CHAPTER 77: IT’S DONE

The night air around Jake’s penthouse shimmered with city lights — towers of glass and steel glowing against the dusk, cars streaming by in muted rhythm.

Inside, the apartment was silent except for the faint hum of the air conditioner and Jake’s uneven breathing.

He was sprawled across the bed, still fully clothed. His eyes were shut, his body heavy with the weight of the drug Raymond had slipped into his drink.

In no time, the door opened softly.

Helena stepped in, her heels clicking against the polished floor. She had changed into a sleek black dress that fit like a second skin, her red lips curved in something between nervousness and resolve.

Raymond followed behind her, closing the door halfway. He looked at Jake’s still form, a flicker of guilt although faint but present, flashed in his eyes. Then, as quickly as it came, it vanished.

"Well," Helena said quietly, her gaze moving from Jake to Raymond, "you weren’t exaggerating. He’s out cold."

Raymond gave a curt nod. "The sedative’s mild, but strong enough to keep him groggy for a while. He won’t remember much when he wakes."

Helena hesitated. "You’re sure about this?"

Raymond turned toward her, eyes dark and calculating. "You’re the one who said you wanted him enough to do anything, Helena. This is the cleanest way."

Helena crossed her arms. "You said you had a plan. But I didn’t think you’d drug your own brother to do what you planned."

He smirked, though it didn’t reach his eyes. "I didn’t plan to, either. But Jake doesn’t make things easy. He never has."

Helena studied him for a moment. There was something unsettling about the cold precision in his tone — the way his voice carried a hint of long-buried bitterness. Still, she pushed down her unease. This was her chance.

"So what now?" she asked.

Raymond glanced toward the nightstand, where Jake’s phone was buzzing again, the screen lighting up. He strode over, picked it up.

"Bella," he said softly, already thinking of what he could do.

He’d totally forgotten about her for a second but she’d just had to keep calling. Now it’s fate that she and Jake would separate and she’d have to come to him.

Helena’s brows furrowed. "Bella? She’s calling?"

Raymond’s lips twitched into a grin. "Yeah. Since I brought Jake back. Seems luck’s on our side, don’t you think?"

Helena stepped closer. "Why’s she calling?"

"I don’t know," Raymond murmured, his mind already racing. "But I intend to find out. I know for a fact that the calls isn’t to check up on it. It has to be something else."

He unlocked Jake’s phone easily. All he had to do was press his brother’s limp hand against the fingerprint sensor and the phone was as good as his.

The screen opened, and Raymond’s eyes scanned the call log quickly. Then he proceeded to checking the messages to see if there was anything to give away why Bella was calling relentlessly.

When he found Bella’s last text, his grin widened.

It had been an address. The same one Jake had sent him when he called. Could it be they were meeting there? He smirked when he remembered Jake saying he was meeting someone and it all clicked.

"Well, well, well," Raymond said, his voice low and satisfied. "Looks like she had something planned tonight."

Helena tilted her head. "What are you thinking?"

"I’m thinking," he said, fingers flying over the keyboard, "that plans change."

"Changed to what?" Helena asked with a frown.

"Well, I’m bringing Bella here," he said, with a smile.

He typed out a message in Jake’s phone, the words crisp and deceptively simple:

[Sorry, I can’t talk. But there’s a change of plan. Let’s meet at my place instead. I’ll text the address.]

Then he added Jake’s home address, hit send. After he was sure it was delivered, Raymond deleted the message. Jake mustn’t know he did this.

When he turned back, Helena was watching him, an uneasy gleam in her eyes.

"So, what happens when she gets here?" she asked quietly.

Raymond’s gaze shifted toward Jake, unconscious and defenseless on the bed. "You play your part. Make her believe what she sees. She’ll never forgive him after tonight."

Helena exhaled, tension fluttering in her chest. "You really think this will be enough to break them?"

Raymond stepped closer, his voice low and deliberate. "It won’t just break them. It’ll make sure they never have a chance to fix it. Jake will lose her, and you’ll have what you want. We all win."

There was something chilling in his calmness — something that made Helena’s skin prickle. But she nodded anyway. "Fine. I’ll do it. I just hope it works because this isn’t going to work a second time."

"And who would want to do this a second time? Let’s get to it."

Raymond cast another look at Jake — his brother, his rival in everything. Then he turned and walked toward the door.

Before leaving, he paused and looked back at Helena.

"Make it believable," he said. "We can’t do this a second time," he added before leaving.

He left the door slightly a jar so that it would be easier for Bella when she comes.

Helena stood there for a long moment, staring at Jake. He looked peaceful in his sleep, utterly unaware of the storm she and Raymond had set in motion.

Her heart thudded, an odd mixture of guilt and determination twisting through her. "I’m sorry," she whispered under her breath, "but you made your choice. I have to make mine."

Slowly, she removed her coat and let it slip from her shoulders. Then she sat down beside him on the bed, brushing his hair from his forehead.

He murmured something incoherent, shifting slightly, but didn’t wake.

Helena took a deep breath, slipped off her heels, and lay down beside him. She carefully arranged the blanket, pulling it just high enough to cover them both from the waist up. Then, for the final touch, she rested one hand lightly on his chest — intimate enough to suggest closeness, harmless enough that he never stirred.

Her pulse raced. The act was simple, but the message it would send was devastating.

Moments later, headlights swept across the living room curtains — the unmistakable glow of a car pulling up outside. Helena’s stomach tightened.

That had to be Bella. She thought as she immediately climbed onto Jake, stradling him.

She could hear faint footsteps, hesitant, cautious. The sound of the door creaking open.

Helena held her breath as the footsteps drew nearer, then stopped abruptly.

The soft gasp that followed was sharp enough to cut through the quiet.

Bella stood frozen in the doorway, the color draining from her face. Her eyes locked on the bed. On Jake, whom had sent her a text just moments ago, lying down while a lady, was right on top of him.

For a moment, the world seemed to still.

"No..." Bella’s whisper trembled in the air, small and broken. She took a shaky step back, her hand flying to her mouth. "No, this isn’t—"

Bella thought of going in there to ask if this was why he changed their plans and if this was probably what he wanted her to see. But no, she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her hurt.

Immediately, she turned and fled, the sound of her footsteps echoing down the hall, the front door slamming behind her.

The silence that followed felt heavier than before.

Helena remained on Jake’s body, her pulse hammering in her ears. Then after she was sure Bella was completely gone, she got off him.

"She’ll never come back now," she whispered, glancing at Jake’s still form. "You’re free, Jake. And so am I. Now, you can be with me."

Outside, a car engine purred softly from a distance.

Raymond sat in the driver’s seat of his own car a few blocks away, eyes fixed on the glow of Jake’s penthouse windows. When he saw the door open and Bella rush out, he leaned back in his seat, letting out a slow, shaky breath.

"She saw it," he murmured. "She actually saw it."

For a moment, the triumph in his voice cracked, revealing something raw beneath him. Guilt, maybe, or regret?

He closed his eyes, his hands tightening around the steering wheel. "You made me do this, Jake," he muttered under his breath. "If that night hadn’t happened... seven years ago... then I wouldn’t....."

His words trailed off, heavy with unspoken bitterness.

Then he straightened, his expression hardening once more. "But it’s done now," he said quietly, his voice flat and cold. "You’ll finally know what it feels like to lose something you love."

*********

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