Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates - Chapter 440

Chapter 440: 440-I Forgot About The Videos
Helanie:

They had gone silent for a solid few seconds before Norman gestured at his mother not to interrupt him when he saw her opening her mouth wide, about to yell at me.

“Why would he tie you outside?” he asked, his eyes quickly moving to Emmet to see if he knew anything. I noticed Emmet rubbing his temples as if he was trying to remember something.

But he knew. I know he knew—we had talked about it.

“He wanted me dead so that I wouldn’t speak about his ugly truth,” I hissed, watching his mother come at me. She pushed Norman aside—barely—so she could squeeze past him, reach me, and shove me in the back. If Emmet hadn’t been quick enough to catch me, I would have landed on the ground.

“Cut this nonsense. You are trying to cause trouble between that poor boy and my son,” Lady Darcy shouted, thinking that the louder she got, the more believable she would sound.

“Mom, we are not using our hands on her, do you understand me?” Norman turned to his mother, pointing his finger at her.

“You’re arguing with me for her?” Darcy yelled, throwing a fit. It got to the point where she started pushing her son back and crying loudly. Just one finger pointed at her from Norman, and she made such a big fuss about it.

“I will go back to the hostel now,” I announced, quickly sidestepping them. I would talk with the brothers once we were alone. Since I had already blurted it out, I had a feeling I would need to confess way more than just that.

As I rushed past them, I heard Norman comforting his mother, or else she would pass out. I didn’t want to stop for anyone until I saw little Demi step in my way right at the exit.

“You weren’t even going to meet us?” she pouted, looking adorable in her two ponytails.

“Of course not. I was looking for you,” I lied, swallowing my tears.

“Helanie, Davon is sick. We had to stay here because of the cold and snow, and so did our mother,” she said, looking down, disappointed. It was clear as day that they didn’t like her either.

“What happened to Davon?” I asked, slowly approaching her while she stood meekly, her hands tied behind her back.

“I don’t know. Mom says it was inevitable, that she’s lucky she didn’t have to pick,” Demi said, not making sense.

Could it be that she misheard her mother’s words? Because what she was telling me didn’t make sense in terms of Davon’s condition.

“Hey, he’ll be fine,” I knelt down, placing my hands on her arms and rubbing her shoulders.

“Will you stay here and take care of him with me?” Her request was the purest thing ever. And even though I wanted to be there for her, I couldn’t. I had to go back. Romeo had access to the academy and hostel, and I did not trust that man one bit.

“I will come by, but you know I have to fight the Gims,” I said, caressing her cheek. My phone started beeping, but I ignored it, focusing on Demi. She needed my attention at that moment.

“Those monsters?” she asked.

“Aha!” I nodded.

The moment I did, she held my hands and hugged them. “Please be careful out there. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Such love from an innocent and pure soul filled my heart with ecstasy.

I never realized how much these kids cared for me.

“I will,” I replied with a smile, ignoring my phone beeping again.

“I’ll go now and return soon.” Since Davon was sleeping, I decided I should leave before Darcy caused more trouble.

“Take care.” Demi gave me a hug—a hug that was much needed.

I got up to leave when I noticed Demi looking behind me.

I turned slightly to see Emma standing in her spot with a grim expression. But it wasn’t just her that caught my attention—it was Norman, guiding Darcy to the living room with his arm wrapped around her.

He gave me a very empathetic smile, and after giving him a small nod, I began to leave.

I couldn’t stay in the mansion while Darcy was here. She would make it so hard for me after I accused her nephew. The brothers have asked me about the whole tree tie thing and I had asked Norman to respect the time I am asking for. So I had finally told them why I was tied outside, or at least who had tied me.

As soon as I stepped outside, I grabbed my phone to call Salem and ask if she was nearby. I didn’t want her to come here and get stuck in the snow. I believed the snowfall would start in twenty minutes, but the hostel wasn’t too far, so we would be able to make it.

But as I unlocked my phone, I frowned at the unknown number sending me messages.

So this is where the notifications were coming from?

I had a feeling it was either Zellu or Romeo. They were probably mocking me or taunting me about the other night when they had tied me to the tree.

I never got to confront Lucy about her boyfriend’s actions.

The moment I opened the messages, my heart sank into my chest.

It was the worst feeling ever.

I started shaking as I scrolled through the images—each one making my body feel numb. A cold wave of sadness and horror struck me hard. My thumb trembled as it pressed against the screen. It was as if I have pressed a button to my death.

“No!” I gasped, still standing on the porch, but mentally losing my grip on reality.

The images were screenshots from videos.

In one screenshot, I was completely naked with one of them between my legs. His back hid his identity, but my whole body was on display.

Flashbacks from that night hit me, and soon, I realized how foolish I had been to forget about the countless videos they had recorded.

They documented the whole thing, and without context, it looked awful.

And even with context, I would never want those videos of me out there.