“What the f*ck was that?” growled Alexander angrily the moment she disconnected the call and smirked at him. “Who were you talking to?”
“Why are you so surprised? I told you I’ll have men stalking you and your bitch. Did you think I was kidding? Stay away from Eva or she will unnecessarily lose her life.” Alexander gaped at the evil woman with intense fury. If she wasn’t pregnant, he would have throttled her.
“Where is my phone? Hand it over to me before the cops raid your place.” Beatrix chuckled and pulled his phone out of her pocket.
“Or you could have just asked nicely. Here,” she handed it over to him, but Alexander could see the evil glint in her eyes. He snatched it from her hands and checked it.
“What were you doing in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn?” he demanded, and Beatrix looked ill at ease.
“How do you know I went there? Were you following me?” she stammered.
“That’s inconsequential. What were you doing there?” he yelled at her, losing his patience. It was impossible to deal with the woman when all he wanted to do was kill her with his bare hands.
“Why should I tell you? Find out if you’re so interested. When you do, just stay away from Eva if you want her to live or the hitman I hired will not spare her life.” Alexander scoffed at her with disgust and took a step towards her menacingly.
“That will the last day of your life and that of your illegitimate child as well. Mark my words,” he gritted out, making Beatrix’s eyes widen with fear. Alexander stormed out of her house, but he was extremely restless. He couldn’t go to see Eva or stay near her with her life in grave danger. So he decided to call her. He switched on his phone and called Stefan instead to ask him if he was back from his trip. However, all throughout the call, there was a strange echo in the background, as if his phone were being tapped. There were beeping and clicking sounds, too. He disconnected the call and inspected the device, yet couldn’t find anything unusual. It looked like the job of an expert.
Giving up, he took it to the police station, who asked him to leave it with them for inspection. The case was closed since the phone was found and the cops who went to the Bedford-Stuyvesant area found nothing suspicious.
Alexander bought himself a new phone and went back to his penthouse, since Stefan hadn’t returned yet. With Alyssa not there, he was very restless, thinking of ways to contact Eva. He couldn’t call her with his new number in case her phone was tapped, too. So, he called Alyssa with his new phone, but she didn’t accept his call. He called Lucas for Nicholas’s number and found out that he was away in Singapore on a work trip.
Did Alyssa go with him? He messaged Nicholas but didn’t receive any reply.
In the meantime:
Eva trudged back to the parking lot, yet the eerie feeling of being stalked didn’t go away. She reached her car and looked around, scanning the entire place for the white Honda Accord. It had been following her around since morning and she did not know why. She had never seen the car before and wondered who it belonged to. Was it Maxwell’s?
“Eva! What are you doing standing here by your car?” asked Maxwell, stopping by in his sleek Jaguar. Eva’s eyes widened as the realization hit her hard. If Maxwell was here in his Jaguar, who was there in the Honda Accord?
“What happened? Is something wrong?” Maxwell noted her pale face and wide eyes as she stood still, looking lost. He emerged from his car and came closer to her, touching her cheek to bring her to her senses. “Eva?”
“Maxwell, can you drop me home please?” she pleaded, coming to her senses and looking behind her at the Honda Accord starting its ignition, ready to follow her again. It emerged from its place and Eva noticed the sinister-looking driver behind the steering wheel, his gaze fixed upon her. A shudder went down her spine and she hugged her bag closer to her body and clutched onto Maxwell’s arm.
“Sure.” He helped her to his car without asking a single question. “Do you want your car delivered to your building? I could ask one of my trusted employees.”
“Yes, please.” Maxwell pulled out of the hospital parking area and headed towards her house. However, after reaching halfway, he frowned at the rear-view mirror.
“There’s a white Honda Accord tailing us, Eva. Is it Alexander’s car?” asked Maxwell with concern. Eva shook her head vehemently and looked behind to check.
“I don’t know who it is, Maxwell. It has been following me around since morning. I’ve never seen the driver before. He looks like a criminal!” Maxwell frowned with concern, thinking hard.
“Did you inform Alexander about it?”
“I haven’t been able to contact him for the last two days. He has locked his apartment and left,” said Eva with a sigh. “I’m scared to return to the empty apartment now. What if the man kills me in the night?”
“It’s not safe for you there. Do you want to move into my parents’ house? They’re very sweet and there are lots of security around the mansion. No one can harm you there,” he offered, but Eva shook her head.
“Thanks for the offer, Maxwell, but I don’t want to impose on them.”
“You wouldn’t be imposing at all. They will love to have you stay with them.” Maxwell didn’t listen to her protests and drove her to her apartment first. He helped her pack up all her essentials to last her for weeks and they locked up her apartment and left for his parents’ home.
“Thank you, Maxwell. I’m indebted to you,” she whispered, feeling relieved. Alexander never took her home since his parents hated her, but Maxwell’s thoughtfulness overwhelmed her.
“No problem, Eva. We’re good friends, right?” he asked with a warm smile. They reached his parents’ house on the Gold Coast in the historic Greenwich Village. It was an old, well-maintained, 3-storeyed building with an old Greek touch to it. Eva looked a little ill at ease and very much in awe of his palatial home. She would be so out of place here.
“Maxwell, I don’t think this is a good idea,” she said, fidgeting with her hands nervously as he parked the car in the large garage.
“Rubbish! You’ll love it here. Mine is a crazy extended family and they will accept you with open arms. I’ve not brought anyone home after..,” said Maxwell suddenly stopping without completing his sentence. Eva didn’t prod him and he led her towards the backside of the house. She felt quite safe in the heavily guarded property and just hoped she could hide here for a few days.
“We will lodge an FIR tomorrow against that car.” Maxwell led her up a flight of steps to an open terrace on the ground floor, attached to the back door of his house.
“We’ll surprise them. It’ll be fun.” He pushed open the door, and they entered stealthily into the house. A few steps down the brightly lit corridor led them to the family living room, where the whole family gathered around, enjoying drinks. Eva blinked at seeing around twenty people there approximately. She hadn’t expected Maxwell to have such an enormous family. He was so lucky!
“So what’s the celebration for?” he asked and they all stopped whatever they were up to and looked up at them with interest.
“Wow! Bro, is that your girlfriend? Won’t you introduce us?” said a girl a few years younger than Maxwell, coming forward.
“Meet Eva Ann Rayner! She’s a pediatric nurse at Bellevue!” said Maxwell proudly, completely ignoring her other question. An elderly lady who resembled Maxwell came forward towards them.
“Why don’t you join us for a drink, Eva? You must be tired after your duty. I’m Max’s mom, Kristina,” she said, eyeing her uniform.
“Hello, aunt Kristina. So nice to meet you.” Eva liked the kind and friendly-looking woman at first sight. The way her blue eyes crinkled at the sides when she smiled showed that she was genuinely happy to meet her.
“Mom, can Eva stay here for a few days? There’s someone stalking her and it isn’t safe for her to live all by herself.” Eva gaped at Maxwell since she hadn’t expected him to be so honest with his mom.
“Oh, sure. It’s not a problem at all. Have you complained to the cops?”
“No, we will tomorrow,” she said, and his mom nodded.
“Do you want to freshen up? I’ll show you to the guest room. Where’s your luggage?” asked his mom.
“I’ll get them. You go ahead with mom.” Maxwell left and his mom introduced her to the rest of the family.
“Eva will stay with us for a few days because of an emergency,” announced his mom.
“Is she pregnant?” asked Maxwell’s older sister, Katie, bursting into laughter while Eva blushed profusely.
“Katie, you’re embarrassing her! No, that’s not the case at all,” defended his mom. Maxwell returned with her luggage and led her towards the guest room, curiously watching Eva’s flushed face.
“What’s wrong? Were my sisters pulling your legs? You will get used to it. Don’t worry, I will save you from them.”
“Do you live here too?” she asked him, hesitating a little.
“No, I live in my apartment, but from tonight onwards, I’ll be living here in my childhood room. Will my presence help you relax?”