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.

her mother’s voice answered, warm but wary. "Everything

licked her dry lips and tried to sound casual. "Yeah,

line before her mother spoke again. "Okay...

body tense. "Has Ivy contacted you? Like... in any way? A message, a call, maybe someone else saying they saw

"No... why? Why are

through her mother’s tone. But she couldn’t say it.

to be sure. I had a weird dream, that’s all." f .r e\ewebnov(e)(l).c

her mother repeated, clearly not buying it. "Ruby...

little too quickly. "I’m fine.

was another pause, then her mother’s voice softened.

surprised. When she’d called Elizabeth, she hadn’t thought

with us in front of Stefan. Is everything okay?

that’s all. She hasn’t told me yet. Maybe there’s something she wants to tell us," she said, not wanting to

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

because every day, she feared exposure

for letting me know about the dinner," Ruby said, already feeling a fresh layer of stress coat her skin. "See you later,

"You sure you’re okay?"

okay," she lied.

if you need to

"I will. Bye, Mom."

ended the call and slowly set her phone

Elizabeth hadn’t

it was real. And it

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

looked out the window into the growing dusk.