SCARLET
Scarlet was sleeping in Ariella and Asher's marital bed with a smile plastered on her face. She was celebrating the fact that she was finally getting Asher back. He wasn't really hers yet, but with her plan, she was sure that Asher was going to be hers sooner rather than later. She just had to come up with a plan to get rid of Ariella, so she could finally have her man back all to herself.
Suddenly, her phone rang. She looked at the phone and saw that it was an unknown number. She picked it up with nervousness, not sure about taking the call.
"Hello?"
"Yes, my Rose." She heard a voice that she thought she was familiar with, but what got to her was the name that the voice had used.
"I'm sorry, you must have the wrong number," she said, ready to hang up the phone.
"Don't hang up. You will regret it." The firmness in the voice made her stop and continue listening, curiosity and a little fear took hold of her whole body.
"Who is this?" she asked cautiously.
"You know who this is, Scarlet," the voice replied with a hint of menace.
Scarlet's heart raced as she tried to place the voice. It sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.
"What do you want?" she demanded, trying to keep her voice steady.
"You know what I want," the voice said. "I heard that you suddenly appeared from the dead. You were kidnapped and held for years. That's such devastating news," the voice added with a hint of sarcasm, laughing cruelly.
Scarlet's heart pounded even faster. "What do you want? Just tell me what you want and leave me alone."
"I'm going to send you something right now on your phone. I want you to look at it and then when I call next time, I want you to answer with an attitude that goes with what I will send you." The voice hung up abruptly, leaving Scarlet in a state of panic.
Scarlet nearly threw her phone in frustration. Someone knew something, and that was why they called her "Rose."
A few minutes later, her phone buzzed with incoming messages. She opened them and her eyes widened in shock. The photos showed her life when she had been kidnapped, lounging in the sunset, in a bikini, topless, and on top of a man having a drink, enjoying herself. The images kept coming, each one more incriminating than the last.
Scarlet ground her teeth in anger. Who could have taken these photos? And how did they get them? Her mind raced with thoughts of who could be behind this. The photos were clear and detailed, showing her in moments she thought were private.
As she stared at the images, her phone rang again. It was the same unknown number. She hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Hello," she said, trying to keep her voice steady.
"Did you get the pictures?" the voice asked.
"Yes," she replied through gritted teeth.
"Good. Now you know what I have on you. If you want to keep these photos from reaching Asher, you'll do exactly as I say"
"Just tell me what you want already so I can get it over with," Scarlet demanded, her voice trembling.
"I want two billion," the voice replied calmly.
"Two billion?" Scarlet repeated, panicking. "For what?"
"I need a lot of things from you, Scarlet, and I'm going to get every single one of them. The money is just the beginning."
"Where do you think I'm going to get two billion dollars from? I don't have that kind of money." She gritted out angrily.
"I don't care. Last I checked, your family has some money."
"Yes, we have some money, but it's in the company. I can't just take two billion and give it to you. I don't run the company."
"Yes, but Asher is a very, very rich man. I'm sure two billion isn't a lot to ask for."
"Asher has a lot of money, but he doesn't just have two billion lying around in the house, that I can just take and bring to you. How will he give me such a huge amount of money? What am I going to tell him I need the money for?"
"I don't know. I don't care. But as you keep on thinking about how to repay me my money, I need to meet you at the Vill Hotel tonight at 8. Wear something sexy. It's going to set the mood for what I have in mind."
"What's this about? I'm not about to come to a hotel and meet you. I don't even know who you are and what you want." She scoffed,
"Oh, please. You already know what I want, and you're already going to do it, so be there." Before the voice could hang up, Scarlet shouted
"Wait! I can't meet you in a hotel. Everybody knows me as Asher's fiancée, and someone might see me. This is not good for me. The media is stalking me, you're going to destroy everything."
"That's your problem to figure out. Be there at 8, or these photos go to Asher. Your choice." The voice hung up, leaving Scarlet feeling trapped and desperate.
After a few minutes, she called the number again. "What?" the voice shouted at her.
"Don't talk to me like that," Scarlet shouted back.
"Well, well, it seems like you haven't known your place yet, have you?"
"No, wait, I can't meet you at the hotel."
The man laughed. She let him have his laugh and then continued,
"I was gifted a house. Nobody, I don't think anybody remembers about it, but it is in great condition and nobody would think to look there. Let's meet there instead of a hotel because that is going to leave too much evidence behind."
"Looks like you're still as cunning as ever, not the little puppy you've been playing in the media."
"Let's just meet there, okay?"
"Remembering how cunning you were, I am a bit reluctant to meet you in a place set by your own location."
"Listen, I would never do anything to you. What do you think I would do to you?"
"You're very dangerous, Scarlet. But just as security, I want you to know if anything were to happen to me when the two of us meet, the photos won't only go to Asher. I will make sure the whole world finds out about where you really were these past few years. I am sure people are curious and would love nothing but to know the truth about you."
"Stop threatening me." Scarlet gritted through clenched teeth.
"Okay, fine. Just be there. Let's meet and get this over with. Are you coming with my two billion dollars?"
Scarlet stayed silent, her anger bubbling inside. The voice on the other end hung up, leaving her seething with frustration and fear.
Scarlett decided that she had to start gathering the money and maybe, if she could get as much as she could, she would pay this person off and they would leave her alone. She decided to start with her brother, Thompson Bennett, before going to Asher's office to see what she could do to get money from him.
When she arrived at the Bennett company, she found her brother inside with his secretary, all over each other.
"Get out," she shouted at Thompson's secretary.
The secretary looked at her, startled, and ran out of the door. Thompson smirked as he started gathering himself and putting himself in order.
"Sister, to what do I owe this pleasure?" he said, still smirking.
"I wish you would stop this. It's not a great image for the company," Scarlett told him.
"Whatever you say. You have been gone for years and I've been handling the company just fine," Thompson replied.
"Yes, after Dad died."
"All thanks to you, I'm afraid," Thompson said, still smirking at her.
"This is no time for jokes. This is serious."
"What's going on?" Thompson asked, starting to get serious as he looked at his sister.
"Someone called me, today. They are threatening me."
"What could they threaten you about?"
"It's about my past. You don't need to know the details, but they demanded two billion."
Thompson's eyes widened. "What? Two billion?" He started whistling, wide-eyed. "That's a lot of money."
"Yes. Is there some money you can collect for me and give me real quick? I have to meet this person tonight."
"I don't know. Maybe I could get you a million. Tops."
"A million? This person wants two billion dollars" Scarlett shouted at him, unable to contain her anger.
"Maybe I can get at least two million. The company isn't doing as well as it did before Dad's passing."
"I need the money, Thompson. I need it now. This could blow everything out of hand. My life, and yours too, included. You know how cunning Asher is. If he finds out about this, not only would I be on the line, but our whole family, the Bennetts, would be on the line. You know his wrath."