Claimed And Marked By Her Stepbrother Mates novel Chapter 157

Chapter 157: 157-I Won This Time

Helanie:

"What is she talking about?" Lucy whispered to me. I had already muted the call and even changed Maximus’ caller ID to something random before putting the phone on speaker.

Everyone frowned, their foreheads creasing in confusion.

"Twins! Helanie has an evil twin!" Lamar stood up again, yelling in his drunken state. We all hushed him, and he bit his tongue before lying back down.

"Really? So if you go upstairs now, you’ll bring her down and make her stand before us?" Maximus continued, his playful tone evident. He was clearly enjoying this.

Because he knew I wasn’t there.

Oh, this was going to be so much fun when Salem walked in and realized I was gone.

Now the call had turned even more interesting. We all listened with curiosity and anticipation.

"Yes, I can bring her down. She’ll walk downstairs with me in just a minute," Salem excitedly explained. "But I want to go there myself."

Of course, she insisted on going alone so she wouldn’t have to explain why the door was locked from the outside.

The sound of her rushing footsteps was so loud through the phone that we all started laughing quietly.

Gavin looked surprised, probably because he had believed Salem to be an innocent little kitten. I made a mental note to ask him later why he suddenly took her side.

"Is it true? Helanie is upstairs?" I heard Norman whisper, likely to his brother.

"Nah! She’s not. Just wait and watch," Maximus replied.

A strange energy coursed through my body at the thought of Salem’s impending exposure.

I had been wrong many times in my life, and it usually took some time before others met their karma. This time, I had jumped out of the window, and karma was about to walk through the front door to confront Salem in the most brutal and humiliating way.

She would be caught lying twice. It would be so much fun to witness.

A few seconds later, we heard noises again.

"Where is she?" Sydney asked, her voice still sounding drunk but alert enough to want to see me in trouble.

"I—I swear she was in there," Salem stuttered.

"Really? Then where is she now?" Maximus asked confidently.

"I don’t know. The window to the balcony is open; she must have run out of there," she quickly explained, trying to account for my absence.

"Are you sure? How would we know she was really in there? You don’t have any proof," Maximus pressed, his tone challenging.

"Oh! Her phone was left on the counter. She was so drunk—that she—" Salem trailed off, presumably running to check for my phone.

"Ohhh! Yes! She even asked me if I had a permit, blah blah blah. That’s why I sent her to you, sis—I knew you’d handle her," Sydney hiccupped, spilling the last bit of incriminating information.

"Great," Norman clapped, and we all jumped at the sound. I could only imagine how terrified the others must have felt in there if he could scare us so easily.

"I guess it’s safe to say Helanie warned you all, and you locked her in there so you could keep breaking the rules," Maximus stated, his tone sharp and confrontational.

What I didn’t understand was why he let me off the hook. Why didn’t he break the deal and bring his brother in before time ran out?

These brothers were so weird and unpredictable. I could never figure out what went on in their thick skulls.

"You all, get your asses to my mansion. As for the others, give them a day off before they start their hard tasks," Norman commanded Maximus. Then, we had to run after the car, careful not to be seen by anyone.

But just before Maximus could end the call, I heard Salem say something that I knew would come back to haunt me.

"So Helanie escaped and called the brothers on us?"

And that’s when the call got cut off.

"Ugh, now I know why you didn’t want to help them," Penn muttered, sounding guilty. But he quickly looked away, probably because apologizing for yelling at and accusing me was too much for his ego.

"Are you okay, Gavin?" Lucy asked, drawing our attention to him.

Somehow, instead of looking relieved to have survived the punishment, Gavin looked heartbroken.