The Reclaimed Rose (Annalise and Steven) novel Chapter 501

Madeline said, "I'm still not hungry."

Sasha nodded in agreement. "Right. We'll just skip a meal or two if we're short on money."

Madeline's head bobbed once. "I'll look out for him after work. You can leave through the basement parking lot if he's waiting by the door. If he isn't, we'll leave through the main entrance."

"Thank you!" Sasha threw her arms around Madeline gratefully. "You're the best. I love you!"

Madeline chuckled as she said, "Don't mention it."

They chatted some more before their supervisor came over to urge them to return to their workstations. Only then did the two women let each other go.

Before starting work, Sasha leaned close to Madeline and whispered, "We'll talk after we get off work."

The latter nodded imperceptibly, "Got it."

…

Upon getting home, Jessica sat in the living room and fell into deep thought. Steven seemed to always have to bear the brunt of whatever favor she asked of him, including speaking up for her.

If that were the case, she would have to resort to other methods.

Jessica couldn't stand seeing Annalise do better than her. She went on Instagram and found Casper's profile. She clicked on their conversation and found that he had left her a torrent of messages, none of which she replied to.

She reckoned he would be apprehensive if she told him the real reason she was texting him. As such, she replied to his messages courteously.

…

He did not give her an immediate confirmation. Instead, he asked, "Why?"

Jessica replied without hesitation, "Could you send me the video?"

"Tell me what you plan to do with it, and I'll consider it," was all Casper wrote. He had more or less figured out what Jessica wanted to do with the video, but he refused to believe it.

She had been nothing short of angelic when they were together. How could she stoop so low and do something so terrible?

Jessica couldn't care less if Casper thought she was wicked. "It's simple. Annalise has been getting on my nerves lately, so I've decided to put your sex tape up on the internet. Once the world sees what a trollop she is for fooling around while she was still married to Steven, they would ostracize her."

Annalise's reputation online would be dragged through the mud. Zane would be so disappointed in her that he would wash his hands of her. When that happened, the merchandise sales for Annalise's comics would drop and never surpass Jessica's again.

Just thinking about how the drama would unfold filled Jessica with an inexplicable thrill.