CHAPTER 131FLASHBACK 3 DAYS AFTER BIANCA'S ARRIVAL Xavier was still perturbed by Caleb's exit just a few hours after he had arrived. It was definitely unlike him and with the slightly disturbed look that was on his face, Xavier knew that something was amiss, and he couldn't leave anything to chance. His plan to wreck his home had to work, by all means.As he picked up his phone, he mentally patted himself on his back for deciding to hire someone to trail Caleb. Mann, his man was a professional spy and hitman who had managed to stay off the police radar with the help of the top government officials who he also worked for.He was about to put a call across to him when his phone rang instead. Mann was already calling."Yeah?""I just saw the target leaving the office building, boss.""As I expected.""The surprising thing is, he's not leaving in his car. He's hailing a cab."Xavier's brows creased with confusion. "A cab?"Thoughts began to swarm through his head. Why would Caleb be l
CHAPTER 132"Believe me, you wouldn't even recognize me because I had gone dead pale with shock. I'm still trying to recover from it all," Rose said quietly into her phone while she flipped through a fashion magazine.The person at the other end of the phone said something that made her chuckle."I could have killed her if it wouldn't put me in jail, to be honest." She then sighed and closed the magazine."I'm getting more pressured by the day, honey, and with that bitch gone now, it's even more intense. What are we going to do?"Unknown to her, Lilian was walking up the stairs with a red and a blue gown on her arm. One of her friends was hosting her birthday party that night and she wasn't sure which dress to wear. And since Caleb had insisted that she let Jane rest for her seminar tomorrow rather than trouble her with her trivial questions, she was left with no other choice but to ask her mother's opinion.She knocked once, opened the door and was about to start whining about her i
CHAPTER 133"Can you guess who I just spoke with?" Diane asked Abigail as she opened the kitchen cabinets in search of her corkscrew and slammed them shut when she didn't see them."It was AJ," she replied before Abigail could speak. "He just told me they're getting a car with fake plates ready," she slammed another cabinet shut."Are we really going ahead with that?" Abigail asked quietly.Diane suddenly whipped her head around and glared at Abigail."What do you mean? Are you backing out?""I never really agreed in the first place," Abigail shrugged. She still believed that faking an accident just so that Jane could get hurt was over the top and she was just not sure how serious the whole 'fake accident' could turn out."Well I'm afraid it's too late now, Aby. Plans are being made. Do you realize I'm trying to help you here?""I know you are. But there should be other options.""Unfortunately, right now, were out of options. And don't forget you've already threatened her at her part
CHAPTER 134Caleb tried calling again for the tenth time and worry was beginning to creep into his being. The same automatic response came: "the number you're trying to call is not reachable at the moment..."He was sure that she had already left the airport and was on her way home, and so her phone could not have been on airplane mode.So why wasn't she picking up? He asked himself and tried calling again. When he tried a few more times and the response was the same, his panic rose. He got out of the bed and walked downstairs where he saw Lilian on the dinner table with her laptop and books sprawled about her."Could you help put a call across to Jane? I've been trying to reach her for the past fifty minutes and I'm beginning to get worried," he said while quickly composing a text as well.Lilian's brows creased with concern and she searched through different pages of different books for her phone."Shouldn't she be on her way by now? She was to return today, right?""Yes, yes, yes.
CHAPTER 135Caleb's driver followed closely behind him with two security guards in the car with him.He was a little confused when Caleb had stepped into his car and had barely even closed the door before driving off. He knew something was wrong and immediately got into the next car with the guards and went after the car.Caleb was frantic as he drove to the airport and his eyes were hovering around the streets, his lips moving quickly as he whispered silent rushed prayers and hoping that Jane was alright. Once in a while, he thought he saw someone that looked like Jane, or had Jane's hair color but it all seemed to be an optical illusion and he had only nearly escaped being hit by a lorry.Caleb drove into the airport gates and so did his driver. The guards were already flanked at his sides when he got down and approached one of the airport security."I need to see the head of the security department.""I'm sorry, sir, what...""Tell them it's Caleb Lockwood."The airport security lo
CHAPTER 136The reporters were always outside the mansion whenever anyone drove out. They swarmed around the car, hungry for updates, whenever they saw that Caleb was in it and even Lilian had to limit her movements because the ubiquitous reporters were also hunting her down for information.The news of Jane's mysterious disappearance had spread like wildfire. It was on every lip, it was trending on social media, gossip magazines and blogs were swarming with commenters, some desperate to know the actual story and others, spreading rumors on what they believe had happened. In just 3 days, different versions of her disappearance was published and Caleb had to take a break from social media because the things he heard and read were taking a mental toll on him.Some said that Jane had deliberately ran away because Caleb had forced her to get pregnant against her will so he could find a reason for his illegitimate son to not be a benefactor of his wealth. Some said the whole party was all
137She felt an uncomfortable stinging sensation in her head. The floor was hard, and cold, and a faint smell of dust hung in the air. There was a brutal coldness on her ankles as well and her whole body ached terribly.She stirred with a groan and tried to raise herself with her palm but the pain in her lower back forced her back to the cold cemented floor.Her mind was still foggy with sleep and her nervous system seemed to be taking too long to respond. Then her eyes slowly opened and swept across the brightly lit room.And then she saw the figure. Someone was seated on a chair in front of the window, his bulky frame backlit by the rays of the sun and casting shadows on his face, he was leaning forward slightly with his elbows in his knees and his fingers were interlaced, supporting his chin.Jane gulped and squinted to see clearly."Rise and shine, my love," the voice was monotone and husky, and there was a dark and threatening edge to it. The familiarity of that tone nearly knoc
CHAPTER 138Jane was propped up against the wall, staring into the thin air as she waited for what would become of her life from now on. She wondered what Caleb must be going through, looking for her, and she had no idea how to provide clues to finding her when she had no idea where she was and how she had even gotten here.Her head was still woozy and she felt sick. Her breathing had become more labored as the days went by and the hope of escaping had also began to dissipate.She heard the clinking of a bunch of keys and knew that Marcus was back with whatever was supposed to be her breakfast.She had totally lost track of time and could only tell when it was morning and evening from the rays of the sun."You must be hungry," Marcus said as he walked in, a plate of food in one hand. He closed the door and locked it with his free hand.Jane continued to stare straight ahead, as though she was not aware of his presence. It seemed like too much work to even raise her eyes to look at him
CHAPTER 174Minutes after Marcus revealed all he knew, dozens of patrol cars as well as two helicopters were despatched to the location Marcus had given.One of the helicopter pilots sighted the house from above and the officers, including Caleb quickly moved towards it.They kicked the door of the building down without hesitation and as Caleb ran in, his gaze immediately fell on Jane's weak body sprawled on the bare floor. Caleb rushed to her and wrapped his arms around her. This time, he did not hold back his tears.Her body and clothes were covered in dirt, some parts of her body was swollen and there were a few cuts in different places, but still she didn't lose her beauty.Jane muttered something with her eyes half closed.“I'm here, baby, I'm here. You're gonna be okay. It's all over, you'll be fine,” Caleb didn't mind that some droplets of his tears fell on her face, all he knew was that he had finally found her and he was never going to let go ever again.Some medical attenda
CHAPTER 173“He's a lying bastard! How can you believe all that?” Xavier asked Ross who had asked to question Xavier immediately Lorenzo told them everything.“It's not something we would want to believe as well, Mr Xavier, but he showed us the millions of dollars as proof,” there was a look of disappointment on Ross's face. “You do know that drug trafficking is a really serious offence, right?”“There is nothing to prove that I'm involved with this man!” Xavier yelled. “How do you know if someone didn't pay him to lie against me?”“He gave us a perfect description of you and said you came around every week to collect the profits that belonged to both you and coincidentallly Marcus Dreame.”“This is outrageous, Ross.”“Trust me, Mr Xavier, the whole situation has also left me totally dumfounded, but it's also helping to put the pieces together.”“What pieces are you talking about, Ross? What the hell is all this? I deserve more respect than this, don't I? How and why would I get mysel
CHAPTER 172Four days and there had been no word from either Xavier or Mann, no newspapers to tell him what was going on outside, and they were running out of food. And he still haven't received a cheque from the weekly profit as usual. Marcus was totally losing it.He paced from one end of the house to another.“That fucker!” He said through his teeth, imagining Xavier amassing all the money to himself. He reasoned that Xavier had probably withdrawn himself from situation and had left him and Jane there to die of starvation. And probably enjoying all the money and profit from their illegal business. The thought of that sickened him. Xavier had probably come to his wits end and had decided to keep his slate clean.But Marcus was not one known to easily let go.He knew he was eventually going to go down, and he would stop at nothing to bring others involved down with him.“You'll be a dead man if you step out of that door,” Jane said weakly as she watched him put on his camouflage.
CHAPTER 171Lorenzo sat at his desk, brooding.Two days had passed and neither Xavier nor his scary looking second hand man had come to collect their weekly profit.He looked down at the stack of money in the bag on his desk. If he took even a note from it, Xavier would know and would kill him without thinking twice. He was a man not to be conned and also a man to be feared. But as he constantly stared at the pile of money, he felt his walls of restraint breaking down. The sight of money always enticed him but tampering with Xavier's money was like signing his own death warrant. He quickly zipped up the bag, swallowed some sedative pills and then looked up Xavier's address on his computer. It was better to get the money to him instead than let it stay another day in his office.___Lilian was wrapping her wet hair up in a bun and preparing for lunch when she heard the knock on the front door.“Don't worry, I'll get it,” she said to the house worker who was setting the table.“Hi?” She
CHAPTER 170Lilian, who had heard from Caleb about her mother and uncle's arrest quickly returned back to the state to see them.Rose on the other hand, had just spoken to the detective and was still in a state of shock. Tears rolled down her face as she stared at the photos of her and Xavier sprawled on the table. She had initially thought that Stella was bluffing when she said she had kept some clues for her lawyer to give the police if anything happened to her.The door suddenly opened and an officer popped his head in.“Ma’am, your daughter is here to see you,” he informed.“What? My daughter?” Rose asked with surprise and began to clean her face while stacking the photos together hurriely. “Take everything with you,” she told her lawyer. “Leave immediately.”Lilian stepped in just as her lawyer walked out.They both stared at each other for a long time and Lilian's steady gaze was like hot iron searing her heart. Every second of silence that passed reminded Rose that she had now
CHAPTER 169“You're lucky my lawyer is already on his way. You'd better start preparing an explanation for why you had the guts to touch me!” Xavier ranted as the officers led them through the station.Rose on the other hand did not even try to struggle because she knew they were guilty, and her conscience kept battling with her. She did a very bad job concealing the shock expression that was spread across her face. As she watched the officers lead Xavier to one end of the hallway, her eyes landed on two familiar faces and her eyes widened with shock.Stella's parents! Stella's dad was consoling his wife who was shaking and sobbing uncontrollably.“Rose… you…” Stella's father said when their eyes met, but before she could respond, the officers led her away. She could still hear Stella's mother's voice.“I told her to stay away from their family, I warned her…”Xavier was taken to a dimly lit interrogation room, the room was hotter than usual and Xavier swiftly adjusted his tie, the
CHAPTER 168“I'm sorry… what? What's that supposed to mean?” Xavier asked with his brows furrowed in annoyance. Fear flickered in his eyes but he squared his shoulders and maintained an annoyed visage.“Mr Xavier you have a right to remain silent. Anything you say now can, shall and will be used against you in the court of law…”“You can't arrest us!” Rose said. “What the hell did we do? What's all this about? This is an insult to my person!”Caleb watched with his spoon frozen in his hand. Things were happening too fast for his brain to process and he almost thought he was hallucinating when an officer walked to his mother and ordered her to stand.“Hold up! Hold up!” Caleb finally said to the officers as he stood up.“What's all this about?”“They are being arrested as prime suspects in the murder of Miss Stella Rosman,” the officer explained. Rose and Caleb exchanged glances and while Xavier was able to maintain his composure, Rose visibly went pale.“This is crazy! I barely even k
Chapter 167It had been two days since Marcus was revealed to be the prime suspect in Jane's disappearance. And the forensic tests came out fine that Marcus was the owner of those male accessories as some combs in the bathroom had his hair samples which were tested. The police officers had combed the woods for two whole days yet there was no sign of either Marcus or Jane and there was also no clue left that could lead to them.“They couldn't have just disappeared,” Rose said one morning as they were having breakfast.Caleb had only taken a few slices of his toast and then walked to the living room with his coffee. His mother had been trying to make conversation with him for the past few hours but talking was the last thing he wanted to do. He was preparing to step out one last time with a few officers to search deeper into the woods. He turned on the television.“Have they found out if there's an insider yet?” Rose was speaking only on the topics that related to Jane because she kne
Chapter 166“I still don't understand why it's so difficult for you to put a call across to him!” Marcus shouted. “We've been waiting for hours for fucks sake!”They were now in a bigger house with lesser windows and only one sofa as furniture. Mann was staring out blankly from one of the windows.“You know, Mr Dreame, you complain too much for a man.”“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Marcus scowled and lunged towards him.“You come in at the middle of the night and sweep us all away without explanation and you want me to be quiet and act like nothing happened?”“No, I'm only asking you to be patient,” Mann replied cooly.“Don't tell me that bullshit! My patience expired hours ago. Now call up Xavier.”“Boss is the one who would make the call to us. I'm in no position to call him unless in a serious emergency…”“This is a serious emergency!”“No, it isn't, Mr Dreame. This is just you acting like a scared little girl. Even the woman's doing better than you.”They both turned t