Captive of The Beast Alpha: Drugging the CEO Was a Mistake.-Chapter 52: Caleb: the falling apart.

My phone wouldn’t stop ringing.

I stared at the screen as another unknown number flashed across it. The twentieth call in the last hour. I let it go to voicemail like all the others.

This couldn’t be happening.

I dropped the phone on my coffee table and ran both hands through my hair, pulling hard enough to hurt. The laptop in front of me showed the same video I’d been watching on repeat for the past three hours. The one that was currently trending on every social media platform of Isabella begging Naya at the DOE Foundation party.

"I’m sorry!" Isabella had cried out. "I know you feel cheated, but it’s not my fault. I begged Caleb not to cancel your wedding to marry me. After all, I only have six months to live!"

And Naya stood there, looking shocked and confused, as everyone stared.

The video has over two million views now.

When we planned to sabotage Naya at the DOE foundation, we had no idea it would come back to bite us. We’d intended to use my failed marriage to Naya as a tool to show she was jealous of Isabella, but we had miscalculated.

But that wasn’t even the worst part.

The worst part was the comments.

"Wait, isn’t that Caleb Moore’s girlfriend? The actor?"

"OMG, I went to Luxford Acting Academy with both of them. Caleb and Naya dated for YEARS. Like, everyone knew they were together."

"So he cheated on Naya with her stepsister? That’s so messed up."

"I had classes with them, too! They were definitely a couple. I have old photos from school events where they’re all over each other."

And sure enough, people were posting those photos now. Pictures I’d forgotten existed. Naya and I at the academy’s spring showcase. At the end-of-year party. At that stupid talent show where we’d performed a scene together.

Now, everyone was calling me out for being manipulative. I’ve been dropped from the nomination list for this year’s Best Choice Award. Everything was falling apart, and all my efforts to reach out to Naya had proved abortive.

My phone rang again, but this time I recognised the number.

It was Larry, my agent.

I answered. "What?"

"What?" Larry’s voice exploded through the speaker. "WHAT? Caleb, do you have any idea what’s happening right now? Do you have any concept of the shitstorm you’ve created?"

I closed my eyes. "I’m aware."

"Sunset Valley Pictures just pulled out of the movie deal. That’s three million dollars gone. GONE." Larry’s breathing was ragged. "And ModernMan magazine called. They’re cancelling your cover shoot, they said they don’t want to be associated with someone who ’deceives and manipulates women.’"

My stomach dropped. The ModernMan shoot was supposed to launch next month. It was going to be huge for my career.

"It gets better," Larry continued, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "TrendStyle just terminated your influencer contract. That’s forty thousand a month you’re not getting anymore. And Tike? The athletic-wear partnership we’ve been negotiating for 6 months? They’re ’reassessing their options.’"

"Larry—"

"I’m not done!" He was practically shouting now. "BrightSmile Dental wants their money back for the commercial you already shot. They’re threatening to sue if we don’t return the advance. And your follower count is dropping like a stone. You’ve lost two hundred thousand followers in the past four hours alone."

I felt sick.

"Can we fix this?" I asked quietly.

"Fix this?" Larry laughed, but there was no humour in it. "How exactly do you propose we fix this, Caleb? Every major news outlet is picking up the story. ’Actor Caleb Moore’s Web of Lies.’ ’From Sweetheart to Villain.’ They’re digging into everything. Your past relationships, your family, your finances—"

"My finances?" I tried to keep the panic from my voice.

"Yeah, your finances. Apparently, some blogger noticed you’ve been posting about luxury purchases, but your last three movies barely broke even. People are asking where the money’s coming from."

Fear flooded through my veins. If they dug too deep into my finances, they might find the insurance paperwork. They might start asking questions about Stephanie Rivers and her daughter, and why two marriage certificates were filed within days of each other.

"Larry, listen to me," I said carefully. "We can spin this. We need to get ahead of the narrative."

"Oh, really? And how do you plan to do that?"

"Naya." The name tasted bitter on my tongue. "We need Naya to make a statement. To say that we broke up amicably. That there was no cheating. That Isabella and I got together after—"

"You want the victim to lie for you?" Larry’s voice was incredulous. "Are you insane? Why would she do that?"

"Because..." I trailed off, trying to think. Why would Naya help me? What could I possibly offer her?

Then it hit me.

"She still cares about me," I said. "I know she does. If I can talk to her, explain the situation, she’ll understand. She’s always been soft and easy to convince."

Larry was quiet for a long moment. "You’re delusional."

"I’m not. I need to reach her."

I’d been trying to call Naya since the video started trending. But her number went straight to voicemail every time. I’d sent texts. DMs on every platform. Nothing.

It was like she’d disappeared.

"Where is she?" Larry asked. "Do you even know?"

"No," I admitted. "The last time I saw her was at the DOE foundation the night before she got arrested, but apparently, Hansel Ward bailed her out."

"Perfect." Larry sighed heavily. "Caleb, I’m going to be honest with you. I’m seriously considering dropping you as a client. This is too much. My other clients are starting to worry that associating with me will hurt their reputations because I represent you."

Panic clawed at my throat. "C’mon, Larry, I’ve brought you more money than your clients combined. I need a week. Give me one week to fix this."

"You have three days," Larry said flatly. "Three days to either get that girl to make a statement clearing your name, or to come up with some other solution. Otherwise, I’m done."

He hung up.

I sat there staring at my phone.

All because of one stupid video.

I’d told Isabella to be subtle, but she’d gone all out.

Speaking of Isabella...

"Did you reach her?" Isabella asked. Her voice was small and hopeful.

"No."

"What are we going to do?"

"I don’t know." I stood up and started pacing. "I need to think. We need a plan."

"What if the insurance company sees all this?" Isabella’s voice rose with panic. "What if they figure out I’m not really Naya? What if—"

"They won’t," I said firmly, even though I wasn’t sure. "They have no reason to look into entertainment news. We’re fine."

But even as I said it, doubt gnawed at me.

The appointment with Patricia Logo was in two days. Two days to get this situation under control before we showed up at the Insurance Company with Isabella wearing that face mask, pretending to be someone she wasn’t.

If Patricia had seen the news, if she’d seen the photos of the real Naya...

No. I couldn’t think like that. We’d come too far to back out now.

My phone buzzed with another notification. Another comment on the video.

"I work at Silverbrook Hospital. Naya Rivers used to volunteer there. Sweetest girl ever. She definitely didn’t deserve this."

"Everyone in Luxford theater community knows Caleb is trash. He’s always been a user."

"His acting career is OVER. Nobody’s going to hire him after this."

I threw my phone across the room. It hit the wall and clattered to the floor.

Isabella flinched. "Caleb—"

"I need to find her," I said. "I need to find Naya and convince her to help us. It’s the only way."

"How? She’s not answering your calls."

"Then I’ll find where she’s staying. I’ll show up in person. I’ll make her understand that helping me helps both of us. If I go down, people will start asking questions about her too, and the real reason behind her mother’s death would be aired for public consumption."

It was a weak threat, but it was all I had.

Isabella nodded slowly. "Okay. Okay, we can do this."

Her phone rang.

We both stared at it.

Isabella picked it up, and her face went white. "It’s a Luxford number."

"Don’t answer it," I said quickly.

"What if it’s important?"

"Isabella—"

But she’d already swiped to accept the call. "Hello?"

I watched her face carefully, trying to read her expression. She listened for a moment, her eyes growing wider.

"Yes, this is Naya Rivers-Moore," she said, and my stomach dropped.

No. No no no.

"Yes, I remember," Isabella continued. Her hand was shaking. "Tuesday at two PM."

She listened again. Her face had gone from white to grey.

"I see," she said quietly. "Yes. We’ll be there. Thank you for calling."

She hung up.

We stared at each other in silence.

"Who was it?" I finally asked, though I already knew.

"Patricia Logo." Isabella’s voice was barely a whisper. "From the Insurance Company."

My heart stopped. "What did she want?"

Isabella’s eyes filled with tears. "She said she needed to inform us that the appointment time has changed. And that we need to bring additional documentation."

"What kind of documentation?"

"Birth certificate, school records, medical records." Isabella’s voice broke. "She said there have been some ’irregularities flagged in the system’ and they need to verify everything before processing the claim."

"What else did she say?" I demanded, hoping my heart won’t jump out of my chest.

"She asked if I was the same Naya Rivers who attended Luxford Acting Academy." Isabella’s tears spilt over. "She’d seen the news, Caleb. She’d seen the video. She’d seen everything."

I sank back down onto the couch.

We were finished.