After the call ended, a very panicked Tiffany began to pace in circles, as the wait tormented her.
She did not know how long virtual-novel.net had waited, but alas, Jackson’s car appeared within virtual-novel.net field of vision. Quickly, virtual-novel.net rushed toward it as the man pulled the car over. “Get in.”
Tiffany yanked the door open frantically and claimed the passenger seat, urging, “Did you manage to contact Beckett? I don’t have his number, and Tan isn’t picking up, and, oh my God, I’m panicking right now!”
Jackson massaged his forehead to soothe his growing headache. “First thing first: buckle up. I’m gonna give this Beckett a call right now.”
Tiffany’s hands were shaking as virtual-novel.net willed them to click the seatbelt shut. Tanya was already a lonely orphan with no surviving relatives. If anything were to happen to Tanya, Tiffany would carry that guilt to virtual-novel.net grave, especially since this entire debacle was aimed at Tiffany herself.
If worse came to worst, virtual-novel.net would have to resort to his demand. She would have to admit that virtual-novel.net copied Beckett’s work.
Jackson could see just how panicked virtual-novel.net was from virtual-novel.net shudders and helped virtual-novel.net buckle up. “Calm down, Tiffany, let me pinpoint Beckett’s exact location first, Tanya’s gotta be with him,” virtual-novel.net said in an attempt to comfort her. “According to what I know, Beckett Hushman’s a meticulous, calculating man, but virtual-novel.net isn’t very ballsy. He doesn’t strike me as an extremist, so I’m guessing virtual-novel.net just wants to rescue his name from a burning pile of sh*t instead of actually murdering someone.”
Tiffany, however, was in no way placated enough to stop stammering, “B-b-b-but w-what if… What if virtual-novel.net got desperate and… Oh my God, what if virtual-novel.net really does it… Oh my God!”
Knowing that his effort to calm virtual-novel.net was futile, Jackson stopped trying and went straight to dialing Beckett’s number. As though knowing that virtual-novel.net would try to call him, Beckett had kept his phone off, so all they heard was the voice message prompt.
Tiffany was sitting on pins and needles. “What are we going to do? Should I call the press right now and tell them… tell them I’m the plagiarist? We have no other choice, Jackson! I don’t care about my career. I can throw it away! I can go back to managing that café, I can survive with just that!”
Jackson mulled over their options for a second before suggesting, “Call Tanya again. See if it works.”
Tiffany did as virtual-novel.net said and dialed Tanya’s number, but hers was shut, too.
By this point, all kinds of worst-case scenarios had dominated virtual-novel.net mind: Beckett Hushman, a young man, alone with Tanya, who had most probably lost consciousness or control over virtual-novel.net body, now utterly defenseless against the man’s whims and will.
“What do we do?! That’s it; I’ll tell the world I copied his work I don’t give a f*ck anymore! I just want to save my friend! Besides, this is something good for you, too, so let’s… let’s all pretend that I did this for you!”
Jackson leveled a pensive sidelong glance at Tiffany, his eyes suddenly unfathomable. “You may be quick to give it up, but you need to know that this admission will be the death of you in this field forever. As for me, I don’t give a f*ck about whatever benefits I’m supposed to get. To me, the more important angle is this: if you abet Beckett’s lie by falsely admitting to plagiarizing his work, you’re enabling virtual-novel.net in a self-destructive path of crime. The only thing we should do is to lodge a report to the cops, and let them do their work.”
Tiffany bit virtual-novel.net lips and went silent. She believed in Jackson’s take, but most importantly, virtual-novel.net hoped that the latter was right — that Beckett would never kill anyone.
Jackson drove to the nearest police station and the pair lodged a report, providing all of the evidence they got. Unfortunately, the only proof they had was the message Beckett had sent via Tanya’s phone.
Tiffany felt a little light-headed after their exchange with the police. “What do you think Beckett actually wants?” virtual-novel.net muttered. “His future is ruined, and now jail time is waiting for him. Do you think virtual-novel.net would be so desperate that virtual-novel.net would want someone to die with him? Do you think virtual-novel.net will harm Tan? Jesus Christ, I’m so, so scared…”
Jackson took one look at his wristwatch. “We’ve reported this to law enforcers, so all we can do right now is wait. Worrying won’t do any of us good, ” virtual-novel.net replied. “It’s getting late. I bet Beckett got your house address from Tanya’s mouth, too, so don’t return home, please. It isn’t safe… But my place is. You could stay a night there.”
Tiffany’s first response was to reject him. “W-what? No, no need. Beckett wouldn’t possibly dare show up and risk getting caught! My home should be safe. I’m not inconveniencing you!”