The next morning, Juliette woke up in a very concerning state. Her hair was a mess because it hadn’t been braided before sleeping, her eyes were puffy, there were dark circles like a panda around her eyes, and her nose was red. Her head throbbed painfully, making her reluctant to get up. Juliette turned to the right and left, realizing she was in Robbin’s room.
A small groan escaped her lips, and it took extra effort for her to sit up on the bed without using her hands for support. She heard the sound of the door opening, and when Juliette turned her head toward the door, she saw Robbin enter with a tray that held various breakfast items. Juliette took a deep breath, pushed aside the blanket covering her body, and slowly got out of bed.
“Hi, good morning, Julie.” Robbin greeted her gently. “How do you feel?”
A small smile flickered on Juliette’s lips, though only for a moment, as the events of the previous night replayed in her mind. Her heart immediately felt crushed again, and her vision blurred. Poor Pure… Juliette couldn’t imagine what her cat had felt at that moment. Had he cried out for help?
“Bad,” Juliette replied shortly.
Robbin nodded in understanding and placed the tray he was carrying on the table, then gestured for Juliette to come closer. Taking a breath, Juliette forced herself to stand and walk. Although her legs felt weak, and her whole body was tired from the relentless problems she faced. When she reached the sofa where Robbin was sitting, without thinking twice, she flopped down onto the sofa and grabbed a glass of orange juice that was available.
With a few sips, Juliette finished the glass of orange juice.
“Joe, you need to eat too,” Robbin murmured as he cut the pancakes into small pieces and then took a large piece with a fork, bringing the food closer to Juliette’s mouth. Of course, Juliette initially refused, turning her face away. Still, after a warning call from Robbin, she reluctantly complied and took a large bite of the pancake.
“So, can you explain what you meant last night?” Robbin suddenly asked casually.
At first, Juliette didn’t understand what Robbin meant, but slowly, she remembered the last sentence she had said. Her heart raced instantly. Was this a sign that Juliette could ask for help? Wasn’t Robbin an important person with many connections? Not to mention that her half-brother was now the head of the De Lavigne family. Wasn’t that a good thing?
No! No way! She couldn’t trust anyone. Juliette had already made a mistake by revealing a little about Master D to Leo; she couldn’t take the risk of telling Robbin. But Juliette felt cornered. The closer she got to discovering Master D’s identity, the more terrifying the man became. Even now, Juliette didn’t understand why that insane man had killed Pure, who was just an innocent cat.
Without realizing it, her body tensed, and the hands that held the glass tightened.
“Julie?” Juliette blinked and turned to Robbin. “Who are you talking about last night?” Juliette was in a dilemma. She didn’t know whether to speak up or not.
“Juliette, you know I can help you if you’re facing problems. Tell me, what actually happened?”
A soft sigh slipped from Juliette’s lips. She closed her eyes and finally made a decision. To hell with the consequences! She would tell Robbin what she had experienced. It didn’t matter if, in the end, she would suffer the consequences. Robbin was family. If she could tell Leo about this, why couldn’t she tell Robbin? Juliette realized how foolish she was. Very foolish, but if this continued, she might go insane.
And it wasn’t impossible that she would end her own life.
So, with that thought in mind, Juliette put down the glass in her hand and turned to face Robbin. With strong determination, she opened her mouth and recounted the main points of what she had experienced to Robbin.
.
.
The first thing Juliette did when she stepped into her bedroom was freeze. The entire room had been cleaned of blood, and the metallic smell was gone, but her cat’s belongings were still there, which made Juliette stand rooted to the spot. Usually, when she entered the room, the first thing that would greet her was Pure lounging on her bed or perched on the bookshelf. Juliette would panic, and the atmosphere of the room would become chaotic. Pure was one of the things that helped her forget a little about the problems she was facing, but now it was all just a memory, and Pure was no longer there.
Juliette took a deep breath and approached her bag on the chair. It seemed the maid had placed her bag here. She rummaged through the bag and pulled out her phone. Checking to see if it was still on, Juliette pressed the button on the right side of the phone. It was dead. Her phone was off, indicating that the battery was dead.
Quickly, she plugged in the charger, waited until it reached ten percent, and then turned her phone back on. The first thing that appeared in her notifications when her phone turned on was a message from Master D. Juliette bit her lower lip and, with trembling hands, opened the message.
“You’re so naughty, Kitten. If only you hadn’t opened your mouth, your precious cat would still be alive. You really can’t keep a secret.”
Juliette’s breath caught in her throat. Below the message, there was a video showing the conversation she had with Leo in his room yesterday.
Juliette threw her phone onto the bed and stared in horror at the flat device. For a moment, there was only silence until she heard the notification sound again. Juliette initially didn’t want to see what caused her phone to ring. Still, she was afraid that if she didn’t open the message, that psychopathic man would call her, and that would be worse than reading the message.
So, with that conclusion, Juliette picked up her phone again, looked at the notification bar, and sure enough, the incoming message was from Master D again. This time, the message contained a video showing the conversation she had had with Robbin half an hour ago when she had shared her problems with him.
One question crossed Juliette’s mind. How could that man obtain all these videos so quickly? She was busy searching for an answer to that question and didn’t notice that Master D was calling her. Instantly, Juliette felt her heart stop. Seeing “private number” felt like a disaster for her. With fear and terror so palpable, Juliette swiped the green button and brought the phone to her ear. “H-hello…?”
“Tsk. I’m really disappointed in you, Kitten. You keep opening your mouth and spilling our secrets to others.”
“I…”
There was a loud noise in the background, followed by the sound of… gunfire? Juliette felt the blood drain from her head. “Sorry for the commotion. Where were we? Ah yes… luckily this time I didn’t touch the people around you, Kitten.”
“You killed my beloved cat…”
“Don’t be sad. He was just a cat. A useless animal. You should just think about your steps and your words.”
“What do you mean?”
“Because this is the last time you’ll talk nonsense to everyone. If you open your mouth again, I won’t hesitate to drag Meryl into this, and I’ll make sure you see her suffering before she takes her last breath.”
“Why are you doing this? Why are you killing the people I love?”
“It’s simple. Because I want to make sure you won’t defy my words. And of course, to make you dependent on me, not them. Because I’m the only one who truly understands you, Kitten.”
“Stop… Stop!”
The man chuckled softly at Juliette’s hysterical screams. “You still have one more game to finish, kitten.” There was a brief pause.
“I will send you the details right after lunch. If you succeed, then you can meet me.”
“You’re insane…” Juliette hissed in anger.
“I’m only insane for you, dear.” After Master D said that, the call disconnected, and without being able to stop herself, Juliette leaned back against the wall and slid down to the floor.
Tears began to fall one by one from the corners of her eyes.
…