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Jackie's POV

Present-day...

"Maddy?" I whispered as I saw the face of my best friend in a different picture, standing in front of the man who had been with me at the supermarket. "Maddy is responsible for everything?"

I let Lucas take the phone away from me as I felt weak. Everything made sense to me now. If Maddy was interacting with that man who was seen using Ruth's credit card, it could mean that Maddy was the one responsible for the kidnapping of Ruth and everything Ruth had said was the truth.

"I knew something was off about Maddy when she started being friends with you in high school. If Ruth is telling the truth, she should probably know this guy, right?" Lucas asked and I shrugged my shoulders, too speechless to form words.

Lucas grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the motel. He opened Jared's room door and we walked in. Once he shut the door, he left my hand and went to his sister who was still tied up. I watched as he knelt before her and showed her my phone's screen.

Ruth's eyes widened in panic and she started to breathe heavily. She wiggled on her seat, trying to move away which surprised me.

"Do you know this man?" Lucas asked.

"H-he is one of the men who kidnapped me. He's the one who hurt me and made me write those letters. Wh-what is he doing with Maddy?" She asked and made eye contact with me. "Please, tell me what's going on?"

I stepped forward with my hands clasped in front of my lap. I stood behind Lucas and began to fiddle with my fingers.

"Ruth, we want the truth. A lot is going on and you're the only one who can explain everything to us. Because everything that has happened points to you. So, I beg... Tell us the truth," I pleaded in a low voice while Ruth still looked confused.

"The only thing I can tell you is that I was captured and left to suffer for something I know nothing about. Why are you not believing me? Lucas, you are my brother. Believe me when I say I don't know what's going on."

Lucas stood up and went to the other side of the room. I watched him unzip his duffle bag and take out a familiar yellow file then he walked back to Ruth.

"In this file contains information about the bank transactions you made one year ago before I left for college. In this file, you sent a sum of $20,000 to Ashton Kingston, Daniel Zhou, Lincoln Turner, and Van Kent. Secondly, you paid flight tickets for these set of people a few days after you sent them those $20,000. These boys were the ones who sexually assaulted Jackie on the day she told you I was with her phone which you promised to get for her, do you remember?"

I watched Ruth's expression closely. Her eyes narrowed as she began to think over what her brother had said.

"You sent those boys to assault my woman because you had an unhealthy love for me. You were obsessed with me according to those love letters and wanted Jackie out of the picture," Lucas said in a hard tone.

I wanted to calm him down but kept to myself. He had every right to be emotional about everything.

"Wait," Ruth said. "I remember now. One year ago, I received $80,000 in my account from Mrs. Kingston. I called Maddy to ask her why since I didn't have her mother's phone number and she told me that Ashton needed medical attention."

"Medical attention? For what? Ashton didn't need any medical attention," Lucas said and stood beside me in shock.

"I don't know. Maddy told me that the money was sent to my account by accident and that I need to send it back to them. I can show you the text thread between me and her since I never sent her any text since that day. My phone is at home as I had taken my laptop and I had bought a new phone that I would use in Haiti since my old one had some screen issues," Ruth explained, looking around. "Also, she called me one day and told me she needed help with some money. I was surprised someone of her status needed such from me. She told me it was about her cousin and that he needs to travel to a state in Nigeria for some sort of treatment. I was told to pay for four flight tickets and that was the last time she spoke to me."

My legs gave out and I found myself falling but Lucas wrapped his arm around my body. My lips parted and my eyes fluttered as I realized the truth of all Ruth had said.

"Maddy set her up," Jared said in the corner.

I turned my head in his direction and he shrugged his shoulders.

"It's true. I don't know this Maddy completely but from all indications, she set your sister up. She covered any traces of suspicion that will go to her by putting your sister as the prime suspect," Jared said.

Tears filled my eyes and my lips wobbled as I began to think of all the months I spent being her friend. It was hard to believe that she would do such a thing to me.

My phone dinged in Lucas' hand and I quickly took it from him. I unlocked the device and saw it was a video from Clark. My heart skipped a beat at it because I was not ready to hear what Maddy said about me to him.

With shaky fingers, I clicked on the video which was a ceiling view clip of Maddy forcing her way into Clark's house.

"Did I not warn you to stay away from Jackie?" Maddy asked.

"Why should I stay away from her? Are you scared she'll find out the truth about the kind of person you are? Maddy, you are the most horrible person I've ever met. I pity Jackie so much because she trusts you and believes you're her friend."

"Pfft, that girl can trust the devil if he stood before her."

My heart ached at what I was hearing. This was someone I grew to love as a sister and hearing this side of her was so weird.

"What did she ever do to you? First, you tell me you had my roommate take those pictures of me and Jackie because of you're jealousy then you threatened to hurt my woman because you don't want the truth to come out? What did she ever do to you?!"

"She has ruined my life, that's it! Jackie is nothing but a lowlife who will suffer for always snatching the men in my life from me. First, Lucas, and then you! Just when I thought I could distract myself from Lucas, she takes you away from me. I don't even know what you men see in her."

I didn't know when I started to cry, as I felt hot tears rolling down my cheeks. My heart was pained so much that I felt like I could not breathe properly. The hatred in her voice was so strong that I wondered where I went wrong and why I was so naive.

"The only reason we see something beautiful in her is that she's amazing, intelligent, independent, emotionally strong, and someone magical. You are the opposite of her. One month into dating you, you started cheating with my roommate. Three months into dating you, you moaned a guy named Lucas while I was fucking you. You are a conceited bitch and will get what's coming to you."

I glanced at Lucas who I saw had a blank face on but his jawline was sharply clenched from anger. I looked back at the video through teary eyes.

"You know. I never told you that you were supposed to be a father," she said in the video and I gasped, remembering Maddy had told me she had been pregnant for Clark.

"What?" Clark sounded different, in a stunned yet scared tone.

"I was pregnant for you, Clark. When I found out, I was angry and disgusted with myself. I couldn't keep such a child for a man I didn't love. I didn't want any child that didn't come from Lucas Hamilton. So, I aborted it. At first, I wanted to find a way to sleep with Lucas so I could pretend the baby was his and ruin his relationship with Jackie, but I couldn't; it was a stupid plan. So, Clark Barr. The same way I aborted your baby is the same way I'll abort everyone that matters to you if I catch you trying to expose me to anyone. Got it?"

Maddy left his house and the video ended. I staggered backward and fell to the floor on my butt. I started to cry out, not caring if they stared at me. I wrapped my arms around my waist and cried harder as my heart shattered. Maddy betrayed me, she backstabbed me and deceived me.

"Why?" I asked through tears. "Why did she do this to me? Why didn't she just warn me to stay away from you when we were in high school? Was this the reason why she paid for me to change school? To stay away from you, Lucas?"

My throat tighten and my body shook as I cried to myself. I exhaled shakily and began to get flashes of the time I thought I had a friend.

"I thought she was genuine. I thought she was a sister to me. Why didn't she just tell me that she loved you and didn't want anything between us? She had all the chances to do so. Why make me suffer like this?" I covered my face and cried in my hands.

"I'm going to kill her with my own hands the moment I lay my hands on her," Lucas said with so much venom that it scared me.

"No," I said, standing up. I approached him but he glared at me.

"Don't say that. Do you realize what she did? She made people sexually assault another woman. She's a woman herself. She brought my sister into this mess too. She hurt you! All these months, she's been the one responsible for everything! I lost sleep thinking about finding justice for you after that party incident. I spent money trying to find those boys and the mastermind. I felt disturbed that you were suffering. I hated seeing the pain you passed through," Lucas said and tears brimmed his eyes.

I held his hand as I felt the strong energy flowing off him.

"I know but I don't want you staining your hands with blood. I'm sure there are other ways to get her. I don't want you going to prison and leaving me alone, leaving us alone. Right now, we just have to find more evidence and make sure she gets arrested," I said and wrapped my arms around his body.

"I'm so sorry," Lucas whispered. "It's because of me she did these to you. I'm so fucking sorry."

I simply nodded, feeling numb from head to toe.