The Heart System - Chapter 598

Cora pulled out her phone and opened the hidden camera app. After a few seconds of loading, the feed appeared, a black screen at first, then it switched to the bedroom camera. The bed was empty. No movement. Nothing.

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. “They’re not in the room yet?”

Esme had already attacked the pizza. She was devouring slice after slice with impressive speed. In under a minute, more than half the box was gone.

“I swear I heard a car honking earlier,” Cora said, scratching the back of her head. “I thought they’d be here by now.”

We watched the hidden cam in silence for a straight minute. Yes… something was moving, I could tell that. Some strange noises were being picked up by the camera. But there was no movement whatsoever. Damn it.

“Maybe they’re still downstairs drinking or something,” I shrugged.

Cora groaned. “This is so annoying… I’m really sorry for dragging you all the way here, Evan. I didn’t think they’d stall like this.”

I smiled and gently bumped her shoulder. “Hey, at least I got pizza out of it. I’m actually pretty hungry, maybe we can—”

We both turned toward the table at the same time.

The pizza box was empty. Every single slice had vanished.

Esme sat there innocently on the chair, cheeks puffed out mid-chew. When she noticed us staring, she froze for a second, then gave us a lazy, closed-eye smile and flashed a peace sign with her fingers.

Cora stared at her in disbelief, then slowly turned her phone screen off and slumped her shoulders in defeat.

“Um… do you want anything else?” Cora asked me, heading toward the kitchen.

“Just water, thanks,” I replied, walking over to the couch and sitting down.

Esme stretched her arms high above her head with a loud groan, her t-shirt riding up dangerously and giving me a full view of her bare pussy for a moment. She then shuffled over and dropped onto the couch right beside me, lazy as ever. She leaned against the armrest, threw her legs up onto the coffee table, and lounged like she owned the place, eyes half-closed.

“I’m normally too lazy to ask,” she mumbled sleepily, “but what’s going on?”

“Doesn’t concern you, pizza devourer,” Cora said sternly from the kitchen. “You didn’t even leave us one slice?”

“Uuh… I was hungry,” Esme muttered, shrinking into the couch like she was trying to disappear.

“Of course you were…”

Cora brought me a glass of cold water and sat on my left side on the couch. Esme lazily leaned forward, trying to peek at Cora’s phone, but quickly gave up. She let out a tired groan and slumped back against the cushions, clearly too lazy to make any real effort.

“We don’t have to watch it 24/7,” I said. “Right?”

“Yeah,” Cora nodded. “It automatically saves the footage to the cloud.”

“Then we’re good. We can check it later.”

“I…”

Cora was about to say something when we suddenly heard noise coming from the phone’s speaker, the sound of a car engine starting, followed by tires rolling away. The sound faded quickly.

We both froze, listening carefully for a few more seconds.

“Aw,” Cora exhaled in disappointment. “Did they just leave?”

“Shit,” I muttered, leaning forward with my elbows on my knees. “Why the hell would they leave?”

Cora kept staring at the empty bedroom feed. “Maybe they changed their minds… or something. I’m sorry, Evan.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I said, rubbing my face. “Those two idiots are the problem.”

Cora turned off the screen and shook her head in frustration. I drank the water in silence, trying to figure out my next move. This was supposed to be my best chance to catch them in the act and blackmail Jack into leaving Nala alone. But the plan had completely fallen apart.

Just then, my phone started ringing. It was Kim. I answered immediately.

“Hello?”

“Evan,” Kim said, her voice tense. “Emma finally texted me back. Jack gave Nala one last day. If she doesn’t send the nudes, he’s going to leak the videos he already has.”

“Fuck,” I hissed, clenching my fist. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“What are you going to do?” Kim asked, clearly worried. “I don’t want her sending anything to that asshole, Evan.”

“I know. I’ll handle it,” I said through gritted teeth. “I’ll figure something out.”

“Please do. If you need help with anything, just tell me.”

“I will. Thanks, Kim.”

“Always.”

I hung up and shoved the phone back into my pocket. My blood was boiling. It looked like blackmail wasn’t going to work. If I couldn’t get dirt on Jack, I’d have to use force. Whatever it took, I wasn’t letting Nala send him anything.

Cora placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, pulling me out of my dark thoughts. I let out a long breath and leaned back on the couch, trying to calm down.

“I need to go,” I said, standing up. “I’ve got to deal with this Jack situation.”

“I’ll come with you,” Cora offered, rising as well. “I can help—”

“No,” I said firmly but softly. “This one I have to do alone.”

“But—”

“I’ll be fine,” I smiled. “Next time, I’ll bring two pizzas.”

Esme turned toward me on the couch and gave me a lazy but genuine smile. “You’re the best, Evan.”

I chuckled lightly as I reached the door. “That I am.”

Cora walked me to the door and leaned against the frame. I stepped closer, cupped her face, and kissed her. She kissed me back softly, then wrapped her arms around me in a warm hug. From the couch, Esme peeked over and shook her head.

“Disgusting,” she muttered.

“Be careful,” Cora said with a gentle smile.

“I will,” I replied, kissing her one more time. “Don’t worry.”

I pulled back and gave her one last look before heading down the stairs. The moment I heard the door click shut behind me, I took out my phone and dialed Carrie.

“Evan?”

“Carrie,” I said, voice serious. “I need you to set up a meeting with Jack. As soon as possible.”

“Right now?”

“Right now,” I repeated. “Tell him it’s urgent.”

“Okay, I’ll let you know what he says.”

I stepped out of the building and walked toward my car. Once inside, I fastened my seatbelt and pulled up the hidden camera app again. Still nothing. The bedroom was empty. No movement, no voices.

But then, a phone started ringing.

The sound was clear through the camera’s microphone. It was coming from inside the master bedroom. My eyebrows furrowed. Carrie was calling Jack right now… so coud it be…?

“…fuck,” a low male voice muttered. “Not now.”

The ringing stopped.

My eyes widened. Someone was in the house.

“Oh, you bastard…” I muttered, quickly starting the engine. “What the hell are you doing there, Jack?”

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