On the second meeting, Zade was looking forward to meeting Adera again, but it was unexpectedly Blake Anderson. As much as he appreciated the formality, he missed the little distraction of Adera Blake.It became even more depressing when he realized they didn't exchange contacts. All he could do was wait and hope they meet again. Turned out Blake Anderson was not as difficult to convince as they expected. Compared to Adera, the man was a lot calmer, more quieter. He barely argued or interrupted him and only asked a few questions where necessary. After that, he signed the proposal and requested they inform him once they were ready to start the project. Ade expected the man to leave immediately, but he remained in his seat, studying him intensely. At first, Zade assumed he was having second thoughts about their proposal. He was about to convince him a little more when the next words caught him unawares. "Yesterday, my daughter threw herself shamelessly at you."Zade didn't know how
In the next couple of weeks, Zade heard nothing from Adera. There was no attempt to call. him or meet up with him even though she had the means. Zade, on the other hand, didn't want to evade her personal space. She was the one who confessed her love to him and if it was a one-time thing, he didn't want to push her.His only satisfaction was that she seemed okay. Her social media pages were still updated daily with lovely pictures of her so he had nothing to worry about.As for her father, the PI was having a hard time finding anything tangible. The man seemed pretty good at covering his tracks.As much as Zade wanted to let go of it and forget everything the man said, his instincts wouldn't let him. He still had this feeling that something was off.As if on cue, Adera called him later that weekend. "Mr Delamonte, hello," she greeted."Look who finally thought about me," he teased. "At least you sound excited to hear from me. Were you waiting for my call?" Adera asked. "Maybe.""Th
The drugs were a lot more effective than Blake anticipated. It knocked her out for almost ten hours, giving him enough time to drive into her like an animal.By the time he was done, he got off her and reached for his phone. A grin touched his face as he replayed the video. He walked straight into the bathroom and put on the shower. He dropped the phone in a corner and showered properly. After his bath, he left the room without bothering to check her condition. He was tempted to taunt Zade with his time with Adera, but it was way too risky. If that video got into his reach, they would likely make sure he spent the rest of his days in prison. Furthermore, the society didn't understand the bond he shared with Adera. They would only judge from their biased point of view and paint him as the bad guy.He wasn't ready for the backlash, which was why he was trying his best to keep her away from Zade. He could taunt and even blackmail her with the video. The Adera he knew would not be b
"Adera?" Zade gasped, but she remained unconscious on the bed. "Adera!!" He yelled, running to the bed. There was no movement when he grabbed her from the bed. He slapped her cheek gently, hoping that she would open her eyes but all his efforts yielded no results.With one look at her discarded clothing and the rumpled sheets, he got an idea of what might have happened to her."Boss?""Quickly search the rooms for the device. I need to get her to the hospital," Zade instructed."Yes, boss."He lifted Adera from the bed and hurried downstairs. Just as he placed her gently in the car, he remembered that Blake was still in the boot. Annoyance spiked within him, but he didn't have the time to dwell on it. Releasing Blake while his guard was still in the house would be a big risk. The man was too dangerous. It was better to leave him where he couldn't escape even if he likely died of suffocation. With the level of crime he had committed, death, for him, would be an easy way out.Zade g
When Adera woke up, all she could think about was how messed up her life was. She was able to keep him away for five years, yet one oversight, created an opening for him to have his way with her once again. The trauma she'd been fighting to forget was slapped back in her face like a cruel joke. No matter what she did, he was always a step ahead of her. Fresh tears ran down her cheeks as fragments of her miserable life replayed in her head. She tried her best to hide her pain from the world, to keep a brave front and smile through the cameras, but now, all of that was in vain. It felt like she was bare before everyone. Like they would see every scar she'd hidden beneath the expensive dresses. She could almost see their faces scrunching in disgust.They knew!That was all she could think about. Her father wouldn't dare bring her to the hospital. Just like her, he wanted to hide how much of a monster he was from the world.No matter how often he told her no one would believe her, he s
The next couple of days were tough on Zade. At the hospital, he thought everything would be fine since she was responding so well to him and even smiling. He thought that was it and everything would be normal, but as soon as she got discharged, it all changed.Nightmares plagued her dreams, which ended with her thrashing and hurting herself. It didn't end there. She stopped communicating altogether and flinched at the slightest touch. The action hurt him many times, but he had to force himself to understand that she had just been through something traumatizing and the effects were just kicking in. He really began to worry when she stopped speaking altogether. He tried everything possible but she wouldn't speak to him or anyone. All events and major meetings were canceled because she couldn't stand people at the moment, especially men. Zade was the only man she could tolerate.It unsettled him that he had to leave her, but he had to find witnesses to testify against Blake Anderson.
"Do you know her?" The nanny asked. Zade wanted to deny it but that would pile up more secrets for him to discover. "Yes, I used to be their son-in-law, until their daughter divorced me," he answered."Divorced you?" He didn't blame her for the disbelief in her tone. Everyone reacted the same way whenever he mentioned the divorce. It was not something he enjoyed talking about, but some situations could not be avoided. "Yes. It's a long story. I just want to know how the Harpers are related to the Andersons yet…""Harper was Blake's estranged brother. I think their parents divorced and each took a child. Harper was unfortunate to go with the poor parent so he was bitter towards his brother. On their first meeting, he taunted his brother about having only one child which turned out to be female after twelve years of marriage. You could say it hit Blake on the wrong spot," the woman explained."You're saying all this is because of a jab his brother threw at him? Unbelievable!" Zade sc
Zade arrived at the station in less than thirty minutes. He met the ambulance taking Blake's body away. Adera clung tightly to his arms as they approached the corpse. They took off the sheet and Adera let out a loud gasp. She cupped her mouth quickly, fighting the tears that were threatening to fall. "What happened to him?" Zade asked when the chief officer approached them. "I really don't know. He was fine this morning, bragging about how he was going to get out of here soon, how the judges couldn't lock him up even if they wanted to and the next minute, he went cold. At first, we assumed he fainted out of fatigue, but then his heart wasn't beating. We tried everything but there was no way to save him. We have already ordered that an autopsy be carried out on the corpse to determine the cause of his death…". Adera slowly let go of Zade's hand and approached the body carefully. She poked his arm and when he didn't move, she glanced at Zade fearfully. "Is he… Is he gone?" Zade