CHAPTER 10

Bradley trembled with fear, his mouth hanging open in shock as he tried to understand what had happened.

How did his private text messages appear on the projector screen for the world to see? What in the name of a nightmare was he witnessing?

No! This couldn't be real, he reasoned. Those were the most secret things and there was no way anyone else could know about them. He had to be in some sort of afterlife situation for this to be happening.

His phone had a special and permanent lock that was even different from the other passworded phones. Did someone hack into his phone? Even if someone did, wouldn’t they have to come close to him for that to happen? Wouldn’t they have to steal his phone at least for a moment for it to happen?

Bradley couldn’t recall losing his phone for a long time. He was always with his phone and even when he wanted to sleep, he would usually keep it very close to himself.

He never took risks with his gadgets because he knew that some scary secrets were contained there.

Bradley’s heart was beating so fast that he could feel it. His hands were shaking uncontrollably as he realized that there was no turning back or escape from the truth that had just been revealed to everyone in the hall.

How was he going to redeem himself from this kind of mess?

Bradley’s ears burned as he heard loud whispers of rejection from the crowd. His soul was bare and left raw with the intense scrutiny that was placed on him.

The whispers were loud and reaching into his ears.

“My cousin was a victim of this. No! So Bradley is responsible for this.

“They asked us to give them 17 thousand dollars for them they release her medical records”

“Are you sure it's the same Bradley Stevens that is involved in all these?”

“He must be a psychopath!”

“No! He is a murderer!”

“He is a thief!”

“How is he still here?!”

“He deserves to die!”

“Let him die!”

The voices were a loud echo in Bradley’s ears. He realized that he needed to stand up from the chair and leave there but he wondered if that was going to be possible anyway.

His feet were stuck to the ground - it was as if something was binding him to the chair. His neck was stiff and he couldn't even check the possibility of escaping the hall.

Charlotte was still confused. Her heart was shattered by the revelation of Bradley’s dark secrets and the only one who could make it make sense was seated right next to her.

“Bradley, I am talking to you. What exactly is going on here?” Charlotte asked again, her eyes darting around as if she was expecting people to pounce on them.

Oscar was literally telling the whole world that her soon-to-be husband was involved in blackmailing people. No! She wouldn't just believe that even if that was what the whole world chose to believe. She had to hear his side of the story.

“Bradley! Bradley!” Charlotte tapped her fiance repeatedly and with a lot of impatience. “What is all these about? Are you really involved in these accusations? Why don't you stand up and defend yourself? Say something, Bradley!”

Bradley turned towards Charlotte in a dark glare, his gesture an indication of his intolerance as he spoke with a whisper. “Just keep quiet and stop pestering me.”

“What?!” Charlotte whispered, her eyes wide with terror. “Does that mean that you are responsible for these chats? You really did get money from people through blackmail?”

Charlotte was desperate for Bradley to just say that it wasn't true. Even though the evidence was glaring at her on the screen, she hoped that something was missing that could vindicate him.

She wasn't blind after all. Some of the dodgy videos exposed Bradley’s face and body. Only a dummy would deny that it wasn't some shady stuff being displayed on the screen.

Charlotte didn't want to believe that the man she had thought she was going to marry was a horrible person but with each moment, her heart was breaking more and more.

She knew that her family was also involved in some shady dealings some of which Oscar had already exposed but she was hoping that Bradley was clean.

Oscar wasn't done with exposing Bradley. “I can see that everyone is murmuring because you are all obviously surprised but I ask that you should be patient. I have more for you all if only you will be patient.”

The room seemed to have held its breath and the atmosphere was charged with anticipation.

Everyone who had been involved in something shady in recent weeks had their hearts pounding with intensity. They knew that some people were not going to leave that hall with their hands five meters apart from each other.

“I am not done with Bradley just in case some of you were wondering,” Oscar continued, his voice booming over the speakers.

“It might interest you to all know that Bradley, who many of us think is a respectable person, is also an organ trafficker.”

WHOAAAA!

The crowd exploded into a loud and sudden noise, everyone started shouting and talking over each other.