Chapter 22 – Scarlett POV
Early Morning – Scarlett's secret Apartment inside the calloway home .
I was still half-asleep when my phone buzzed.
It was Jason.
"Letty, babe. Morning," he said, his voice warm but tense.
"Hey Morning, babe," I answered, rubbing my eyes. "You okay?"
"I… I don't know. I had a weird feeling. That's why I called," he said. "You know how Lana is acting lately. And that's why I never wanted you to get too friendly with them. They're not good people, Letty. I'm no angel, but compared to them…"
"You're scaring me. Are you okay, Jason is there something ?"
"Yeah, yeah. It's just… Lana sent me a weird message earlier."
"What did she say?"
He hesitated. "She said, 'Come to our old place. We have a pet problem to solve , but lana don't have a pet so ...'"
My heart skipped. "Pet problem , without a pet ?"
"Yeah," he said. "I think she's talking about… an old victim of ours."
I nearly laughed. "Victim?"
Jason quickly backtracked. "You know, nothing serious. Maybe I misunderstood. I'll go check first before jumping to conclusions."
"And where's your old place, exactly?"
"Oh, you know it — Jadore Café. It's even close to Best Auto Society."
"Ah, that café… Okay. Take care of yourself, and tell me what happens, okay?"
"Yeah. I mean, maybe it's nothing."
But we both knew better.
Later That Day – Julia's POV
I was sipping my morning coffee when my phone rang. Scarlett.
"Julia," she said, sounding amused, "I think Sharon figured it out after the wall message."
I blinked, confused. "What? What wall message?"
She chuckled. "I wrote something… on the Calloway wall. Yesterday."
I nearly choked on my drink. "Scar! Why would you do that?! I thought we agreed to go slow!"
"And we are going slow, Julia. Relax," she replied, still laughing. "Besides, look — the old team is back. They invited Jason to their old spot. Jadore Café. They're probably planning something against me."
I sighed. "Seriously? Four against one and you're laughing?"
"No, no. Now it's three against two," she said. "I've got you. And Jason would never hurt me. Especially if he finds out Letty is actually Scarlett…"
I gasped. "Scarlett… you're playing with fire , and you know that ."
"Don't worry. Tomorrow, I'll sit just behind them. Listen to everything they say."
I almost yelled. "What?! But if they see you — if Letty just shows up behind them out of nowhere — they'll start putting the pieces together!"
She laughed again. "Relax. I'll be incognito. Cap, hoodie, mask. I'll sit behind Sharon, keep my head down, stay quiet. I'll be a ghost or no a ninja in the shadow thats better ."
"Scarlett, don't act crazy. It's too early for them to find out who you really are."
"Trust me, Julia. I got this."
Then she hung up.
And I had the sickest feeling in my chest that the storm had only just begun.