Chapter 3: It Was All Planned

"When a sinister person means to be your enemy, they always start by trying to be your friend."

-William Blake-

***

“Baby, are you okay?” Christian snapped out of his own thoughts and turned around to see Layla’s concerned face.

The woman wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder with a look of concern on her face.

“Yes, I’m fine, baby. I just, I just couldn’t believe this is really happening.” He was still in a state of shock and disbelief himself after his action.

He actually shot his wife and threw her to the ocean. For an entire day after he did that, he was panicking.

When he got off the yacht, no one noticed her missing because he was very smooth about the way he handled it and no one heard the gunshot as well.

No notice was made to the local authority as well until he had left Santorini.

He received the news that they were searching for her everywhere, but after three days, she was nowhere to be found.

It was a miracle for him to be able to fly back to London in the first place without being immediately contacted by the police and being questioned as a prime suspect to her missing.

He had also contacted her family in Paris through phone about her going missing in Santorini and her family was the one holding the investigation at the moment. Christian did not dare to immediately return to their home in Paris. 

So he escaped to London for the time being. Using grief as an excuse not to be back in the city of love for the time being. 

Surely, he would end up being called for questioning and he needed to prepare some convincing answer to the questions and hired the best lawyer possible to defend him.

“Ah, don’t worry about that, baby. She’s gone now, we can be together, it’s all that matters, right?” Layla gave him a soft kiss on the lips and twirled her hand on his chest.

“I know, baby. I’m just thinking about how to deal with the aftermath of it. They will definitely suspect me. I don’t want to go to prison. I want to spend time with you.”

Hearing this, the sassy brunette frowned and placed both of her hands on his cheek.

“Look at me, Christian. You will be fine. I will never let you go to prison. I will help you. Once this is over, both of us can get married and build our dream life together, okay?” She assured him.

Christian looked at her green eyes and nodded weakly.

Only in front of her could he ever let his child-like side appears.

Layla hugged him and caressed his back gently.

“You did what you have to do Christian, you did it for me, for us. We will get through this together.” Layla convinced him.

“I don’t know what I would do without you by my side, Layla. You are so different from Sofia, who’s spoiled and has no sense of reality. Everything was always about her. She made me feel like a side character in her story, but with you, I feel seen and heard.” Christian expressed his feelings.

“Let’s not mention that woman’s name again. She’s dead. Now it’s just you and me, Christian. We can be together now.” Layla removed herself from him and then turned around.

“I will be cleaning up first.” She headed into the bathroom and shut the door.

Once she was inside, a huge grin appeared on her face.

“Finally, that wretched woman is gone.” She was holding back her hysterical laughter. Truth to be told, Layla didn’t really care that much about Christian, she just wanted to destroy Sofia.

Layla and Sofia had always known each other since they were in elementary school. Sofia, being the sweet and intelligent girl had always been quite popular with the others, she was likable and everyone loved her.

She was academically gifted and having come from a prestigious family, she had always had everything in life.

Meanwhile, Layla was not as popular or likable as Sofia, in fact, she was often treated as the villain. Layla was not an introvert, she actually had a pretty supportive circle of friends.

However, she had always been envious of Sofia, who seemed too perfect and had everything in life.

Not to mention, Sofia was also loved by her family, meanwhile, Layla’s parents had always been harsh and would often compare her to Sofia.

This happened for years.

They went to the same middle school, high school and university. But throughout all these years, it was all the same, Sofia always stole the limelight from her and it built up a strong resentment within Layla’s heart.

When Sofia started dating Christian, for the first time she felt like she had an opportunity to finally destroy her.

She observed their relationship from afar at first, watching everything they did and making note of Christian’s personality and preferences.

Then, she started to make her first move. When Christian went to a restaurant alone, she approached him and they started talking to each other.

She made sure to tailor her personality to be exactly to his taste and filled in the void within his heart. It didn’t take long until he started falling for her.

The two of them started to meet each other in secret behind Sofia’s back and the more time they spent together, the deeper he fell for her until around a year later, he was completely wrapped around her finger.

Initially, Christian didn’t want to kill Sofia. He wanted to break off their relationship right away so he could be with Layla.

However, she convinced him otherwise.

It was Layla who created the plan to murder Sofia during their honeymoon because she thought that after all these years, it was not enough to just break the woman’s heart. She should die so Layla could have the life she ever wanted.

It was also Layla who paid some men in Santorini to give the gun to Christian, it was fair to say that she was the biggest accomplice in this case, which was why she would never let him get into prison.

Because she would be dragged along with it as well and she couldn’t afford that.

Yes, she would make sure that the two of them got away with her murder and then she would finally be the star of the show.

…

In Paris, Bernard and Ines De Laurent were grieving when they heard their only daughter went missing in Santorini.

They received the call from Christian who was already back in London and thought something didn’t add up, so they quickly contacted the local authority in Santorini and asked them to find their daughter.

However, she was still not found after three days and they were starting to become more and more pessimistic.

Ines has been crying in the bedroom for almost three days, she couldn’t function well due to the pain and her husband kept trying to cheer her up.

“My daughter, my poor daughter. Why did this happen to you?” Ines kept murmuring in between her sobs.

“Don’t worry, my love, I am sure Sofia is still alive. Our daughter is stronger than what she seems. They didn’t find her body so she must be alive.”

Bernard was trying to keep a positive attitude, but it was becoming increasingly difficult.

“Something is not right, my love. Why would she disappear just like that? Why did Christian return to London without her? It must be him! He must be involved in her missing!"

"Oh God, we might have let a devil enter our household. Now my daughter is paying the price for it!” She reasoned as she continued sobbing.

“I know my dear, I think the same as well. I have hired one of the best international private investigator to deal with this case. We will find her and bring justice to the people who did this to her.” Bernard hugged his wife and wiped away the tears from her eyes.

“We will not let anyone get away with this. We will make them all pay for hurting our little angel.” He vowed.