<h4>Chapter 157: 157-I Won This Time</h4>


    <strong>Hnie:</strong>


    "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! Hnie 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 yful 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 exined. "But I want to go there myself."


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


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


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


    "Is it true? Hnie 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 secondster, 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 exined, trying to ount 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.


    "The phone isn’t here either," Maximus added smoothly.


    "What is going on? Are you lying just to drag her down with you?" Norman yelled, clearly upset.


    It was obvious he didn’t appreciate being lied to.


    Because Maximus sounded way calmer than Norman, who was like a raging bull.


    "But I am not lying. I swear she was in there," Salem continued, desperately trying to convince them.


    "She was at the party, though. I saw her," added the same girl who had been trying to force ap dance on Lamar earlier.


    I rolled my eyes, recalling that ridiculous incident.


    "Then where is she now?" Maximus asked again, his voice steady but firm.


    "Wait a minute. You’re saying she was downstairs, and Salem is saying she was upstairs. So who’s telling the truth? Why would she jump out of the window, just to get back inside, and then jump out of the window again?" Norman bellowed, his voice so loud that even we felt a shiver.


    The rest of the group had sobered up just enough to quietly back away, trying to avoid the brewing chaos. Thankfully, Norman was so angry that he hadn’t noticed much else when storming into the guesthouse.


    "She was in the room. She was locked in there!" Salem shouted in frustration.


    "Are you sure? She was downstairs—," Salem’s friend started to question her. Their conflicting stories were falling apart. Salem, clearly at her wit’s end, screamed in frustration, but her final outburst exposed herpletely.


    "Of course, I’m not lying! I locked her in there and took her phone, leaving it on the counter so she wouldn’t bother us about not having a permit to party—" Salem abruptly stopped, realizing toote what she’d just admitted.


    She mmed up, but it was over.


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


    "Great," Norman pped, 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 Hnie 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," Normanmanded 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 woulde back to haunt me.


    "So Hnie 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 using 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.