The Contract Said No Strings Attached (Charlotte) novel Chapter 233

Crystal sat in her room, nerves frayed and mind swirling with restless thoughts about her schemes.

Suddenly, her phone rang. She glanced at the screen—a call from Emily.

No sooner had she answered than Emily’s wailing burst through the speaker. “Crystal, help me! Please, help me!”

Crystal’s brow immediately creased in irritation. Typical Emily—always dramatic, always losing her head over the smallest thing.

She considered hanging up right then, but a nagging worry held her back. What if something serious had actually happened?

Suppressing her impatience, she forced herself to sound calm. “What’s going on? Why are you screaming like that?”

Emily’s voice was thick with tears. “Crystal, my plan failed. Someone attacked me—I got beaten up, and my face... they slashed my face.”

Crystal froze, stunned. “What are you talking about? What happened?”

Emily sobbed, struggling to get the words out. “I don’t even know. Somebody brought me here with a bag over my head, beat me up. Crystal, you have to get me out of here.”

Crystal gritted her teeth, silently cursing. Useless. I send you to do one thing and you manage to screw it up this badly.

She wanted nothing more than to march over and give Emily a piece of her mind, but she held back. Now wasn’t the time for anger.

Taking a deep breath, Crystal forced herself to think rationally, already weighing the possible consequences. If anyone found out Emily was acting on her orders, Crystal herself would be dragged into the mess.

Fear snaked through her, tightening around her throat. What if everything unraveled? What if it all traced back to her?

“Calm down. Can you tell me where you are?” Crystal asked, voice clipped.

Emily hiccuped. “I don’t know. They blindfolded me before bringing me here—it’s pitch black, I can’t see anything.”

It was only at that moment that she truly understood—Crystal had abandoned her, without a second thought.

“Crystal, how could you do this to me?” she whispered, tears blurring her vision.

She had done everything Crystal asked, gone along with every plan, and this was her reward.

Regret overwhelmed her. Why had she ever agreed to help Crystal? Why had she let herself get dragged into this mess?

Now, she was battered, her face slashed, left in a place she didn’t recognize, with no one to care whether she lived or died.

...

Back at home, the four kids acted as if nothing had happened. Not one of them mentioned Emily, nor did anyone bring up the incident again.