Blackmail Begins
485 Words
Chapter Eight: Blackmail Begins
The girl’s name was Marissa Vale.
Top of the class. Perfect GPA. Pretty enough to charm a room, smart enough to manipulate it.
Layla had seen her around campus. But she’d never really noticed her — until now.
Because now, Marissa had power.
And she knew it.
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She lingered in the office, eyes scanning everything. Her gaze finally landed on Layla like she was trying to decide how much she was worth.
> “Relax,” Marissa said with a soft smile. “I’m not here to cause trouble.”
Cole stood stiff behind his desk. Layla didn’t trust her voice.
> “You passed me a note,” she finally said. “Why?”
Marissa tilted her head. “Because I wanted you to know I saw. And more importantly… that I haven’t told anyone.”
Yet.
That unspoken word hung in the air like smoke.
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> “What do you want?” Cole asked.
It was the way he said it — calm, cold, prepared — like he’d done this before.
Marissa smirked. “Smart man. I like that.”
She crossed the room and placed a flash drive on the desk.
> “That contains a video file. From the security cam across the hall. Guess what’s on it?”
Layla’s stomach twisted.
Cole didn’t blink.
> “How did you get access to security footage?”
Marissa shrugged. “Let’s just say I know people. And I watch closely. Especially when something… forbidden is happening.”
> “Get to the point,” Layla snapped.
Marissa’s smile widened.
> “The point, sweetheart, is leverage.”
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> “You want money?” Cole asked.
> “God, no.” Marissa laughed. “I want opportunity.”
She slid a folder across the desk. Layla glanced down.
It was a recommendation letter template — for a prestigious overseas program. The kind of program that guaranteed success. And Cole’s name was typed at the bottom, waiting for his signature.
> “You sign it,” Marissa said sweetly, “and I stay silent. No leaks, no scandal, no expulsion.”
> “And if we don’t?”
She picked up her phone and played something.
Layla’s voice. Breathy. Whispering: “Then don’t start.”
Then the sound of the kiss.
Layla’s skin burned.
> “You’d ruin someone’s life over a letter?” she asked, stunned.
Marissa’s smile faded.
> “Sweetheart, I’d ruin ten lives for what I want.”
---
She turned toward the door.
> “You have until Friday. Tick tock.”
She left with her heels clicking like a countdown.
The office fell silent.
Layla stared at the flash drive. Then at Cole.
> “What do we do?”
He sat down, slow and tired.
> “We either play her game…”
> “Or burn the board.”
- Writer
