The Cursed Proposal

Chapter 22: The Determination of The Backfire Plan

Kaya hurried to the bathroom, hoping to hide her teary eyes from Margaret's prying gaze. Margaret might not comment, but Kaya didn't want to explain herself—she didn't even understand why she was crying in the first place.

Kaya knew she had been stubborn, trying to investigate things on her own without Sebastian. But he couldn't have been more wrong, emotionally blaming himself for not being good enough for her—dropping the kiss, then suddenly pulling away, leaving her hanging.

Kaya felt her chest tighten, making it hard to breathe, and her vision clouded as water pooled in her eyelids. She was confused, Had she crossed a line? Had he crossed the line? Was there even a line?

Kaya knew that Sebastian was definitely a catch. No woman in her right mind would miss a sweet, protective, daring man who most likely would give her the world. But somehow, he was giving her mixed signals. Sometimes he would try to catch her, other times he would show his soft and protective side, and when Kaya reciprocated, he would be gone, distancing himself.

"You make a fool of me, Sebastian Blackwood!" Kaya muttered to her reflection, her voice shaky. "I can't believe I cried over you." She vowed to prove her worth, to make this backfire on him. She would do more than cross the line—she would shatter it, break through every barrier standing between her and him.

After wiping away her tears and touching up her makeup to hide the puffiness in her eyes, Kaya stepped out of the bathroom and found Oliver waiting outside. He looked cold, distant—his discomfort palpable as he stood there.

Kaya walked briskly past him toward the elevator, eager to get away from Sebastian. She could feel Oliver following her. Turning around, she folded her arms, and gave him a defiant look, waiting for him to explain himself. Instead, he shot her the same attitude in return.

"Can I help you?" Kaya asked since the man didn't seem interested in explaining himself.

"Boss put me on babysitting duty," Oliver sneered, his smile mocking. "Seems there's a big baby here who doesn't get basic human language."

"'Your boss is wrong," Kaya shot back, her voice loud enough for Margaret—and hopefully the boss—to hear. "The baby wouldn't get mixed signals if people didn't promise one thing and break it when it's convenient."

Kaya was livid; she couldn't stay there anymore. All she wanted now was to find more clues from the phone and the torn notebook to prove to Sebastian that she could handle herself, and he could trust her a little more.

Kaya walked toward her car, aware that Oliver was following her. She could see the annoyance on his face, but she ignored him completely, focusing instead on inspecting the damage from the accident.

"What happens to your car?" Oliver asked the obvious question. Kaya rolled her eyes and ignored him. Oliver continued asking the same question over and over again until Kaya was fed up and scolded him for being annoying.

"Shut Up! I just got myself a hit-and-run. Someone's trying to silence me or steal the clues I found from Benson's car, happy?! Now do you want to report this to your boss?" Kaya said exhausted from being pestered by a manchild.

Kaya stopped checking her car when she felt the silence. Thinking it was strange she turned her body toward Oliver and found him deep in thought.

"What did you find out? I was thinking of going there myself, but I was planning to go tonight," Oliver asked curiously, his tacky and silly expression replaced with a more serious, investigative face.

Kaya handed him the broken phone and the torn notebook. Oliver took the notebook first, flipped the page quickly, and put his finger on the paper, sensing its texture before asking Kaya if she had a graphite pencil. After Kaya gave him the pencil, he colored the paper and revealed a broken message with a phone number.

Kaya pulled out her phone and dialed the number. It rang several times until someone picked it up, a man with a voice that sounded strangely familiar. Ethan Smith, Sebastian's lawyer friend.

***

Kaya with Oliver forced to tag along, went to Ethan's office. The drive from Sebastian's office to Ethan's was silent, filled with suspense, as Oliver pulled out his tool to extract data from the broken phone while Kaya was told to drive his car while her car had been confiscated by Sebastian after Oliver reported the hit-and-run.

"My dear, what a pleasant surprise. What brings you here? Who is this?" Ethan greeted, giving Kaya a friendly hug while giving Oliver a confused look. Kaya furrowed her eyebrow, wondering why Sebastian's best friends didn't know about the private investigator.

"Someone unimportant. Please Ethan I need to talk to you in private. It's important," Kaya said, trying to stop Ethan from asking further, unsure of how to introduce Oliver.

Ethan brought them to his office and Kaya explained everything she knew up to the point of finding Ethan's phone number in the notebook from Robert Benson's car. Ethan listened attentively, but he didn't recognize any clients or witnesses named Benson, current or past.

Ethan reviewed the notebook and the extracted data from the phone. He was still confused, but Kaya could see he started to recognize something. A victory smile appeared on his face.

"I don't know where you got this data, but I've never met anyone named Robert Benson. However, this could be the missing evidence in the Aegis Therapeutics case—the one that no prosecutor will touch. Benson must have been trying to contact me for legal help before he got caught up in that accident," Ethan said. He mentioned that he had received a call from an unknown number two days ago, but he had been tied up with a case in court at the time and was unable to answer.

Ethan leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples as Kaya finished explaining how she'd acquired the evidence. He let out a sigh and leaned forward, lacing his fingers together.

"Kaya, what you've found is... valuable, no doubt about that," Ethan said carefully. "But here's the problem—it won't hold up in court. The way you obtained it—searching Benson's car without a warrant—makes it inadmissible."

Kaya's shoulder slumped. She knew that, but for that split second, she had forgotten everything. "Yes, I know. I'm just too eager to prove the reporters are wrong about Sebastian. What should we do now?"

"The court has strict rules about how evidence is collected. If it's not obtained legally, it's considered tainted, no matter how incriminating it is." Ethan's tone shifted a glimmer of strategy in his eyes. "What you've done is uncover a critical lead. While we can't present your findings directly, we can use them to steer an investigation in the right direction—legally."

Kaya tilted her head. "How? Do you mean you'll... what, file a report or something?"

"Not exactly," Ethan replied. "We need to create a situation where the evidence can be re-obtained through proper channels. For example, if Benson's car is scheduled for demolition, we can argue its relevance to an ongoing investigation and secure it before it's destroyed. That'll give us a chance to legally retrieve the phone and notebook."

Kaya was still confused, but Ethan reassured her that he would do everything he could to ensure her findings could be presented and the corporate executive would face trial.

Kaya straightened her back, determination flickering in her eyes. "Ethan, I started this, and I want to see it through. If there's anything I can do to help you re-extract the evidence or build the case, just tell me."

Ethan raised an eyebrow, impressed by her resolve. "I admire your spirit, Kaya. But this isn't a simple writing an article—it's a legal minefield. Are you sure you're ready to step into that world?"

"I've come this far, haven't I?" Kaya replied, crossing her arms. "Besides, if this case is connected to Aegis Therapeutics, it's bigger than me or Sebastian. I can't just walk away, I need to prove that Sebastian wasn't involved in this."

Oliver chuckled softly from the corner. Kaya silenced him with her laser stare, and Oliver raised both of his hands in surrender.

Ethan smiled. "Alright, Kaya. If you're in, I'll find a way to use your skills. But be ready for things to get complicated."

Kaya smiled and nodded. Her determination needed to be seen to the world, not just for her. But for the world really see that there was no curse attached to Sebastian.

To be Continued.