My cheeks heated, and I spun away from him.


    I couldn’t believe I had actually let that jerk scare me like that!


    “I was just joking around,” he said withughter still in his voice. “Come on. I’m gonna need you to have a sense of humor tonight. I’m going to need your help shaking things up on my blind date.”


    I turned back toward him and crossed my arms. “Hell, no. Like I’m going to help you after that stunt you just pulled.” I scoffed. “I don’t want any involvement in your little games.”


    His demeanor changed in an instant, and anger sparked in his dark


    eyes.


    But I just narrowed my eyes back at him. I wouldn’t allow him to intimidate me.


    “If you aren’t going to take your appointment with Ms. Wright seriously, then I’m not going,” I said.


    Alexander squinted and seemed like he was thinking things through. After a moment, he sighed.


    “Fine, since you’re forcing me to go on this date, then I will.”


    My mouth dropped open in shock. I hadn’t forced him on this date! His mother had been the one to set it up. I was just the one who was unfortunately caught in the crossfire of family drama.


    In the parking garage, Richard held open the door for me, and I was relieved to see a friendly face. I told him the address of the restaurant


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    Chapter <b>157 </b>


    that Alexander’s mom had given me, and then we were off.


    As Richard drove through the crowded streets, Alexander rested his head back and closed his eyes. His face was grim, and his body tense.


    A hopeless feeling settled low in my stomach. I couldn’t believe that I had to join Alexander on a blind date with another woman all because Korbin reported seeing us arrive to work together to Alexander’s parents.


    Right before we arrived at our destination, my phone chimed with a message from Ava.


    My pulse quickened. What more could possibly go wrong today?


    I opened Ava’s message, and a jolt of apprehension went down my spine when I read it.


    ‘You have to listen to the voice recording I just sent! It’s a conversation between Chloe and her mother!‘


    I could barely contain my excitement as I fished around in my bag for my headphones. Once I was all set, I yed the recording. My hand was shaking slightly as I gripped my phone in my sweaty palm.


    “Please, Chloe,” Mrs. Windsor’s anxious voice said right into my ears from the headphones. I almost gasped out loud from the raw worry in her tone but managed to stay quiet. “You have to wear this ne that has been blessed. It will aid in your marriage to the Hawthrone family.” Chloe’s mom paused for a long time, and I wondered if the recording was over. Then, she spoke again. “If you don’t wear this ne….I’m terrified that Russell Lewis’s ghost wille for you and destroy everything that our family has worked so hard for. Sometimes….sometimes I can feel that boy’s presence when I’m around you. I can feel him watching you, biding his time.”


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    283 Wouchers


    My heart mmed against my rib cage, and my hand tightened around my phone. Was Russell Lewis Chloe’s ssmate whose death she had been mysteriously involved in?


    Chloe scoffed dismissively. “Mom, you’re being ridiculous. I’m not scared of Russell. He was weak and dumber than rocks. Even if he dide back as a ghost, I would just kill him again. Russell doesn’t scare me.”


    My stomach plummeted, and shock sizzled through my veins. Ava had done it! She had gotten proof of Chloe admitting to the fact that she had killed her ssmate. Was this enough evidence to go to the police? I wasn’t sure. Ava would know whether a recording would hold up in a court ofw.


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