Everyone was surprised to see Lawrence Williams. No one expected him to show up at the De Clarion Villa.
“Dad!” Belle exclaimed before rushing to her father. “How are you?”
Ignoring his daughter, Lawrence turned to Frederick first. “I apologize for coming without notice. I just wanted to check on my daughter,” he explained.
“That’s not a problem,” the old De Clarion responded. “Please sit down.”
As soon as they had settled down, Lawrence turned to his daughter. “What were you saying earlier? What did Esme do last night?”
Belle, Tristan, and Jacob repeated the story for Lawrence to hear. After learning everything, the man started bawling and no one stopped him.
Everyone in the living room let him pour out his emotions. They understood what he was going through, they understood his pain.
When Lawrence calmed down, he apologized again for the scene he had just caused. Then again, he was forgiven right away.
“I don’t understand why she keeps doing things she’s not supposed to do. I try my best to give her, them, everything. I try to do everything for them. But they’re still not content. They still want what doesn’t belong to them.” He paused for a while before turning to Tristan, “Have you seen the CCTV?”
The young man shook his head, “We were supposed to go to the station earlier to watch the recordings from the club, but Belle wasn’t feeling well.”
Lawrence nodded in response, “I received the call from the Chief on my way here so I told him I’m going tomorrow.”
“Let’s watch it together. Let us know what time you’re going,” Tristan told Belle’s father, who just nodded at him.
After some more talk, Lawrence bade everyone goodbye. He confirmed the time for tomorrow’s meeting and everyone agreed.
However, as soon as he left, Belle fainted. Tristan panicked and carried her to his room. John, on the other hand, called the family doctor to check on her.
Fortunately, they were told that it was nothing serious. She was just so stressed and fatigued. Probably from everything that’s been happening.
And so, when the doctor left, everyone else left the room except for Tristan. He spent the whole night taking care of the woman.
The next day, they all went to the station, including Belle. The Chief showed them the recordings from Eden and other nearby establishments and, again, Belle fainted.
Based on the recordings, they saw clearly how Belle was supposed to be the one taken away. The recordings showed how, after Belle and Vernice downed their drinks, Belle went out. But even before that, Esme had already left.
Twelve minutes after Belle left, Vernice dozed off on the table. Then three men came and carried her out, towards the back door.
“Who are they?” Lawrence asked.
The Chief moved closer to the screen and pointed at the man who seemed to be giving the instructions. “This man here looks like the leader of the group. We’re unable to identify him but based on his profile, he’s the same man from Miss Roberts’ kidnapping incident.”
“Esme’s pure evil,” Lawrence whispered. “I can’t believe she’s the reason for Vernice’s death.”
“How was she doing? Esme, I mean,” Belle asked. They all turned to look at her. No one noticed that she was already conscious.
“She won’t go out of the room, she’s crying nonstop,” Lawrence responded.
Belle sighed, “Dad, I think it’s best if you’d look after her in the meantime.”
Lawrence nodded, then they proceeded to discuss what would happen in the case. According to the Chief, Joyce would be charged with murder but there might be something for Esme too, as she was the one who planned everything.
Fortunately, Lawrence didn’t contradict him. He’s okay with whatever happens to his wife. It’s her fault, she should pay for it.
After the police station, everyone headed home. Belle’s still not feeling well, so she has to rest and Tristan’s committed to taking care of her.
When they reached the villa, Tristan didn’t even allow the woman to walk in and go up the stairs. He carried her to his room and placed her on the bed.
“I’m fine, you’re worrying too much.”
“Okay, you’re fine. But I still want you to rest and I hope you’ll listen,” then Tristan pulled the blanket to cover half of her body. “Is there anything you want to eat or you’ll go ahead and rest?”
Belle just shook her head, “I’m not really hungry. I’ll just sleep some more.”
It was Tristan’s turn to nod. He bowed down to kiss her forehead before heading to the bathroom to wash up.
When the young De Clarion came out, Belle was already asleep. To not disturb her, he went downstairs and joined the trio who were still busy gossiping.
“What are you planning to do now?” Jacob asked his friend and boss.
Tristan slumped on the single-seater and let out a long, depressing sigh. “I’m planning not to let her go back to work yet. And you…”
“Me?” Jacob asked, pointing at himself.
“Yes, you. I’m assigning you to take care of all office affairs until Belle’s okay to go back. Fortunately, this isn’t a busy month for us.”
“O-Okay. I think I can do that.”
“What about your girlfriend? Where is she?” John butted in. He was just curious as to why he’d not seen Nathalie for a while now.
Jacob cleared his throat and avoided Tristan’s teasing eyes before responding to his father, “She’s coming back in two days.”
“Good then. She can take care of Belle’s company in the meantime,” Tristan suggested.
“I can tell her that.”
John raised a hand to cut the conversation between the two young men, “When are you going to introduce her to us?” Then he eyed Frederick as if asking him to support his query.
“I second that,” Frederick said to the rescue. “It’s been a while since I heard about that girl.”
Jacob then looked at Tristan for help and, being a good friend, he did help him out. “Grandpa, John, don’t pressure Jacob. Maybe he’s not ready yet, they’re not ready yet.” Then he looked at his friend and winked.
Thankful for his support, Jacob smiled at him before turning to the old me. “The timing’s not right. Give me some time.”
“But you know what? Maybe you should take her here when you pick her up from the airport. That way she can visit Belle too,” Tristan suggested before smiling devilishly.