The evening arrived quicker than expected, and the women of the McDonell household were excited for what was to follow. Their slumber party. It wasn’t meant to be anything big, as they only planned to watch a horror movie or two in the living room and play a game afterwards. Mandy was also invited to join them. Mrs. McDonell arrived earlier that evening with their takeaway Thai food for supper. Diana and Carly had set up the living room for the slumber party, pushing the chairs and coffee table aside and bringing in their mattresses and blankets. Angel and Mandy had already popped the popcorn and set up some other snacks and drinks in the living room. They were to have supper first in the dining room, then freshen up and change into their jammies or nightgowns. Then their slumber party can begin.
After having supper and all the women went to their respective rooms to freshen up, Angel had just walked into her room and closed the door behind her. She breathed out a heavy sigh as she leaned her back against the door. She didn’t know how she managed to keep her composure around her sister and everyone else with the heavy weight she was carrying. She wondered how she was able to look at Carly in the face and smile like nothing was wrong. Angel leaned the back of her head onto the door and looked up at the ceiling, as though hoping for an answer or a sign of relief to magically appear in front of her.
“This is hard,” she muttered to herself.
She knew she couldn’t go on like this forever. She needed to empty her chest. Her sister has been living a double life yet again, and who knows for how long. Not only did Carly fool everyone, but Leo most of all by having an affair with someone by being someone she’s not. All this bewildered Angel, and she wondered how she hadn’t realized that Carly had been hiding something this big for so long. She didn’t know if she could take it if she went back out there once again. All of this was driving her insane.
Angel walked over to her bed and fell heavily on her back. She stared up at the ceiling, and the thoughts kept swirling round in her head. What was she going to do? She felt like there was simply no one to talk to about how traumatized she felt. If she told anyone about Carly, it would ruin her sister. If anything, she needed to confront Carly about this and tell her to stop. What she has done will hurt people if the truth ever comes to light. It will hurt Leo most of all. Carly would obviously deny it, but what could Angel do? She sighed in frustration. She didn’t even know where to start.
The vibration of her phone on the bed brought Angel back from her thoughts. She stretched out her hand for the phone beside her and checked who was calling. It’s Eric. She remembered what she was supposed to have done this afternoon, and she didn’t do it. Eric calling made Angel feel more overwhelmed. She picked up the call anyway.
“Hi, Eric,” said Angel as she looked up at the ceiling.
“Hey,” Eric greeted. “How are you?”
“Oh, I’m good. And how are you?”
“Great. At first I thought spending some time out of town would have been a bad idea. But I kind of like it here.”
“Well, a change in scenery is good for you. Not after the week we have had.”
“Yeah, but it would have been more fun if you were here.”
Angel chuckled. “You have Oliver and Leo to keep you busy. Trust me, it’s good that I’m not there.”
“Why? So that you can spend your slumber party in peace? I know about that, by the way. Carly told Leo over the phone this afternoon.”
“Yeah, well, we all need to do something different to get our minds off things.”
“I hope this doesn’t mean you’ll get your mind off me. Because I can’t stop thinking about you right now.”
Angel blushed upon those words as she tried to find the right words to say. It was flattering of him to say that, but she felt she needed to say something too. “I won’t lie, Eric. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you either, especially since you told me about your feelings the other day.”
“Oh, really?” Angel could already imagine Eric blushing. “I’m guessing you finally want to talk about it.”
Angel gulped. This was getting really hard. “Yeah, I want to,” she said. “But I think we should do it in person, not over the phone.”
“Okay, I understand. Um… I hope you don’t mind me asking, but are you feeling okay, Angel?”
“Yeah, I am. Why?”
“You don’t sound too good. Are you sure you’re fine?”
Shoot, Angel bit her lower lip. All her frustrations must be audible over the phone. Should she tell Eric about Carly? How was she sure he wouldn’t tell Leo about it? The most important question, though, is will they believe her?
“Something happened,” started Angel. She hesitated for a bit. “I can’t really talk about it right now. Not over the phone, I mean.”
“Oh, okay. But is it that serious?”
Angel had to choose her words carefully here. “No. It’s nothing serious. All I can say is that I wish for the outcome to have been a little different.”
Eric was silent for a minute. “You’ll tell me about it then when we get home.”
“We have a lot to talk about. I need to get ready for our slumber party. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I can’t wait. Enjoy yourself. Don’t let whatever it is that’s bothering you ruin your night.”
Trust me, it already has, Angel said in her head. “Make sure you enjoy yourselves with the others back there.”
“Of course we will. Goodnight, Angel.”
“Goodnight, Eric.”
Angel cut the call and stared at the phone for a little while before dropping it beside her. She continued to look up at the ceiling, wishing that she had told Eric. Something was holding her back, though. There’s no doubt in her mind Eric would tell Leo, and then what? It’s either they believed it or not. Angel did take pictures of the contacts on Carly’s phone, but she didn’t get the chance to take pictures of the messages and photos. Angel hit her forehead. She needed evidence, and it was going to be hard to do so. She was lucky that Carly wasn’t home, giving her the chance to go through her phone. Maybe if she had a little bit more time then, she would’ve gathered enough evidence to show to the others.
Angel got up from her bed. A nice shower was all she needed to cool her nerves since she also had to change into her pajamas for the slumber party as well. She was just about to pull down her trousers when she felt something in one of her pockets. She then remembered that she had the envelope that she took from Carly’s wardrobe. She quickly pulled it out and unfolded it. Could this be all that she needed to prove to the others what Carly has been up to?
Angel quickly removed the letter from the envelope. It was a little crumpled up, but at least it was still in one piece. When Angel had the paper fully unfolded, she read the words written in red ink. At first, she didn’t seem to understand because her mind had been spinning for so long that she couldn’t even think straight. But after reading the letter slowly, she soon realized that this letter was a threat, telling Carly to go through with the next mission or else the people close to her will suffer. Angel slowly dropped the letter as a sickening feeling came all over her. She almost felt her body tremble. What could Carly have gotten herself into?
It took a lot of willpower to snap Angel out of her head and quickly fold the letter to put it back into the envelope. She needed to keep the envelope hidden. If anyone else discovered it, it wouldn’t look good on her part. She went for her wardrobe, and she reached her hand for the top shelf to remove a small safe that she kept out of sight from prying eyes. She unlocked the safe and put in the envelope along with her most valuable items inside. She locked it and pushed the safe further back into the corner. She closed the doors to the wardrobe, somewhat feeling relieved that it was hidden out of sight. Now she could go and take her shower.
By 8:30 P.M., almost all the women were in the living room in their pajamas, ready to start their slumber party. They agreed that they would start by watching a horror movie first. Amanda, who wore a white nightgown with a peach sleeping robe and white bed slippers, couldn’t hold her excitement as she told the others that she hadn’t watched a horror movie in a while.
“Oh, goodness,” Mrs. McDonell muttered. She wore light blue satin pajamas and was already lying on her elbow on one of the mattresses. “Don’t try and scream so loud, will you?”
“The only person screaming in this room will be you.” Amanda threw a look at Bertha.
“I swear, if you two so much as turn this night into a bloodbath, you’re going to get it,” threatened Diana, who sat on the mattress facing the TV as she checked through which movie to watch, pointing the remote at the television.
Angel and Mandy came into the living room, carrying cushions from the sitting room to place them in the middle of their mattresses. Carly had been by the table at the corner of the room on her phone. After she was done with what she was doing, she started to bring the bowls of popcorn over to where they were to sit.
“Angel,” said Mrs. McDonell as Angel was just about to settle down on the mattresses. “I brought some Skittles and put them in the kitchen. Can you put them in the bowl for all of us to share?”
“Sure,” said Angel. Before leaving the living room, she took her phone that she had left on the couch.
Angel walked through the door to the kitchen and looked around before seeing a plastic bag on the counter near the microwave. She went over to check inside and found the Skittles. She placed her phone next to the bag as she went over to the other side of the kitchen to get a small glass bowl. It wasn’t until Angel had gone back to the bag with the Skittles that she saw her phone was ringing. She had put her phone on vibrate, as she didn’t want to be disturbed when the movie started. When she checked who was calling her, her heart did a massive jump. It’s Leo.
What could he be calling me for? Angel wondered. Should I answer it? What if it’s an emergency?
Angel stood still for a moment as she watched the phone with Leo’s name beaming up at her on the screen. Her heart beat quicker as the little voice in her head told her to answer. For some reason, Angel was glued to the spot; for a second, she thought her fingers would grow numb and drop the bowl. Why didn’t she want to pick up the call? This is getting ridiculous, she told herself. She quickly found herself sliding the answer button on the screen, and she took the phone and put it to her ear.
“Hello?” Angel answered after a moment of hesitation.
“Angel, hi,” came Leo’s voice. “I hope I haven’t disturbed you. I was told that you guys would be watching a movie for your slumber party.”
“Oh, no. I’m in the kitchen, actually, getting Skittles.”
“It’s Mum, isn’t it? She really likes those. I hope she isn’t eating them alone.”
Angel held the phone with her shoulder as she put the bowl on the counter and removed the packs of Skittles. “Then she wouldn’t have told me to put it in a bowl for everyone to share.”
Leo scoffed. “True. I called because I have been trying to get ahold of Carly, and she isn’t picking up my call.”
“Something tells me she probably has her phone on silent. We’re about to watch a movie, and no one wants to be disturbed, I’m afraid.” Angel opened a pack of Skittles and emptied them into the bowl.
“Okay, I get it. I’ll text her to call me later. So… how have you been?”
Angel almost knocked over the bowl as she tried to open another bag of Skittles, and it couldn’t open. She wondered if it was because she was caught off guard with the question.
“Oh, me?” Angel asked, trying to sound like she hadn’t almost made a blunder. “I’m good, thanks. And I hear all of you are enjoying yourselves over there.” She finally managed to open the pack.
“Yeah, we’re good. Eric told me that you didn’t sound like yourself when you talked to him earlier. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Angel almost sighed loudly but rolled her eyes instead. Of course, Eric had to express his concerns to Leo. Imagine if she had told him what she had found in Carly’s phone. Something told Angel that Leo wouldn’t be sounding as calm as he is right now.
“Yeah, I’m good, really. You don’t have to worry about me.”
Leo paused for a bit and sighed. “Okay, if you say so. If you need to talk about anything, you can always call. I know you have Eric, but…I’m also willing to listen since we tend to talk a lot these days.”
Angel found herself smiling. “Yeah. Thanks, Leo. But it’s nothing serious.”
“I won’t keep you on the phone long since you have a movie to get to. I’ll talk to Carly later if she sees my message. You go have fun at your slumber party.”
“Thanks. You have a lovely night with the men and Oliver, too.”
Leo chuckled when Angel mentioned Oliver. “Okay. Oh, and make sure Mum doesn’t eat too much of those Skittles. Dad will be furious with her when her blood sugar gets too high.”
“I’ll try to keep that in mind, thanks. Have a good night, Leo.”
“You too.”
Angel took the phone from her shoulder and cut the call. She didn’t realize how much she was smiling at the phone until the thoughts of Carly’s betrayal started to cloud her mind. Those few minutes talking to Leo made her forget about it, but now she felt bad that she didn’t try to at least tell him that something was up. But it was for the best, and Angel knew it. Talking over the phone wasn’t going to do anyone any good.
After putting the Skittles in the bowl, Angel took the bowl and her phone and walked out of the kitchen and into the living room. Everyone looked like they had all settled on the mattresses. Amanda was also propped up comfortably on the mattress as Mandy placed cushion pillows behind Amanda so that she would lean against the chair. It seems Diana found a movie for them to watch, as she and Carly were on their bellies, looking up at the TV screen, with a bowl of popcorn between them on the floor. Angel went on to the mattress to sit in between Amanda and Mrs. McDonell. She gave Mrs. McDonell the bowl of Skittles. She got some and passed the bowl back to Angel, who passed it on to the next person, and the bowl moved on just like that.
“What movie are we watching?” Angel asked as she put some Skittles in her mouth.
“IT,” Diana answered. “So we all better hold on to your hats, ladies. I hear this movie is pretty scary.”
“As long as somebody in here doesn’t scream in their dreams after watching it, we’re fine,” said Amanda as she smirked.
Mrs. McDonell threw Amanda a look. “Why do I have a funny feeling that you might be the one screaming?”
“Okay, you two, the movie is starting,” said Diana as she pressed the play now button.
They all fell silent as they watched the movie as they munched on their popcorn and snacks until the horrific parts started to appear minutes into the movie. At some point, it became so scary that Diana and Mrs. McDonell held cushions to their faces to cover their faces from gruesome scenes. The movie was an hour and a half long. When they finally got to the end credits, Carly went over to the lights to switch them back on.
“Okay, that was scary,” said Carly.
“And gruesome,” said Mrs. McDonell as she had a horrified look on her face. “I’m so glad that’s over.”
“I actually enjoyed it,” said Amanda. “All of you were horrified out of your wits.”
“Well, it isn’t our fault that death doesn’t scare you since your time is almost up,” said Mrs. McDonell as she stood up from the mattress.
“You might be right on that. Death doesn’t scare me at all these days.”
“Next time, we should watch a romance movie,” Angel suggested.
“I like that idea,” said Diana as she also stood up and gave herself a nice stretch. “This movie almost scared me to death. Romance movie it is.”
Next on their slumber party schedule was to play Twins and Followers. They all gathered round in a circle, and Diana brought out the cards to play. She shuffled them, then dished the cards to everyone. They all had four cards each, and Diana put the deck of cards at the center. She started first as she picked up a card from the deck and looked at the set of cards in her other hand. She dropped the card she picked up from the deck with a grumble.
“Since we all can’t be quiet during a card game,” started Diana. “I was thinking we talk about an important topic.”
“And what topic is that?” Carly asked. She was the next person to pick a card. She kept it and dropped one to the center.
“Why do I get the feeling that you only want to talk about men?” Mrs. McDonell asked as she was the next to pick a card. She dropped it, and Angel was next.
“Really?” Diana raised an eyebrow. “I was thinking we start planning for the Thanksgiving dinner. We’re in November, you know?”
“Don’t tell me we’re hosting it again,” said Amanda as she picked a card after Angel.
“Well, you know how the family is,” said Diana. “They just love to come here.”
“Fred and I haven’t talked about it since the cyberattack on the company,” said Mrs. McDonell.
“Oh, right. That happened.” Diana shyly cleared her throat. “How are the investigations going so far? Did they manage to pinpoint the hacker?”
“The case has grown cold, I’m afraid,” Mrs. McDonell answered. “They weren’t able to.”
“What a shame,” said Carly as she held on tightly to her cards. “It was awful what had happened. And we were having such a good time too.”
“Are you saying that there was no one who seemed suspicious?” Diana asked.
“No,” Angel answered this time. “I thought I could get a word or two out of some of my colleagues, but they never saw anything or anyone act suspiciously. Plus the bathrooms were on the other side, close to the offices, so anyone could’ve been the culprit, really.”
“I was hoping they find this person so that I can give them a smack in the head,” said Amanda.
“Well, whoever it was—if the person was working alone—they are long gone by now, obviously targeting some other company or people,” said Mrs. McDonell.
“It’s good confidential information, and our accounts weren’t compromised,” said Angel as she watched Carly pick a card from the deck. “It would’ve been a huge disaster.”
“And all thanks to you, Angel,” said Amanda as she playfully pinched Angel’s right cheek. “I swear, you really are a blessing to this family. What would we have ever done without you?”
Carly dropped her card. It was only the second round, but she could feel she wasn’t getting so lucky with her cards and the ones she got from the deck. Plus, Amanda praising Angel was starting to get on her nerves.
“It’s nothing, really,” said Angel as she smiled at Amanda. “Anyone would’ve done what I did.”
“All except the person who actually inserted that USB drive,” said Mrs. McDonell as she picked from the deck and threw it at the center. “Dang, I’m not so lucky today.”
“So, will the case remain closed just like that?” Carly asked.
Angel and Mrs. McDonell surprisingly shared a quick look at each other. So far, they were the only ones in this room that knew the authorities had actually found something within the flash drive that could help track their hacker.
“So it seems,” Angel answered quickly as she looked at her sister. “There wasn’t much to go by. We were just warned to keep our security protocols up to date.” She picked a card and kept it, dropping one from the ones she already had.
“It’s sad that people like that go on their way unpunished,” said Amanda as she picked a card. “Years of someone’s hard work, and you want to take away what you didn’t work for. Shame on them. I pray their sins catch up to them.”
“I think the Lord has already answered your prayers, Mum,” said Diana. “Back to the topic at hand—are we going to host the Thanksgiving dinner or not?”
“No,” Amanda and Bertha answered at the same time. Mandy, who sat beside Amanda, couldn’t help but giggle at the way they responded. She slowly picked a card and dropped it.
“Wow, for once, the both of you agree on something,” said Angel.
“That’s not true,” said Amanda. “We do agree on certain things.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s been a while since we last did, that’s all.”
“If you say so,” said Diana as she picked a card from a deck; she dropped one of her cards. “So close,” she muttered as she bit her lower lip. “So where are we hosting it?”
“I don’t know, but it sure doesn’t have to be here,” said Mrs. McDonell. “We should talk to Barbra and see if she’s willing to host us. Her house is way bigger than mine.”
“Who is Barbra?” Carly asked as she picked a card, looked at it, and quickly dropped it.
“My sister,” Mrs. McDonell answered, picking a card from the deck and sacrificing one of her cards in her hand.
“I never knew you had a sister,” said Angel as she picked a card.
“You should meet her someday, Angel,” said Amanda. “She’s so sweet. I sometimes wonder why Bertha isn’t more like her.”
“Here we go again,” said Bertha as she rolled her eyes. “She’s a goody two-shoes. I can’t believe you all are blinded by that smile of hers.”
Bertha went on to talk about her family. It turns out, she had Barbra and two older brothers. She was actually the last born in the family. Explains why she’s so spoilt, Amanda commented. But that didn’t stop the conversation from going as Bertha shared a few embarrassing stories of her Thanksgiving dinners when she was younger and how her older siblings embarrassed her. It wasn’t like Bertha to talk so openly about her childhood, but everyone enjoyed the stories. Angel threw all her cards first as they played, followed by Mandy, who had been silently listening and laughing while stories were being shared.
As the game went on, Diana and Amanda went on to talk about their Thanksgiving dinner stories. Bertha also chirped in, telling an embarrassing one where Eric and Leo dropped the turkey they were carrying to the dinner table when they were teenagers. Diana and Amanda shared other memories as well of Eric and Leo, which were just funny. Angel, Carly, and Mandy couldn’t stop laughing.
“Remember the year before when Leo and Kim announced on Thanksgiving that they were planning to get married?” Mrs. McDonell asked. She smiled as though remembering the memory while still holding on to her cards. “I couldn’t stop smiling when they told us the news.”
Amanda scoffed. “Well, they didn’t get married, did they?” she asked as she picked a card from the deck. She dropped one and later on showed out her cards. Two eights, a nine, and a ten. “Ha! Finally!”
“No.” Mrs. McDonell answered with a sulk. “But don’t you think he will most likely introduce his new girlfriend to us?”
Angel and Carly shared a quick look across the circle and turned to look at Mrs. McDonell.
“How sure are you that he’s seeing someone?” Amanda asked.
“Well, Kim told me.” Mrs. McDonell looked up at Diana, who had already picked a card from the deck. “And there have been signs here and there that he has. I don’t know why he doesn’t want to tell us who she is.”
“Maybe he’s waiting for the right time because he knows you wouldn’t like her,” said Diana as she dropped her card. Carly picked a card. “But I feel he has a lot more options to choose from now.”
All the ladies in the circle turned to look at Diana, confused. Diana noticed the attention when she noticed that Bertha hadn’t picked a card. She looked at everyone in the circle. “What?” she asked.
“You said Leo has more options to choose from?” Amanda asked. “Are you saying he had been dating more than one girl?”
Carly looked even more confused as she looked on desperately at Diana for an answer. Angel noticed her sister’s look, and she could tell how anxious she was. Angel was also confused. As far as Angel knew, Leo only had one person in mind: her sister.
“Well, the last time I talked to him, he did confirm he was seeing someone,” said Diana. “But it felt like he was seeing someone else or was thinking of someone else… I don’t know.” Diana shrugged her shoulders.
“When was this?” Mrs. McDonell asked as she finally picked a card. She threw it to the center after a quick glance.
“Some months ago. Who knows? Maybe he has finally chosen one of them.” Diana went on to pick a card and replaced it with another.
“There were two women in his life, and we didn’t know about it?” Amanda asked as she shook her head. All of a sudden, she chuckled. “Well, good for him.”
“Strange,” said Angel. “Leo doesn’t look like the type to date two girls at the same time.”
“I think he was just weighing his options,” said Diana as Carly picked a card. “If I can remember well, he was seeing someone. But it’s like there was one person he must have crossed paths with in particular that he might have considered going out with. Besides, the guy has stuck around with one girl all his life, so getting back into the dating pool and weighing his options is a good thing, right? I just pray he chooses the right one.”
“Kim was the right person for him,” said Mrs. McDonell as she picked a card. “The two of them were perfect for each other.” She growled as she threw the card in the center.
“That’s because you set those two up from the start,” said Amanda. “Trust me, Leo was only going along just to please you. Otherwise, he would’ve broken up with her a long time ago.”
“That’s not true. Leo loved Kim. He wouldn’t have proposed to her if he didn’t.”
“Well, that story is over,” said Diana. “Whoever he’s with now seems to be making him quite happy.”
“I sure do hope he will introduce her to us soon,” said Amanda. “I would really like to meet her.”
“And do you think he will do so on Thanksgiving?” Diana asked as she picked a card. She gasped as she dropped a card and showed her set of cards. Two twos, a five, and a six. “Finally! I thought I would never win.”
“I hope so,” said Amanda. “I just hope Bertha here won’t overreact when she does meet her. You won’t do that, will you, Bertha?” Amanda turned to look at Mrs. McDonell.
Carly slowly picked a card as she waited for Bertha’s response. Bertha sighed. It was only the two of them remaining in the game. Only one would emerge the loser. Who would it be?
“As long as she’s good for my son and makes him happy, I’m fine with it,” said Mrs. McDonell. “But she won’t get away from my scrutiny that easily.”
Angel looked at her sister and noticed that Carly had been staring at the card she picked up intensely. What could she be thinking about? Angel wondered. Then a smile played across Carly’s face. She dropped a card from the set she had and showed off her cards. Two As, a Q, and a K.
“I win,” said Carly as she smiled at Mrs. McDonell. “And just to let you know… I am the one Leo has been going out with.”
The whole room fell silent at those words. Amanda’s and Diana’s mouths fell open with surprise as they looked at Carly. Mandy’s lips turned into a thin line as her eyes grew wide at the news. Angel felt her whole body grow numb as she stared at Carly with wide eyes like Mandy. Mrs. McDonell’s face grew as white as a ghost. Carly continued to smile on.
What have you done, Carly? Angel couldn’t help but ask herself.
“I knew it,” Amanda spoke first, still looking surprised. “I knew the two of you were secretly dating or something of the sort.”
Mrs. McDonell regained her composure as she started to shake her head. “This must be one sick joke,” she said. “Are you trying to pull my leg here?”
“No, it’s not a joke,” said Carly. “He and I have been secretly seeing each other.”
Angel felt her stomach start to churn as she tried to fathom what her sister had done just now. Did she and Leo plan all this? Why is she doing this now? Not to mention that Leo wasn’t even here to confirm if all of this was true. Angel felt confused as she was caught off guard.
“Are you serious right now?” Angel managed to ask. Her face had confusion written all over it, and she wasn’t the only one.
“No, it’s true, Angel,” said Carly as she looked at her sister. “We wanted to keep it quiet until the right time came. I feel now is the time for me to tell you.”
Angel looked at Amanda beside her. Amanda didn’t seem stunned like before. She just didn’t expect what she had thought of earlier to actually be true. To Angel, she had no choice but to pretend that she hadn’t known about their affair. But Carly announcing to them all like she did was a bombshell Angel never saw coming.
“I think I need a drink,” said Mrs. McDonell as she dropped her cards and stood up from the mattress to head to the kitchen.
“I’ll follow her to make sure she doesn’t get Mr. McDonell’s expensive wine,” said Mandy as she also stood and left the living room.
“I guess this marks the end of our game,” said Diana as she looked at the scattered cards in front of her. She turned to look at Carly. “This news has really caught us by surprise, Carly. We all knew you and Leo were close; now we know why.”
Carly looked at Diana. “I know it’s sudden,” she said. “And I know a lot of you might not agree with all this, but I hope everything will work out for the best.”
Angel continued to look at Carly, who seemed to have a triumphant look on her face. A sudden feeling came over Angel, thinking Carly must have a motive. But what? It was hard for Angel to figure it out, but what worried her was how everyone didn’t take the news so well, especially Mrs. McDonell. This all felt sudden. Carly should’ve waited a little while longer.
What game are you playing here, Carly? Angel thought as she closed her eyes and shook her head. You’ve landed some of us in a whole lot of trouble.
***
Angela stretched her arms out wide, giving herself a good stretch. She picked up the hot bowl of noodles on the counter and made her way to the small living room in her small apartment. One thing she enjoyed about the weekend—if she hadn’t made any plans—was the comfort of staying in, taking a good long sleep, and waking up whatever time she wanted. Now she could enjoy her supper while she watched a good Netflix movie.
She sat on the couch in her pajamas, folding up her legs and pointing the remote control at the TV screen, trying to see which movie to watch this Saturday evening. It wasn’t until her phone rang on the coffee table that she groaned. Who could be ruining her lazy weekend? She put her bowl of noodles beside her and stretched to get her phone with her free hand. She checked the caller ID. It’s her supervisor. She answered the phone and put it at her ear.
“Good evening, sir,” Angela greeted as she continued to look through her movie options on TV. “What brings you to call me on this fine weekend?”
“We’ve got a lead on whoever might have set up explosives at Andre’s mansion,” said Mr. Blanco.
Angela stopped what she was doing and put the remote control on the couch. “What is it you found?” she asked.
“On Halloween, a company in the U.S. experienced a cyberattack. Some employees were lucky and quick enough to hold off the breach so as not to lose important information. It turns out a Rubber Ducky had been inserted into one of their computers. When they called it in, the authorities weren’t able to trace the hacker, but they were able to link the data footprint and discovered that the same USB had been used before.”
Angela was attentive now. “Okay, I’m listening.”
“Remember the cyberattack that happened on an oil shipping company’s servers in the Middle East about a year ago?”
“Yeah, we weren’t able to trace the Rubber Ducky, but we knew who was responsible because a hacker had it specifically designed for someone.”
“And who is that someone?”
“Andre.” Angela’s head started to spin. “Are you saying someone used the USB that was in Andre’s possession?”
“Yes. And since Andre’s house burnt down, it means only one thing.”
“The woman who had been to Andre’s house stole it from there and brought it to the U.S.” Angela’s eyes grew wide with excitement.
“Don’t forget. There were a number of Rubber Duckies that had been made, so we don’t know how many are out there. But for starters, we know where they attacked first, and most likely the person who inserted the USB either works at that company or had been invited since they were having a Halloween party at the time.”
“Interesting. Is it most likely that we will be able to find our mysterious woman?”
“Who knows? I feel a big mafia organization is involved. We just don’t know which one.”
“Does that mean I’ll be travelling to the States?”
“Of course you are. You leave tomorrow.”
“Alright, then. Tomorrow it is.”
Mr. Blanco cut the call, and Angela tossed the phone aside as she got her bowl of noodles. She finally found a movie to watch, but she couldn’t help but feel a little excited at how this case was slowly unfolding itself.38Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVZF34hik10
and then Add to home screen.