Chapter 3

The results of Zachary's investigation were in three days later.

I never found out the details, but from what happened next, it was clear Ethan bought it. He never came looking for me again.

Two whole weeks of peace passed by. I thought the worst was over. But Iris showed up.

That afternoon, I was at a café, rushing to finish a translation.

A shadow fell across my desk. I looked up. A woman was standing in front of me.

Long hair cascaded over her shoulders, her makeup flawless, and she wore a cream-colored trench coat. She looked like she'd stepped right out of a magazine.

Her eyes were rimmed with red, her nose slightly pink. She looked like she'd been crying.

Iris was Ethan's first love. The fragile girl from the original story who had a breakdown and left the country because of the "affair" between Nora and Ethan.

How did she find me?

"Are you Nora?" Her voice was soft, a little raspy, with a fragile, vulnerable air about her.

I set my pen down and nodded.

"May I sit down?" she asked.

"Please," I said.

She took the seat across from me, her eyes still red, staring at me in silence for a few seconds before she finally spoke, "That night, what really happened between you and Ethan?"

I met her gaze.

In the original story, when Iris confronted Nora, Nora freaked out. She denied it, tried to explain, but made things messier. In the end, Iris burst into tears and ran away.

After that, she left the country. And Ethan took all his anger out on Nora.

But this time, my answer was different. "Nothing happened."

"Really?" Iris bit her lip. "But that's not what I've heard..."

"Who told you that?"

She froze for a second.

"Who told you about this?" I pressed her. "Think about it. Only three people knew what happened that night.

"I had no reason to say anything. And Ethan would never have told you himself. So, who put that idea in your head?"

Iris's expression shifted. The hurt look faded, replaced by a subtle wariness. "That doesn't matter..."

"It does," I said, keeping my voice calm but firm. "Iris, let me lay it all out for you.

"That night, someone spiked both my drink and Ethan's, then shoved me into his room.

"When I finally came to my senses, I took a cold shower for three hours and left the hotel.

"Nothing happened between us at all. Ethan has already investigated everything himself."

Her lips parted. "Then..."

"So, the real question isn't what happened between him and me," I said, meeting her gaze. "It's who's out to get the three of us."

My words shattered the calm like a pebble tossed into a quiet lake. Iris's expression shifted. Gone was the hurt and suspicion, replaced by a flicker of fear.

She was smart.

Or maybe, in the original story, her "breakdown" happened way too suddenly and was way too intense.

A normal person, hearing their boyfriend had been drugged and that something had happened with another woman, would be furious. They'd confront him, not break down and flee abroad.

Unless she was already unstable. Or unless someone was stirring things up behind the scenes.

I'd always had a nagging feeling that something was off in the original story. Since I was actually living it, I was even more certain that there was a fourth player orchestrating all of this.

Iris sat there for a long time. When she finally stood up, she shot me a look, scrutinizing, uncertain, and maybe, maybe, with a touch of gratitude.

"Thank you for telling me all this," she said.

"You're welcome," I replied.

She walked away.

I watched her go, finally letting out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding.

In the original story, it was a deadlock, the three of us tangled up in misunderstandings and hurting each other.

Ethan thought I'd used that night to my advantage. Iris believed I'd stolen her man. And no matter how I tried to explain, nobody would believe me.

But the truth? We were all pawns on someone else's chessboard. The real mastermind was hiding in the shadows from the very start, pulling the strings and laughing at our misery.

I had to find out who was behind all this before they made their next move.

*****

I started going over every detail from the original story.

At that party, who would've wanted to target both Ethan and me at the same time?

The original story never bothered to say who spiked our drinks. The whole point wasn't some whodunit. It was all about the angsty drama and heartbreak.

The author needed a "drugged and hooked up" plot device to kick off the angst-fest. Nobody cared who actually did it. But I did.

I spent three days racking my brain, turning over every detail I could remember from the original story: everyone who showed up at the party, all of Nora's connections, and every enemy Ethan had.

In the end, I managed to narrow it down to two suspects.

The first suspect was Jade, my cousin.

In the original story, she was the typical evil supporting character, jealous of Nora's beauty and always out to get her.

But did she really have what it takes to get her hands on knockout drugs and sneak into the Langley Group's party?

On her own? No way. But if she had help? That was a whole different story.

The second suspect was Henry Zimmerman, Ethan's business rival.

In the later chapters of the original story, there was this undercurrent that Henry had his sights set on the Langley Group.

If Ethan got tangled up in a scandal, like getting involved with a woman at the party, it'd be the ideal moment for Henry to make his move.

One had the motive, the other had the means. What if they joined forces?

The more I thought about it, the more it made sense.

Jade was jealous of Nora, and Henry wanted to take Ethan down. They were a match made in hell.

Jade would lure Nora to the party and trick her into the room.

Henry would spike Ethan's drink.

Both sides played their part, and boom. The scandal blew up.

In the original story, Nora couldn't get away, and the scandal became her reality.

Henry got the leverage he needed and kept sabotaging Ethan's business at every turn.

Jade watched Ethan torment Nora, feeling smug and loving every minute of it.

Everyone walked away a winner, except Nora.

At that thought, I clenched my fists. I was taking control of my own destiny. No one got to call the shots for me ever again.

I made up my mind. I'd drop this tip in Ethan's lap anonymously.

It was not for his sake, but for my own survival.

If Ethan figured out who the real enemy was, his rage would finally be aimed at the right person, not me.

That night, I sent an anonymous email straight to Zachary's work inbox.

The message was simple: [Check if Henry Zimmerman and Jade Sumner were behind the drugs that night.]

After sending it, I deleted the sent record. Then all I could do was wait.