CHAPTER 66: WEAPON

Raymond watched them from afar and decided that it was time he actually did something to stop whatever it was between Bella, his brother and whoever that child was.

He had just before Monday to actually do something, and he wouldn’t miss it. Waiting was dangerous.

Raymond’s hand tightened around the steering wheel as he pulled away from the curb, the faint laughter of a child still echoing in his ears. He could see them in his rearview mirror — Jake, Bella, and the little boy sitting together on the grass, as though they belonged there. A picture too warm, too easy, and too wrong. He forced his gaze back to the road, jaw set hard.

Pictures from when he’d first gotten there played in his head. From the ice cream place to the park. He’d seen it all.

He told himself again what he’d been telling himself since the first day she walked into StoneTech: I saw her first.

It had been a Monday morning, crisp and loud with the usual chaos of the building lobby. Raymond had been stepping out of the elevator, his phone in one hand, when she appeared — Bella. Nervous, fidgeting, clutching a folder like it was the only thing keeping her upright. She and the friend she came with — Chloe, had bumped into him so suddenly she’d even dropped her papers.

He chuckled softly as he remembered the way she’d stammered an apology, her cheeks burning, her eyes darting everywhere but at him. Most people irritated him when they were clumsy. She hadn’t. Something about her had been... different.

He’d liked her from that very moment. He’d even tried to stop himself from liking her but the harder he’d tried, the harder he’d fallen.

And if life had been fair, if timing had been different, she would have been his. Not Jake’s. How could Jake have even lied to him? Did Jake know and was just trying to take what was his as Jake had always done?

Isabella was his. Not the subject of whatever strange bond was forming now between her, his brother, and that child.

His knuckles whitened as he adjusted his grip on the wheel. "No, Jake doesn’t get to win this one," he muttered under his breath. "Not when I saw her first and became her friend first."

Bella maybe avoiding to see him or speak with him. He wouldn’t rush her, he’d give her time while making sure he would be the only option for her.

Just as he was thinking that, the another question gnawed at him, the one he couldn’t ignore no matter how hard he tried.

Who was the little boy? He could understand Jake wanting to spend time with Bella but who was the boy and why were Jake and Bella being so loving to him?

The child had been glued to Bella’s side at first, then slowly, unbelievably, Jake’s. He had watched, hidden, as his brother crouched down to the boy’s level, pushed him on swings, followed him around the park.

Jake Stones, the man who had never once in his life shown a sliver of patience for children, had actually laughed with him. Had let himself be dragged around like it was natural.

It didn’t make sense. Jake didn’t like kids. He’d always been the type to grimace at their noise, to avoid them at family gatherings, to say they were distractions and burdens. But the way he’d just been with that boy? The ease, the gentleness, the strange warmth softening his sharp edges... everything had been unbearable.

Raymond’s chest burned with something hot and ugly. Who was he and why did he seem like the factor bringing Bella and Jake together?

But then, he shook his head. No, it didn’t matter. Who the boy was, what Jake felt, why Bella smiled like that when she looked at him — none of it mattered.

All that mattered now was stopping this before it grew into something bigger. Before Monday came and cemented whatever fragile bond had formed between them. He was sure it would only grow when they resumed and they hace things to talk about.

He had to sabotage them. That was the only answer. But how would he pull it off? Who was he going to call? What means can he use to make Bella hate Jake?

He wondered until a solution settled in his mind, and a slow smile pulled at Raymond’s lips.

He knew exactly who to call.

Helena. She was the weapon he could use now.

There was no woman in the city more obsessed with Jake Stones than Helena Rivers. She wanted him — desperately, hungrily or maybe not that desperately.

But somehow, he knew that if there was anyone who would hate to see Jake "frolicking around," as she would no doubt call it, with another woman and child, it was her.

His phone buzzed against the console, snapping him out of his thoughts. He pressed a number on speed dial. It rang once before his mother’s voice filled the car.

"Ray? This is a surprise. You don’t usually call at this hour."

"Mother," he said smoothly, though his heart was pounding. "Could you please help me with Helena’s number."

There was a pause as his mom tried to think if she had heard him say. "Helena? What on earth do you want her number for? Why do you even want to speak with her?" she asked , and smile when a thought crossed her mind. "Wait! Don’t tell me you—"

"It’s not like that," he cut in quickly, though the corner of his mouth twitched with amusement. His mother had always wanted to pair him off with someone "suitable," just like she was trying to do to Jake.

Sighing, he combed his hand through his hair in frustration. "It’s for business, nothing more."

"Business?" She sounded skeptical. "Since when does Helena Rivers have anything to do with your business?"

"There’s something I need her advice on," Raymond lied smoothly. "That’s all."

His mother hummed thoughtfully. "Hmm. If you say so. But you’d do well to consider her, Raymond. She’s sharp, elegant, from a good family—"

"Mother," he interrupted, tightening his grip on the wheel. "The number. Besides, didn’t you plan her for my brother?"

Another pause, then a sigh. "Fine. Give me a moment."

Raymond ended the call and waited patiently for his mother to send the number.

He waited, every second stretching thin, until his phone chimed with an incoming message that displayed Helena’s number. His lips curved into a thin smile.

"Thank you," he texted, nodding in satisfaction.

For a moment, he stared at the number glowing on his screen. The ticket to his weapon. It was his lifeline. Exactly what he needed. Then, without hesitation, he tapped it.

It rang twice.

"Hello?" Helena’s voice came through, cool, elegant, but with a faint edge of surprise.

"Helena," he said, smooth and deliberate. "It’s Raymond. Raymond Stones."

There was a beat of silence before her voice sharpened with curiosity. "Oh! Raymond? Well, that’s unexpected. How did you even get my number?"

"My mother," he admitted easily. No need for lies there. "She sent it to me. I hope you don’t mind."

Another pause, then a soft, surprised laugh. "I suppose I can’t be angry at her. But why are you calling me all of a sudden? You and I don’t... well, we’ve never really talked."

"That’s true," he agreed. "But I’d like to change that. There’s something important I need to discuss with you. Something I believe you’ll want to hear."

Her suspicion was immediate. "And what would that be? I don’t usually rearrange my day just to play guessing games."

He let his voice drop, persuasive and low. "I’ll send you an address. Go there now. Once you’re there, you’ll understand why it matters."

"Raymond..." she drew out his name, annoyed. "I don’t have time to go traipsing around the city for vague reasons. If you want to say something, say it now," she said even when she knew she’d be going there as soon as the call ends.

"No," he said firmly, his eyes flicking to the rearview mirror again, catching one last glimpse of Jake and Bella fading into the distance. "This isn’t a conversation for the phone. Go there, and you’ll see why. Trust me, Helena. It’ll be worth it."

Silence. Then, reluctantly, she exhaled. "...Fine. Send me the address. But this better not be a waste of my time."

"It won’t be. After you’ve seen it, call me so we can meet," he promised, his lips curving into a slow, satisfied smile.

The moment the call ended, he typed the address without hesitation — the very park he had just left. He could already picture it: Helena arriving, seeing Jake with Bella and that boy. Her anger would do the rest.

As he pressed send, Raymond leaned back against his seat, exhaling slowly. His pulse thrummed with something dark, something dangerous.

He wasn’t going to wait for Monday. He wasn’t going to stand by and let his brother steal what should have been his.

No. Tonight, the game would begin. And he was going to win it, no matter what.