You were riding my boyfriend.”*
*“That wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t held your virginity so tightly, Angelee.”* [……]

“What... What is the meaning of this?” Jackson says in a shaky voice, approaching my desk slowly. “This voice...”
“It’s a recording from the security camera in a specific room. And these voices, I’m sure you already recognized it.... It’s a private talk of Laura and Angelee.”
I can see a million questions in his eyes, but none dare escape Jackson’s trembling lips. He runs a hand through his hair, breathing deeply. “Why... Why are you showing me this?”
“You know why,” I say with scorn, still looking at my phone screen, the perfect angle of the security camera that shows everything that happened in that room, exactly after Angelee discovered that her best friend and her boyfriend were cheating on her.
And I must confess that I had these recordings for a long time... since the first picture appeared on the forum. I thought it would be important to have it, especially after meeting Eric in the same club where this stalker story began.
The truth is that the hypothesis of Laura being involved was always very obvious, so much so that it seemed ridiculous. Sometimes, people doubt something because it seems clear at first... when the most obvious option is, most of the time, the correct one. And so I kept this trump card ready.
My smile widens, now turning into that of a predator. “Take your phone, Jackson; you can see for yourself.”
I press a button and send everything to Jackson. His phone rings, attracting his fearful eyes.
“Go ahead,” I say, encouraging him to continue with the video. And he does it, taking his phone out of his pocket with doubt. He looks at the screen and raises his eyes a bit just to look me directly in the eye.
“Are you afraid that I’ve forged evidence? I’m not that kind of person, and I don’t even need to... considering that you’ve already given me everything I need.”
Jackson opens his lips to say something but gives up, taking a deep breath and lowering his eyes to the screen, finally tapping on the screen, playing once again the audio I’ve already memorized.
It’s curious; I also didn’t know that Laura was capable of using such a haughty tone, an arrogance that makes her voice more high-pitched and squeakier than normal. I think that, just as it’s strange for me that I have barely known this woman, it must be even stranger *for Jackson,* who has believed her lies blindly.
For me, Laura was never someone relevant. Even when they were best friends, there was a huge distance between us. For these four years, Angelee and I have lived with an invisible wall between us. I tried my best not to get close enough to know about Angel’s love life because I never understood the distress that settled in my gut whenever I saw them together, but I get it now.
I’m not going to lie... My chest filled with relief when I found out that Angelee was dating someone else at first. I was so determined to get my head off what happened between us that night in Spain that I actually felt relieved. I pretended I didn’t remember anything and hoped she didn’t remember either... or at least that she didn’t care... Until I saw them together for the first time.
And I still remember the damn pain that pierced through my chest.
It wasn’t a good feeling, and I ran away from it as much as I could, avoiding all the places where there was a possibility of seeing the way she smiled at another man, the way her eyes sparkled when she looked at him.
It destroyed me.
It destroyed the brief relief I felt and opened a hole that I filled with regret that grew each day, each time I denied all these feelings.
Fortunately, Angelee also started to separate her life, the part outside our lives, and the one she lived at college with people I didn’t know and didn’t care about meeting. The only thing that mattered was the way she smiled at me when there was no one else around... like I was the center of her world. That comforted me.
That’s why Laura is an unknown person to me. I can’t say I knew her well, but I wasn’t really surprised by something like that... After all, even those who share the same blood can betray each other, turn their backs, and not care enough.
But it’s different for Angelee... for Jackson.
They didn’t know the real pain of betrayal...
But now they taste it, seeing Laura’s true face.

[……] *“Yes, that’s right. I’m pregnant with Eric’s child. This boring relationship you have with Eric is nothing compared to the little one in my tummy.”* [……]

“What does that mean?” Jackson raises his eyes, looking directly at me, after hearing the first record. “This... It can’t be true...”
“Exactly what it sounds like... You can see from the date of the recording... it was weeks ago, Jackson. And something tells me that you and Laura have been together longer than that.”
Jackson swallows hard, holding up the recording that had stopped.
“Go on to the next one, Jackson... It gets better.”
He looks at his phone screen again and plays the next video. Now, Laura’s voice sounds loud and harsh,

[……] *“You don’t realize how much you’ve hurt me, do you? Because of you, people are judging me for being a single mom. And I don’t know what you said to Eric, but he hasn’t been answering my texts. Even if I stand in front of his apartment for hours, there’s no response at all. You really got what you wanted, didn’t you?”* [……]

“I see.” Jackson finally says a few moments after the second video ends. There are tears in his eyes, but his expression shows that there is much more than a broken heart... There is resentment and anger. *He feels betrayed.*
“Just to be clear... Eric isn’t the guy from the restaurant.” Jackson looks at me confused, but I don’t let him think too much about it and add, “I don’t know the things Laura said to convince you to do something like that, tarnish the reputation of someone who didn’t do anything to you, but as you can see and hear for yourself, the truth is very different from what was told you.”
Jackson doesn’t say a single word; he keeps his eyes on the phone screen.
“This is the woman you fought for,” I say finally, seeing the regret all over his face.
Honestly, it’s satisfying to see feelings welling up in his eyes. Jackson seems so different from the arrogant boy who was belittling and being rude to Angelee. He even seems like a human now...
“Was it worth it?”
Jackson shakes his head, looking at his phone screen.
“Was it worth ending your career, *your life,* for a woman who just used you? Laura used you, Jackson, and you destroyed yourself for her.”
He remains silent, running his hand over his face, and I dare say that a tear trickled down his cheek.
“Everything she told you, did you really believe it so blindly?” I say in a firmer voice, forcing out an answer. “You’ll never get back on your feet in this town. You’ve tarnished your reputation... What company would want to hire an employee who uses an error to take advantage?”
Jackson grits his teeth and lets his arm fall around his body, showing me his furious expression — but I know that I’m not the target of his anger.
“But I... I really understand you, Jackson... And so, I want to give you a chance to make up for your mistake, do the right thing, and allow you to start a new life somewhere else, perhaps on a paradise island, with a few million dollars in your account?”
Oh, there it is... *That’s the greedy glare I wanted to see.*
“I can give you another chance to make things right. I’m feeling very generous today. But for that, you’ll need to give me something in return.”
Jackson stays silent for a long moment, then sighs.
“What do you want?” He finally asks, turning to me with an almost empty expression...
“I want Laura.” I rest my cheek on my fist, tilting my head slightly and giving a cocky smile. “Can you throw her into the fire?”
Jackson pauses for a moment, then purses his lips with cold eyes... “Yeah... Whatever you want, boss.”