Hayden-Exactly an hour after Dominic left the office, he returned, and we went to the cemetery. I couldn’t remember the last time I had gone, but it felt like forever. Since I had believed that Dominic had died in the fire, I had been alone to handle the Funeral arrangements.I knew that my mom had loved Dominic’s father, so I had buried them side by side. Kneeling on the ground in front of their graves, I silently cried until I couldn’t cry anymore. Dominic kneeled beside me on one knee with his hand on my shoulder.Neither of us said anything for long this time. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk; I didn’t know what to say. This was the first time that I felt a sense of regret.It has been a long time since I last saw them. After talking about the past with Dominic earlier, my thoughts kept circling back to the past. Specifically, I thought about our last meal together when I found out they were getting divorced.“I wish I could go back in time.” I whispered.“What do you mean?”
Hayden-Over the following two weeks, my relationship with Dominic improved. Dominic spent a lot of time at the office, dealing with the aftermath of Lexus. No one knew I was the other shareholder, and it seemed Lexus was getting annoyed he couldn’t find me. I couldn’t help but be amused because I was right under his nose, and he didn’t know it.Instead of returning home to wait for Dominic to get off work, I used the time to work on writing my book. With all the downtime I kept getting, I imagined I should finish the book in no time. Aside from that, I have been making waves as the new design director.I am involved with every business meeting, including those that Lexus attends. I am getting a better handle on the business side of things, and I am putting myself in front of Lexus to find out what he is up to. I still haven’t figured it out, but he focused on me during the meetings, not Dominic.“To show that I am sincere, I will return the authors to Fox Ink.” Lexus said during our
Hayden-We arrived at our destination at three in the morning. We both slept on the plane, but after getting to the hotel Tristan booked for us, we went back to sleep. After waking up, we immediately headed into town to learn as much as possible.For most of the day, we couldn’t find anything useful. Everyone in Lexus’s family was either dead or moved away. Whenever we asked someone about Lexus and his family, they weren’t helpful. Either they refused to tell us anything or didn’t know anything.“What if we can’t find anything?” I asked when it started to get dark.“I knew it was a shot in the dark, but we can’t give up yet. We covered most of the town but still haven’t been to a few places. It is possible we can find information about Lexus at the house where he grew up. I don’t think anyone lives there, but it looks as if it is still maintained. We still have tomorrow to find something out before we need to take the flight back.”Feeling defeated and exhausted, I sighed and followed
Hayden-“Do you know the son’s name?” Dominic asked.“Sadly, I don’t. I started working here after the son left, and it became a forbidden topic around town.”I wondered if Dominic was thinking the son could be my father. It wouldn’t matter either way because there was no way I could confirm it. From the sounds of things other than Lexus, it seemed like everyone in his family was dead. Even if I did confirm it, it wouldn’t change anything.“I think we are getting off-topic here.” I said as I thought questioning where the inheritance went was pointless. “We came to see if we can find proof that Lexus is responsible for Lexi’s death.”“What makes you think that Lexus killed Lexi?” The older man asked.Dominic went on to explain the events that led up to Lexi’s death; he even admitted to getting close to her on purpose. The entire time he spoke, I watched a multitude of different emotions flash across the man’s face. Dominic also mentioned that he suspected that Lexus might be involved w
Hayden-After arriving home, we had just enough time to shower before going to work. I slept on the plane but was mentally drained and felt like I was dragging. When we got to work, I went straight to my office while Dominic went to his. For almost an hour, I stared at my computer screen, unable to concentrate.“Hayden?” Tristan knocked before poking his head inside my office.“Yes?” I looked up from my computer, grateful for the distraction.Tristan entered my office, shutting the door behind him. “I came to inform you that Dominic had to leave for a bit. I don’t know when he will return, but he told me to take you home after work if he hasn’t returned.”“Do you know where he went?”“I don’t. He took some men with him but asked me to stay with you.”I felt Tristan was hiding something from me, but I doubted he would be honest if I asked. “Alright, is there anything else?”“If you want to nap, lock your door or go to his office since his couch is bigger.”“Okay, well, if that is all.
Hayden-Standing up, I was about to circle the bush to approach the house but quickly dropped behind it again when I spotted two armed men patrolling the area. Luckily, they didn’t seem to notice me. Sucking in a breath, I held it as they walked by where I was hiding.“I never want to piss her off.” One of them was saying.“You’re telling me.” The other one snorted. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the guy was dead by now.”My blood went cold as I thought the guy they mentioned was Dominic. I didn’t know what the situation was, but I had a feeling it wasn’t good. When I thought about it, there were only two people I knew that wanted to harm Dominic. One was Lexus, and the other was…I didn’t need to finish my thought as I already had my answer. This was the Villa where Valerie lived. As I put the pieces together, I poked my head over the bush and saw Valerie smoking a cigarette on the front porch.Three armed men were standing with her. Valerie said something to one of the men, but I could
Dominic-“I guess you aren’t dead after all.” Valerie sighed.“Let her go!” I rocked the chair I was sitting in.“Sorry, I can’t do that.” Valerie stood, releasing Hayden.Hayden moved closer to me, wrapping her arms around my legs. My chest ached as I saw absolute fear on Hayden’s face. When I left this morning, I suspected it was a trap. The moment the plane landed, I received a text message from an unknown number, telling me to meet at a location if I wanted to learn more about my father’s death.It hadn’t mattered at the time because I figured that as long as Hayden was safe, I could handle anything. When I arrived at the location, which had been an empty warehouse, I was knocked out and woke up where I am now. On the plus side, I learned more about my father’s death, which was directly tied to Lexus, as I suspected.Valerie had brought a man who had been involved with the fire and told me he was the one who had lit the match. She had told me she would let me handle the man howeve
Dominic-Valerie scrambled away and stood up. “Get in here!”A few seconds later, two more men entered the room, and I fired the gun at them. The gun I held was small and had limited ammo, but I counted each bullet. With only one more bullet left, I knew I couldn’t get Hayden out of this alive.“Can you stand?” I asked Hayden as I rolled off her and jumped to my feet.Valerie staggered back wide-eyed, but I lunged toward her and grabbed her. Pulling her in front of me, I pressed the barrel of the pistol against her head. Hayden moved to her feet just as a group of men entered the room.“Get behind me!” I ordered Hayden. She did as she was told and pressed her body against my back.“You do realize you won’t get out of this alive, right?” Valerie laughed, but I could tell she was afraid. Her body was tense, and her voice shook. “If you want to survive, you are better off leaving the girl and escaping on your own.”“Over my dead body.” I pressed the gun harder against Valerie’s head.“Th