Adele’s Pov After Dan and I left the restaurant we went straight home. Jay jumped into my arms as soon as I stepped out of the car. I hugged him and thanked Brenda, then apologized for keeping her so late. Dan was so exhausted he went in. “I don’t mind really. Jay and I had a good time.” She smiled. “It looks like you did too.” I blushed and nodded. “I did. Do you want me to call you an Uber?” “No I have a car. Good night.” I went back inside. My heart skipped when I saw Jay and Dan, in the living room. They were sitting on the couch and Jay was telling Dan about his day. “Come on sweetie it is time for bed." I said pulling him up. Dan frowned at me. But didn’t say anything. I took Jay upstairs. “Mommy what did you do at work?” Jay asked as I put him to bed. “A lot sweetie. I will tell you in the morning.” I read him a story and kissed him goodnight. Dan was standing at the bottom of the stairs when I came down. “What is up with you?” He ask
Chris was reading a report the head of his security team has brought to him. It confirmed what he had suspected for a while. He sent the man an email then logged out. Dan came into his office. “Got a minute Dad?” “Yeah what is it?” “I want you to take a look at something.” “Sure. By the way, how was your dinner date?” Chris asked grinning. “Not bad,” he said reluctantly. “It would have been better if I wasn’t forced.” “I didn’t force you you wanted to go. I just helped you make up your mind.” “Lucky me.” Dan said bitterly “You like her son so what is the problem? Why are you holding back?” “I don’t know Dad. Yes I like her a lot but-“ “Are you still thinking she wants to ruin the company?” “No. I have to admit I don’t. And I don’t think the listening device is her’s either.” “So what is it? Don’t tell me you are still holding on to what happened between you and Candice?” Dan flinched but didn’t say anything. “That was in the past. You nee
“I wanted to tell you when you were all together. Since that happens to be now listen up. I had a PI look into the listening device.” Chris said. “Why?” Zoey asked. “To know where they came from so I could trace the buyer.” Zoey tried not to react. “We already know that. It is Adele.” She said. “No it isn’t.” “Who is it?” Dan asked. “I don’t know yet. But the listening device came from a batch we bought some months ago. They are part of the ones we supplied to the security company.” “Meaning?” Craig asked. “Someone stole one. It can’t be Adele, she won't have had access to them. Only a long time employee would.” Chris explained. “So who is?” Dan asked. “I don’t know. But believe me I will get to the bottom of it. In the meantime you all stop acting crazy. Craig leave town. You have overstayed your welcome.” “No Dad. Nobody is driving me out of town till I am ready to leave.” He said stubbornly. “Then behave yourself while you are here before you g
Adele's Pov I managed to get to my office without seeing anyone. I hurriedly washed my face in the bathroom then sat behind my desk. Dan could go to hell! I had made a mistake and apologized, why couldn’t he let it go? It wasn’t as if he hadn’t done the same thing before and the ass hadn't even apologized. I began thinking he was looking for a reason to break up with me. For some reason he seemed scared of having a normal relationship. I wondered why. I wished he would let me in so I could help him. I would melt his ice heart and teach him how to love. I sighed. I looked at my computer screen. I was in no mood for work but I had to. I was on a deadline. I tried to concentrate but my mind kept wandering. I was happy when my ringing phone distracted me. I looked at caller ID then groaned. My dad. I was in no mood to talk to him. I would end up yelling at him. Then it rang again and I was pleased to see it was Rachel “Rachel, so sorry for not keeping in touch.” I said.
Adele's Pov It was Chris. “Hey Adele.” He grinned. “You are the one putting flowers on my mom’s grave?” I asked very surprised. “Yeah. I come here often to visit. It is very peaceful.” I nodded. “Very. Sometimes it is almost like I can hear her talking to me.” “You have experienced it too?” He asked surprised. “Yes. I was afraid I was crazy.” “No you are not. I know what you are talking about. It happens to me too.” We stood looking down at the grave. “You knew her well?” I asked. “Very. I had a crush on her in highschool. She was as beautiful as you. I would admire her from a distance too scared to tell her how I felt until it was too late.” He bent down and touched the grave. “ I still miss her. No woman has ever been able to replace her.” I didn’t know what to say to ease his sadness. It suddenly occurred to me why he really liked me. I reminded him of the woman he loved. “I miss her too. I sometimes wonder how different my life would have been
Dan sat staring after Adele as she left his office. He was angry, upset and embarrassed. How had she found out about Candice? Had his Dad told her? Or that asshole Craig. The mention of that name brought a lot of painful memories he had managed to push down. Now they were coming up again. His mind went back in time. it was a week to his wedding to Candice, the blonde beauty he had met in college. He wanted to take her to dinner but she had phoned to cancel at the last minute saying she was ill so he decided to go and see how she was. He could still see himself walking into Candice’s house, he had the key to her house like she had the key to his. Standing in the hallway he could hear the moans coming from the bedroom. He knew from the moans what was happening in the bedroom but he couldn’t believe it. Candice would never do that to him. He had to see for himself. So he had entered the bedroom and saw his brother on top of his fiancée. He was so shocked he hadn’t realized when he h
Adele arrived in less than five minutes. She had been lucky to quickly get a cab. Dan was sitting in his car. The street was quiet, and clouds were gathering in the sky. It was going to rain. “What is going on?” She asked looking at the damage. “How did this happen?” “I will explain later but you have to help me. The cops will be here soon and I will be in big trouble.” “Why? Have you been drinking?” She demanded. “A little.” He said weakly. “Dan! I have warned you about drinking and driving.” “I am sorry. What do we do now? If the cops arrest me I'll do time.” They could hear police sirens in the distance. “Shit!” Dan said. “Give me the keys. I will say I drove.” “What? No!” “Give it to me and stop arguing.” She said impatiently. “No. The cops won’t believe you.” “Do you have a better idea?” “No, but-“ “Then give it to me. Let’s get out of this mess and worry later.” He reluctantly handed her the keys just before the cops pulled up to
Dan felt dumb sitting in a cab. He hadn’t taken a cab in years. He preferred to drive and was used to driving. This was like a new experience for him. Karen had been calling him since yesterday but he had refused to answered. Did she really think he was dumb enough not to guess what she had done? Trying to hookup with her had been a mistake that he wasn’t going to continue. He hoped he could talk to his dad in private without his brother or sister interrupting. But Chris wasn’t home. The house keeper told him he had gone to the office. He wasn’t surprised, his dad sometimes worked on Sunday. He headed to the office and met his dad concentrating on some files spread out on his desk. “You aren’t going to the club today Dad?” He asked. “No this is important. That’s why I was calling you last night. How are you doing? Hope the little accident didn’t spoil your romantic night?” He asked. Dan sensed he was mocking him. Did he know? He always knew everything. “Not so good
Adele’s Pov “I am letting her go that’s what. What you are doing is crazy Tina! And I won’t support you.” Dad said. “You idiot! I am trying to help you solve a problem!” Tina yelled. “Just like I did with her useless mother.” “What?” I asked wide-eyed. “What do you mean? Did you have something to do with Claire’s death?” He asked. “Yes I did dumbass! What else was I suppose to do. You said you couldn’t be with me because you didn’t want to divorce her so I had to kill her. You mentioned she was going to Palo Alto to see her stupid friend so I waited on a quiet part of the road pretending I had engine trouble, when the fool stopped to help, I hit her on the back of the head and drove her car off a cliff. So your problems were solved.” “How could you be so evil Tina?” Dad asked shocked. “Shut up! I did it to help you. You should be thanking me! Now lock them up and stop being an idiot.” “Never! You have done enough. It ends now. I was an idiot to have had anything to do with you
Tina met Jason the same place she had met Adele. “What took you so long?” She asked suspiciously. “I went by a longer route. I wanted to make sure I wasn’t being followed.” He explained. “Okay, so you have everything?” “Yeah,” he said pointing to his case. “I heard you kidnapped Adele too?” “Yes to increase the ransom.” They began walking to the beach house. “She was the target, I used her son to get her. Tell me about Adele being Chris’ daughter, Claire cheated on you? I am not surprised. She was as useless as her daughter.” “There isn’t much to tell. Chris just told me she wasn’t my daughter, it explained a lot of things.” They got to the house and met Karen having lunch. “Dad! I was so happy when Mom said you were joining us. I hope you aren’t mad I didn’t tell you I was leaving?” “No. I wish you had though. Where is Adele and Jay?” “There.” Tina pointed to a door. “Let me see them.” Tina picked up a bunch of keys on the table and opened the door. Adele and Jay were s
“How could we be so stupid?” Dan groaned. He was pacing the living room very upset. “I was the idiot.” Chris said. “I should have known what Tina was up to when she didn’t want Adele around. In fact I should have had bodyguards here the minute this happened.” “It won’t have helped. From what the housekeeper said Tina didn’t rush in and kidnap her she lured her away.” Rachel said. “Jay and now Adele have been taken. What kind of an idiot am I not to have seen this?“ Chris asked helplessly. “Beating yourself up won’t help. We have to find a way to get them back.” Rachel said. “I am going to talk to Jason, he is going to tell me where his crazy wife is hiding.” Chris fumed. “I will come with you.” Dan said. “No. You two stay here and let me handle it.” Rachel said and left. Jason was staring at his dinner when Rachel walked in. “It is time to come clean Jason, where is Tina? Chris is right, you know where she is and you are hiding it from us.” She said. “I am not in t
The phone call had shaken Adele and Dan, but Rachel told them not to get upset. “Tina is trying to get to you guys, don’t let her win. You have to be strong.” She said. “I'm trying but it isn’t easy,” Adele cried. “Tina is crazy, what if she hurts him?” “She won't, she needs him to carry out whatever evil plan she has. Don’t worry, she will call again.” Two days later, Tina called Chris during lunch time. “Hey Chris, how are you? I'm calling you because you have what I need.” She said. “ You evil bitch! Where is Jay?” “The brat is fine don’t worry.” “If you harm him-“ “Why should I? I need him. I have no intention of hurting him. I just want to make a deal and I will let him go. Having him here is annoying.” “What do you want?” “Money.” “How much?” “I will tell you, but first call Dan and Rachel to your office by 4 pm. I want them to be there when I call. Do not call Adele.” “Why only Dan and Rachel? And why 4 pm? What are you up to?” He asked suspiciously.
Tina called Jason as he drove home. “Tina, what is going on? Is Karen with you?” He asked. “Calm down she is. I know you didn’t want her to know about our plan, but I couldn’t help contacting her. I hope you are not mad?” “Not really, although I wish you had told me first. Did she take Adele’s son?” “Yes, the brat is here.” “Tina that is kidnapping! She could be in big trouble! Why did you get her mixed up in this?” “Relax, no one is getting into trouble. We are going make money from this. I needed her help to pull it off.” “Money? How?” “From the ransom of course.” “Tina this is a bad idea.” “No it isn’t. Just calm down and leave it to me okay?” “Sure, take care of Karen, and please keep in touch.” When Jason got home he sank into a chair feeling tired and upset. He had guessed something was wrong when he tried to call Karen and couldn’t get through, then when he'd come home Marie had told him Karen had packed her bags to go on a camping trip. He had guessed s
Adele’s pov I couldn’t stop crying. Dan sat beside me trying to console me. Brenda was crying quietly in the armchair and Chris was on the phone, calling everyone he could think of to help find Jay. “This is all my fault,” Brenda said “No it is,” Dan said. “You didn’t get there on time because an accident delayed you, and I am very sure the accident was caused by Tina.” “It is my fault.” I cried. “I caused this. I brought Karen into our lives. You warned me Dan but I was stupid enough to trust her!” “Stop blaming yourself. It’s not your fault she turned out to be a witch, you couldn’t have known.” “Dan is right,” Chris said, None of you are to blame. We will find Jay, and arrest Karen and Tina, I promise.” The housekeeper led Dad into the room. “I got your message,” he said, “what’s going on? You said Karen kidnapped Jay? That’s impossible why would she do that?” “Because she is a psycho just like her mom and she needs to be stopped!” Chris fumed. ‘It is time to come
“Calm down Brenda, there must be some mistake,” Adele said trying to control her panic. “No! I got here and I couldn’t find him!” “Okay, I am on my way,” Adele said. She was trembling as she hung up and told Dan what had happened. “Calm down babe there must be a mistake somewhere. We will go to the school together.” He said. On the way to the elevator, Chris called him. “Dan I need to see you.” “Not now Dad-“ “It's urgent.” “I will wait in your car,” Adele said. Dan almost ran to Chris’ office. The man who had been with Karen was standing next to Chris. They were listening to a recording on a mobile phone on Chris’s desk. “Dad please make it snappy,” Dan said rushing in. “Listen to this.” Chris said. “I am in a hurry dad, tell me what it is.” “I found out where Zoey and her mom are living, somewhere across town. I sent one of my people to them to see what they were up to, and found out they were planning to hack into our company and steal millions, so I sent this guy to
She thought about the lunch and laughed, did the stupid Adele believe she was trying to be her friend?She is dumber than I imagined, Karen thought.She went to her room to wait for her mom’s call. It came an hour later.“Mom, I have been waiting.”“Sorry honey, I wanted to make sure you were back, how did it go?”“Better than I expected, I have the information.”“Meet at the usual place.”Karen hurriedly drove to the beach. Tina entered the car as soon as she stopped it.“I have everything Mom. I went to Adele and pretended I wanted to work with her, the fool believed my good girl act. I was able to get the info you wanted about her son.”“Smart girl! I knew I could rely on you. I have been gathering some information too and now have an idea of his routine.”“But why go through this stress, Mom? Can't we go straight to Adele?”“We can but it’s more difficult. Using her son to get to her is easier.”‘Okay, you said Dad is not to know about it?”“Not yet, till I'm sure he can be of hel
It was past dinner time when Karen came home.“You are late for dinner.” Her dad said.“Yeah I went for a walk. I have thought about what you said and you are right, Adele heading the company isn’t so bad. I want to work with her.”“I am glad you see things my way. I will call her tomorrow and tell her you are coming over.”“I hope we will be able to mend out relationship.” Karen smiled falsely.The next afternoon she walked into Adele’s office.“Dad told me you would be coming.” Adele said.“Yeah. I need a job. Sitting around waiting to hear from mom is driving me crazy.”“I am sorry about what happened. Chris has promised to help if she gives herself up.”“Dad told me. We are grateful. And I am sorry for all the awful stuff I did and said.” Karen said sounding remorseful.“Let’s move past that. I have a job for you in the media department, would you like that?”“Sure. I would love it.”“Okay, you can start tomorrow.”“How about you tell me a little about the job.” Karen said.“Sure.