(Virginia’s POV) <fn2b67> ???? ????s? ???????s ?? FindN0vel</fn2b67>


    This ce makes my skin crawl.


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    The neighborhood reeks of garbage and illegal substance. I pull my hood up, keeping my head low as I navigate through the maze of crumbling buildings and haunted eyes.


    I find John’s apartment building – if you can even call it that, at the <i>end </i>of the block. The paint is peeling, graffiti covers every surface, and half the windows are boarded up.


    This is the kind of ce no decent person sets a foot in.


    The ce I used to live before I ended up at the orphanage.


    I climb three flights of stairs, my heels echoing in the empty stairwell. The smell of mold and something worse I don’t want to identify makes me gag.


    John’s door is cracked and warped. I knock twice, pause, then knock once. Our old signal.


    The door swings open and at the sight of me, his face twists with anger. He grabs my arm, yanking me inside. “Are you out of your damn mind?”


    “I need your help-”


    “Help?” He ms the door shut, the sound echoing through his tiny studio apartment. “You need to get the hell out of here before someone sees you.”


    The apartment is worse than I imagined. A mattress on the floor, empty bottles scattered everywhere, clothes piled in corners. This is what my life would be if I hadn’t wed my way <ol><li>up. </li></ol>


    “John, listen to me-‘


    “No, you listen to me.” He spins around, his eyes wild. “What if someone followed you? What if the Stones or Jasper find out you came here? They’ll start digging into your past, Virginia. They’ll find out our connection. And when they do…”


    “They won’t find anything.”


    “Bullshit.” He runs his hands through his greasy hair. “They’re the Stones. If they discover our rtionship, it’s only a matter of time before everythinges to light.”


    The fear in his voice makes my stomach twist. But I can’t back down now.


    <Chapter 70


    More Rewards >


    “I don’t want to go to jail,” he continues, pacing like a caged animal. “If things get that bad, I’ll tell them the truth. All of it. You can deal with the consequences of your greed yourself.”


    “My greed?” Iugh, the sound harsh and bitter. “Am I the only greedy one here? If you weren’t just as greedy as me, how would you have gone along with my n in the first ce?”


    His face goes red. “Virginia-<b>” </b>


    “Drop the act. Stop ying innocent and help mee up with a n. I can sense Jasper is getting suspicious of me.”


    He stops pacing, looking at me like I’ve lost my mind. “He’s suspicious of you, and you still came here? Why don’t you just pull one of your old tricks? Act out a panic attack or something?”


    “Those tricks have gotten old. I need something drastic. Something that’ll make Jasperpletely indebted to me for life.”


    John chuckles, and the cold, bitter amusement in his tone makes me frown.


    “Something drastic. Like the k********g incident seven years ago?”


    All the blood drains from my face. The room spins and I grab the wall to keep myself from falling.


    “Shut up.” My voicees out ragged, shaky, a mere whisper.


    “Why not? It worked, didn’t it? Poor little Virginia, so traumatized, so helpless. Jasper felt so guilty-”


    “Shut up!” I’m screaming, my voice cracking. “Shut up! Shut up! Don’t you dare-‘


    The memory crashes over me like a tidal wave. The fear, the pain, the way Jasper held me afterward like I was made of ss. How he med himself for not protecting me, how he promised he’d never let anything happen to me again.


    How I let him believe it was his fault when it wasn’t.


    “Don’t you dare ever mention that incident to me again.” My hands are shaking now, my whole body trembling with the weight of that secret.


    John’s face softens slightly, seeing how upset I am. “Virginia-”


    My phone rings then, cutting him off. The sound is sharp and jarring in the tense silence.


    I look at the screen and my heart stops.


    < Chapter 70


    Mickey’s Bar.


    More Rewards >


    The bar Jasper bought years ago when he was trying to prove himself, to show he had what it took to seed. The one he bought right after getting married to Scarlett.


    “Hello?”


    “Ms Virginia?” The voice on the other end is gruff, tired. “This is Mike.”


    “Yes, Mike? What’s wrong?” I grip the phone tighter.


    “Mr. ke’s here. Been drinking for hours. He’s pretty messed up, and keeps calling for Ms Scarlett. We tried to get him a cab but he won’t leave. Can youe get him?”


    My heart pounds against my ribs. Jasper is drunk. Drunk and calling for her.


    This is bad. This is very, very bad.


    “I’ll be right there,” I say and hang up, looking at John, who’s been listening to every word.


    *Jasper?”


    I nod, my mind racing. “He’s drunk at Mickey’s Bar.”


    “And is calling for his ex–wife.” John whistles low. “Sounds like your n failed.”


    “No kidding.” I grab my purse, heading for the door. “I have to go get him.”


    “Virginia.” John’s voice stops me at the door. “Don’te here again, ever. Not unless I ask you to.”


    I don’t answer. I just race out of the building.


    Because if Jasper is drunk and vulnerable and thinking about Scarlett, I need to be there. I need to be the one he sees when he opens his eyes.


    So I can act the role of a victim.


    Again,


    Violet Moon


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