CHAPTER 70"What's on your mind?" Caleb asked Jane after he watched her repeatedly draw shapes on his chest with her index finger. It was just seven o'clock and it was the last day of their vacation."How could you tell there's something on my mind?" "You've been looking moody since you woke up and now you're teasing me with your finger. Or are you down for some hot steamy morning sex? Because I am.""Oh, God, no! Don't you ever censor your words?" Jane flushed and gently smacked his chest."You don't censor your screams when we're fucking.""God! Please stop," Jane closed her ears and Caleb laughed."I do like it when you scream though...""Ugh! You're disgusting," Jane started to move away from his arms but he held her back."Fine, no more talks about how sexy you are when we fuck. Let's talk about what's making you so moody.""It's just.. I really don't want the vacation to end. I've had so much fun especially with you and it just seems stressful to go back to our normal work rout
CHAPTER 71"Good morning to you all," Caleb greeted as he took the podium to address the board council. They needed in affirmation of his greetings while he adjusted the mic in front of him, with all eyes boring into him. It's a great pleasure to see you all once again. I want to thank you for your consistency, your hardwork, and your tenacity in maintaining the reputation of this great corporation while my assistant and I.." he paused and turned to look at Jane with a smirk. "Were on er, a very interesting and productive break."Jane tried to hold back her smile and Caleb noticed. Only the two of them knew that he didn't use the words 'interesting' and 'productive' literally."Well as you all know, our biggest rival remains Dragon Corporation and they've only gotten better because one of us decided to fall victim to their deceitfulness and sell out what is rightfully ours."A murmur erupted from the Board and Xavier only adjusted his tie with his gaze moving from Caleb to Jane."Fo
CHAPTER 72Jane staggered backwards and blinked rapidly in utter disbelife. "I'm s-sorry, what did you just say?""This is Caleb's son, Jeffery. Has Caleb not told you about us?""Us?" Jane asked with confusion and looked down at the child again. This time, she noticed the striking similarities between him and Caleb. He had the same ice blue eyes as well as the same brown hair with streaks of gold in it.Jane's heart shattered to a thousand pieces as she stood there, staring at the boy with a million questions flooding her mind. How could Caleb not tell her that he had a child with another woman all this while?Why did he wait for her to fall head over heels in love with him before he could tell her all about himself and his past?What other secrets had he possibly kept away from her? How had she allowed herself to be so swept off by his constant shows of care and attention to the point that she had not pressed to know about his past?Jane cried inwardly and did not know when a tear
CHAPTER 73Brian's jaw dropped to the floor when he saw Jane standing at his door. First, he was wondering how she knew his apartment, because he was sure he had never taken her here before, and secondly, what the hell she was doing here, and even without notice, looking like shit.He shook his head and looked again, thinking that perhaps he had been hallucinating."Can I come in please?" Jane asked again."S-sure, come in, I was just..." Brian gestured to her to come in. "I'm more than shocked to see you here, Jane, are you alright?"Jane looked around his small modest apartment."I'm sorry for barging in this way. I looked up your apartment from the company's employees file. I had no where else to go" she mumbled. "Oh, its... it's fine" he stuttered, finally coming out of his reverie. "Can I sit?""Sure, help yourself," Brian nodded and passed her a throw pillow.Jane thanked him and settled herself on his sofa."Do you need anything? Coffee? Tea? Or do you wanna talk?" Brian pres
CHAPTER 74It was almost evening when Brian placed a hot dish of casserole on the table. He looked towards Jane who had been sleeping for four whole hours and he knew she had to wake up and eat.Something within him fluttered when he reached out to tap her. He paused, wondering whether he should just watch her beautiful form as she slept and wait for her to wake up on her own. He moved his hand to her hair and pushed some strands behind her ear. She stirred and opened her eyes."You should eat," Brian said, smiling down at her.Jane groaned and sat up. "How long have I been asleep?" "About four hours, you must be hungry, come on," he pulled her up and helped her to the table. "Do you wanna talk about what happened?" Brian asked after Jane took a spoon of the casserole. "I really don't mean to pry but I think it's best to speak things out sometimes.""I understand, Brian. It's about Caleb.""What happened? He didn't treat you right?" Jane smiled at Brian's sincere concern."Yeah he
CHAPTER 75"The girl showed up with the baby and she happened to be the person Caleb slept with on the night you cheated on him, Jane got pissed when she heard what had happened and now no one knows where she is," Rose explained over the phone in a rush. She took out a hankie and cleaned her sweaty face."I'm so worried about Caleb, he hasn't eaten a thing since it happened.""Look at the bright side of things, Rose," Stella said at the other end."Bright side? What bright side? Did you not hear anything I just said?" Rose asked, surprised that Stella was calm and collected despite the situation."If I heard correctly, you said Jane is gone right? Which means the only person I have to deal with is this new woman who calls herself Bianca.""What are you talking about Stella? Just get to the point!""Okay, here's my point. Caleb desperately needs to find Jane, doesn't he? And he's ready to do anything to eliminate Bianca as well, isn't he?""Yes, but he can't because she's threatened to
CHAPTER 76Jane was seated on Brian's couch, scooping ice cream into her mouth as she absentmindedly stared at the TV. A reality show was playing but her mind was too far away to understand what the show was all about.When she heard the sound of the door open, she looked over her shoulder and saw Brian walking in with some bags in his hand."You're back.""Yeah, sorry I'm a little late, the grocery store was crowded today.""It's always like that on a Sunday. Caleb would have taken me out today," Jane added sadly and scooped another spoon of ice cream into her mouth."Jane, I don't think it's healthy for you to sit here all day filling yourself with junk.""I'm sorry, I'll pay for the ice cream...""No, no, Jane that's not what I mean. I think you should occupy yourself with something else, you know, you can't cry over him forever. You have to force yourself to move on," Brian advised."It's not as easy as you think, Brian. I just got out of a failed marriage and met someone who was
CHAPTER 77Stella walked into the office complex of Far and Wide, one of the biggest publishing houses in the city, and asked to see the head editor of the entertainment magazines.The editor arrived in a smart grey suit and matching skirt."Good morning, ma'am. I heard you wanted to see me," she said."Yes," Stella smiled. "I think I have a story that will make waves on social media and give your firm the popularity that it needs.""Really?" The editor asked interestedly. "Let's discuss in my office then."*.*BRIAN'S HOUSEThe house smelled sweetly of chives and garlic as Brian turned down the heat. Just as he scooped the omelette into a plate and turned to get coffee cups, Jane walked in, dressed in a formal black gown and black flats.She cleared her throat to inform Brian of her presence.Brian turned immediately and his eyes widened with surprise to see her dressed up."Good morning," she said softly."Morning to you too. You're all dressed up.""Yeah, I'm going to work today,"
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