He got to his house and observed that there was no sign of activities for a few days. His car, which his partner parked three days ago, was dusty. He breathed heavily, pulled out his key, and proceeded to open his front door. To his perturbation, he walked into the parlor and his janitor was not around to receive him.
Not only that, the doors to all the rooms were wide open.
“Ted,” he called out to his janitor and walked towards the backyard.
“What?” He screamed when he saw that the back door was wide open.
Now, he was torn between a rock and a hard place. Should he run to the backyard through the open door and check on Nichole’s car, or run to his bedroom and check on his supposed woman?
At the Bailey International Conglomerates
After Arthur left his wife at the hospital, he drove to Zoey’s ward to check on her.
“Welcome, Mr. Bailey. I am pleased to see you,” she greeted him with a voice that was as clear as a bell.
Her husband, who was sitting on the couch, greeted him as well.
“Good to see you. How are you today, Zoey?” Arthur responded.
“I am better today. Thank you for your concern.”
“You are welcome,” Arthur responded.
Now, her husband added, “The doctor said she would be discharged today.”
“Oh! That is good to hear. I can see you are well.”
“Yes,” she responded cheerfully.
“It is all right. I will be on my way.”
“It is OK. Thank you for stopping by,” the couple responded in unison.
“It is my pleasure,” he responded and left the hospital.
He got to work with an untold inner strength. Sleeping and waking up with the woman who sincerely loved him was enough strength. Staying away from other women after the death of his wife was partly because of his commitment to the love between him and his late wife, Rosy.
He stayed away due to the fear of running into women, who were fortune hunters. Women, who would want to go into a relationship to attain wealth. Now, he was madly in love with the woman who had his interest at heart.
“How will I ever pay you back, Nichole?” he pondered on how lucky he was.
He got to the entry gate to meet many cars and he veered off to the exit gate immediately.
The security officer opened it for him. Then, he asked him, “What are these cars doing at the gate as early as this?”
The security officer who already knew that he should not know about the matter, lied, “We are trying to find out their missions, Boss.”
“It is all right,” he said and drove in.
All the staff members of the Bailey International Conglomerates report for work before 7:00 AM. For that, they were not aware of all the obstructions that took place at the gate, not even Denise.
As expected, the police, arrived and arrested the supposed accomplices.
“Good morning, Boss,” Mrs. Felix greeted him.
“Good morning, Mrs. Felix. Send for Denise, please,” he instructed his secretary before going to his office.
“It is all right, Boss.”
While waiting for Denise, he decided to call Louis to acknowledge his message.
Louis picked up the call at once and greeted him, “Good morning, Father. I am glad to hear from you.”
“Good morning, Son. How are you?”
“I’m fine, Father. How are you and how is Mom?”
“We are fine. I called to acknowledge your love message last night. We are happy that we made you proud.”
“You are welcome, Father.”
“Your mom is as rare as a four-leaf clover. She shed tears of joy after reading your message.”
“Wow!”
“Yes. I also want to thank you for the role you played in our coming together. You are an intelligent boy.”
“Thank you, Father. I am delighted to hear that.”
“Good.”
“I have done the bookings, and I will send the details to you right away.”
“That is good. But there is something you must be aware of,” he informed him.
Louis’ heart skipped a beat. He was afraid that he must have found out about the relationship between him and Olivia.
In trepidation, he asked him, “What is that father?”
“Your Uncle, Stephen, the black sheep of the family, had seeped his fingers in a turbulent water, and he will pay for it.”
He breathed freely when he discovered that what he had to say had nothing to do with Olivia.
Then, he spoke, “I am aware of it, and I have pressed charges against him for defamation of character through my lawyer.”
Arthur could not believe what he heard. He was silent for a few seconds before he asked him, “Did you do that?”
“Yes, Father. Who is he to accuse you in that manner?”
“It is okay, but you need to know the latest.”
Arthur gave him the details of the kidnap attempt and concluded with, “Zoey has recovered and will be out of the hospital soon. I want you to be careful of your environment and movements.”
Louis, who was listening to him silently, responded, “I have heard you, Father. I will be careful.”
“It is all right. Thank you very much for the ticket and the booking. Take care?”
“You are welcome. Goodbye, Father.”
At that point, Denise walked in. After the greetings, he informed him of his plans.
“Your Mom and I will be traveling tomorrow to Cairo.”
“Wow! Why Cairo?”
Arthur looked at him and smiled, “You may not understand, but Cairo is significant in our relationship.”
“I see. How long will you be away?”
He furrowed his brow and scrunched up his nose before he said, “For at least ten days.”
“That is good enough.”
“Find out from Phil if he would be free. I want the two of you to take us to the airport tomorrow.”
“I will.”
After the discussion, Denise returned to his office and gave Phil a call.
“Hello, Denise,” Phil greeted him when he picked up the call.
“Hello, Brother-in-law. Good to hear from you. Can we meet for lunch, please?”
“It is all right. But it had to be at my office. My dad is away, and I’m standing in for him.”
“It is all right.”
At Stephen’s Residence.
In his dilemma, he decided to check on his woman. He pushed the door to his room and walked in but met an empty bed.
Nevertheless, he scanned the room and saw the shattered bottles without seeing his woman. Furthermore, he walked out quickly to the backyard and discovered that her car was not there.
“What happened? How did she escape to attend her wedding on Tuesday?”