“Damien! I got a text from Adrian.” Stacy said, pacing around the kitchen. When she got the text from Adrian, she wanted to call him, but after giving it some thought, she decided to call Damien. Thankfully, he had gotten a new phone and retrieved his old number.
“What did it say? You know what? Just forward the text to me.” Damien said and Stacy immediately did as she was told.
“I’ll call you back, mum.” He said and hung up. As he opened the text, a smirk appeared on his lips.
‘Hey, mum. I’ll be out of the country for a few days. Don’t let Damien or anyone know about this and don’t look for me.’
Damien didn’t want to believe that Adrian sent that message because he had just made things easier for him. One thing was certain now. He wasn’t out of the country. The fact that he told his mother about this meant that he was either passing a message to Damien through him or he wasn’t the one who sent the message.
No matter how close Adrian was to his mother, he never informed her of his travels before leaving. It was always after. That means someone else sent the text using his phone.
Evelyn!
Damien wasted no time in calling Eric. The call rang five times before Eric’s tired voice came alive.
“I just got home, dude. What is it this time?” He groaned, but Damien was not going to miss this opportunity.
“Adrian texted.” He said immediately and all Eric’s tiredness flew out the window.
“He texted you?” He asked and Damien shook his head even though Eric could not see him.
“Not me. He texted mum but, I think Evelyn used his phone to send the text.” He said.
“Why would Evelyn do that? Wait! That means the person that was shot is… Adrian? Fuck!” Eric exclaimed, and Damien felt his heart tremble.
He didn’t want to believe that he had killed his own brother. It might all just be a misunderstanding. It was also possible that no one got shot.
“Adrian isn’t dead. I’m sure of it. He won’t die so easily.” Damien said, a part of him praying that he was right.
He hated Adrian for all the evil things he had done, but, it didn’t mean that he wanted him dead, especially by his hands. Evil or not, they still shared the same blood.
“We have the number he used to text mother so, our next step will be tracking it. This time around, we’re taking the police with us when we confirm their location.”
*
*
“Are they going to be here all day?” Collin asked, staring warily at the dangerous looking bodyguards Damien had hired to protect Harriet.
“I think so.” Harriet smiled awkwardly. When Damien called to inform her about it, she had no problem with it because she thought they were going to protect her from a distance but, an hour later, she was being followed around by four bodyguards who were pretty much like robots as they never engaged in small talk no matter how much she tried.
The only place they didn’t follow her to was the restroom. She understood the importance of them being with her, but it was draining.
Collin sighed and dropped the reports on her table before leaving. Not so long after he left, he returned.
“Alexa is here to see you. Just give me the word and I will send her away.” Collin said, obviously annoyed by Alexa’s presence.
“Don’t be mean, Collin. Let her in.” Harriet chuckled and Collin huffed before leaving to let Alexa in.
As usual, there was a scowl on her face when she entered Harriet’s office. Her eyes went up to the bodyguards who were beside Harriet, and she rolled her eyes.
“Is there a problem, Alexa?” Harriet asked, and she peeled her eyes away from the men and focused on Harriet,
“Yes, Miss Edward. Your bodyguards here are causing a distraction at the company as the workers can’t seem to focus on their work because of THEIR presence.” She says, motioning her right hand towards them with a cold look on her face.
“Excuse me? That makes no sense. If the workers cannot focus on their work because of the presence of four bodyguards who have not said a word or disrupted the work flow since their arrival, then, I think those workers in question need to be fired. It shows that they are easily distracted and will not be efficient enough.” She replied, giving Alexa a cold glare.
“If you are among them, you can hand in your resignation letter and leave.” She said and Alexa’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“I understand.” She said with a nod and left Harriet’s office. Alexa was more infuriated with Harriet. If she could, she would report her to the chairman but, he was Harriet’s father. So, she decided to take up the matter herself.
She was going to kick Harriet out of the company without anyone knowing she was behind it.
“That nepo baby is going to learn how harsh the world can be.” She said with gritted teeth and walked away.
Once Alexa was gone, Harriet called Damien.
“Your bodyguards are drawing attention to me. Attention that I do not want.” She complained, massaging her forehead.
“We don’t have a choice, Harriet. Adrian and Evelyn are still on the loose. As a matter of fact, mother received a text from Adrian a few hours ago,” Damien said, and explained everything to Harriet, letting her know of his plan to involve the police.
Harriet sighed and looked at her calendar, not sure if it was the right time to let him know about the event that would be coming up. But, if she didn’t tell him now, she didn’t know when next she would get the chance to tell him about everything that was happening.
She waited until he was done talking before she spoke up.
“Uhh… Do you remember when I told you that the twin’s birthday would be coming up this week?” She asked, and the line went silent before she heard Damien mutter a silent ‘ fuck ‘.
“It’s on Saturday, Damien. With all this trouble, I think we should just mark it quietly for them. What do you think?” She asked, crossing her fingers as she hoped that he would agree with her.
“Harriet, this is the first time I’ll be present for their birthday. Do you know how long I have waited for this?” He said in a quiet tone and Harriet nodded.
She knew he was going to say that, and she completely understood. It was every father’s dream to celebrate their children’s birthdays, and he was absent for the first few years, so it was only right that he’d want to make up with this year’s birthday.
“I know, Damien. I know, but we cannot put ourselves and our children at risk. We can celebrate the next one, please.” She begged.
“I’ll hire every single bodyguard in the world and every military person if I have to. I am not depriving my children of anything because of that bastard.” He said, and Harriet sighed in defeat.
“Start with the preparations while I focus on finding Adrian and his lover,” he said.
“I’ll keep my family safe, Harriet. I promise.”