Chapter 25

Elena arrived breathless, clearly having rushed. Yet, she pretended their meeting was coincidental.

From the moment she appeared, Kevin's gaze kept drifting towards Elena. In that instant, I understood whose orders he was following.

When our eyes met, he quickly averted his gaze, guilt evident in his expression. He couldn't fool me.

"Julian, Serena has a boyfriend now. We should wish them happiness," Elena said, smoothly approaching and linking her arm through Julian's.

I silently sneered, offering no comment.

"That's impossible!" Julian glared at Kevin, his teeth clenched. "How could you possibly be Serena's boyfriend?"

"Why not?" Kevin smirked. "Your current girlfriend is beautiful and kind, so why prevent someone like Serena from being my girlfriend?"

I frowned. I didn't care if Kevin groveled before his sugar mommy, but why involve me? What did he mean by "someone like Serena"? Was he implying someone like me could only end up with someone like him?

Seeing my silence, Kevin raised his hand to touch me.

Enough!

I sidestepped his hand and slapped him hard.

Everything happened so quickly that Kevin stood dazed. He finally reacted, clutching his face and staring at me in disbelief.

"So what if I hit you?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you afraid I'll show your photo to everyone?" A sinister gleam flickered in his eyes as he brandished his phone.

The onlookers immediately perked up, anticipating the drama.

"And aren't you afraid I'll report your crimes to the police?" I countered, raising my phone to show him the files Alex had given me.

"You think you can scam people because of your photo-editing skills? Guess how long you'll be locked up if I send this to the police?" I raised my eyebrow again. "I only slapped you because you harassed me."

Kevin was about to speak, but I cut him off. "Don't deny it. My phone has been recording everything. I have the evidence." Seeing the files I’d sent, Kevin crumbled.

"Be honest," I leaned closer, my gaze fixed on Elena. "Reveal the mastermind, or I won't let you off easily!"

Kevin's eyes were filled with panic and guilt.

"Kevin, think carefully," Elena warned, her tone threatening. "Don't make baseless accusations. Accusing the innocent is bad, but taking the fall for someone else is worse," I added, standing beside Kevin. I held the advantage.

Unlike Elena, who worked hard for her goals, I achieved mine easily. After much internal struggle, Kevin finally confessed.

"Someone instructed me," he admitted, his voice low and tense. "Everything was because someone paid me. I was following orders. I'm sorry."