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 29Xavier leaned back in his chair, a sly smile spreading across his lips as he studied the photos on his phone. Just then, his phone rang, and the caller ID flashed "Anon" on the screen. With a glance around, he excused himself from the meeting room and stepped into a quiet corridor before answering."Hello," he said smoothly.A woman's voice came through the line, soft yet professional. "Hello, sir. Did you receive my email?""Yes, I did," Xavier replied, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Were you able to get more information?""We're still working on it, but so far, she's being very careful with her choice of words," the woman said.Xavier's smile deepened. "Keep me updated.""Okay, sir," she responded, and Xavier ended the call.With a satisfied look, Xavier made his way to Caleb's office. Caleb, engrossed in his work, barely glanced up as his uncle entered."Caleb, I need a word," Xavier said, closing the door behind him."Uncle, please leave me be. I'm working on a project,
CHAPTER 30Caleb's face darkened with anger as he saw Jane and Brian together. Jane knew she was in deep shit and she didn't know how to get out of it.“Caleb—”“Boss,” Brian started, fear clawing at his insides as he got on his feet, his heart threatening to burst out of his chest.Caleb flashed him a look and without saying another word, he grabbed Jane by the arm and practically dragged her out of the restaurant, leaving Brian standing there, stunned and speechless."Caleb, what are you doing?" Jane protested, trying to keep up with his fast pace.Caleb didn't answer, his grip on her arm tightening as they reached the car. He shoved her into the passenger seat and slammed the door before getting in himself. The drive home was tense and silent, the air thick with unspoken words and simmering rage. When they arrived home, Caleb stormed inside, Jane following reluctantly. As soon as they were inside, Caleb turned on her, his face contorted with fury."When did you start doing all sor
CHAPTER 31Jane's cheeks flushed with embarrassment. A part of her wondered if Caleb had told his uncle about her outing with Brian. She didn't respond to Xavier, instead, she quickly finished gathering her things and left the boardroom.She walked to Caleb's office, her mind racing with Xavier's words. As she approached, she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Stella stepping out of Caleb's office, a triumphant smile playing on her lips."Well, well, if it isn't Jane," Stella said, her voice dripping with mock. She paused, her smile widening as she took in Jane's expression. "Looks like you've had quite the day.”Jane stood there, her feelings a mix of jealousy and anger. She tried to keep her expression composed but the sight of Stella so excited made her blood boil. "Stella," she acknowledged curtly, trying to hide her irritation.Stella chuckled softly, her eyes gleaming with amusement. "Oh, don't look so glum, Jane. It's just business
CHAPTER 32Brian's face crumbled, and tears welled up in his eyes. "Please, Mr. James, I'm begging you. I can't lose this job. It's everything to me."James' expression softened slightly, but he remained resolute. "I'm sorry, Brian. This is the best we can offer. Pack your things and leave the premises by the end of the day. We will notify you of the probationary terms shortly.”The room was silent as everyone absorbed the news. Jane felt a wave of emotions – shock, pity, sadness, and helplessness. She wished there was something she could do, but she knew her hands were tied.James concluded the meeting. "That will be all. Thank you, everyone." The executives began to file out of the room, murmuring among themselves.Jane remained seated, trying to comprehend the situation. As Brian rose to leave, he walked over to Jane, his eyes filled with desperation. "Jane, please, you have to help me. Talk to Mr. Lockwood. I can't lose this job. I'll do anything."Jane said nothing, but was stari
CHAPTER 33"Are you not going to respond to me, Caleb?" She questioned when he had been quiet for too long. "You can't say anything because I'm right, is that so? You don't even trust me" she scoffed, shaking her head sideways. Caleb ran his fingers through his hair, his frustration palpable. "It's not about trust. Xavier found out. He sent me pictures of you with Brian. If you're caught with more men, it might be confirmed that it's a contract marriage, and it would ruin us."Jane felt a wave of disappointment wash over her. "Is this really about Xavier?" she asked, her voice tinged with sadness."What do you mean?" Caleb asked, his tone defensive.Jane hesitated. "If you treated me more like your wife, it would be more convincing."Caleb's expression softened slightly. "I've always stuck to my end of the deal.""And what about Stella?" Jane challenged. "I'm not the only one with an ex-partner lingering around."Caleb sighed. "I've respected our marriage. The only reason Stella is
CHAPTER 34“I want that bag,” Abigail said, her eyes glinting with desire as she pointed to the display.“Which one, ma'am? This one?” The sales attendant gestured to a row of bags on the shelf.Abigail shook her head impatiently. “That colour is too dull. I want the brown one.”“This one?” the attendant asked, holding up a sleek, elegant brown bag.“Yes, that one,” Abigail said, her excitement evident as she hurriedly collected the bag. Her eyes lit up as she examined it. “It's so pretty.”“That one is a thousand dollars, ma'am,” the sales attendant informed her with a polite smile.“Oh, I don't mind. I could use my life savings to get this in every colour,” Abigail said, trying the bag in different poses. “What do you think? Does it match my skin tone, or should I get a brighter colour? Probably pink?”“This complements your skin tone perfectly, ma'am. A lovely bag for a classy lady,” the saleswoman complimented.Abigail fluttered her lashes and grinned. “Oh, I'm flattered.”“Are yo
CHAPTER 35After her break, Jane returned to the company, her mind still lingering on the morning’s events. As she walked towards her office, she saw someone who looked remarkably like Brian. She blinked, convinced she was imagining things. He’s on probation, she reminded herself."Poor Brian" she muttered under her breath, feeling she was already missing him when it wasn't 3 days yet he was sent home. She shrugged and reminded herself that Brian was the only friend she had in the company. Just as she was about to dismiss the thought, the man turned around. It was Brian. He saw her and hurried over, a wide smile on his face.“Brian!” Jane exclaimed, her surprise and happiness evident. “What are you doing here? I don’t mean to sound offensive, but I didn’t expect to see you.”She tried to hug him but he withdrew himself a little bit and smiled, offered a handshake instead. He looked around the hallway as if someone was watching them, before returning his gaze at her. Brian beamed. “I
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