"We will keep this for evidence." The police officer said as he stood by the doorway. "I will also ensure to increase police visibility in the area." He looked around, making sure the perpetrator was nowhere near them. "Be vigilant and don't hesitate to call me when you need to." He handed his card to Isa and left.
Isa locked her door and barricaded the broken window with her book shelf. "Are you okay?" Debbie asked Isa, who was obviously shocked by the threat they had just received.
Isa blew out her cheeks and sat on their dining chair and stared blankly at the floor with the pieces of broken glass. "I'm not sure, is this that creepy Cayden? Bella has so many bashers, I'm not actually sure who it could be, since there are so many people wanting to kill me right now." She blurted out in frustration.
Debbie cleaned up the broken glasses on the floor. "I'm sorry; I did not expect this gig to be this dangerous." She was sincere. She is the elder sister, and she feels guilty about putting Isa in the situation.
"It's not your fault. My mouth is just like a wrecking ball, it destroyed other's opinion of love." Isa spoke like words are water from a faucet, free flowing yet void of emotions. She glanced in Debbie's direction and realized they were both burdened today, and there was no room for more sulking. "Let's go to sleep and hope that tomorrow will be better." She said and sighed.
***
"Girls, hmm, something weird is happening." Jack scratches his head while looking at the emails they had just received.
Debbie and Isa walked over to see the emails, and they instantly knew somebody was behind all these. "Are there negative campaigns against us?" Isa asked Jack, who was assigned to monitor their social media handles.
He placed his arms across his chest. "Hmm nothing, out of the ordinary. The bashers are still the minority." He confirmed to the sisters. "That's why sponsors pulling out from the program is completely unprecedented," he added.
Isa is sure the incident last night is related to this mess. "They are clearly trying to get into our nerves." She said to the group. "What's our plan?" Isa asked her sister, Debbie.
Debbie tapped her pen on the table as if she was thinking deeply. "Let's see how things turn out later. We will check the trends. I'm sure no one can manipulate all our possible sponsors. We are not against the mafia or some billionaires, aren't we?" She added a little humor at the depressing start of their day.
They went about their day, although Isa noticed something different. She caught Jack and her sister talking to each other and would stop when she was around. Suddenly, she felt like an outsider in her own circle of friends. The only friends she has. Isa shrugged it off, not wanting to dwell on it and nurture that feeling.
Days passed and Debbie got answers from the sponsors that pulled out, but none of them had enough reason that the trio could consider legitimate. Their views haven't changed and the engagement with their listeners is still outstanding. This made Isa think that there was truly someone bigger behind this incident. Because of the lack of sponsors, their initial run to shorten this gig is now foiled.
"We have another problem," Jack said, and honestly hated it that he was the bearer of bad news.
The sisters did not look too excited to find out the new problem that had just arrived. "Aaah, what is it this time?" Debbie asked Jack.
"The Bella Merch we ordered abroad is all damaged. The sorting center said there was a problem with our parcel. The box burned so most of it turned into ashes and the saved garments were soaking wet and muddy." Jack explained the fate of the merchandise they had waited for weeks now.
Isa and Debbie are truly disheartened. It is as if nothing has been going right in the past few days. Not a single penny was placed in their bank accounts since the pull-out. Isa noticed her sister spacing out as if she had something troubling her profoundly.
Isa was not sure how to approach her sister about it. She is definitely not the sisterly type of person, though it is not too late to try. She is definitely keeping it in mind. "Let's just cancel the launch of our merch." Isa paused and took a deep sigh. "We have insurance for that package, so let's just use that for now." She thought as a bandaid solution. The greater threat is still there, and the worst thing is, they don't know who they are going up against.
After the podcast, Isa found Debbie and Jack, again talking privately. These private talks are starting to get into her nerves. Though she is not the type to confront, she is planning to get some gist of what is happening.
She went to her room, and Debbie followed. She changed clothes. It was rather strange because it was late and it looked like she was about to go out. Isa did not dare ask, but Debbie was not trying to hide it either. She wore a black dress that hugged her slim waist beautifully. Debbie simply placed her long hair in a neat bun. It also made her look more classy as she already is.
"Sis, I'm going out today. Jack set me up on a blind date." She said as she was fixing her makeup in front of the mirror. "Will you be fine alone in here?" Debbi asked Isa.
Isa suddenly felt wrong about thinking that there was something suspicious going on with her sister and Jack. "No, I'm okay. Don't mind me." She assured Debbie that she would be fine with her being alone at home. It's not like this is her first time being alone, and the police are on alert around their area.
She bid goodbye to her sister and handed her the extra key. 'I might drift away to wonderland and not be able to wait for you." She smiled, wanting to make her sister feel more comfortable with the arrangement. Debbie left and thanked her sister and reminded her to lock the door.
Isa turned her back from the door, looking at her apartment alone in the dark. She felt this place had better energy than before, but these past few days, the good vibes were slowly withering into the abyss. There was a feeling of sadness that she could not point to, an aura of uneasiness that she could not just let go of. This is one of the days that one will just feel unlucky. Though it had been more than just a day, it almost felt that she could not escape these ill-fated circumstances. "Am I bound for doom?" Isa asked herself as she could see strays of light escaping the window barrier Jack placed on the broken window.
She sat at the dining table where Debbie left her laptop. Isa instinctively checked her social media handles. Isa could not believe her eyes; she wiped both with her hands as she tried to absorb what had just happened. Bella Moore was tagged more than a thousand times and, as she browsed each and every tag, there were stolen of Debbie. Her info was all over the internet, as Bella Moore.
She was dumbfounded how her photos leaked and was tracked back as Bella. This is a sacred deal between the three of them, and she was careful with the bank transfers not to be traced to any of them. Debbie actually used crypto-currencies just to get anonymity with the transactions.
Isa picked up her phone and called Jack. She was not sure how she will break this news to her sister. "Hello, girl!" There was a tone of panic in Isa's voice.
"I know. Tell me about it." Jack answered, as if life had just left him. They both exhaled heavily at the peril they found themselves in. "This is bad." He said every word in Isa's mind right now.
"Well maybe it's not so bad?" She was trying to ease into the situation. "I mean, the comments are not that bad. Most are actually good feedback about how gorgeous she is." Isa pointed it out to Jack. "Also, some here are saying that she is what and how they picture Bella in their minds." She added.
"I don't know sis, perhaps you should ask her first." Jack was adamant to give his two cents.
Isa agreed and ended the call. She patiently waited for her sister to come home. The long wait is killing her already. She was forming the right words to make the situation seem harmless for all of them. "We can turn this into something useful for our campaign."Isa stopped and bit her nails. "Is that convincing enough?" Isa thought to herself.
Isa heard the door unlock, she turned her head waiting for Debbie to enter the door. Isa stood up and walked towards her sister. Her face is undeniably gloomy, it kind of gave Isa a hint of what was on her sister's mind. "Hey , sis. How was your date?" She asked with a little intro.
Debbie raised her hand to stop Isa from saying more. Debbie did not waste time and went on in for the gist of her bad mood. "I just got fired from my job."