Ambergris Locakboxes Traveled Salt Routes by Hugh Calder 91
Chapter Ninty–One: Dreston Is Handling It..
“But she doesn’t want anyone finding out about it.”
Jessica’s voice trembled slightly as she continued, her eyes darting from one face to another in the security
room.
“I was shocked too when I found out. Cassienne is the player everyone has been searching for all these years. Last night, she mistakenly logged into the game with her original username, and my IP address was live. Since I was also playing with her at the same time, people immediately figured out that I knew her.”
Silence swallowed the entire room. No one spoke, no one breathed too loudly. Shock clung to every face like a thick fog.
Nora was the first to react.
“There is no way,” she scoffed, anger and disbelief dripping from her voice. “No way that that woman is the mentor I’ve been dying to meet all these years.”
Jessica turned slowly to her sister, her expression firm.
“Unfortunately, she is.”
Nora clenched her fists.
Joseph’s phone rang suddenly, cutting through the tension immediately. He answered instantly, without checking the caller I’d, his tone firm.
“Yes,” he breathed.
“Father, I’m on my way there,” Dreston’s voice came through the line, loud enough for everyone to hear. “No one should say a word about NULLWRAITH to those parasites. I promise I’ll handle it.”
Joseph stiffened.
“You knew about this?” he asked.
“Of course I did,” Dreston replied without hesitation. “But Cassienne didn’t want anyone to know. If they find her, it will destroy her focus and her career. Those people don’t play fair, Father. I’ll be there very soon, and I’ll send them away.”
Joseph paused, then spoke quietly. “Alright. But we need to talk.”
Then he ended the call.
All eyes shifted to him immediately.
“Well,” Joseph said after a moment, “that was Dreston. Apparently, he also knew Cassienne is whatever code name they call her, and he insists this remains a secret.”
Abigail exhaled in relief, her shoulders dropping. Jessica smiled faintly, and was grateful.
But Nora was far from relieved.
Chapter Ninty–One: Dreston is Handling it.
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She stood there, arms crossed tightly, her face dark with jealousy and resentment. Cassienne was no longer the quiet, replaceable woman she once thought she was. Everything about her had changed, her status, her power,
her relevance.
“There’s no need to worry,” Joseph added. “Dreston is handling it.”
“At least it’s something to be proud of,” Sheila said softly. “To stir this kind of reaction… I’m happy for her.” Joseph shook his head before he replied. “It’s dangerous. Fame like this can ruin careers if mishandled. There’s nothing good about being exposed like this.”
Nora turned abruptly and stormed out of the room. She couldn’t stand it anymore.
Cassienne had upgraded every aspect of her life. There was nothing left for Nora to mock or belittle. And that truth burned deeper than it should.
Cassienne woke earlier than she intended to. She didn’t check her phone, she didn’t stretch, and she didn’t linger in bed for too long.
She got up abruptly and walked straight into the bathroom, stripping off her robe and stepping under the shower. The cold water washed over her skin, but it did nothing to quiet the storm in her head.
Last night was a disaster.
She dressed quickly, choosing a fitted blouse and dark trousers, her movements were deliberate and efficient. Within minutes, she was out of her apartment, the two female bodyguards flanking her on either side.
The car was already waiting outside her apartment building. The driver opened the door politely. “Good morning, ma’am.”
“Thank you. Good morning,” she replied as she slid into the backseat.
The car pulled onto the road, merging into traffic.
Cassienne leaned back, staring out the window as buildings passed by in a blur. Her thoughts raced.
She had always been careful. Always precise. How could she make such a foolish mistake? Logging into a live game with her original username, and from Jessica’s location, of all places?
She sighed and shook her head.
Only then did she reach for her phone, but It was dead.
“Great,” she muttered.
By the time they arrived at Auralink, her nerves were tightly coiled. Instead of using the executive elevator assigned to her, she took the private one, Dreston’s elevator.
She didn’t know why. Maybe instinct. Or maybe a habit she didn’t know how it started. Definitely it is something she didn’t want to admit.
When the elevator doors opened, Janet was the first person she saw. She had been gossiping about Tina, of
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Chapter Ninty–One Dreston Is Handling It.
course, but immediately, she dismissed the others when she noticed Cassienne. “Good morning, ma’am,” the staff greeted respectfully.
Cassienne paused.
They hadn’t called her Mrs. Tremont. That alone warmed her chest.
“Good morning,” she replied with a small smile before walking on.
Once inside her office, she plugged in her phone. The screen lit up instantly.
Missed calls. Messages. Notifications flooding in nonstop.
She exhaled slowly. She had expected this. The first message she opened was from Jessica.
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‘The observers stormed the mansion this morning. Sports journalists too. Dreston spoke to them and dismissed everyone. If they had talked to me, I wouldn’t have been able to protect your secret much longer. You owe him, as he was the one that saved you.‘
Cassienne smiled faintly.
Then she opened another message, the one that made her breath hitch.
It was from Dr. Marvin.
‘Your mother’s condition is stable. She’s responded well to treatment. She’s ready to be discharged anytime.‘
Cassienne’s eyes shone brighter, her mother was coming home. Relief surged through her, then dread followed closely behind it.
Her mother didn’t know about the divorce. If she visited, Cassienne would have to return to the Tremont mansion, at least temporarily.
She didn’t like the idea, but for her mother? She could endure anything.
‘I’ll pretend,” she told herself. ‘Just for a few days.‘
Once her mother leaves, she would reclaim her life again, on her own terms.
No matter what.
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