CHAPTER 21Marcus and Abigail stepped out of the car, their arrival marked by the soft rustle of silk and the gleam of polished shoes. The grand ballroom opened before them, alive with the symphony of violins and the gentle hum of conversations.People moved gracefully, greeting each other with warm smiles and clinking glasses. The atmosphere was both calm and lively, a perfect balance of elegance and excitement. Crystal chandeliers cast a warm glow over the room, reflecting off the polished marble floors.Marcus walked in, his arm around Abigail's waist, both of them dressed to impress. Marcus wore a sharp, dark suit, while Abigail dazzled in a shimmering gold gown. They handed their invitation to the doorman, who scanned the unique QR code and welcomed them with a nod.Abigail's eyes widened, her grip tightening on Marcus's arm. "Wow, this place is incredible," she whispered, her voice full of awe.“Keep it together," Marcus murmured back, his gaze sharp as it swept over the crowd.
CHAPTER 22“Ladies and gentlemen,” he started, his voice strong yet warm. “Thank you all for coming tonight. As we all know, the gathering is for charity and I never expected many people to show up. Thank you so much for considering the invitation.”“The charity ball is something I have always wanted to do, but it was only recently that the passion truly ignited within me.”He paused, scanning the room. “Tonight, we are here to support thousands of children who can not go to school and families who struggle to put food on the table. The world is becoming unbearable for people who can't afford things they want. Therefore your contributions tonight will make a significant difference. It’s not just about the money; it’s about putting smiles on faces and giving hope where there was none.”A round of applause filled the room, including from Jane, whose smile caught Caleb's eye and made his lips curl slightly in response. He continued, “This dream wasn’t mine alone. Someone very special to
CHAPTER 23Caleb led her through the guests, turning their way toward a group of his friends gathered near the bar. The closer they got, the more the air buzzed with excitement and curiosity. When they finally arrived, Caleb's friends turned to greet them, their faces lighting up with genuine delight."Jane, I'd like you to meet some of my oldest friends," Caleb said, introducing each one by name. "Everyone, this is my wife, Jane.”The friends, with their vibrant personalities, surged forward, eager to meet her. One of them, a tall man with a mischievous grin, extended his hand."Jane, it's such a pleasure to finally meet you," he said warmly. "Caleb's been keeping you a secret far too long."Jane laughed, the sound bright and infectious. "I'm not sure about that, but it's wonderful to meet all of you.”Another friend, a woman with striking red hair and a sharp, stylish outfit, stepped forward. "Jane, you look absolutely stunning tonight. That dress is to die for!""Thank you," Jane re
CHAPTER 24Jane pulled away from Marcus, her face flushed and her eyes wide with panic. “Lilian it's not what it seems!” She cried out desperately.Lilian fled without looking back, leaving Jane in a daze. Anger surged through her, and she slapped Marcus hard across the cheek. "You’re an asshole," she spat, her voice trembling with fury.Marcus smirked, unfazed. "Admit it," he whispered, his breath hot against her ear. "You missed me. Caleb can’t make you feel what I can." He slapped her on the butt, adding a cruel edge to his words.“Fuck you,” she cursed.He grinned. “Oh I bet you do.”Jane's heart pounded as she bolted into the hall, her mind racing, desperate to find Lilian. She collided with Brian, almost spilling his drink. "Hi.”Jane forced a smile, her unease clear in her eyes. “Brian, its good to have you here,” her voice wavered, betraying her inner turmoil.“Thank you Jane— I mean, Mrs lockwood.”Jane scratched her head and forced a smile. “Please just call me Jane.”Brian
CHAPTER 25Jane's breath caught as she stared at the Polaroids on her bed, afraid to come close. There were a lot of pictures of the child sleeping and laughing. The baby, with his chubby cheeks and bright eyes, looked uncannily like a young version of Caleb.She reached for a picture and traced a finger around the baby's face, questions swirling in her mind. “Isn't he cute?” she said with a smile.She gathered the photos, placing them carefully on her bedside drawer chest, and tried to push the questions from her mind. Why were these pictures here? Who had left them?Perhaps it was a mistake that they had been sent to her. Shrugging out of her clothes, she lay naked in bed, wrapping the sheets around her. Sleep claimed her quickly, and her silent snore faded into the night.The next morning, Jane was jolted awake by the sound of her door being pushed open. She sat up, her heart pounding as she saw Caleb standing there, his face twisted in rage.“Caleb,” she started, slowly getting on
CHAPTER 26“Stop,” he countered but his tone was weak.“I've missed you caleb,” she said softly. “You don't even glance at me anymore.”“I'm married,” he protested, trying hard to not glare at her exposed thigh.She scoffed and leaned in, her lips brushing his softly. “She won't know, ever.”Caleb jerked back, his voice firm. "Stella, no. You need to leave.”Stella's eyes widened in hurt but she nodded and left the office. Caleb leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples. The distraction hadn't helped. His thoughts kept drifting back to Jane, to the kiss, to the confusion and anger. He was sexually frustrated and he hadn't meant to assert dominate but he wasmad she had let Marcus kiss her in those places. Places he would never touch her.Later that evening, Caleb went home earlier than usual, determined to find Jane and try to make things right. He knocked on her door, but there was no response. He pushed the door open and was greeted by the soothing scent of essential oils and sce
CHAPTER 27Jane stormed into the boardroom, her arms full of files, only to freeze when she saw the eyes of the entire boardroom staring at her in distaste. At the end of the long table sat Xavier, his expression unreadable. The room was thick with tension, and the air felt stifling.Caleb, sitting at the head of the table, fixed her with an icy glare. "What time is it, Jane?" he demanded, his tone authoritative.Jane glanced at her wristwatch, her heart pounding. "It's past eleven," she said softly."You're an hour late," Caleb snapped. "Do you have any excuse?”"I'm sorry, but no one informed me—" she began.Caleb cut her off, his voice cold. “What do you mean no one told you? Have you forgotten your role? If you checked your emails regularly, you would be up to date with company information. This is unacceptable.”"I'm really sorry, Caleb," Jane said, her voice trembling. "It won't happen again.”"Leave," Caleb ordered, his gaze unwavering. "You’ve wasted enough of our time.”Overw
CHAPTER 28"Oh my God, this is amazing!" Jane exclaimed, her face lighting up with excitement as she and Brian stepped into the Museum of Illusions, their eyes wide with wonder. The walls seemed to shift and bend around them, creating a surreal, dreamlike atmosphere.Brian grinned, clearly pleased with her reaction. "I'm glad you've never been here before. This place is perfect for a bit of fun.”Jane felt her heart flutter at his words. They wandered through the exhibits, marvelling at the optical illusions and interactive displays. They found themselves in front of a stress-relief game where they could throw balls of paint at each other, letting the colours burst and stain their clothes."Ready to get messy?" Brian asked, handing Jane a ball of paint.Jane laughed, her eyes sparkling. "Bring it on!"They started throwing the paintballs, laughing and dodging as they tried to hit each other. Jane managed to land a bright blue splat on Brian's shirt, and he retaliated with a splash of
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