An hour and half later, Charlotte was dressed in a long dress that was more suitable for a ball than an actual party. When she expressed her concerns to her sister regarding the choice of outfit she had picked out for her, Kate assured her it was perfect. Apparently, it was just a get-together with some of her wealthy friends from before she left for Europe. Kate was dressed similarly with even elbow-high gloves. By the time they were done, they both looked like they always did on Sundays when they went to church as children under their parents. By now, Charlotte was more curious than skeptical. She didn’t think Kate could possibly have gathered people to kidnap her or something, but something was fishy about everything she was doing. And to make it worse, she wasn’t even good at lying. Each lie was more ridiculous than the last, yet Charlotte decided to flow along with it to see how far she could go. The answer was, very far. “We’re going out to meet a few people,” Kate a
“Charlotte, wait,” Kate called out to her sister as she caught up with her and pulled her back by her hand. “Leave me the fuck alone!” Charlotte yelled in a loud voice. “Can you just look past your own life for a moment and realize that not everything revolves around you? I hurt you first and that was the only reason I forgave you for what you did. I understand you were hurt and you were jealous. Shit happens. But mom and dad, what was their excuse? They never even let me explain. They just disowned me and boarded the next flight immediately they heard what happened. And let’s not act like they didn’t already hate me for other things before then. You were always the golden child.” Kate frowned and let go of her. “Can you stop saying that? Maybe you’re the one who has never tried to get out of your own head for one second while we were growing up. If not, you would have realized that mom and dad were just as unfeeling toward me as they were to you. I was so surprised when they ask
Xavier sat with his hands pressed together as he watched the detectives interrogate Laura’s assistant through the opaque glass window that served as a barrier between them. As he had half expected, the woman said nothing, just glared back at the detectives, being completely uncooperative. She only gave short sarcastic answers that went nowhere to any question that the expert detectives asked. Xavier didn’t know how much Laura had paid her, but it had to have been a lot, for her not to break a sweat no matter how serious their threats were. “You’re already under fire for being involved with Mrs Laura Roman. You don’t have to suffer her fate, you know,” one of the men said calmly, obviously playing good cop. “Just tell us what we need to know and you’ll be free from any consequences.” Xavier crinkled his nose at the sound of his own surname. It made him uncomfortable to try to imagine why Laura never bothered to change her surname even though they had been divorced for years
At the insistence of Kate and her father, Charlotte let herself be convinced to go somewhere private to discuss their family issues. The crowd that had gathered to watch the drama dispersed with disappointment written on their faces when Charlotte stopped pressuring her father to answer and asked Carlos to drive them to a new location. “Talk,” Charlotte said once they were sitting, making it clear she didn’t want them to change the subject. “Gee, where do I start?” Her father said, clearing his throat. “What did mom do?” Charlotte filled in for him. “Hold up,” her mother interrupted. “Don’t try to rope me into this. I didn’t do anything. Your father was the one who tried to dupe Mr Roman.” Kate gasped. “You tried to dupe Charlotte’s husband?”“Not Charlotte’s husband,” he corrected. “Her husband’s father. It was your mother who convinced me to do it.” The older woman laughed drily. “Really? I, who couldn’t get you to expand the company or let my family buy shares for years m
Xavier sat up, now more interested in the interrogation at the name he had begun to hear more frequently these days. Mr Don, Laura’s brother. The owner of the most successful tech company in the country, who owed his success to the startup money given to him by Laura who had gotten so much from frustrating Xavier’s life. Xavier already felt disgusted by this man who was shameless enough to accept that kind of money, whoever he was. He was thankful he never got to see him or any of Laura’s family for that matter, throughout the time they had been together. “You said you work for Mr Don,” Private continued. “Can you tell me more about that? How it started, perhaps.” “Mr Don found me in Venezuela. I was running from the law after what I had done. He told me he admired my quick thinking, and asked me if I wanted to come here and work for him. Of course I said yes.” Private nodded. “I see, so what was the work description exactly? Did working for him mean being his sister’s
Xavier smiled when Private called to give the news that Mr Don was already on his way to meet him. He had been wise enough not to take his implied threats lightly. His contentment dampened slightly when Charlotte didn’t respond to his many calls. His nose crinkled in worry as he wondered what she would have been doing. He couldn’t afford to go back to the main house because he wanted the meeting to end as soon as possible, and considering the fact that Mr Don was already on his way coming with his private jet, and a nurse was checking up on him, going to the main house would only waste his time and possibly distract him. When Charlotte still didn’t answer an hour later, Xavier dialed Carlos’ number. It was his first day back, but he had told Xavier he had driven Charlotte and her sister somewhere, and given the fact that neither his wife nor her sister was responding, he was beginning to get worried. “Where is my wife?” Xavier asked after pleasantries had been exchanged. “She
Don sighed. “As much as it pains me to admit it, I think my sister has lost her mind.” Xavier let out a dry laugh. “You’re only realizing that now?” Don stared at him. “I’m being serious. I believe she has gone insane. It will only keep getting worse if I don’t do anything about it, but each time I try to talk some sense into her, she just shuns me and reminds me she’s responsible for my success and goes ahead to do whatever the heck she wants to do. I managed to convince her to go to therapy once and the therapist gave me a written note telling me I had to admit her in a psychiatry ward.” Xavier pressed his lips into a tight line. Sure, he had always made remarks about his ex wife’s mental health, but he never actually thought she had lost it to that point. It was scary to even think about it. “Okay, she’s going crazy. What did Private have to do with the whole thing?” He asked. “Private and her assistant were just there to prevent her from going too far, but unf
“Laura,” Don said in a small comforting voice as he walked to his sister’s side. “How are you?” Xavier stood by the door, watching everything unfold. Laura’s eyes never left his. It was almost as if she couldn’t see anyone else but him. “Xav,” she called out to him in a strained voice. “Laura,” he said simply. “You came,” she said with a smile. Xavier forced a smile on his face. Although he believed she deserved what she was getting, he couldn’t help but feel bad for her. It had been less than a week, yet she had slimmed down to an almost unrecognizable size. She looked terrible, and from what the doctor had told them before they entered the ward, she would have to spend the next several years in and out of the hospital because of the damage the mixture of the drugs had caused her. “Can we have the room please?” She asked Don without even looking at him. “You just woke up, Laura. You need to…” Don argued. “I’m not a child, Don. I want to talk to Xavier and I’ll appreci