Chapter 48The house was adorned with decorations. As Jane reached the gates of the grand Robert estate, the security guard stepped forward, his expression impassive. "Invitation, please," he said, holding out his hand.She showed them the email on her phone. They verified it before announcing her name over the hall. Jane's legs wobbled, and her hands trembled as she was led to the family table.The room was filled with guests, and Jane spotted many distant relatives who didn’t seem pleased to see her. She saw some of them were with children and the cousins she knew that were little were all grown up.“How time flies so fast,” she thought. She heard Abigail's snide remark, "She finally rolls in. Who knew the prodigal daughter would appear here?”Jane took her seat, which was unfortunately next to Abigail. People began whispering, "That's Lockwood's wife," They whispered but she ignored them. Of course, they must have been the news.Jane faked pleasantries, silently praying for the g
Chapter 49Jane lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. The day felt like a double-edged sword, offering both respite and a chance to sink deeper into her thoughts. She had asked Caleb for permission to take the day off, and he had granted it without hesitation, instructing the maids to tend to her every need. But Jane found herself unable to leave her bed, surrounded by memories of her father and haunted by the memorial. Or reunion as they had tagged it.She picked up her phone and scrolled through pictures of her father, his warm smile and gentle eyes staring back at her. She wondered how long Abigail had known about his death and why she hadn't mentioned it. Burying her face in her pillow, Jane let the tears flow freely.A soft knock interrupted her thoughts, but she didn't bother to ask who it was. She knew the way Caleb knocked. She heaved a heavy breath and managed to croak out, "Come in.”Caleb entered, looking stressed. His eyes softened when he saw her disheveled state. "Hey," h
Chapter 50Jane and Caleb heard the news that Dragon Corporation was going to launch their latest project, and the buzz was unavoidable. Jane made it her duty to stalk their page, and she also convinced Caleb to register with their link so they could get notified when the launch went live.Over the past weeks, many companies had released new innovations, but none had come as close to the project Jane had been working on under wraps.Jane felt her heart sink as she realized the severity of the situation. She needed confirmation, so she convinced Caleb to watch the live stream of the launch.“Will you calm down?” Caleb asked. “You can't even be so sure it's the same project.”“There's only one way to find out, Caleb,” Jane said as she stared at her watch.The notification finally came, and Jane quickly moved to Caleb's desk.“Right about time. Can we make use of your system? Mine's not connecting to the browser.” Caleb sat upright, eyes fixed on the screen, while Jane leaned in close, h
Chapter 51Marcus and Abigail sat at the center of a bustling restaurant, surrounded by a few close friends and colleagues. The air was full of lively chatter and their laughter was drowned by the music.The clinking of glasses and lively chatter filled the air as they celebrated the successful launch of Dragon Corporation's new AI project. The celebration was in full swing, and the mood was jubilant."To Marcus and Abigail!" one of their friends toasted, raising his glass high. "For bouncing back stronger than ever!”Everyone raised their glasses, and the room echoed with cheers and applause. Marcus smiled, his arm around Abigail, who was beaming with pride."Thank you, everyone," Marcus said, his voice carrying the confidence of a man who had just pulled off a remarkable feat. "This success is proof of our hard work and resilience. We couldn't have done it without all of you.” More compliments and praises followed, each one adding to the euphoria of the moment. People congratulated
CHAPTER 52Abigail stood silent for a long time, and the silence only fueled Marcus's anger the more."Tell me!" Marcus demanded with a loud voice, making Abigail cringe.She had never for once imagined that this day would come, not after the amazing night that they had just had.."M-marcus.. darling.. I was going to tell you soon, of course I was," she stuttered and tried to force out a smile. "It's a little issue, you know, we can talk it out.""Good thing that's what I'm here for then," Marcus replied coldly and folded his large arms.Abigail inhaled deeply and realized that instant that Marcus was going nowhere and she would have to speak whether she liked it or not."It's not what you think, Marcus," she finally said with a sigh."Really? Because what I think is that you don't find me worthy enough to father your child, our child...""No no no, Marcus, of course that's not it! I love you so much it's just...""Just what?!" Marcus cut in impatiently, his forehead creasing deeply.
CHAPTER 53Marcus stepped out of his Mercedes and stared at the bold elegant words at the top of the popular clubhouse which read: Enzo's Bar and Lounge.Pulling his hat further down and adjusting his sunglasses, he walked into the building. It wasn't noon yet but the bar was occupied, and a celebrity was performing a song on the stage, giving him the pleasure of not being easily noticed.Lorenzo was sure doing a good job keeping the bar business rolling while combining his other underground busineses as well without any issues from the authorities, and he couldn't be more glad to have such a man as a partner. But now, he hadn't come to congratulate Lorenzo, he wanted to question why his goods had been delayed for way too long than usual.He sauntered to the inconspicuous corner of the bar which led to a small hallway guarded by four hefty bouncers.He flashed his card at them and they immediately granted him access. Looking over his shoulder once again, he swiped his card over the s
CHAPTER 54Caleb walked into the meeting room with an elegant gait and gracefully took his seat at one end of the table.Jane followed afterwards and also took her chair, slightly embarrassed at herself but also slightly annoyed that they had interrupted the magical moment that she and Caleb were having."Gentlemen," Caleb nodded in greeting to the board members. They all responded and then James began to speak."We deeply apologize if this emergency meeting had disrupted your schedule..."'Yes! His schedule with me!' Jane screamed in her head.".. But it was important that we inform you of our findings so far.""And I want to believe you have positive news?" Caleb asked."Yes, we do. After a thorough investigation of all the departments as you had instructed, we found a suspicious mail in the trash column of one of our software engineers. We were able to get our hands on it before it automatically wiped off." James slid the laptop towards Caleb."It's a brief cryptic conversation bet
CHAPTER 55Jane quickly walked out of the office and brushed away a tear that was about to fall from her eyes.Her legs were moving just as fast as her heart was pounding. 'Maybe I am the problem,' she thought to herself. 'Maybe I am the one always falling for the wrong men.'She continued to chide and blame herself because she had no other explanation for why she would be rejected and heartbroken by two men that she loved, and in less than three months!She increased her pace as the need to get to the nearest bar and drink her sadness away became intense.Just as she was about to round a corner of the hallway, she crashed into a person's sturdy chest."Woah, woah, watch where you're going..." A familiar voice said.She looked up and met Brian's face."Jane? What's wro..." Jane threw her arms around him without thinking and let her tears fall freely.Brian felt skeptical about hugging her back. He quickly swept his gaze around the hallway and then returned her hug when he was certa
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