Maisara's pov

The blank screen comes to life. It has a dark red background, the same color as the roses Felix gave me the other day, with a few swirling smoke-like shadows. A moment later, a robotic female voice comes through the speaker along with writings on the screen that says, "The life of Ryker Reyes, a dutiful son, caring brother, and loyal lover. Do you know he is more than that? Let's see what else we can show that you don't know about him."

My stomach drops. That's not his video. That's mine.

"Oh, shit!" Vicky whispers at the same time as I whip my head in her direction, throwing daggers with my eyes. Her dumbfounded eyes find me and the instant panic flashes behind them. "It's not me, I swear." If yelling in whispers is a thing, that's what she is doing now. "I removed everything and double-checked. I didn't do that."

"Then how is this happening?" I hiss, beneath my breath as my eyes return back on the screen. There is a single microphone icon on the screen as a phone call recording is playing in the background. The call is between Ryker and Oliver planning the destruction of a random girl. At first, I thought about adding the conversation about me but later canceled it because we found so many others to choose from.

Oliver's sugar-coated voice vibrates through the air. "Sir, how nice of you-"

Ryker cuts him off. "Did you finish the job?"

Again Oliver's saccharine tone makes an appearance. "Which one?"

"The current one," Ryker makes a serpentine noise and the rest of his words are replaced with a metallic censored noise as he uses profanities. When the cursing is done, the censored noise is replaced by his voice. "Brush piece."

That's the code name for the girl. They have one for every single girl.

An atrocious laugh. That's from Oliver's side. When he starts talking again, his tone has a hint of humor in it. "That one is not being very obedient. So I disciplined her a bit."

"Be careful. That one got treasures." That's Ryker's response before the call is cut off. They keep the conversation precise but one small mistake gives it away. Oliver should have used 'it' instead of 'her'.

"What do we do now?" Vicky asks quietly, with a shaky voice. I resist the urge to glance at her. Instead, my eyes travel to find Ryker.

He finally gets the fact that this is not his presentation. This is his ruination. The change in his facial expression is borderline comical. The way his satisfied and egoistic face turns into a face of pure horror within a second is heavenly satisfying. This makes me remember why I decided to go down this path in the first place. There is a remote in his hand that controls the screen. He is furiously pressing buttons on it. It's not doing its job.

"We watch," I reply to Vicky's question, relaxing back on my seat, a satisfying smirk making its way on my lips.

The video continues. The screen now shows a smiling face of Ryker and the female voice from earlier keeps going, "Alongside his main job as a dedicated office worker, Mr. Ryker Reyes has also adopted a part-time job to provide for himself, as one job isn't enough for him."

A little bit of sarcasm never hurts anyone and so we go along that path. His main job pays him a handsome salary. He can easily afford life after his marriage with that alone. He didn't do all those shits for money.

"We can call his side hustle a 'business'. He has a business partner as well, the gentleman with whom we heard his phone call. The name of his business partner is Mr. Oliver Carter. Like Mr. Ryker, Mr. Oliver has a main job as well. He is the Head of the famous IT farm, HypeTech, New York branch."

Now a grinning-faced Oliver is shown on the screen along with a picture of my office building. Fortunately, Oliver is also invited to the wedding. I've seen him earlier. It doesn't take long to find out where he is sitting. A few tables ahead, to my right. He is staring at the screen dumbfounded with his mouth hanging open. I bet he never imagined witnessing such a fate for himself, even in his wildest dreams. Personally, I have no beef with him; he's the one who has come after me.

As if it isn't enough, he has brought his family to the wedding. His wife, sitting beside him, is glaring at him with such intensity that if they weren't in a public setting, she would definitely beat the living shit out of him.

As I turn my head to look back at the screen, Felix's eyes clash with mine. I take a deep breath. As always he is staring at me. This time, however, I don't feel butterflies in my stomach from his look. Instead, dread sits heavy in my stomach.

Does he know it's me? Does he suspect? It's not strange or difficult to suspect me of dooming Ryker. In fact, I should be the prime suspect.

Felix's eyes hold no expression, however. No suspicion, no hatred, no anger, not even the usual admiration they usually hold when he keeps looking at me like that. There is nothing.

He is not looking away either. The whole exposure going on on the big screen and he is staring at me.

I turn my eyes back at the screen. This is probably the first time I have failed to recognize his expression. And I highly fear the next time we meet, it won't be the same. That is if we can meet again, if he forgives me for ruining his brother's life.

The screen is now showing the transaction history we found in Oliver's bank history. It's constantly changing. Both of them have earned more than one can imagine through this project. The female voice continues in the background, "You may have already guessed what the business is." An enthusiastic turn in her robotic tone. "Yes! You are right! The business involves extortion and blackmailing. What is an easier option to make lots of money other than that?"

"Why the fuck the remote isn't working?" Ryker yells out, snatching our attention back to him. He looks like a madman—his face red with anger, his hair disheveled, and his tie hanging as if he has tried to yank it off in a hurry but failed. He is frantically looking left and right like a lost person, occasionally fumbling with the remote, hitting it, and doing anything else to make it work. It won't work.

Our plan was to disconnect the remote from the screen. If Vicky didn't do that, whoever did, seems to have followed our plan.

This creates another potential risk. Whoever is that can be a new enemy, can be someone who has eavesdropped on us and can use this against us later.

Subconsciously, I glance over my shoulder. The white decorative board stares back at me from behind the peach-colored chiffon curtains. I turn my eyes to the front.

The screen is now showing three pictures, one is Ryker's, one is Oliver's, and the last one is an image of both of them shaking hands. That one is a bit blurry because we took it from a surveillance camera footage and attached it here. I should probably stop saying 'we' because I did next to nothing in this project, most of the work was done by Vicky.

The narration continues, "...... started when they first found out that they got a common person who angered both of them." The first victim's name is not mentioned here like every other victims' but I know the name. It's Daisy Hill. The person I used to call my sister.

The world is surely a small place.

"The number of their targets over three years is assumed to be over sixty. We know, like all businesses, this one has some potential risks. For that, two brilliant partners, Mr. Oliver and Mr. Ryker set down some ground rules which can be the secret of their success for-"

Ryker again interrupts. Somehow his brain has connected the dots and reached the conclusion that this whole thing is my doing. If he had the superpower, his look alone would burn me to ashes. When my eyes meet his fierce one, he lets out a wild roar followed by some pretty offensive profanities. Between all those colorful words, whatever he says goes something like this, "You did this! You ruined my life! Think you can get away with that? Just wait until I get my hands on you."

To prove his point, he takes two or three quick steps, almost breaking into a run before someone grabs him. Surprisingly, it is Ian. With the sudden force he stops him, I am surprised they haven't ended up on the ground. Collective gasps reach my ear as I watch Ryker whip his head toward Ian, ready to throw hands with him.

Ian doesn't give him the chance. He doesn't restrain his movement but rather whispers something in his ear. Obviously, I don't know what it is but the color drains from Ryker's face instantly. From where I am sitting, I can't see Ian's face. Without another word, Ryker returns to his seat and slumps down on it. Ian turns around and meets my gaze. He offers me a wide smile, eyes sparkling with his usual mischief. He even gives me a two-finger salute with a wink before walking away.

My eyes find Felix next. I find him staring at his brother. He looks quite normal until I find his hands almost forcefully shoved into his pockets. His spine is as straight as an arrow. The gaze in his eyes is enough to make someone, in this case, Ryker, freeze. In another world, he may have the superpower of frostbite, freezing people by only the look of his eyes. I return my attention back to the screen.

The screen is now showing the 'rules' they followed which helped them get this far without much trouble. "......helpless and desperate females. Males can be a bit tacky to deal with but not impossible. Point number two, always helping them first is the easiest way to get back at them later. If you can make them feel like they owe you that works as a bonus point. Point number three, the one-time using method is the most effective. There is a high chance of getting caught up in trouble if you hit your target twice. Last and most important point, any connections or relations between targets is highly prohibited."

I lean back on the chair shifting my ass a little. My injured leg is feeling heavy and the uninjured one is in pins and needles. Shifting the uninjured one to a better place, I focus my attention back on the presentation.

"There's no doubt they've built a highly profitable business, more successful than many others. However, anyone with common sense knows that what they're doing is illegal. It's criminal activity, plain and simple. That's why we can't let them get away with it. We've already made the necessary arrangements to turn them over to law enforcement—now it's up to the authorities to handle the rest."

That's the cue when police enter the venue. The rest is kind of chaos. Four uniformed officers stride in, the sound of their footsteps heavy on the soft grass. Once again, the guests make collective gasps, some even stand up in alarm. One baby starts crying, its mother quickly gets into the work of hushing it.

"Mr. Ryker Reyes," one of the officers starts with a commanding tone, stopping in front of the table where the bride and the groom are sitting. "You are under arrest for your active involvement in blackmailing, extortion, and the torturing of multiple young women."

For the first time since the whole thing has started, I look at Lydia. Her existence has somehow slipped out of my mind. She is the one for whom I decided to withdraw the exposure of her husband. How did I forget her?

Seeing her obviously breaks my heart. She reminds me of a lost kitten, staring up at the officers and then looking at her husband with tears running down her face, not knowing what to do.

Another thing catches my eye. She is not surprised to know Ryker's involvement in criminal activities. Did she know already? Did Ryker use her in any way?

My eyes travel to Ryker next. I'm seriously curious to know what the hell Ian said to Ryker because he hasn't once looked up since then, not even when the Police walk behind him and cuff his wrists.

When the police start taking him away, she grabs his wrist. This time finally Ryker looks up from the ground and glances at her. "Please, don't take him away," she begs the Police, then turns to Ryker. "Baby, please!"

More tears spill out of her eyes and she starts hiccups. Ryker pulls his hand out of her grip and starts walking with the Police. Behind her, Lydia breaks down. Her bridesmaid pulls her away.

Oliver, on the other hand, takes a chance to escape as the commotion is going on and all the attention is on Ryker. He swiftly jumps from his seat and bolts in the opposite direction. Of course, the police chase after him. But it is his wife who catches him, tackling him from behind. Their body hit the ground with a sickening thud and roll off as they keep struggling. Finally, the police separate them. The one holding Oliver puts a cuff on his wrists instantly. "You are also coming with us, Mr. Oliver Carter."

His wife snarls at him, freeing herself from the officer holding her. "You did every sort of sin in your life and I endured all that. Not anymore."

When she starts walking back to her seat, I suddenly realize I know her. Not exactly I can remember who she is, but I have met her before. The name isn't coming into my mind at this moment.

As the police are taking them away, a deep voice stops them. "Wait."

All the remaining guests dramatically look at the owner of the voice at the same time. It's Mr. Reyes, Felix and Ryker's dad who strides in. He simply walks over to his younger son and slaps him hard across the face. The sound is so loud, it makes me flinch. Another collective gasp from the crowd. I'm surprised that they still get shocked after all that has happened.

"I have many regrets in my life and you are just added to them. I wish you were never born." Such strong and hurtful words, yet he says them so simply, without even blinking an eye. He then turns to the police and says, "Take him away."

The police take Ryker and Oliver out of the venue. The front yard suddenly falls into stunned silence, and only Lydia's sobbing rings through the air.