Useless! Dean thought to himself.
He knew this would happen. The cops in these parts were so incompetent.“Perhaps you know his last name or place of work? That could help with the search.” Cop 1 said.“I already told you all I know.” Lyda groaned in exasperation. “He works as a truck driver in one of the city’s factories. I don't know his last name.”For some reason, an alarm bell went off in Dean's head but he did not know why.“The longer it takes to find him, the more danger Jess is in. He may try to shut her up forever.” Lyda continued.“We could station a cop outside her ward, while we send his picture to all the factories in town.” Cop 1 said.“Please do.” Lyda said.Dean did not like this, if Rob had gone into hiding the way he suspected, the knowledge of his image circulating will only drive him further away. He may even run away from the city.Dean watched Patel in silence as the man finished his glass of beer.“I am your biggest competitor in e-commerce. Our app has been in existence for almost fifteen years now.” Patel said.Dean felt a shiver run down his spine. “We had no close rivals all these years, and in just two months since its emergence you are about to send us packing.” Patel explained like he was truly having a heart to heart discussion with a dear friend. “I convinced Christian to change the terms. He did, but still refused to partner with my company.” He continued. Dean just sat stunned. What the hell was this? How is it possible that someone he did not know was actively trying to sabotage him by cutting off his major supply merchant? Was this what the world of business looked like?“I see why Christian like you so much, because I like your tenacity too. But I cannot understand why he would want to work with you, a strang
Dean shook his head. Blakely had implied earlier that she did not enjoy idle games, but was now playing an idle game. He did not have the time for all these. He had a lot of important things on his schedule for the day. “You won't look so bored if you understood the mad love we could make.” Blakely said boldly. Or a spicy fuck session. Anyone you prefer.” Dean's jaw dropped. He had never had a woman come so boldly at him. Not even Leilani after they had been together for years.He struggled to regain his composure. “This is hardly an appropriate conversation to be having with me Ms Baker.”“Oh, fuck that.” She said. “Ms Baker, really?”“I am married.” He said showing off his wedding band, happy to be able to use his temporary marriage as a shield.“Again with the societal expectation nonesense.” Blakely said in irritation. “You want us to ask permission
Florenza walked quietly in near darkness. It was midnight. She had suddenly woken up from a horrible nightmare, and even after minutes of sitting awake and drinking glasses of water to calm her nerves, she still felt unsettled. She could not go back to sleep. She felt something was wrong and could not shake the feeling off. She walked slowly inside the domestic staff quarters. If there was any mischief at play, her instinct told her it was stemming from this place. To her surprise, the first room she peeked in was empty. There was no one sleeping in any of the bunk beds in the room.She could not still be dreaming? Could she?It was midnight. Over two hours since everyone retired for the night, where could they all have gone?She opened the second door and her anxiety began to heighten when she noticed it was empty too. What the hell was going on. As she dre
Leilani watched her nurse clear the dishes away, and tried to convince herself about things that were not true. If she believed these things, she could play the pretending act well.She acted like today was a normal day, and the plates her nurse was taking away didn't contain her final approval for her escape plan to happen today. She felt like a duck on water, calm and serene on the outside and frantically paddling underneath the water in distress. She had no idea how she was going to spend the day pretending to be calm. She was bursting with anxiety. She hugged her still flat belly, hoping to draw comfort from her baby. She was mostly making this escape for this baby. She could not just sit and let them sell her child in some black market like a common slab of meat.“One day I would tell you about this sacrifice I am making just to keep you safe.” She whispered to her sixteen weeks old foetus, caressing her stomach. “Don't get too attached to that thing.” Her nurse said, start
Dean got off his zoom meeting with the celebrity with a smile. He had finally secured her contract with Ally.It had not been difficult. Just like he had predicted, she had been ecstatic at the fact that the CEO contacted her. The offer was also too juicy for any sane person to reject. Now, looking at the signed contract on his desktop, he could breathe a sigh of relief. There were currently no loopholes for competitors like Patel to infiltrate through.Things were finally beginning to take shape. If things continued like this, he would be rounding up all his goals soon. Now if only he would at least get an update about Leilani. He was beginning to worry more. This was taking longer than he had ever expected. As if on cue, his phone rang. It was the private investigator calling.“We’ve narrowed the search down to the driver.” Jean Akio said as soon as the call connected. He sounded
Rob looked from Dean to the cop. Then he looked down at his hands. It seemed he was contemplating whether to reveal this big secret or not.“There was a ring tucked into a seat in the truck. Some drops of blood too.” Rob said. Dean felt his whole body go cold. “Blood?”“Yes. A few drops.”“Did you report this to the cops?” The cop asked. “No.”Dean lost it and punched him again. This bastard! It would have been so much easier to find Leilani if only he had spoken up when this happened. “I did not want to get in trouble. When I asked Charles he said to burn the note and mind my business.”“What note?” Dean and the cop asked in unison. “A note was tucked in the ring.” Rob said hesitantly. This was getting even worse. Was this man simply a dumb idiot who only knew how to hit women, or was plain selfish and could only think of saving his neck.
“I know it's none of my business, but it came up in one of these investigations.” The private investigator said. It's confusing how you have a wife and then a fiance.”“It's not what you think.” Dean said, and explained the situation of things. Jean sighed and shook his head. “Alanna is fine. Just not in school yet.”“You're sure? How do you know?” Dean asked. Jean looked at him with a frown. “Of course, It's your job to know.” Dean said, feeling stupid. “I am just surprised they would take good care of her. You know by now how evil that family is.” “They have no reason to hurt her. She is important for Luke's campaign.” Jean replied. Dean paused. “Wait. You mean there is a chance Leilani and Alanna are in the same house?” He asked, as he got an idea.“I can go there under the pretext of going to visit Alanna.”Jean looked angry, and Dean
Dean stepped back as if he had been slapped. He looked at Lyda's face, moist with tears. But he felt no pity. “That is not love. You were selfish. You lied because you were only thinking about yourself.” He shouted angrily. How could she claim to love him when she did not even know the most basic quality of love. How could someone as selfish as she was, claim to love him?He chose her because he needed her help. That was selfish. He could never claim he loved her. She brought in benefits and he compensated her adequately.“Do you understand that our marriage is null?” He asked, remembering what Jean had told him. “Our marriage was never recognized because you were married to another.” He ran his hands through his hair as the full implication of this hit him. He would never have been able to adopt Alanna, even if he had beat Già to apply first.They would have verified, found out his mar