Substitute Wife For The Blind CEO

Chapter 14: Blackmail

Ruby stood in the middle of the room, her phone still in her hand, fingers clenched tightly around it. Her palms were slick with sweat, but her body felt cold all over. That last message wasn’t just a threat — it was a promise.

Someone out there wasn’t just aware of her secret — they were planning to exploit it.

She turned and began pacing, her mind racing.

What are you willing to do to keep your secret?

She hated the question because deep down, she didn’t know the answer. How far was she willing to go?

Lie? She already had.

Manipulate Stefan? Done.

Betray a woman who had once called her family? Every day she pretended to be Ivy, she was doing exactly that.

The line she swore she’d never cross was starting to blur — and whoever this person was, they knew it.

What was she going to do now? Allow herself be blackmailed? Who could she call to ask about this? What if neither her mom or Elizabeth said something to anyone? Was that even a question? Of course they didn’t say anything so who could it be that was blackmailing her?

Ruby stopped pacing, her bare feet rooted to the cool floor as another wave of panic pulsed through her chest.

What if it wasn’t Elizabeth? What if it wasn’t Mom?

She had gone along with their plan because they said it would be clean, controlled. That no one else would ever know until after that one year. And yet... someone did. But how? Who? Why was the person reaching out to her and not Elizabeth or her mom?

She grabbed her phone again and, after a brief hesitation, scrolled down to her mom’s contact. Her thumb hovered for a moment before she pressed "Call." The dial tone buzzed in her ear, her heartbeat growing louder with each ring.

mother’s voice answered, warm but

lips and tried to sound casual. "Yeah, Mom. I just... I wanted to

before her mother spoke again. "Okay... what is

sat on the edge of the bed, her body tense. "Has Ivy contacted you? Like...

mother sounded confused. "No... why? Why are

tone. But she couldn’t say it. Not over the phone.

sure. I had a weird dream, that’s all." f

clearly not buying it.

a little too quickly. "I’m fine. Really. I just needed to

was another pause, then her mother’s voice softened. "Well, Elizabeth called

she hadn’t

your house tonight. Said she wanted to catch up with us in front of Stefan. Is everything okay? Did something happen between you two?" her mother asked

didn’t know about the dinner, that’s all. She hasn’t told me yet. Maybe there’s

on the phone," her mom said with a trace of hesitation. "I thought it was a nice gesture. Maybe she just wants us to all be in the same space again. You’ve been so quiet lately,

was constantly living on edge. Quiet because

dinner," Ruby said, already feeling a fresh

"You sure you’re okay?"

okay," she

me if you need to talk. About

"I will. Bye, Mom."

call and slowly set her phone down

And from the sound of it, Elizabeth hadn’t said

this message, this threat... it was real.

knew about the message? Or worse... what if

and crossed the room, heart pounding louder now, as she looked out the window into the growing dusk. The sky