"Stella, you have to compose yourself and find a way out of this mess." Stella took in a deep breath to steady her breathing. She checked her wristwatch and saw that she had less than four minutes to Raphael's deadline.
"What should I do now?" Stella muttered to herself. "I don't know if Raphael is bluffing or if Valerie told him about...what a second! Something isn't right."
Stella recalled that the only information Raphael had given her was Lucas's name. This name happened to be the same name Valerie had maliciously given the previous night.
"If Valerie reveals my identity to Raphael, that means she'll be ruining her chances of getting Adrian. Surely she wouldn't expect me to go down without a fight and that could be bad for her. There is only one way to solve this problem."
Stella went up to her bedroom, shut the door, and dialled Valerie's number.
"Valerie, did you..."
