Chapter 6 - The Mysterious Phone Call
Back at the birthday party inside the Thornon estate, the air was still so tight it felt hard to breathe. Henry had been taken outside to calm down. Nana Teresa remained where she was, like an imposing statue. Gabriel stood a few steps from his fianceé, yet that distance now felt like a chasm no one could cross. Evelyn quietly retreated, blending into the staff pressed along the wall. Camille tried to gather herself. “It was only a small misunderstanding,” she said, her voice higher than usual. “Let’s continue the party.” But no one responded. 300 guests stood motionless like carved figures, their eyes still pinned to Camille with curiosity, suspicion, and even contempt. They’d seen her true face.
Just then, the phone in Camille’s pocket began to ring. Camille flinched. She pulled out the phone and looked at the screen—an unknown number. She pressed to answer. “Hello,” she said, her voice still wrapped in a calm she was faking. A man’s voice came through the line, cold as ice. “Justice has finally found you, Victoria.”
Camille went rigid, her face drained in an instant. Victoria. Someone had just called her by that name. The name she’d buried for 5 years. The name she’d believed no one would ever remember again. Her real name. “Who are you?” Camille whispered into the phone. “What do you want?” But on the other end, there was only a scoffing laugh. Then the call ended. Camille stood there still holding the phone, her face white as paper. She only knew the past she’d tried to outrun had finally caught her.
Gabriel watched it all. He saw the pure fear in her eyes. “Victoria.” He’d heard that name. The name the man on the other end had used for Camille. But his Camille was Camille Ashford, not Victoria. So who was Victoria? Nana Teresa’s brow furrowed too. The room began to murmur. Whispers spread like ripples: “What just happened? Who called her? Why is she so terrified?” Camille could feel suspicion thickening the air. But before she could even open her mouth, the phone in her hand buzzed again. A text message. Camille looked down at the phone screen. “You think running to Chicago means you’ve escaped? I’m here now. Boston hasn’t forgotten you.”
The phone slipped from Camille’s hand. It hit the marble floor with a dry, cracking sound. Boston. The name struck her like a blade through the heart. The place that held the greatest sin of her life. Gabriel stepped forward, bent down, and picked up the phone. Gabriel read each word slowly. When he lifted his head, that gaze was colder than anything she’d ever seen. “Camille,” Gabriel said, his voice low and solid. “What happened in Boston?”
May you like
“He—” Camille stammered. “He’s just a mad man. I don’t know him. I swear I don’t know who he is.”
Gabriel looked at her. He looked into the frantic darting of her terrified eyes and he knew she was lying. Nana Teresa stepped to Gabriel’s side. Her eyes were on Camille, disappointment and contempt plain and undeniable. Evelyn stood in the corner quietly watching at all. She didn’t know what Boston meant or who Victoria was, but she could feel it deep in her bones that tonight wouldn’t end gently.
