CHAPTER 91: CUT OFF

"Hello?" Damian let out a groan as he put the annoyingly ringing phone on his ear, as he lay under the covers, with Vanessa’s head on his chest.

They might’ve gone overboard last night, but who cares? Might as well celebrate their easiest win right?

Early the next morning, Damian was woken up by the insistent ringing of his phone, so without looking at the number, he just answered it.

There was silence on the other end causing him to pull the phone away from his ears and looked at the screen when his eyes suddenly widened as he recognized it.

"M-Mr D-Dmitri, Sir," Damian quickly sat up straight.

Vanessa stirred, groaning as the warmth of his chest vanished. "What the hell, Damian?" she muttered, half-asleep.

"Shut up," he muttered as quietly as possible, slapping her thigh to silence her. His free hand clenched the sheets as he forced his voice steady. "I–I wasn’t expecting your call so early."

"I really had high hopes for you two," Dmitri’s voice finally came, his Russian accent clear through the phone.

"S-sir?" Damian stuttered out.

"I believed you moved to Atlanta to put your ’plan’ in play, no?" Dmitri asked, ""Then what is this I hear about you two celebrating, wasting time, wasting my money?"

Damian’s throat went dry. "W-we’re making progress, sir. I swear. Just—just a minor setback, nothing more."

Vanessa sat up now, sheet draped lazily over her, frowning at Damian’s tone. He pressed a finger to his lips to silence her.

"Progress?" Dmitri repeated, his voice suddenly sharp. "I see no progress, you’re supposed to have already started from the moment you landed in Atlanta, yet there’s no report from you."

"W-we’ll get to work right away," Damian quickly hopped off the bed picking up his clothes and signalling the confused Vanessa to do the same.

Without questions she also followed suit, quickly putting on her clothes and sitting on the bed in waiting.

"I do not normally grant second chances, Damian," Dmitri said, his voice low and measured. "But this time... I will overlook your failure. On one condition."

There was a pause.

"From this moment, all financial support I have provided to you and Vanessa is finished, until you two can show that you’re actually useful."

"W-what? But we need the—" before he could complete his words, the line went dead, leaving a stunned

"What the hell was that about?" Vanessa finally asked, irritation lacing her voice. "You looked like you were about to puke."

Damian turned to her slowly, his face pale. "He cut us off."

Vanessa blinked. "...What?"

"He won’t financially aid us anymore," he said with a frown, "not until we actually show results."

"I see," Vanessa muttered, "then let’s get to work."

She picked her phone up immediately after saying that before scrolling through her contacts, stopping at Lillian’s and hitting call.

_______

Lillian, on the other hand, sat calmly in her office a small smile of satisfaction on her face.

In her hands were a stack of pretty interesting folders that Aria had gotten her just the day before.

It was surprise that she had gotten so much information in so little time and with so little budget but she wouldn’t question the results.

She flipped through the first folder, Damian’s photo staring up at her. The neat printout beneath it catalogued everything Aria’s contacts had uncovered, failed schemes, debts he had piled up back in Boston, and a couple of scans he had pulled of.

"Pathetic," Lillian whispered, tapping her nail against his name.

It was directed at herself than Damian. She thought of her past self as pathetic since she couldn’t see that they were obviously using her.

The next folder made her pause longer. Vanessa. On the surface, polished and cunning, the girl who had pretended to be her ’friend.’ But the pages in front of Lillian told another story entirely.

Vanessa’s time at university, her involvement in certain scandals and the evidence of her backstabbing ways.

As she leaned back in her chair, the phone on her desk buzzed. Unknown number. She didn’t need to guess twice.

"Speak of the devil," she murmured before answering, though she was a bit hesitant, she still accepted the call, "Yes?"

There was a pause on the other end, and then Vanessa’s voice came through, forcedly sweet, something Lillian could clearly see now.

"...Lillian? It’s been a while since we last met up, hasn’t it?."

Lillian’s eyes moved down to the open folder in front of her, Vanessa’s picture staring back at her.

"Yes," Lillian said softly, almost amused. "It really has."

Vanessa was a bit taken aback by Lillian’s tone. There was no sign of fear or anger in it, but she just dismissed it as her hiding her feelings pretty well.

"Great," Vanessa said, "Damian and I just happened to be in Atlanta, how about we meet up later today... Oh and you can also bring your boss, y’know, for us to thank him for taking care of our little Lily."

Lillian almost felt like vomiting at her words, the same patronizing tone Vanessa had always used back in college—masking poison with honey.

Her fingers tightened around the folder, but her voice remained calm. "Is that so?"

"Yes," Vanessa chirped, clearly gaining confidence. "It would be just like old times, don’t you think? We can catch up, share a meal... and you can introduce us properly to this mysterious boss of yours. Word is, he’s quite something."

Lillian’s lips curled into a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She could already see the desperation behind Vanessa’s sugary façade, the way she was trying so hard.

"Hmm," Lillian hummed, leaning back in her chair. She went silent as if she was really considering it. "I’ll consider it."

Vanessa forced a laugh, brittle and high-pitched. "Oh, come on, Lily. Don’t be so cold. You know Damian and I only want what’s best for you. We’ve always looked out for you, haven’t we?"

"Besides, don’t tell us you’re still holding a grudge for what happened?" She added, "we were all fooled and you didn’t even give us a chance to apologize, maybe we’ll use this meeting as one?"

"You’re right," Lillian finally said, her voice measured, smooth as glass. "It has been too long. I’ll... talk to my boss about it."

Vanessa’s relief was audible, almost giddy. "Perfect! I knew you’d see it my way. Let’s meet tonight—eight o’clock, The Copper Hound, downtown. I’ll text you the details."

"Mm," Lillian hummed. "I’ll be in touch."

And with that, she ended the call before Vanessa could say another word.

She then called Aria directly after, her finger drumming against the folder as the phone rang twice before a groggy voice answered.

"...Do you know what time it is?" Aria muttered.

"7 am Aria, "Lillian replied with a chuckle. "And I need you awake. Damian and Vanessa just invited me to dinner."

That woke Aria up instantly. "Wait—what? Those two snakes really did call you?"

"Yeah," Lillian nodded, "and they’re asking to meet up with me and Ethan at eight tonight."

"Should we move to the next phase of the plan now?" Aria asked after a moment of silence.

"Yeah," she answered, "let’s finally get rid of this past."

Aria let out a low whistle. "I’ll prep. Do you want me shadowing you at the restaurant, or...?"

"No, I’ll need you there with me," Lillian responded, "y’know, just in case."

"Alright," Aria nodded before she went silent for a while before saying, "I still think you should at least tell Ethan what you’re up no."

"No," She shook her head, "as I said, I don’t want him to get involved, this is my battle to fight."

"I see," Aria said before switching the topic, "now then, I’ll go get ready to meet."

"Thank you, Aria" Lillian said, a smile on her face.

---------

Dmitri put down the phone after speaking with Damian before picking up another and putting it on his ear.

"It’s done," he said a frown on his face.

"Good job," the person I on the other end said, "a few more jobs and you’ll never hear from me again Dmitri."

"As long as you don’t touch my family," Dmitri warned, "and if you do, I don’t care who you are or how well you hide, I will find you, and I’ll kill you1."

"Calm down Dmitri," the person said after chuckling, "your family will be fine for as long as you want them to be."

"Betray our agreement," the person paused for a while, "and I can’t promise their safety, understood?"

"Understood," Dmitri responded.

"I’m glad you do," The person in the other end said, the smile could almost be heard through his voice, "now, stay put, I’ll contact you for your next task soon enough."

With that, the call was ended and Dmitri moved the phone from his ear, looking at it with the urge to break it, but he knew he couldn’t, not if he wanted his family safe from this bastard,

OmniTech.

Couldn't resist 😅