“I’ll tell you who hired me since you’ve given me your words” the man uttered in a dazed state, a sign that he had given up on running for his life. As long as his daughters could live a better life, he could rot in hell for all he cared. “It was the voice of a young woman I heard on the phone”
Liam stared intently at the man with anticipation in his heart while Adrian brought out a small gadget to record the man’s words. The man proceeded,” She said she wanted me to kill someone for her and promised me a large sum of money for my daughter’s treatment… But after I did the job and called the woman for my balance payment, she refused saying she had no dealings with me, that I should find the person that hired me….. I was so devastated that I forgot I had committed a crime that could have to police come for me… The police found me in an abandoned building trying to reach out to the woman”
“Adrian, get the man’s phone and trace the call. I need the location now” Liam ordered to Adrian who acted quickly. He returned his gaze to the man. “Do you have any information about her name or identity?”
“No, I don’t but I can tell she’s very young and she also mentioned something about the victim being her boss’s fiancee.. nothing else” the man replied with a distant gaze, not noticing the eye contact between Liam and Adrian.
“Adrian, the location now” Liam half yelled, a feeling of anger rose in his heart at the thought of his speculations becoming the truth. If it happened to be, then he was going to burn her like he had promised.
“Sir….” Adrian muttered as the next words got stuck in his throat, he gazed warily at the screen with a bewildered expression. “Sir, this is unbelievable…” He finally managed to say. “The signal is coming from your penthouse, right inside your penthouse”
“Are you sure of what you’re saying?” Liam inquired, his eyes darkening in fury as he slowly stood up from his seat. His speculations had proven to be true. That scheming bitch tried to harm his fiancee after the stern warning he gave to her. He turned to face the officer who brought him to the waiting room and said,” I want you to issue an arrest warrant against everyone present in my house. I repeat… Everyone…. Do not take pity on them for being women, cuff them and bring them here”
“Alright sir” the officer saluted and marched out of the room to carry out the order.
****
“Anastasia…. the doorbell is ringing. Go and check who’s at the door” Rose, who sat comfortably in the living room, sipping her delicious green tea said to the lady fidgeting with the TV remote control.
“Okay,” Anastasia replied with a hesitant tone as she stood up, dragging her feet to the door. She had suddenly grown wings under her boss’s roof. “Who is it?…. I’m coming”.
The group of people at the doorstep caused her to scream her lungs out, almost passing out of fear. Her heart thumped loudly against her chest as she stared at the policemen in front of her. She had failed to compose herself at the last minute, succumbing to anxiety. “Who.. who are you?” She stammered, praying silently for the ground to open up and swallow her.
The policeman who seemed to be the leader displayed his badge in front of her and said, “We have been given the authority by the owner of the house to take in whoever is in, to the station for questioning… Now, if you would excuse me” he turned to his colleagues. “Make sure she doesn’t run away… There should be one more person in the house”
The officer strutted into the house and met the bewildered Rose on the sofa. Regardless, he spoke,”Madame, I need you to come with us to the station for questioning”
“What???.. impossible!” Rose jumped up from her seat, yelling. “Do you know who my son is?…. How dare you come to my son’s house and try to arrest me?… Leave this instance”
“If you’re referring to Mr. Callahan, then you should know that your son was the one who ordered your arrest. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say or do will be used against you in the court of law” the officer declared and handcuffed Rose who could react in time to dodge it.
“Let me go” she yelled, trying to pull herself away from the tight grip of the man but all efforts were futile. She was dragged out of the house, a gaze cpashing with Anastasia’s who cowered in fear. They both knew the reason why they were being arrested and couldn’t help but shiver in fear of what awaited them at the station.
“Bitch…..” Rose cursed silently at Anastasia who sat beside her in the police van. “This is all your fault.. if my son locks me up in prison, you’re dead”
“But it was you who choreographed the plan to murder her… And I never wanted to listen to you. You pushed me into this” Anastasia argued back, a painful expression on her face.
“I didn’t force you. your obsession and thirst for my son and his wealth led you into this predicament that we are both in. If I knew you were too dumb to handle the job, I would have instructed a smarter person.. so stupid… Don’t you dare mention my name to my son, am I clear?”
“What???… How dare you send your involvement in this?… I won’t let you off the hook. We are both going to pay for this together… If I knew your son loathed you to this extent, I wouldn’t have trusted you in the first place” Anastasia spat back onto her face.
“So, what would you have done?.. seduced him with that shapeless and terrible-looking body of yours?” Rose asked with a disdainful tone in her voice. “You would have ended up dead if I hadn’t backed you up.. your stupidity would have killed you a hundred times”
“Enough” one of the officers who had gotten irritated listening to their murmuring yelled at them, causing them to squirm in silence. “You can say whatever you want when you get to the station.. just shut your damn mouth”Chapter 75 Old Friends
“We’ve arrived ma’am” the cab driver announced to Rachael through the rearview mirror.
“Thank you for your service” Rachael replied with a sense of gratitude as she placed some tips in his palms and pulled Isabelle down from the car. Then they both stood in front of a male silhouette dressed in a slightly rough black suit that accentuated his well-toned body, a sign of a hectic day. His disheveled blonde didn’t look too bad with the bright smile on his lips that lightened up his ocean blue eyes behind the pair of glasses. His height was perfect for a male model.
Rachael’s mouth was left agape at the sight of a man she hadn’t seen in person for years, the phone was the only means of communication between them. His current appearance was a huge contrast to his clumsiness back in high school.
“Um… William” she stuttered as she called the name of the man that felt so familiar standing in front of her “You came”
“Of course, Rachael”the you man chuckles heartily. “I told you I would be available for you anytime you called… Well, here I am”
The cute smile on his lips made Rachael’s heart skip a beat. She was stunned for a moment. Yes, they were best of friends in their high school days. But certain circumstances pulled them apart. They finally lost physical contact when she met Damien Russo at her college graduation. He proposed a partnership with her and she agreed readily with hesitation. Back then, she was smitten by him. She felt embarrassed for calling him just for an emergency after ditching him.
“Is this the lady?” William asked jolting her from her thoughts. “We should go inside before it gets worse in the cold”
“Yeah, let’s go in” Rachael replied distantly as William helped her carry Isabelle into her house.
“How much time do we have left?” William inquired as he glanced at the wall clock in the house.”I don’t think we have much time” he concluded as he threw his pulled jacket on the sofa making Rachael’s face turn red with embarrassment. She thought it was unnecessary to add a few touches to the house since she never had visitors. But now, she was starting to regret it.
Max opened up the box he had brought in with him. As a doctor, it was compulsory in case of an emergency. He injected a fluid into the arms of the now unconscious Isabelle lying on Rachael’s bed.
“The fluid will reduce the burning fever,” William remarked with a solemn look on his face.” from what have seen, the drug is quite dangerous and could have been more problematic to solve this way if she was brought in late”
“Thank you, William” Rachael mumbled with a voice barely above a whisper. “You’ve just saved me a whole lot of trouble”
“It’s fine, Rachael. Anytime” Williams responded with a wide grin on his face. “But you owe me one”
“No problem, William” Rachael replied equally with a smile as sparks flew between them, staring right into each other’s eyes. “I’ll make it up to you”
Suddenly, the room was engulfed in an awkward silence. Only the heavy breathing of Isabelle was heard.
Ugh… Ugh
William coughed slightly as he rubbed his sweaty palms together. “So, how have you been, I mean your job with the Russo company?”
The mention of Russo’s company made Rachael’s expression turn sour. “I don’t want to talk about it” she replied curtly as she tried to avoid his gaze.
“Oh! Sorry about that” he said as he smiled apologetically. He knew better than to meddle in her affairs since they weren’t anywhere close to being friends. He had surprisingly received a call from her after his hectic day with the patients was over. He heeded her call, regardless of the throbbing pain in his head. He still felt a connection to her even though they were walls apart. He was willing to get to know her again, both her good and vulnerable side, he would take his time.
***
Isabelle stared in her sleep, her eyes fluttered open as they scanned the unfamiliar environment. She felt a throbbing pain in her head as she tried to recollect the event that had transpired before she succumbed to darkness.
“She’s awake”
“She slept for three hours straight. You should take her home”
Those were the words she heard but she couldn’t pinpoint the exact location or owner of the voice until someone tapped her slightly.
“Isabelle” a female voice called out softly. “Wake up, you have to go home before your fiance finds out you’re missing”
Isabelle’s eyes widened when the lady spoke. Fragments of the earlier event began to converge together in her head as she recalled what had transpired. Then, panic kicked in.”Liam, where’s is he?”
“Calm down, Isabelle” the young lady held her down. “You’ll meet him soon”
“You…” Isabelle exclaimed as she recognized the voice and face of the lady holding her. “We’ve met before… Yes, it was you….”
“Shh…” Rachael clamped her mouth to keep her from spilling anything that would make William suspicious of her.
“My name is Rachael and yes, we’ve met before” Rachael uttered with a tone of severity. “But that’s not the problem. I don’t know the relationship between you and Liam’s cousin but you have to go back home before Liam gets there before you”
Tears welled up in Isabelle’s eyes as she realized something. “Did he…..” She choked on her tears.
“No… I saved you on time. Like our first encounter, I will always be ready to lend a helping hand”Rachael declared. Getting close to Isabelle was the first step to getting her revenge. Only through her can she get to Liam.
“Thank you….” Isabelle sighed in relief. “I owe you a lot”
“It’s fine. You can pay me back later” Rachael said with a dismissive tone. “Let the doctor examine you”
“You called a doctor for me?” Isabella asked with a sense of gratitude.” What about the cost?”
“You worry too much, Isabelle. He’s a friend of mine” Rachael said with an assuring tone.
Williams walked over to Isabelle and checked her pulse.” she’s just having a slight fever. No one would detect anything if she could avoid going to the hospital”
“I won’t. I’ll find a way” Isabelle nodded in affirmation. “Thanks a lot for your help”
“It’s alright, let’s get you home. I’ll drive you”Willam offered. He had come with a car. He rendered support to the sloppy Isabelle and walked her straight to the car.
A few minutes later, Isabelle was in the bed covered in the duvet due to the burning fever when she heard a knock on the door. She quickly hit the business card she had gotten from Rachael to contact her.
“Come in” she uttered in a shaky voice as the door opened “Li. Liam”