CHAPTER 105.
Mirabelle’s POV.
The afternoon sun streamed through the floor to ceiling windows of my office. Casting golden streaks across the polished oak desk. I sat stiffly in my chair, my fingers gripping the armrests as if they were the only things keeping me tethered from reality.
My chest still heaved slightly from the confrontation with the board, the adrenaline refusing to subside.
A knock on the door made me glance up.
Susie peeked her head in, looking cautious.
“Mrs Sylvester, there’s a call for you. It’s from someone named Morgan.” she said softly, her voice almost trembling.
I straightened, the tension in my body coiling tighter.
“Put him through.” I told her.
She nodded and quickly retreated, I would have liked to ask why she has been acting weird since the boardroom but there were important matters to attend to right now. A second later, the phone on my desk buzzed, I reached for it, my heart pounding as I pressed the speaker button.
“Mrs Sylvester, it’s Morgan.” the investigator’s deep gravelly voice came through. It was steady, but there was an undertone, something I couldn’t quite place. Hesitation?
“Morgan,” I said, and I’m sure he must notice that I sounded weird. “I wasn’t expecting your call anytime soon.” I told him.
“I did tell you that you’ll hear from me soon.” He said.
“I’m listening.” I said curtly. Ready to hear the truth that might shatter my world. I leaned forward on my chair, my palms rested flat against the cool surface of the desk.
He exhaled audibly, as though steeling himself for what he was about to say.
“I’ve got the full picture now, though it’s….. complicated.”
Complicated.
I hated that word, my fingers tapped impatiently on my desk.
“Spare me the preamble Morgan, just tell me what you found.” I told him, my insides were all coiled up tightly.
There was a pause, long enough to make me frown.
“Alright, like you already know. The rumours, and the scandals were orchestrated by Natasha.”
“Morgan, you’re wasting my time. I already knew this.” I said cutting him off.
“Also, the fire at your company, Natasha Banks orchestrated it.” He said.
I didn’t suspect Natasha being the one behind the fire in my company, hearing it said aloud made my stomach churn. My grip on the edge of the desk tightened,
“Natasha,” I echoed, my voice icy.
This was really what I wanted to know. “And Noah?”
Morgan hesitated again.
“Mr Sylvester didn’t know anything about it.”
I froze, the air in the room seemed to thin, and my vision blurred slightly.
“What do you mean he didn’t know?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
“Exactly that.” Morgan said firmly.
“Your husband wasn’t involved in any of this, it’s the opposite, he has been watching over you from Shanghai. He had to hire another private investigator like myself to keep tabs on you and make sure you’re okay. It has been Natasha all through. She used him, his name and his work just to get to you. I think she’s obsessed with your husband.”
“But your husband isn’t aware of anything she did.” he added.
My throat went dry, a bitter taste coated my tongue as guilt started to creep into my chest,
“No.” shaking my head as though Morgan could see me.
“I heard his voice that night Morgan. He and Natasha, t…they w…. were talking about h…. how they wanted to ruin m…. me” I stammered because I was deeply confused.
“That’s also all Natasha, she used a deepfake audio app. It wasn’t your husband’s voice. It was someone else.” Morgan replied quietly.
“What?” My voice cracked, disbelief and anger colliding.
“Natasha knew the fake audio clip would make you doubt your husband. She knew it would push you over the edge to probably do something you shouldn’t have done.”
I slumped back in my chair, my head spinning, my mind replayed every moment, every look, every thought I had against Noah. I had called him a cheat.
Why did all this have to happen? Why didn’t I know that Noah wasn’t going to do any of the things I thought he did to me? He saved me afterall, everytime I had questioned his integrity seeped into my mind slowly and regret hit me like a freight train.
Fuck.
I pulled at my hair.
“I….” My voice faltered, I didn’t know what to say.
I didn’t know how to form words anymore, it suddenly felt like my tongue had been coiled into what I didn’t know. I was lost for words.
“Fuck…..” I screamed.
The door opened immediately and a worried Susie came in.
“Mrs Sylvester, are you okay?” She asked, concern dripping from her voice.
“Yes Susie, I’m fine. I need to be alone please.” I told her and she nodded slowly and went down, after looking me up and down to probably make sure I was okay.
“Are you okay Mrs Sylvester? Do you need me to hang up and maybe continue this another time?”
“No please, I just need a minute.”
My mind, like the betray it was, went to the kiss with Ken. Oh no, this was bad.
How was I going to deal with this? What was I going to do? I feel like the ground should open up and swallow me whole.
I could hear the faint crackle of the line as he let me process the information.
“And it gets worse.” he said finally, his tone grim.
My heart sank further. “How could it possibly get worse?” I whispered.
“Samuel.” James said and I straightened.
“Samuel? Who’s that?” I asked, wracking my brain for a minute before the answer came up.
“Oh, my husband’s personal assistant?” I asked.
“Yes, the one and only.”
“What about him?” I asked, dreading the answer that was about to come out of Morgan’s mouth.
I just kept hearing things that were long overdue. I had to blame my husband for something he had no idea about, honestly, I didn’t want to think about how to handle that right now.
“Morgan, would you please say something for fucks sake.” I said in a harsh tone.
“He was the one that set the fire.”