MARY P.O.V
"So you're saying Maya might be blackmailed?" Lana exclaimed, staring at me in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? Maya? Blackmailed? Never!"
"Maya being blackmailed… it can never happen," she continued, shaking her head. "Just think about it, lana. Maya is scared of insects and—"
"I don't know, Lana," I interrupted anxiously. "But between the both of us, we know she was bluffing when she was threatening you, right?"
I paced around my room, my mind running in circles. Every possibility seemed worse than the last.
Lana sighed. "Okay, fine."
I released a breath I hadn't realized I was holding.
"Do you have a plan?" she asked.
"I don't." I stopped pacing and rubbed my forehead. "But I'll come up with something."
"Seriously?" Lana muttered. "I suspect Philip was involved. Maya would rather focus on you running against her than plot your death. She would want you alive just so you can watch her win. That's my sister."
I swallowed hard.
"So?"
"So, when we meet up, we can reason things out," Lana said, sounding more determined now.
"Right." I hesitated before asking, "But must we tell everyone?"
"Hopefully, yes. We need as many heads as possible on this matter." Her voice softened. "I know it's depressing, but we need to work together."
I took a deep breath.
"Okay."
"We're meeting in two hours, so I'll tell them."
She was about to hang up when I quickly stopped her.
"Wait. Do we really have to tell everyone? I feel like there are too many people involved already."
"We could tell Ruby," Lana suggested hopefully.
"Okay. We could. But only her." I paused as an idea suddenly came to me. "And I think I have a plan."
"Tell her, then."
"Let's have a group call before we meet with the boys."
---
At the Hospital
"Our suspect is Philip, right?" Lee asked, breaking the silence.
"Why do you ask that?" Ruby snapped. "You haven't had time to process everything, or are you just dumb?"
Lee frowned.
"I didn't think about it. Someone else was on my mind."
He said it while looking directly at Lana.
I stared at him for a second before rolling my eyes.
"So fucking cliché, Lee. That line is outdated. Try something else."
The teasing disappeared from my voice as I became serious.
"What are we going to do about this?"
Lana leaned forward, her expression thoughtful.
"I thought about something. Why don't we watch Philip and Maya for the next few days?"
Everyone went quiet.
"By the way, I'm resuming school on Monday, so we can clearly watch them together."
"We're only going to watch them?" Peter asked suspiciously. "Aren't they going to notice?"
"No, if we act normal," Lana replied.
She kept eye contact with Ruby, almost as if silently warning her not to say anything.
"Okay. Deal," Lee said. "We'll watch them."
"Do you know a hacker?" Ruby suddenly asked peter.
Ruby's eyes widened slightly.
"Why do you need a hacker?" Lee asked.
"Shit," Ruby muttered under her breath.
Lana immediately jumped in.
"I told her I wanted to check something on my dad's phone, but never mind. She doesn't want to let it go."
She spoke faster than she probably intended, clearly trying to cover for Ruby.
"Ohhh, okay," Lee said, seemingly satisfied. "But if you really need one, Xavier can do it."
He looked at Ruby.
Ruby's expression immediately darkened.
"Can we have a conversation without you calling his name?"
"No. It's you who can't stop thinking about him," Lee shot back.
Ruby opened her mouth to respond.
"Ha—"
"Why are you blushing, Ruby ?" Lana interrupted, grinning.
"Blushing? Who is blushing?" Ruby immediately protested.
"Leave me alone."
She rolled her eyes and looked away, but the red tint spreading across her cheeks betrayed her.
I couldn't help but smile.
For a moment, the tension in the room eased.
But only for a moment.
Because beneath the jokes and teasing, we all knew why we were really there.
Someone wanted lanaa dead.
And if our suspicion about Philip was right, we had no idea what he—or Maya—would do next.