A marriage deal with billionaire stone (Ivy and Silas)

It's Rosie!" Ivy muttered, placing her hand on her chest.

She turned in circles, heading nowhere in particular, her eyes moving around the premises in a frantic search.

"Are you alright, ma'am?" Jonathan asked.

She wanted to say something, anything at all, but no words came out. It was as if

a knot had formed in her stomach and had painfully found its way to

her chest and throat.

"Let's go inside," Jonathan said, leading her back in.

Some of her employees voiced their concern as she sat down.

Jade rushed to her, her face redder than usual. "Everything good, ma'am?"

Before Ivy could answer, Jonathan spoke. "Get a bottle of water. Quick."

Jade dashed off and returned shortly with a bottle. She handed it to Ivy, her eyes shining with concern.

Ivy sipped the cold water slowly until it seemed to loosen the knot. She exhaled, allowing the tension to escape.

"Ma'am, should I call someone?" Jonathan asked, crouching by her side.

"No, I'm good," she said with a tight smile. Her tension spiked again when she saw the envelope with Jonathan, but she controlled it this time, refusing to let the panic take over again.

The metallic taste in her mouth wouldn't fade, so she drank some more, forcing the nausea down.

It had to be Rosie. But what exactly was she playing at?

Had she captured Ivy and Mason together as a threat? Or was it just to prove that she was watching Ivy? To scare her? To hurt her?

Whatever it was, it didn't sit well with her. She sprang to her feet, refusing to be weakened by the panic again.

"I need to see the surveillance camera footage," she said. "I need to know how the envelope got there and who put it. I need the clip of when the reporters swarmed Aaliyah."

That had to be it.

"Right this way, ma'am," one of her security guards said, leading her to the control room.

Jonathan and Jade followed silently behind her. When they got there, the guard immediately got to work, clicking and typing until he found the footage.

"Here, ma'am."

Ivy watched intently, her eyes narrowed, scanning for any suspicious movement. And there it was.

While the reporters had clamored around Aaliyah, firing off questions. One particular figure didn't engage. Instead they walked to Ivy's car, slipped the envelope beneath the windshield wiper, and left./

It was a quick motion, almost missable if she hadn't known what to look for.

"Zoom in, let's see who that is," she said.

The guard obeyed. And then Ivy's stomach dropped.

This person didn't look like Rosie at all. Aside from the outfit, which was a

white shirt and some weird entored pans, this thear search

Oh, Lord, she muttered, panic slicing through her chest again.

"Sit here, ma'am, Jade said, pulling Ivy gently down to a seat.

ty's stomach chumed as she broke into a sweat, despite the cold air in the room.

Rosie hadn't come herself-she had used a complete stranger, and the thought almost crippled her.

She blinked rapidly, forcing herself to focus as her heartbeat pounded loudly with questions.

What was the next step? What could she do?

She thought about Silas, and quickly pulled out her phone and called him. He didn't respond, and it was the same when she redialed.

The panic multiplied, threatening to crack her composure, but she held it together.

She couldn't break down now.

She turned to Jade. "Find a way to send that clip to my husband, I want that person identified as soon as possible."

"Yes, ma'am," Jade replied, already moving.

Ivy exhaled as she stepped out of the room. Then a disturbing thought crossed her mind.

What if it wasn't Rosie? What if it was Mason?

She frowned. There was no way Mason would send a photo of the two of them. Or would he?

What if Mason was still working with Rósie? After all, his message had hinted at a secret. But why? Even after the gunshot?

Her thoughts spiralled. She didn't know anything, Rosie was trying to mess with her head-and it was working!

Aunt May. Cheryl.

What if that was Mason's request? For Rosie to help him get Cheryl and in turn he terrorized Ivy?

But Mason had sounded desperate. Oh, she didn't know what to think!

Suddenly the walls felt too close. She needed air..

"I'm going outside," she said, and Jonathan followed.

The evening air dampened her sweaty face, but did nothing to ease her tension.

She rubbed her forehead, trying to control the nerves swirling inside her.noveldrama

She called Silas again, still no response.

She groaned, kicking at the ground-not out of rage, but from helplessness.

She exhaled deeply, controlling her nerves. First things first, she had to make sure Aunt May was safe.

"Let's go," she told Jonathan and rushed to the car. She gave him Aunt May's home address and dialed Cole.

Her brother picked up immediately. "Hey, love."/

"Hey Cole, I need your help," she said, panting hard.

"What happened? Why are you sounding like this?" Cole's voice rose in alarm.

"It's a long story," she replied. "Just get more security guards

Aunt May's

house."

"But I-

"Please, Cole," she cut him off. "Do it right now. I'm on my way to her house. I'll call when i get there"

She knew Cole wanted to argue, she heard the hesitation in his voice before he said.

"Thank you, Cole. See you soon," she said and ended the call.

She leaned into the seat, her panic easing out just slightly. At least now, she wouldn't have to worry about Aunt May too.

Just as she began to relax, her phone rang. Theresa was calling, and she frowned. She didn't want to pick, but it kept ringing

Finally, she gave in and answered. "Hi," she said, her voice carefully low.

"Hi, Ivy," Theresa said softly. "I've been calling since yesterday. Are you good? You left so suddenly."

Ivy's thoughts drifted to the whole situation, but she pushed it away. "I just needed some space. And yes, I'm good," she said firmly.

"Did something happen, Ivy?" Theresa asked, her voice laced with concern. "It's so unlike~"

"I'm fine, Theresa. Thank you," she interrupted.

Theresa paused for a moment before she continued. "Where are you? I would love to talk to you."

Ivy closed her eyes, not out of frustration but out of pain. She didn't want to hurt Theresa; that was her friend. The guilt of her actions pierced her chest.

"I can't right now," she replied. "But I'll call you." The guilt doubled.

Thankfully, Theresa didn't press. "Alright."

"Yeah," Ivy sighed and ended the call.

When her nerves had settled a little, she texted Silas, telling him about the envelope, the surveillance footage, and that she was heading to Aunt May's house.

She half-expected that with the urgency in her text, Silas was going to call or at least text back. But she got nothing, even when she reached Aunt May's house. "You can come in if you want," she told Jonathan as she stepped out of the car.

“Alright ma'am, I'll join you," he replied.

Clutching her bag, Ivy made her way inside the house.

"Aunt May?" she called.

"Hey, Ivy," Aunt May greeted with a smile. "I didn't know you were coming so

quickly."

"Yes. Are you okay? How are Cheryl and the baby?"

"Great," Aunt May said. Then her smile faltered a bit, turning sheepish.

Ivy noticed and tilted her head. "Is everything okay? Is Cheryl alright?"

"Yes, they're both good. They're taking a nap, Aunt May replied, then she moved closer and placed a gentle hand on Ivy's shoulder. "I think w talk about something."

Ivy's stomach dropped, her heart tightening. "What happened? Did Mason come?

Or Rosie?"

11:11 Sat, 14 Jun

May blinked. "What? No. It's about Rita."

Just as May tried to guide her to the front door, the hallway door leading to the

bedrooms opened and Rita walked out.

"Ivy! What are you doing here? Here was loud, shaky and filled with shock.

Ivy paused. Her eyes traveled to the man behind Rita. He was holding Rita

possessively on the waist and that made her frown.

"Wills? What are you doing here?"