Chapter 8 Jessica
Zoe immediately patted her back.
“I know. I know.”
She guided Rose toward the couch and helped her sit down before settling beside her.
Once they were comfortable, Rose finally began telling Zoe everything that had happened after she left the party.
She told her about the misunderstanding, about Josh, and about how she had somehow ended up in bed with Maverick instead.
She described how everything spiraled out of control, her heart racing as she recalled the events leading up to Zoe’s unexpected return, carefully omitting only the details of her second wild sex session with her brother that had taken place that morning.
Zoe sat there with a thoughtful look on her face, her brows drawn together as her eyes narrowed in concentration. She looked as though she were trying to piece together what the hell had gone wrong.
After a moment, she turned toward Rose.
“I keep wondering… who sent that photograph of you and my brother kissing to your dad?”
Rose blinked.
“Who the hell would stalk you, take a picture of you, and then send it to your father anonymously?” Zoe continued, clearly baffled.
“And how did they even get your dad’s number?
It’s not like he goes around giving it to random people.
His number is extremely private. Hell, I don’t even have it.
So how did someone just happen to have it and send him that photograph? ”
Rose’s expression slowly changed.
“You mean someone is plotting against me?”
She narrowed her eyes suspiciously, her mind already racing through the possibilities.
Then, after a moment of thought, she lowered her voice.
“Is your brother behind this? Does he have some ulterior motive?”
Zoe stared at her for a second before immediately shaking her head.
“That’s not possible. My brother is very straightforward about what he wants. He does whatever he wants, whenever he wants. He doesn’t play shady games. If he wants something, he simply takes it.”
She paused, her brows knitting together as another thought crossed her mind.
“Unless…”
Her voice dropped to almost a whisper.
“Unless he really, really wants you.”
Zoe immediately fell silent.
A confused look settled over her face as she considered the possibility. But just as quickly, she dismissed it.
“No. There’s no way Maverick would do something like this.” She shook her head firmly. “Even if he can be wicked and cruel, he’s never been the type to resort to something like this. If he wants something, he gets it. He doesn't scheme behind someone's back.”
Rose reached over and touched Zoe’s shoulder, pulling her back from her thoughts.
“I’m not going to let this go,” Rose said firmly. “Someone took a photograph of me without my knowledge and captured your brother and me kissing in a photograph. Then they sent it to my dad. Whoever did this knows enough about me to know exactly what would happen if my dad saw it.”
Her eyes narrowed with determination.
“I need to know who’s behind this. And I need you to help me find out. I’m going to get to the bottom of this.”
Zoe immediately nodded in agreement.
“Of course we will.”
Her expression hardened.
“We’ll find out who did this, and we’ll kick his ass!”
***
Ivan was drowning his frustration in alcohol.
He sat at a table surrounded by a group of friends, bottles and glasses scattered across the surface. Terrence sat beside him, watching as Ivan downed beer after beer.
Ivan was already heavily drunk, but he showed no intention of stopping.
One of his friends finally leaned toward him.
“Ivan, what happened to the cars that were burned down at your house? Did you find any clue about who did it?”
Ivan glanced at him before taking another drink.
“No. I haven’t found out who did it yet.”
His voice was strangely flat, as though the matter barely mattered to him.
Adam, who was sitting across from him, frowned.
“What are you talking about? Those cars were worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. Some of them were worth millions. You’ve already lost a fortune. Didn’t the police find anything?”
“Yeah, the cars are already burned down,” Ivan replied casually. “There’s no value left in them anymore. I guess it’ll be sorted out in a few days.”
Adam stared at him in disbelief.
Then he turned toward Brian, who was sitting beside him, and leaned closer.
“Brian, don’t you think his reaction is a little underwhelming?”
Brian glanced toward Ivan.
“His cars were literally the most important things in the world to him,” Adam whispered. “He cherished them so much that he barely even let us touch them. And now they’ve been burned to a crisp, and he’s acting like it’s nothing. What the hell is going on with him?”
Brian nodded slowly.
“He wouldn’t even let us sit in the passenger seat of those cars before. Now they’re gone, and he barely reacts.”
Adam glanced toward Ivan again.
“Is he really that happy about Jessica coming back? Has everything else just stopped mattering to him?”
The two exchanged puzzled looks before Adam turned toward Terrence.
“Are you guys actually going to dig deeper into this? Those cars were worth millions. What happened? Did you and Ivan try to find out who burned them down? Wasn’t there CCTV footage?”
Terrence sighed.
“There is. But the cameras are connected to the surrounding apartments too, so we need special permissions and have to go through all the legal procedures before we can access the footage. It’s taking some time, but we should have it soon.”
“So it won’t be long?” Adam asked.
“It shouldn’t be.”
Adam nodded, satisfied.
“Of course it won’t. Those cars were incredibly important to Ivan. There’s no way he’s going to let this go.”
He glanced toward Ivan and gave a knowing smile.
“Once we find out who did it, I bet you’re going to make their life a living hell.”
Ivan didn’t respond. Instead, he picked up another full glass of whiskey.
He picked it up and took a long swallow, letting the burn spread down his throat. He said nothing, simply continued drinking, his expression dark and cold.
At the same time, Zoe stormed into the club.
Her heels struck the floor in quick, furious beats as she marched past the bartender. Without even breaking stride, she snatched a tall glass of beer from the counter and headed straight for the private seating area in the center of the room.
Zoe rounded the back of the couch and, without hesitation, tipped the entire glass over Ivan’s head.
Beer drenched his hair and streamed down the side of his face.
Ivan froze.
For one stunned second, the entire table went silent.
Then he shot to his feet.
“What the fuck?”
His chair scraped violently across the floor as he spun around, fury flashing across his face.
“What the fuck is going on?”
He dragged a hand through his soaked hair, wiping the whiskey from his face as he stared at Zoe in disbelief.
Zoe stepped around the couch until she stood directly in front of him.
Without breaking eye contact, she tossed the empty glass onto the floor.
Crash!
The glass shattered, fragments scattering across the polished floor.
Ivan instinctively stepped back.
His three friends jolted to their feet, startled by the sudden confrontation. Terrence was the first to find his voice.
“Zoe?” he demanded, staring at her in confusion. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
Ivan’s anger only intensified. His jaw clenched as he glared at her, whiskey dripping from his hair onto his expensive shirt.
“Have you lost your damn mind?”
Zoe scoffed, her breath coming out sharply as she stared at Ivan, fury burning in her eyes.
“How dare you slap Rose?”
Her voice cracked through the private room.
“Did you even think about what you were doing before you lost your fucking mind?” she demanded, her anger rising with every word. She stood directly in front of him, her face twisted with disgust as she glared at him.
For a moment, Ivan said nothing. His eyes hardened, his jaw tightening as his own anger began to rise.
“You’re such a fucking asshole,” Zoe snapped. “You don’t deserve any happiness in your life. I hope you never get married. A two-timing rat like you has no business marrying someone else.”
She took a furious breath, refusing to let him interrupt.
“I hope you end up alone, because you don’t deserve to have anyone by your side. You’re a disgusting human being. I thought you were just an asshole, but it turns out you’re a fucking loser too.”
Her voice shook with rage.
“How could you slap Rose?”
Ivan’s expression darkened.
“Watch yourself, Zoe.”
“Or what?”
His jaw clenched.
“This is between me and Rose. None of you have anything to do with what happens between us.”
Zoe let out a sharp, humorless laugh.
“There is nothing between you and her anymore. The moment you put your hands on her, you crossed a line. You don’t get to slap her and then expect everyone else to sit back and pretend it’s none of their business.”
She stepped closer, her eyes blazing.
“Don’t forget that you’re not the only person in her life. Rose has people who love her. She has people who will stand up for her. And that slap you put across her face is going to have consequences, whether you like it or not.”
Ivan stared at her, his expression hard.
“You’re making a big deal out of nothing.”
Zoe's eyes widened in disbelief.
“Are you fucking serious?”
Her voice rose again.
“I thought you were just angry and venting when I heard about it, but you’re actually sitting here acting like you did nothing wrong. You haven’t even apologized!”
“She did something wrong,” Ivan snapped. “That’s why she was punished.”
Zoe stared at him as if she could barely believe what she was hearing.
“Punished?”
She laughed bitterly.
“You actually think you had the right to punish her?”
Ivan’s expression remained cold.
“It was her fault. She broke something important to me. She knew exactly what she was doing.”
Zoe shook her head, disgust written plainly across her face.
“You know what? You are not an asshole. No. You are a fucking abuser!”
Ivan dropped onto the couch, his face icy, breathing heavily with fury burning through his veins.