Chapter 45- Thorns And Plots
Leonard followed the stranger’s trembling finger toward the wreck behind him.
The car was mangled; crushed into a shape no machine should ever become.
The kind of wreck you look at once and already know the driver won’t make it.
His own vehicle had taken only a scratch.
But the rest of the road… it was devastation.
Torn tyres. Shredded metal. Debris everywhere like the aftermath of a storm.
Several men rushed toward the ruined car, doing everything they could to pull the unconscious driver out, but the frame was twisted in on itself, almost impossible to breach.
Leonard glanced at his phone for a second.
Just a second.
Then he drove off without hesitation.
ALL ELITES COLLEGE
Oma splashed cold water on her face, ignoring the stares burning into her from the other girls in the bathroom.
“Isn’t your friend doing too much?” one sneered.
Oma didn’t react.
“And wasn’t it you and Leo who had a thing? Now she’s replaced you and going overboard with it.” another girl scoffed.
“You’re not mute, Oma.” The first one said sharply.
Oma turned off the tap, flicked the water from her fingers, and walked out without giving any of them a single word.
The girls exchanged looks, then kept running their mouths.
Her steps were slow. Heavy.
She felt… numb.
Valentine’s Day was close, a day that was once a cheerful one for them.
For all of them.
It wasn’t just hearts and flowers.
It was also Ginny’s birthday.
And every year, instead of obsessing over romance, they poured all their affection into celebrating her.
Aurora especially… something in her always lit up when it involved Ginny.
One year, she even gifted Ginny a whole car.
They were jumping teenagers then.
That was the kind of wild, reckless love Aurora used to show.
Back then, all four of them; Oma, Aurora, Ginny, and Bianca; had been inseparable.
Until Bianca ruined it.
Until she betrayed them so deeply that the damage still echoed.
And Oma still couldn’t forgive it.
Not after she has Ginny brutally raped, not after she tried to have Aurora raped too, not after she traumatized Aurora. Not after leaving them all with deep scars.
“Pretty…” Mason’s voice snapped her out of the dark thoughts clawing through her.
She blinked, and only then realized tears had already spilled down her cheeks.
“Whoa, hey… what’s wrong?” He reached up gently, wiping her tears with careful fingers.
People were watching. She felt their eyes prick at her skin.
“Baby,” Mason murmured softly.
“Huh…” she responded, her mind still far away.
“Come on,” he said, taking her hand. “Come with me.”
And she let him guide her away.
Mason didn’t say a word the whole drive. He just held her hand when she let him and kept his eyes on the road.
When he finally parked at the quiet cliff, open sky, soft wind, city far below, he stepped out first, came around, and opened her door.
“Oma,” he said softly.
She didn’t move.
So he slipped an arm under her knees and another around her back, lifting her out like she weighed nothing. She didn’t even protest, she was too tired, too full.
He carried her to the front of the car and gently set her on the hood, his hands steadying her waist before he stepped back just a little.
The wind brushed her face. Her eyes were already wet again.
“Hey,” Mason murmured, standing between her knees so she wouldn’t feel alone. “Talk to me. Or don’t. Just… breathe.”
She tried. It cracked. Her lip trembled.
Then the first tear fell.
She didn’t even try to stop the next one.
“Ginny…” Her voice broke. “Mason—Ginny…”
He moved in instantly, pulling her into his chest. “Okay, okay… I’m here,” he whispered against her hair. “Let it out, baby. Don’t hold it.”
She clutched his shirt, shaking, her tears slow but heavy.
“I don’t want Valentine’s Day,” she whispered to him. “I can’t. I just… can’t.”
Mason brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers, gentle but sure.
“Don’t let anything steal your joy,” he said quietly. “Not even the past.”
She blinked up at him, still crying.
He wiped the tears with his thumbs, soft but firm.
“And don’t think you’re skipping that day,” he added. “I’m not letting you.”
“Mason…” she breathed.
He smiled just a little. “No spoilers. Just trust me.”
Oma exhaled, leaning her forehead into his chest again.
He held her there, her on the hood, his arms around her, the wind cold but his body warm.
She kept sniffing and he kept stroking her hair.
Assuring her she's fine with him. Always.
But who the hell is Ginny?...
RAVEN MANSION
Aurora heard laughter before she saw anything.
Light. Warm. Familiar.
Ginny’s.
They were on that little patch of grass behind the old music block, the place they used to escape to when life felt too loud.
Ginny was lying on her stomach, kicking her feet in the air, scrolling through jokes on her phone like nothing in the world could ever hurt them.
“You’re not even funny,” Aurora muttered, trying to keep a straight face.
Ginny nudged her shoulder. “Please, you literally choke when you try not to laugh.”
Aurora rolled her eyes, but she was smiling, the real kind, the one she hadn’t worn in years. Ginny reached out, tugged her closer, resting her head on Aurora’s shoulder like she always did.
“You know I love you, right?” Ginny said suddenly, voice soft.
“So don’t start acting weird now,” Aurora scoffed lightly, but her voice wavered.
Ginny just laughed again, louder this time.
Aurora closed her eyes and held on.
And held on.
And—
Something shifted.
The grass went quiet. The warmth vanished. Her fingers were clutching nothing.
A distant honk. A passing car. A ceiling.
Aurora jolted awake with a sharp gasp.
Her room. Late afternoon light spilling through her curtains. Her heart thudding too fast, her chest tight like someone had punched the air out of her.
For a moment she stayed still, staring at her trembling hands.
Ginny’s voice was still echoing in her head.
She pulled her knees up and pressed her forehead against them, trying to steady her breathing, but it didn’t help, the ache settled right under her ribs, heavy and familiar.
Just a dream.
Just a memory pretending to be real.
But God… it felt real enough to break her all over again.
LEONARD'S DARK VILLA
Leo stood shirtless at the floor-to-ceiling window, city lights stretching below. One hand held the cigarette, the other buried in his sweatpants pocket. Smoke curled lazily upward.
A memory hit.
Rooftop, wind tugging at Bianca’s hair, lights flickering. She laughed softly, tugging at his hoodie.
“You’ve had so many girls… Jenny, Rina, Mae…”
“Stop,” he muttered. “I hate them.”
“Yes. You should,” She whispered, brushing a strand of hair from his forehead. “Monsters, all of them. But me? I love you, my man. Only you.”
He felt it then, the way she saw him, the way she mattered.
The rooftop, the city, her voice… it all faded.
Leo exhaled slowly, smoke trailing up. He scoffed, low, easy, letting the memory burn itself out.
Tattoos peeked along his arms, dark and sharp. Shirtless, cigarette between his fingers, he turned back to the city, distant, unreadable.
He laughed out psychotically. “Felt it?” He said sarcastically. “Did you really feel her honesty though? Leonard? Her truth.” He let out another crazy laugh. “Was that Ren or Leo?”
He barely blinked as Mara appeared at the doorway, her posture rigid, hands folded neatly.
“Your car’s fixed, sir,” She said, voice calm, almost too calm.
He didn’t answer immediately. Smoke curled from his cigarette as he tilted his head, eyes glinting. “Mara… tell me something. Why is it that girls-pretty faces, sparkling eyes—always carry the deadliest hearts inside?”
Mara’s lips curved, a faint smirk tugging at the corners. “Perhaps the prettier the face, the sharper the poison. Or maybe they just enjoy the chaos.”
He let out a short, amused scoff. “You always know how to match my mood. Good.”
She straightened, then hesitated, a glimmer of recollection crossing her eyes. “Oh… I just remembered. That night at the Ravens’ reunion… A girl showed up. Kira.. Kara… Something… She was so delusional. So brave.”
“Kiara.” Leonard replied.
“Yeah… That girl.” Mara rolled her eyes. Such a sarcastic woman that acts like a young adult.
Leo’s lips twitched into a sarcastic grin. “She’s not hiding it. Her obsession’s as loud as her perfume.”
Mara’s smirk deepened, and she bowed her head slightly. “I'll take my leave.”
RAVEN MANSION
Aurora’s room finally felt silent after Gemma and Melvin left her room. The faint hum of the city outside her window filled the space. She hugged her pillow to her chest, staring at the ceiling for a moment before reaching for her phone.
She dialled Oma's line.
“Hey,” Oma’s voice answered after a few rings, soft.
“Oma.” Aurora began, her voice unusually quiet, almost brittle. “I had a dream… about Ginny.”
There was a pause on the line. “What kind of dream?” Oma asked, sensing the weight in her friend’s tone.
Aurora let out a short, humorless laugh. “We were… just like we used to be. Laughing, talking about nonsense, plotting dumb pranks… she’d be laughing so loud it’d make everyone turn their heads.” Her voice broke slightly. “It felt… real. Almost like she was really there.”
Oma was quiet for a beat, letting Aurora speak. “I… I wish we could see her tomorrow,” Aurora whispered. “Maybe visit her grave. Just… pay her a little respect. It’s her birthday on Monday. She’d be nineteen.”
“Yeah,” Oma said softly, her voice almost a mirror of Aurora’s gloom. “I know… it’s stupid, but the thought of it… it makes everything feel heavier.”
Aurora nodded, though Oma couldn’t see her. “I keep thinking about all the birthdays she missed… all the moments… and us, just stuck here… dull, quiet… nothing feels right anymore.”
“I get it,” Oma replied. Her voice was steady but quiet, like a candle struggling against the wind. “It’s hard. Tomorrow we go. We’ll go and be with her.”
Aurora let the words settle, the weight in her chest pressing gently against her ribs. “Thanks, Oma… I don’t think I could’ve… I mean… I’m glad you’re here.”
“You’ll be okay,” Oma said softly, though neither of them truly believed it. “We’ll both be okay… somehow.”
And for a moment, silence stretched over the phone.
None was ready to say anything else so Aurora hung up, the dial tone fading.
Her mind wandered, as it always did lately, to him-Leonard. Not a call, not a text, not a single sign that he even thought about her since… well, since she blocked him.
Her lips pressed into a thin line. Sure, he can't contact her cuz she blocked him… but…. He's Leonard…. He literally hacked her phone, he sent a message to her switched off phone, which turned it on.
He can reach her if he wants to. Guess he doesn't.
Besides, he said everything meant nothing. She'll act like she doesn't know him anymore.
Sounds like a joke but not impossible.
And yet. And yet she found herself wondering. Why hasn’t he? Why hasn’t he… done anything?
That sentence of his tasted bitter, everything meant nothing? But somewhere deep, painfully, it ignited a spark of curiosity, of something unsaid.
Aurora swallowed. The quiet in her room felt heavier now, like the walls themselves were waiting for an answer she didn’t have.
She sat on the edge of her bed, phone in her lap, staring at the blank screen. His words, the cold, cruel dismissal, echoed louder than ever. Nothing. All the kisses, the moments, the closeness… nothing.
And yet, a tiny, infuriating part of her wondered if he really meant it. Does he… really mean it?
The clock ticked loudly in the silent room, each second stretching longer than the last. She clenched her fists. Why do I still feel… something?
Her thoughts wandered to that night, to the way he held her in his arms. On his birthday party. When he followed her outside the villa and carried her. Then the reunion… Oh, the reunion… He proved her wrong that night.
He brought her to a realization.
Turns out it's nothing according to him.
A soft buzz from her phone startled her. She grabbed it, heart thudding, only to find it… nothing. No messages. Just the empty home screen glaring back.
Aurora let out a frustrated sigh, sinking back into her pillows. She buried her face in her hands. Why is this so hard?
And in that silence, the air felt charged, as if something was about to break, something between her and him, whether she was ready or not.
NEXT DAY · CEMETERY
The sky was heavy with January grey, clouds stretched thin across the horizon, a cold wind tugging at Aurora’s coat. The air smelled faintly of wet earth and frost, a chill that seemed to seep into her bones.
Finally, they reached the spot. A simple headstone, polished and quiet, stood among the others. But the name carved into it made Aurora’s chest tighten:
Ginny Marseille.
Aurora swallowed hard. Her fingers itched to reach out, but she didn’t. She just stared. The letters looked smaller than she remembered, fragile, almost like they could crumble if touched.
Oma stepped closer, her own hands trembling slightly. She rested a comforting hand on Aurora’s shoulder. “Every time I see her name… it just… it hits.”
Aurora nodded, voice barely a whisper. “Nineteen on Monday, isn’t it? She should’ve been… laughing, celebrating… living.”
Tears burned in her eyes, refusing to be tamed. She wanted to scream, to cry until her throat ached, but all she could do was lean on Oma and let the weight press down.
Oma’s voice was soft, barely audible. “She was… everything to us. We were so careless, thinking we had more time…”
Aurora shook her head. “No. She was brave. Always brave. Even when we weren’t.” Her fingers grazed the edge of the gravestone. “I wish… I wish we could tell her we remember, that we’re still… still her friends.”
The wind whispered through the trees, rustling the leaves, and for a moment it felt like Ginny’s presence was there, soft, fleeting, impossible to hold but impossible to ignore.
Oma squeezed Aurora’s hand gently. “We’ll come back. Every year. Every birthday. Every day. She’ll never be forgotten.”
Aurora exhaled shakily, the tears now sliding freely down her cheeks. “I just… I can’t believe she’s gone. All because of me.”
“She’s not really gone,” Oma said, her voice firm, holding both sorrow and strength. “She’s here, in us. Always. And it's not because of you.”
Aurora nodded again, letting the words sink in. They stayed there for a long time, standing in silence, letting grief wash over them, letting it hurt, letting it heal in small pieces.
Far above, atop a nearby building that overlooked the cemetery, a figure leaned casually against the edge of the roof.
Leonard’s dark eyes, always fixated, tracked Aurora. He didn’t move, didn’t breathe noticeably, just watched. His gaze was steady, unblinking, but invisible to them.
Aurora shifted slightly, shivering from the cold, or maybe from a sudden sense of being observed.
She glanced around, but saw only grey skies, frost-tipped grass, and the quiet solemnity of the cemetery.
Leonard remained unseen, a ghost in the distance, his attention entirely on her.
The wind picked up, tugging at their coats and hair, carrying the faint scent of the cold weather.
Yet, somewhere above, unseen, Leonard’s gaze stayed locked on Aurora.
MEXICO · IMPERIO DEL PECADO {EMPIRE OF SIN}
The room smelled faintly of smoke and polished steel. Shadows clung to the corners, swallowing the edges of the enormous hall.
Zane sat at the head of the long obsidian table, fingers drumming softly against its surface.
A single lamp cast his sharp features in partial light. His eyes, cold and calculating, flicked to the phone resting beside him, Aurora’s picture still on the screen.
He traced her face with a fingertip, almost delicately, but his jaw tightened with every memory of the last failed attempt.
“Years wasted,” He muttered to himself, voice low and smooth. “And she still slips through.”
Shadow stepped forward from the darkness, her presence a weight in the room. Her eyes glinted faintly, hungry, jealous, and sharp.
“You still can’t let it go, can you?” She asked, voice soft, taunting. “She’s just a girl. There are hundreds…”
Zane’s eyes snapped to hers, dark and unyielding. “Stop.” His tone was a whip. “Do not speak her name in my presence again. I’ve heard that line too many times, Shadow. Get out of my sight.”
Shadow didn’t move. Her posture was rigid, defiant, almost proud.
Zane leaned back slightly, eyes narrowing as he exhaled a thin plume of smoke. “Fine.” He said, almost bored. “I’ll leave you here. But remember… every misstep you’ve made… every time you thought you had control… I’ll make sure it comes back to you.”
He stood abruptly, the chair scraping sharply against the marble floor. The sound echoed in the room like a warning.
Without another word, he strode past her, the weight of his presence filling the space, leaving Shadow rooted to the spot, her silence louder than any argument.
Zane pushed open the door to his private villa, the dim hallway lights flickering on as he stepped inside.
He climbed the floating staircase to the top-floor living room, the one place he kept spotless, quiet, and under his complete control.
He shrugged off his jacket and shirt, letting them drop carelessly onto the glass table. His boots thudded against the marble as he kicked them aside, left only in his dark jeans.
His expression stayed unreadable, but there was a tension in the set of his jaw… something coiled and dangerous.
He pulled out his phone.
Aurora’s picture lit up the screen, the same one he’d stared at a thousand times. A thousand too many.
He exhaled slowly, then dialed a number.
The call barely rang once.
A voice answered immediately - breath uneven, as if the person had ran a marathon.
“Young Lord.”
Zane’s lips twitched into a slow, calculated smirk. “I see you’re keeping yourself busy… with the girls on campus. Your students. Bad teacher. Bad.”
A pause. A rustle. Then the man replied, controlled but tense: “Just blending in while I carry out the mission, boss.”
Zane gave a quiet, humorless laugh. “You touched something that doesn’t belong to you,” He said softly, too softly. “Her beauty is not an invitation. And being her teacher isn’t an excuse.”
A beat of silence filled the line like a held breath.
“I should end you for that,” Zane continued, voice dropping to a cold whisper. “You know that, right?”
The man didn’t hesitate. “I owe you my life. You can do whatever you want with it.”
Zane’s smirk faded into something sharper. “Do not sabotage this mission,” he warned. “The last time I trusted someone, they ruined everything for me. They cost me my chance at having what was mine.”
His eyes darkened.
“But this time… I won’t lose. Do NOT mess up. Keep an eye on her till it's finally time to get her. If anything goes wrong because of you, if that Leonard finds out… You know he's a tech wizard. He's a demon. If ANYTHING…”
A pause. “Gets ruined… I'll make you beg for death. Okay… Mr Thorne?...”
Another beat. “Yes, young lord,” Mr. Thorne murmured.
Zane ended the call without another word.
And alone in the silence of the villa, his smirk returned, slow and chilling, as he whispered to the empty room:
“See you soon… little star.”
TBC…