June and Liam were seated at the dining table, having dinner when June spoke up.
“Arnold deceived her,” June said, pushing her food around the plate.
Liam smirked. “And who are we talking about?”
“You know what I’m talking about.” She deadpanned. “I don’t believe it’s fair for her sister to spend her life in prison for a crime she knows nothing about. I can’t live with that.”
“And what am I supposed to do with that?”
June cleared her throat. “I will be rounding up my project soon.”
“And?”
“I want to take her with me.”
Liam smiled at her words. “Was that a joke?”
June pursed her lips. “You said I could get one wish.”
“Three.” He corrected and June resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
“All the same. I want you to hand her over to me.” June said.
“I’m afraid, that’s not possible,” Liam stated with a serious expression. “I’d think you were smarter than that.”
“Don’t insult me.” June dropped her fork. “I did my research.”
“Those are mere facts.”
“She spoke the truth.”
“I know people like her. It’ll be a mistake to trust her. Besides, she tried to kill me.” Liam squinted. “I’m not so stupid to let a threat walk away with her life.”
“If you wanted to kill her, she wouldn’t be alive.” June pointed out.
“I like to take my time.” Liam sipped a drink of water. “I could have her killed right now.”
June made to speak but a security man walked into the dining room with urgency in his strides. “Sir. We have a situation.”
When Liam saw the head of security, he turned to June. “We’ll continue this conversation later.” He stood up and followed the security man before she could speak.
June let out a huff and continued her dinner. Afterwards, she did some work, talked to some clients and went to bed. Meanwhile, Liam was throwing a fit in his office.
“What do you mean he got out of North City?” He asked with a fatal expression. “Our men were supposed to tighten things around the borders!”
“We believe someone aided Arnold Fernando.” The man said with his head bowed. “He was spotted at one of our rival clubs in South City.”
“Find him. I want him found and brought back to this estate. Reach out to all our partners and intensify the search. I want results.”
“Yes sir!”
The next day, June decided to visit the resort project site. For some reason, Liam began the Resort construction project and as a result, she was forced to supervise as the Architect of the project.
Things were moving fast as she was in the final stages of the design, Carson left North City a few days back and she was prepping to go home soon. She was ready to leave but couldn’t shake off thoughts of the young girl in detention.
“I will be back,” June said to a security man in charge of ensuring her safety. She needed some time alone to think. June stepped away from the construction and walked a few metres from the scene.
Liam saw her walk away and followed her to a clearing where she sat on the bench alone with her thoughts. “Should we pick up that conversation?” She jolted at his voice.
“I didn’t hear you approach,” June remarked and he joined her on the bench. They stared into the clear sky in silence.
“Do you think I would be silly to trust her?” June asked without sparing him a glance. Liam could tell she was bothered.
“I think you shouldn’t trust people easily.” He said. “You might regret it.”
June stewed on his words. “What would you do if you were in my shoes?”
Liam stared at her with interest.
“Would you walk away and let an innocent person suffer?” She asked. “Would you sit back and watch another life get ruined by your sister?”
“My sister has done a lot of evil and gotten away with it,” June stated and Liam sat straight. “She has killed many and I feel like the more I let her go free, the more lives she ruins.”
“I didn’t know you had a sister.”
June relaxed on her chair. “She wants to kill me,”
“I guess we have that in common,” Liam said and they shared a laugh.
“I have a job to do,” June said thoughtfully and turned to Liam. “And to achieve my goal, I’ll be needing Sheila,”
“Is this the part where I say no?”
June rolled her eyes and he smiled. “I am willing to hand her over to you. But you need to show me that I am not making a mistake, Little Rivera.”
“You won’t regret it,” June assured. “I will make sure of that.”
Later that night, June visited Sheila in her prison cell. She looked better than the last time they met. Sheila stood from her bed upon sighting June. “I will be leaving very shortly,” June announced.
“I don’t believe you.” She said to the young lady. “I don’t believe a word you said.”
The young lady smiled at June. “Then why are you here.”
“I am giving you an opportunity to show me,” June said. “Show me that you are a better person. Show me that I can trust you, Sheila.”
“You found my name.” She muttered. “You know the truth.”
“That changes nothing,” June stated. “I can’t help you or bring my sister to book if you don’t show me that I can trust you.”
“I already admitted to my crimes!” She yelled, losing her patience, “What else do you want?”
“In this world, that is not enough,” June turned around. “Goodbye, Sheila.” She walked away from the cells.
“Wait!”
June stopped in her tracks and a small smile appeared on her lips. She didn’t turn around as she said. “What do you want?”
“I have something,” Sheila said in a small voice. “I found something that might interest you, but I can’t turn it in until I get to South City.”
“Good luck getting there then.” June made to leave but she was stopped again by Sheila who sounded desperate.
“It’s locked in a storage safe house. I can give you the codes. But you have to promise to let my sister go.” Her tone was broken. “That is my lifeline. The only thing I have that can prove her innocence.”
June turned around, “You are in luck, my friend. I planned to do just that.” She said. “What do you say? Would you like to join me on a trip to South City?”
Sheila blinked in disbelief. “What?”
“I figured I’d offer since you are so desperate to prove your sister’s innocence.” She shrugged. “Full disclosure, you might end up behind bars, seeing you committed the crimes and not her.”
“You have a choice to make. Would you rather join me in South City, and face the repercussions of your crimes, or would you remain here, far from your crimes and save in your little cell.”
“Rest assured you won’t be killed. Liam has given his word. No one would hurt you and you may be released to live your life as you originally planned.”
The young lady didn’t think twice. “I will return. The earlier we save her, the better.”
June was stunned at her conviction. She didn’t realise when Liam stepped into the room.
“Good. Because you leave tomorrow.”