“Unbelievable!” Judith thundered, her eyes widening in shock “You mean, Rachel’s friend is a detective and she brought her into our home?”
“I am serious about it.” Morris responded before biting off a piece of roasted turkey. “Raymond confirmed everything. There was just something off about her the moment I laid my eyes on her”
“No way!!” Judith sighed as she tapped her fingers on the wooden table, thinking of what step to take next. “Do you actually believe it is a coincidence?”
“I can’t be sure yet, I wanted to tell you about it yesterday but it slipped my mind by the time you woke up. The thing is I already told Raymond to keep an eye on Rachel and George bu-”
“What about the strange lady? Sophia?” Judith asked impatiently. She was a threat to her and Morris’s plan. Detectives had strong intuition, they could suspect things from afar. It would be dangerous to keep on welcoming someone like that into this villa.
“I don’t want to act rashly. I want to first confirm that George is investigating Arthur’s case again, then I’ll check if Sophia is the detective he is using. With all my answers, I’ll know what to do from there.”
“You are taking too long to get rid of someone as dangerous as that. Sophia must never be allowed to step into this villa again. She can pay a visit to Rachel outside the villa.” Judith whispered firmly. “If you think about it, Rachel is not exactly innocent. I suspect her too”
“How? What do you mean?”
“She might even be the one who started investigating this case. Think about it, her father is the one in prison and her friend is a skilled detective. She is probably using George’s power and money to investigate the case properly.” Judith seethed through her teeth, her tone laced with hatred “I remember saying this before, what would make Rachel to marry a man she has never set her eyes on before? What would make her accept a marriage contract from a family she was warned to stay away from? Think about it clearly, Morris”
Morris munched on his lunch slowly, weighing Judith’s words. It made sense, it had never crossed his mind to think about why Rachel actually accepted the marriage offer in the first place. The door to his library unbolted and Raymond stepped in.
Morris looked up, surprised to see him “I didn’t send for you”
Raymond bowed slightly “I have news to report, sir”
Judith perked up on her seat, ready to hear ‘something fresh’, she hoped what Raymond would say turned out to be something she could use to bring down Patricia and her son, George. Including Rachel Reeves, of course.
Morris pushed his empty plates aside and folded his arms across his chest. “What could it be? It better be worth my time”
“Yes sir” Raymond muttered “It has been confirmed that Mr George Scott is investigating the drug trafficking case of Mr Arthur Reeves”
“What?” Morris thundered, his nostrils flaring in anger. “How dare he do that? How dare he go against my order?”
Judith covered her mouth with her hand, a cynical smile on her lips. This was a good way to bring George down from his position as the CEO of this company. By going against his father’s order and investigating a case that could ruin this company, that was enough proof to convince everyone that he didn’t have the company’s interest at heart.
“When did he start investigating the case?” Morris muttered angrily “How far has he gone with it?”
“I’m not exactly sure, sir” Raymond muttered under his breath “It seems like he has been working on it since he got married”
“I knew it!!” Judith yelled in delight. Turning towards Morris, she whispered “I told you, a woman’s instinct is always right! I knew what I was saying. Do you want to know what else I think?”
Morris clenched his jaw hard and peered at her “What else?”
“I can bet my life on the fact that Rachel is the one pushing George to investigate this case. That should be the main reason she married into this family in the first place. What are you going to do now?”
Morris breathed harshly “I need to warn George not to step beyond his boundary line, or he will become my enemy. The best way to do it is to use Patricia, he listens to what his mother says”
“Not really. He didn’t listen to her when she told him not to marry Rachel”
“That was the only time” Morris jumped to his feet “I believe he wouldn’t want to try any nonsense again”
Morris remained silent for a minute before turning to look at Raymond who was standing patiently, waiting for his next order “I want you to gather some extra men and keep an eye on that detective lady, Sophia. My guts tell me she knows more than she should know. Watch her movements and if you notice anything strange, report back to me immediately!!”
“Yes sir! At your service!”
Glancing at the door, Morris whispered “I believe it is time to pay Patricia a visit”
~~~~~*~~~~~
Patricia flipped through the pages of the ‘Women’s Style Magazine’, skimming through the pages in satisfaction. “Wow, this is so lovely, I should get this for Rachel to wear to our next event” she muttered to herself.
The sound of the door to her bedroom being forced open made her jump to her feet, wondering who would walk into her room like that. Morris barged into the room in anger, walked towards her and raised his finger in warning “Warn you son, Patricia! I will not take this nonsense from George this time around”
“My son? Isn’t he your son too?” Patricia stepped forward, frowning at him. “And what are you talking about?”
“You won’t believe what he has been up to all this while.” Morris retorted, panting harshly
“Can you be more precise, Morris?”
“Your son, George, is investigating the drug trafficking case of Arthur Reeves that was closed five years ago!”
Patricia paused, raised an eyebrow and shook her head “No way, he wouldn’t do that. George is not the type to cause unnecessary trouble. You know that as well”
Morris screamed at her, irritated by her blindly defending George. Were both of them trying to kill him? If he ever got arrested by the police with evidence, he would never make it out. He had to keep everyone in check so he could save himself. “Well, his sudden audacity and guts is all because of that woman by his side, Rachel Reeves!!”
Patricia glared at him “Are you trying to cause a barrier between me and my daughter-in-law. Why would you say something like that?”
“You have to believe me, Patricia!!” Morris spat in anger “I have no desire to create a rift between both of you. Rachel is not who you think she is! She married your son to have access to this company so she could open her father’s case again. My bodyguard, Raymond confirmed it today”
Patricia placed her hand on her mouth in shock, processing what he just said. And then it clicked. How did it never occur to her? Why did Rachel choose to marry George with his scars , even when the other elite ladies wouldn’t even look in his face?
Why did agree to marry a man she had never set her eyes on before? She wasn’t staying for his money, everyone could see that Rachel didn’t really care about his money, she hardly bought anything. Could this be why she has stayed here so far? To investigate her father’s case? To destroy the reputation of this company in the process?
“This makes no sense, Morris. Why would she do something like that? What does she gain from it?”
Morris seethed through his teeth, growing impatient by her lack of understanding “Can’t you see she is trying to crush this family? This company? What I have worked so hard to build, She is an enemy to us! Rachel is probably jealous because her family got ruined when her father got involved in that crime and now, she wants to ruin our family”
“How dare she? The police clearly warned us to stay away from the drug trafficking case. What does Rachel think she is doing? I need to have a word with her right now!”
“That’s great” Morris muttered, turning towards the door “And while you are doing that, make sure you warn George properly. If he is going to pick the daughter of a drug trafficker over me, then he has no right to be my son anymore.”
Patricia glared at him, taken aback by his statement “And what is that supposed to mean?”
“George is head over heels in love with that woman. He is ready to trade us in exchange for her. If not, he would not have taken this case up in the first place!! You better warn him or he will have to face my wrath!”
Morris was ready to do anything, anything at all to protect himself. Even if it meant getting rid of George.
He had never accepted him as his son right from the beginning, so getting rid of him would be easy.