Forgetting Billions | ✓

20 | Forgetting Bianca

"JASMINE," a woman cried, tears rushing to her eyes. "Shayan, she's not waking up!"

"Move back. I need to see her," Shayan said and ran his fingers over the bruises on her face. His jaw was set, with a deep frown to match, and it seemed as if he was about to cry as well.

Jasmine's body was haphazardly sprawled across the ground. Her hair was a ragged mess of branches and grass and her face was riddled with cuts of every color. The shirt she wore to school the day before was lifted up slightly to reveal her stomach, which was almost black from the beating she suffered through the night before.

And while Shayan did not know why or how she had received such brutal injuries, his heart still fell apart. Seeing the strong woman of his dreams turned into a victim was enough to make him want to bring her justice, no matter what he had to do to achieve it.

Selena interrupted his thought process with her shrill, headache-inducing voice. "Jasmine's health is probably getting worse with every second you waste touching her. If you're not going to do anything helpful, I'm going to call the police."

"Calm down," he muttered and surprisingly, she stopped ranting. His eyes raked over the area around them until they landed on a fallen mask. "Look at this, Selena."

Selena sucked in a gasp as he approached the evidence. "Have you seen this mask before? Do you think the owner did this to Jasmine?"

"I remember Bianca owning something like this. She said it was found at the crime scene after her husband died," Shayan said. "Why would she hurt Jasmine, anyway?"

"Maybe it was done by someone working for her. What if Bianca is the ultimate person behind the messages, though? What if she's the one who's been harassing Jas?" Selena asked with a shaky voice.

"Jasmine's been threatened?"

"She didn't tell you?"

"Obviously not!" Shayan exclaimed, rubbing his hand against his forehead as he released a frustrated grunt. He heard Selena whisper something about Jasmine not needing a knight in shining armor to save her. He was insulted but ignored her comment nevertheless. "We should turn this in. Officer Yi would probably be able to find out who owns the mask and to be safe, she could investigate Bianca until everything is sorted out." After a beat, he reluctantly added, "I mean, who else could it be?"

"It's pretty messed up though. She seemed like she loved Jasmine so much." Selena clicked her tongue. "It just shows that you can't trust anyone."

Shayan narrowed his eyes at the woman standing beside him. "I agree. But what would Bianca's motive even be?"

"Maybe she blames Jasmine for the shooting that killed her husband. Anyway, that's for Maria to figure out, not us." Selena shrugged.

"She would never. But I do know is that she's living with the Karesh family. Jasmine's parents could've been enough to drive her over the edge, though it seems unlikely."

Shayan knelt down to Jasmine once again and placed his arms beneath her legs and her head, cradling her body to his chest. His eyes darkened as he took in the sight of her.

"She's been in this state all night, Shayan. We need to call the police now." Selena ordered and this time, she didn't wait for him to reply. She dialed 911 after flashing Shayan a disgusted look.

He shook his head, focusing all his attention on holding Jasmine. He didn't want to let her go until he had to. He feared she would be hurt again if he turned his attention away for a second.

Before they knew it, a string of police cars zoomed over, the paramedics following closely behind. They ripped Jasmine away from Shayan's arms and hauled her into the ambulance, leaving behind two teenagers to explain what they knew to the police.