As they arrived at the Pharmacy, Lucas came down from the vehicle to go into the pharmacy to get the medication. Alexander and the driver were left in the car“Did you grow up in this town?” Alexander asked. “No sir. I grew up in New York. I moved here as a teenager with my mom. We stayed with my grandmother before she passed, and I’ve been here ever since.” “If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?” Alexander wondered if maybe he could have some information about people in the town. “Oh! I’m 23 sir. But because I play rugby, people say I look older.” “Mmmm,” Alexander said, the kid is too young to know anything about me. He probably hasn’t been here for more than ten years, Alex thought.He watched as Lucas approached the car with a small bag. It had the migraine medication. As they drove back to the hospital, all Alexander wanted to do was sleep. Every other thing could happen tomorrow but for today, he just needed to rest. They arrived back at the hospital, the driver sig
Alexander felt a lot better thanks to the medication the doctor had recommended. Although he had slept in an armchair in Aria’s hospital room, the migraine had reduced and he felt more alert. He decided to take a cold shower at the apartment, the cold water cascading down his body was way better than the last time. He could feel now and enjoy every moment of it. Alexander wished that he could be underneath the jet spray for even longer but they had places to be. Lucas knocked on the door just as Alexander got out of the shower. “Young Master? We might need to hurry a bit, we still have to get breakfast for young mistress before we track down Mrs. Smickums.” Alexander spoke through the door. “Yeah. I’ll be right out Lucas.” Lucas was already by the door when Alexander came out, they proceeded to enter the vehicle. “Is there a sushi place around here or any Chinese restaurant?“ Alexander asked “Yeah, there is one but it’s pretty far off. We can order it and it gets delivered to wh
They arrived at the hospital to find Aria sitting up in bed, she looked too composed for someone who was recovering. Alexander noticed the empty sushi disposable plates in a corner, he offered her a small smile. Lucas wanted to verify beyond reasonable doubt that it was Aria that ate the meal. “Young mistress, did you eat the sushi?”“Yes. Thanks for everything. It was so good, I really enjoyed it.” She replied softly. Alexander looked at Lucas who understood what the words didn’t convey. There was something different about young mistress, as if she was a completely different person. “By the way, this perfume you have on. It’s a bit different, I think it smells a bit musky than usual.” Alexander said. “Oh no darling. I use the exact same perfume, I haven’t changed it” Frieda said, not understanding the trick question. There was no way Dr. Hensley would have told her what scent Aria uses so she had to just feign her way through. “Oh okay. I guess it’s the smell of the hospital mak
“Thank you, Can I please ask you for a favor?” Frieda asked the nurse who came in to check in on her. The nurse smiled from ear to ear, their head of operations at the hospital had gotten a whiff of the fact that this woman was the wife of a multi billionaire and she was married into a very influential family. There was a whole meeting addressing all staff to be the nicest to them no matter what. “Sure. What do you need?” The nurse asked. “Your phone, I need to make a call and it seems mine got misplaced after I was kidnapped.” Frieda said, hoping that the last tidbit about her kidnap would make the nurse more sympathetic and susceptible to her. “Oh. We’re not allowed to hold on to our phones during working hours. That’s why I only have my pager on me but if you give me some minutes. I could dash down to the locker room and get it for you.” The nurse replied. She genuinely felt bad for her, being rich had its own issues. One could get into problems like kidnap and blackmail just
As soon as Alexander and Lucas exited the hospital building, leaving the noise of nurses and the staff, they exchanged a knowing look. Alexander was the first to break the silence. “That woman in there,” he said in a heavy tone, “that woman…” he shook his head. “is not Aria.” Lucas looked as though his brain was calculating different equations at the same time. He didn’t interrupt Alexander. “I knew it from the moment we rescued her,” Alexander continued. “She may have looked, and even sounded like Aria but her mannerisms, even the way she looked at me. Something felt different… wrong even. But I couldn’t quite explain it because of the glaring similarities.” He said, running a hand through his hair. “She called me darling, Aria told me she hated that because it sounded patronizing and fake and didn't like saying it either. Then she said she used perfume, Aria doesn’t even like using perfumes. Now I can safely say my gut was right Lucas. My heart wasn’t at ease, like Aria was still
Frieda walked into the bathroom of her hospital room with the phone. “Excuse me! You could just hold on. I’d be done with the phone before you’re done changing the sheets and then I’ll return it to you. I just want to pee.” Frieda told the nurse before closing the door behind her. The nurse nodded and left to get the new set of sheets for the bed.Frieda sat on the toilet seat, her fingers trembling as she called Hensley. She pressed the phone to her ear and waited, the phone rang and her stomach turned with unease. After another call, Hensley picked, once again giving the caller a silent treatment as only the sound of his breathing could be heard. “It’s me, Frieda.” She said, “Frieda, this better be important.” Hensley said, his voice betraying the impatience.“It is very important.” She replied, glancing below the door to be sure no one was lurking outside. “Alexander told me they want to leave the hospital and go back to his home. He’s insisting that there is a better healthcar
Alexander and Lucas had returned to the apartment, they sat in the living room. Lucas was seated at the dining table, his laptop was open and his phone was connected with a short cord, he scrolled through his laptop trying to find the app that could decipher the now deleted call logs from the phone. “Young Master, I’m almost done,” Lucas said, his eyes remaining on the screen. “I just need a few more minutes.” Alexander rubbed his hand over his face. “I don’t know what I’m feeling but it feels like every second we waste is another moment for Hensley to continue doing whatever the fuck he’s doing to Aria right now. She’s somewhere out there and we don’t know where…” Lucas kept on working. “Young Master, we’re doing everything we can to make sure that we find her. I understand your worry and I will make sure we find her as quickly as possible. Hensley and Ethan will rot in jail for this.” Alexander exhaled sharply, the dull ache of his migraine was adding to his anger and frustratio
“Young Master, perhaps I have a suggestion. Maybe we should visit the police station. Ask about the case file, what do you think? It might hold more information.” Lucas said as they drove through different streets. “You’re right. Mrs Smickums said something about the past sheriffs not being available but the case file would surely be available. Let’s got to the police station then.” The driver turned the car around, the ride to the police station was simple. He didn’t have any memories on this road, that was understandable. It wasn’t like he must have frequented the police station as a child. Alexander sat with his hands on his knees, his mind racing about the possibility of knowing everything at once. “Sir, we’re here.” The driver announced as he pulled into the driveway of the police station. “I’ll find somewhere to park sir.”Alexander and Lucas exited the car, Alexander’s migraine was back now, persistent as always. “Are you okay sir?” Lucas asked. “The migraine is back, let’
“So, how was everything while I was away?” Aria’s voice was soft as she pushed the stroller with Lilian’s baby in it. She leaned forward on the couch in the penthouse, as Lilian carefully folded a few baby clothes. Lilian glanced up, smiling softly. “Well, to be honest, there wasn't a lot that changed. When you and Mr. Alexander returned from your trip, we thought you were back but then you just disappeared into your room and then Mr. Lucas called and told me I was to come work for you here but not to disclose a single thing to anyone.” Aria stilled. “When I came back with Alexander?” Lilian nodded. “Yes, when you and Mr. Alexander didn’t come back from your mother’s memorial, Grandma and most of the staff thought you both were finally getting a honeymoon.”Aria wanted to press more but she said nothing, she didn’t want to arouse any suspicion from Lilian. Lilian chuckled, she had no idea that Aria was tense. “When Mr. Alexander said you were ill, Grandma joked that maybe your il
“Young Master, we have a problem.” Lucas’s voice sounded sharp as he stepped into Alexander’s office. He took a look at Alexander who looked like he didn’t even want to be at the office today. The ongoing investigation was weighing on the young man. Alexander didn’t look up from his desk, he still studied the documents in front of him. “Which one of our problems?” Lucas slid the file he held onto the desk. “It’s Ethan sir.” “What about him?” Alexander replied, he finally lifted his head and reached for the file Lucas dropped, his expression unreadable. Lucas exhaled. “The detective told us their full strategy on how they plan on arresting Ethan and Shanta and taking down Shanta’s whole operation but there’s a catch.” Alexander’s jaw tightened as he opened the file to photos of Shanta and Ethan and redacted lines in the investigation file. “What exactly is this catch? I already know I’m not going to like it so just say it.” “Young Master, They want to keep Ethan on the ground un
“Good day everyone, I’m the detective here for the briefing on Shanta and his crew.” The detective spoke as soon as he strode into the Tech team’s conference room at The Sinclair Headquarters. “We need to talk about Ethan, we don’t know anything about this Shanta…” Lucas immediately replied. The detective, a lean man who looked like he was in his forties, turned to Lucas with sharp eyes. “I guess it’s straight to business with you.” “Well, there’s no time for pleasantries. Ethan should be in a holding cell awaiting trial just like his fellow conspirators.” Lucas replied. The detective exhaled, he looked weary as he rubbed his temples. “Yes that’s true but it’s not that simple.” One of the tech operatives leaned forward. “So what’s the holdup? We had eyes on him at Shanta’s pub, we alerted you on the location and you had a window but you stopped the officers from taking him. Why did you do that exactly?”The detective tapped his fingers on the table. “Because arresting Ethan would
“This is the one I picked, I think it’s okay and it looks warm and homely at the same time as doubling as a safe house.” Lucas said. Alexander stepped into the penthouse, his eyes scanned the space. The apartment was sleek, modern and the sunlight filled the room. The windows were floor to ceiling but they had shutters in case the person needed to drown out the natural light. The penthouse overlooked the city… It was a humble type of luxury. “Is it secure?” Alexander asked, stepping towards the closed balcony doors. Lucas nodded his response. “Yes, Young Master. It has triple security, controlled access so no one gets in without clearance.” Alexander ran a hand along the door knob before opening it. The balcony was nice, airy but very secure. “And inside?” Lucas gave a small smile, he was proud of the apartment. “The inside is fully stocked, has a private gym and enough space so she doesn’t feel like a prisoner.” Alexander’s gaze went straight to the woman standing near the kitc
The guest house bubbled with laughter as the ladies clunk their glasses together and celebrated. The bottle of expensive French wine sat half empty on the table as Janet, Mandy and Jessica indulged in their victory. Jessica sighed, as she swirled her wine in her glass. “I have to admit, I didn’t even think it would happen this fast.” Mandy smirked, “when you pay for the best, you’ll definitely get the best.” She took a slow sip of the wine. “I didn’t exactly trust him, I thought he’d probably screw it up, or worse take the money and run away.” Jessica replied. Janet let out a small laugh and a cough, obviously enjoying the wine. “You weren’t the only one. I was skeptical about hiring someone, what if he made a mistake or he got caught? That would be stupid and traceable.” “There’s still a slight chance that he screwed up.” Jessica said. Mandy snapped, “Don’t say that.” Jessica frowned. “Don’t say what?” Mandy firmly placed her glass down on the table. “That kind of talk can j
Lucas stood in the cold, autopsy room waiting for the autopsy report. As soon as he saw the forensic toxicologist walk in, his gaze swept over the stout man. He was handed the document and his eyes absorbed the information. The results were obvious. “She was poisoned,” the examiner said as he pulled off his gloves. “We found a deeply concentrated toxic substance in her bloodstream. It wasn’t something that could have entered her blood naturally. This substance is what caused her demise, we are yet to ascertain what sort of poison it is or where it comes from but we think it’s a mix of some sort.” Lucas kept a straight face. “So do you think this substance was ingested or it was injected?” The examiner pointed at the file. “We also checked her IV bag.” Lucas opened the next document in the file, a report of the administered drugs and what was later found in the IV bag. “So the IV tested positive for the same poison meaning that’s how it got into her system?” That was a calculated
Lucas stood in the next room watching through the two way mirror as the medical examiner began cutting through Frieda’s body. He thought about how Frieda was a casualty of deception even in death. He wasn’t here for answers about her, rather he was here for proof, proof that someone had made a mistake. Or proof that someone had killed this young woman, or who they thought she was. The forensic pathologist glanced at him from the other side of the room, the light was on so he could clearly see that Lucas was watching him intently. “I’ve never had someone insist on being present for an autopsy before.” Lucas didn’t blink. “You’re not used to my kind of people.” The pathologist raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He continued the autopsy, while analyzing the toxicology results. The door opened, the doctor from earlier emerged. “The security footage is ready, you can come and take a look.” He took one last glare at the pathologist before leaving the room. He followed the doctor to
The private hospital was indeed private, it was quiet and the eerie silence felt unnatural. But that didn’t matter to Alexander. His footsteps through the hallway was fast and determined as he walked down the corridor towards the hospital room where Aria was being kept. His own Aria, his wife and love. Lucas walked briskly beside him, they found the doctor in charge. “Hello sir. I’m Doctor Smith. I’m in charge of the patient.” He said.“What’s the situation?” Alexander asked. “The man pumped her with enough anesthesia to keep her unconscious for days. We’re currently trying to clear it from her system but it’ll take time.” The doctor replied. Alexander said nothing. His body language showed his impatience, he wanted to see Aria now but he also wanted to find Hensley and make him pay for what he had done. Lucas spoke out, sensing Alexander’s rage. “At least she’s here now. We found her.” Alexander exhaled. “Not soon enough.” He said under his breath. They reached the door of he
Janet sat in her grand living room scrolling through a gossip column on her phone. It came as a surprise when the butler announced that she had a delivery. She walked out to the door and was handed a bottle of wine with a red bow tied around the neck. She frowned in confusion as she thought about the most likely people to send her a bottle of wine. “No sender information?” She asked as she signed. The delivery man shook his head. “No sender address ma’am and no note, except this.” He handed her a tiny card. Janet’s eyes scanned it. All that was written wasCongrats. Her heart almost stopped. Realization hit her at once and she almost lost hold of the bottle. There was only one reason someone would send this. This was what the hitman said he would do. She had initially thought it was a joke especially since it feels like overkill but here they were. Aria was dead and the bottle of red wine seemed fitting. Without another thought, Janet turned around and ran straight into the h