ɪɢɴɪᴛᴇ ᴅᴇꜱɪʀᴇꜱ

Chapter - 13 Revealing

Ryan raised his hand, and the dim light fell upon the figure sitting across from him. It was Stephanie, her eyes red-rimmed from crying, her wrists bound to the chair.

Ryan's expression was warm and tender as he handed her a plate of food. "Eat, my dear beloved Stephanie. You'll love it. I made it for you with all my love."

Stephanie's eyes welled up with tears as she looked at Ryan in confusion and fear. "Why...why did you put me here? In the dark? Tied up? Why?"

Ryan's smile never wavered. "You're not the only one, Stephanie. You have company."

Stephanie's eyes locked onto Christopher's, and she felt a wave of emotion wash over her. She had known he was there, but asking Ryan about him was a desperate attempt to gauge the situation.

As she gazed at Christopher, Stephanie's composure crumbled. She began to sob uncontrollably, her body shaking with fear and despair.

Ryan's expression remained impassive, his eyes glinting with a sinister light. "Eat, Stephanie," he repeated, his voice devoid of emotion. "Eat, and let's talk about your...friend here.".

"Is he...is he your boyfriend?" Ryan asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Stephanie shook her head frantically. "No, that's not what you think..."

Ryan's laughter cut her off. "Oh, I think I know exactly what's going on here. You see, Christopher here is a well-known robber. And you, Stephanie...you're in deeper than you think."

Stephanie's eyes darted to Christopher, who was shaking his head, his eyes pleading with her to believe him.

"It's not true!" Christopher exclaimed, his voice cracking with desperation.

But Ryan just smiled, his eyes glinting with amusement. "Eat, both of you. Eat all of this. I made it especially for you."

Ryan's expression suddenly contorted into a maniacal grin. He burst into laughter, the sound echoing off the cold walls of the secret room.

"You foolish idiots," he taunted, his voice dripping with malice. "Did you really think you could fool me? It's never going to happen, my dear Stephanie and Mister Christopher, her beloved boyfriend."

Stephanie nodded, still sobbing uncontrollably. Christopher, on the other hand, was seething with rage.

"You bitch, Ryan!" he snarled, his face twisted in fury. "You holy fuck...you're a sick bastard, so u think u r on the right way?!"

Ryan smiled, clearly amused by Christopher's outburst. "Of course, I am," he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "You're the idiot, Christopher. You and your dear Stephanie here."

Christopher's face turned red with anger. "You think you're in a good situation now, but you'll trap yourself in the future. Remember that!"

Ryan's grin grew even wider. "Oh, yes, sir. I'll obey you," he said, his voice heavy with sarcasm.

With that, Ryan stood up, his movements fluid and menacing. He began to ascend the stairs, his eyes glinting with malevolence as he disappeared into the darkness above.

As Ryan disappeared into the darkness above, Stephanie turned to Christopher, her eyes filled with a mix of sadness and desperation. Christopher's face was etched with regret and sorrow, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Stephanie," he said, his words cracking with emotion. "I'm so sorry. I know you're confused, and I don't blame you. But please, just listen to me. I'll tell you everything, every detail of my story. Just don't believe anything that idiot says."

Stephanie's eyes locked onto Christopher's, her expression a mask of determination. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for what was to come.

"Okay," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

Christopher's eyes pleaded for understanding as he began to confess. "Stephanie, I got married when I was 27. It was just a year ago...or rather, I was divorced . Do you know why?"

He paused, taking a deep breath before continuing. "There's a reason, Stephanie. A reason I can tell you everything about. Everything."

Christopher's eyes seemed to glaze over as he delved deeper into his story. "My wife, she was 25 when we got married. She was a beautiful woman, and I loved her. Seriously, I loved her so much. After our marriage, the company was going smoothly. One day, your husband, Ryan, held a meeting in a foreign country. I wanted to join the meeting to advertise my products. It was a global meeting, and every country had an advertiser to promote their products and improve marketing.

"That's where I first met Ryan. We talked about our products, and we became friends. I started my company, and he started his. Both companies were growing well. One day, he called me, and I picked up. He asked how I was, and I said I was okay. He said he was getting married, and that's when he told me about you, Stephanie. That was two or three months after my marriage."

Stephanie's eyes narrowed slightly. "Oh, so you knew me before, right?"

Christopher nodded, his expression pleading. "Of course, I knew you. Please, please don't judge me. Just hear me out, and we can talk after I finish my story."

Stephanie's expression softened slightly. "Okay, continue."

Christopher took a deep breath before proceeding. "After your marriage, Ryan started getting close to you, I think. He once came to my company and told me he wanted to start a new business venture. I said, 'What's next? We're already businessmen.' He just smiled and said we could make something more profitable."

Christopher's eyes locked onto Stephanie's. "I was intrigued, so I asked him what he was talking about. Ryan said it was a secret, but if I joined him, I could make a lot of profit. I was skeptical, so I told him to reveal more before I could consider joining."

Ryan's voice dropped to a whisper. "He secretly told me it was about exporting rare and precious diamonds. I was amazed and asked him if he was talking about smuggling. He just smiled and said, 'Yes...'"

Here's the revised continuation:

Stephanie's voice was barely audible, but her words were laced with horror. "Smuggling? So, you two were...?"

Christopher hastily interrupted her, his hands raised in a placating gesture. "No, Stephanie, no! Just don't judge me, please. I can explain everything. Please, just be quiet and let me continue."

Stephanie nodded, her eyes wide with a mix of fear and curiosity. "Okay, okay. Just continue. I need to know everything."

Christopher took a deep breath before proceeding. "Stephanie, he was a liar. We started the new business in secret, but I was trapped. He trapped me. I didn't know anything about him, but he would call me at night, saying things like, 'Christopher , come to the blair port. We can collect the rare diamonds from the ship tonight. It's our only chance, otherwise, it'll be too crowded in the morning.' So, I would go there, and he would be there too. We would collect the diamonds, share them, and get them to the right place. We would make so much money, so much profit. My company grew, and I planned a new building, a new house... everything. I made all these plans within months."

Christopher's voice dropped to a whisper. "But then, one day, Ryan called me and said, 'Christopher, you need to come.' I asked him what happened, since it was daytime, but he just said, 'I need to talk to you. Just come.' So, I said, 'Yeah, I'm coming....

Christopher's voice was laced with regret and anger. "So, I went there, and Ryan told me he was in trouble. He said the owners of the exporting team had been caught by the police, and we needed to save ourselves. He told me to hand over all the documents related to the smuggling operation. I didn't think twice; I just handed everything over to him."

Christopher's eyes seemed to cloud over, lost in thought. "The next day, Ryan was gone. He had taken all the documents and fled the country. I had no idea what was happening, but soon I realized he had cheated me. He trapped me, and now he's safe because he has all the documents. He just needed someone to take the fall, and that someone was me. After that, he discarded me like garbage."

Christopher's expression turned grim. "Yes, definitely, he's a very bad person, and you shouldn't believe him."