Chapter 27

Lila's POV:

I was surprised when I saw Ximena in the Sparks penthouse. The first thought that came to my head was, what is she doing here? But then I realized she could easily see them, unlike the rest of us, and Chad was her cousin too. I stared at her tight-lipped, not knowing what to say.

"Lila, what are you doing here?" She asked again, but I just kept staring at her.

Just then Chad walked in and saw the two of us. He was surprised, but he tried not to show it.

"Hey, Ximena." He called, diverting her attention. "What are you doing here?"

Ximena turned to him. "What's Lila doing here?" She asked instead.

"Lila? I brought her here." He said simply.

"You brought her here?" she squeaked. Then touched her forehead and continued talking.

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to." He replied.

"Because you wanted to…" she repeated slowly. "Don't you know that's against the conduct of the company or didn't you read it? You just don't bring anyone into your personal property until they've gone through screening?"

Chad puffed, irritated by Ximena's questioning.

"The boys were cool with it so yeah, it's no big deal." He replied, almost nonchalantly.

"Well, let's see if the company will be cool with it when I make a report…" Ximena began saying, and I made to protest, but someone's voice dominated the room.

"You won't be reporting to anyone." The person cool said, appearing to the room. It was Dean. He was on his phone as he walked in, and he had a bit of jewelry on, making him look a bit more feminine and devastatingly handsome. Ximena froze, and you could tell she was ogling at him.

"D-Dean, what are you doing here?" she stuttered, her cheeks flushed.

He raised a brow up as he peeked at her from his phone. Then answered.

"Well… In case you don't know, you're in my house, and I should be the one asking you that."

"Yeah… That's right." She muttered to herself, by we all heard it.

"Um, are you aware that Lila is staying in your house?" she asked, a bit more gently than she was when dealing with Chad.

"Yep, and has Chad said, we're cool with it. Any problem?" he calmly asked, and she shook her head.

She wanted to say more but stopped herself.

"Why are you here, anyway?" Nico asked. She stared at him and frowned slightly.

"Mind your business." She retorted, and he recoiled. Nico recoiled. She made to leave, but Dean stopped her.

"Oh… And one more thing, let this be the last time you come here and start questioning the way we decide to do our things. You might not be so lucky the next time you try it." He said calmly, but with a deadly undertone. Ximena visibly shuddered before walking out of the house. More like sprinting anyway. She seemed in a hurry to leave.

Chad turned to him.

"Thanks, bro."

Dean nodded once. I wanted to thank him too for standing up for me, but Dean had already left the room as quickly as he came.

I'll do that later.

***

Ximena's POV:

I rushed out of the house feeling insulted and overwhelmed with anger. But it wasn't about Lila being in the house with them, it was for the way Dean stood in for her. I didn't want to think it was what my mind was telling me it meant.

Taking in deep breaths and trying to calm myself down, I promised myself to get back at Dean for embarrassing me like that. I'll deal with Lila later.

***

Mira's POV:

Even though I had heard enough of what Ellen had to say about her past life, I still felt the need to know more.

"When are you going to get back the company and everything that was stolen from you, from Nikita?" I asked, and Ellen glanced at me.

"Soon." she began, rubbing her temples. "But while am at the forefront, I need someone in the background making investigations concerning everything. Someone who hasn't been influenced by Nikita yet." She explained.

I looked at her for a while and then an idea clicked. I snapped my fingers.

"I know who to call," I announced. Ellen stared at me.

"You do?" She asked, and I nodded.

"Wait here, I'll be back," I said and picked my car keys, bag and phone, leaving the house.

I need to see Natalie.

***

Ximena's POV:

I stayed in my room, feeling angry and moody. I had refused to talk to anyone since I came in and of course they were wondering what was wrong with me but neither of them came to ask. I would shrug them off, anyway.

After a while, I heard a knock on my door.

"Who is it?" I called.

"Tori. Can I come in?"

"If you want to," I muttered. She pushed the door open and walked in.

"Hey…" She called out as she came to seat beside me. "I noticed you weren't in a good mood when you come home earlier today. What's wrong?" She asked softly.

I turned to my side.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk to me about it but it'll be really helpful if you shared instead of just brooding about it."

I thought about it for a while and spoke up. "It's Lila." I blurted out.

"Lila? What about her?"

"She's staying with the Sparks… In their house."

"Their house? Isn't that wrong?"

"I'm not even concerned about her staying in the house. I'm worried about the effect she'll make."

"What do you mean by that?" Tori asked again, not getting it. I sat up and stared at her.

"When I visited them today, I only wanted to talk to Chad. But then I saw her and questioned him on why he would let someone that wasn't properly screened by the company to live with them. Chad not only defended her, but Dean stood up for her as well."

"And…?" Tori prodded.

"Don't you see? She's just a girl with little or no future in the music industry and they are already rooting for her. It won't take long before she feels all-important. And now she's the only girl who's super close to them. What if she falls for them or worse, they fall for her?"

"Wow… Now that's bad." Tori concurred. "Wait a minute, you also said Dean stood up for her?"

"Yes. Dean stood for her. Now I know Dean and I might not be dating anymore, but no way am I going to lose him just yet. We still have some unfinished business."

"you need to do something quick." Tori muttered.

"I do… And I will." You just wait and see Dean. If I can't get you back, no one else will.

***

Mira's POV:

I arrived at Natalie's house, not too far away from where I live. Unlike me, Natalie is yet to get married and I think so is Ariana. She broke up with Xavier a few years back after college because of some unforeseen circumstances, the way she told me. She's a CIA agent, a detective.

As I drove into her house, I noticed the many sporting facilities she had. Even after all these years, Natalie is still the tomboy I once knew she hasn't changed a bit. I parked my car at the parking lot and walked to the doorstep. Ringing the bell, a maid from inside answered.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"I'm here to see Natalie Maddox. Is she in?"

"Yes ma'am. What's your name, if I may ask?"

"Mira Kentucky," I replied.

"Okay, please wait a minute." She said and closed the door. I paced around the entrance as I waited. The soon opened, and the maid peeked out.

"Please come in." She gestured, and I nodded and walked in. As I got to the living room, Natalie was descending the stairs with a wine glass in hand. I smiled up at her.

"Guess who came to see me?" She questioned to no one in particular. "Our sweet Mira!" she exclaimed and rushed to hug me. I hugged her tightly.

"Natalie! I missed you so much.'

"Me too, pretty face," she replied and disengaged from the hug. Then, pulling my cheeks, added, "So how's married life with your sweetheart, Darren?"

"It's great. What about you?"

"I'm good… Still single, definitely not searching." She said, and I chuckled. She was still as rugged as always. Her hair was in a messy bun, and she wore a men's t-shirt with oversized pants.

"Please sit down." She gestured to the chair, and I sat down. She did too. "Would you like a glass of wine?"

"Yes, please. I'm thirsty," I said.

"Kira? Please get out guest a glass of wine."

"Okay ma'am." Came her reply. Natalie turned to me.

"So why the surprise visit?"

"Well, there's something I have to tell you and something you need to help me with." I replied. She perked her brows and placed her glass of wine on the table. Folding her hands, she looked at me.

"What is it? You caught Darren cheating?"

"N-no… No! Of course not!" I exclaimed, surprised by her question. "Why the hell would you think like that?" She laughed out loud. The maid came and dropped my wine glass in front of me.

"Sorry, just messing with you. It's been long since I joked around with someone."

"Please don't say that again." I muttered, frowning. "I don't need your help, but my housekeeper does."

"What about her?"

"She has a super huge secret which hides a super huge revelation and I figured you're the only one who could crack the code. But before I tell you anything, I need to know if you're in or not."

"Well, if it's a family affair, I'm not interested."

"It's not a familiar affair… Okay, maybe it is a family affair but not outrightly."

"That is still a familiar affair and I'm not interested."

I frowned. "Why are you so stubborn?"

"I'm not stubborn, just stating facts. I stopped meddling in family affairs years ago. I'm not about to start now."

"But you are a CIA agent. A detective. Isn't that meddling?"

"Honey, that's my job and I'm meddling for the government, not people."

"You'll also be paid for this one."

"Still not doing it."

"I knew it." I muttered, looking away. Natalie peeked at me.

"Knew what?" She asked.

"Knew you wouldn't listen to me. Every time I tell you to help me with something, you refuse. But if it is Ariana…" She cut me off.

"Woah, woah, woah. What has Ariana got to do with this?"

"See? If it was Ariana who came with this, you'll jump right in."

"Are you saying I'm favoring one friend over the other?"

"If that's what you want to call it, yes."

"That's not true!" She protested. "Okay fine, I'm in. You happy?"

I beamed and turned to her.

"Really?"

"Yes. You happy now?"

"Yes!" I hurried over to hug her. "Thank you so much! I knew I could count on you!"

Natalie just rolled her eyes.

"Yeah… Whatever."

Typical Maddox.

***

Lila's POV:

That night before I went to sleep, I had gone in search of Dean. I was yet to thank him for standing up for me. After some time searching, I found him behind the house, where another garden and pool were located. This was an open area and since we were on a high ground, you could see the city below and the stars above. He had with a note pad and pen, like he was scribbling down lyrics, and his eyes were slightly closed as he listened to music from his earphones.

I got closer to him and stood beside him, wondering if I should tap him or call his name. Deciding to pick the latter, I called out his name.

"Dean?" I called gently, and he opened his eyes and stared ahead. Then, as if noticing there was a presence beside him, turned to me.

Seeing the melancholic look on his face, my mouth dried up and I immediately forgot what I wanted to say. He studied me for a while and although his look doesn't seem harsh or cold, I slightly shivered.

"Yes?" He muttered softly, fluttering his lashes. Why does his eyelid look like it had trapped some starlight? They shone differently tonight.

"Uh…" I stammered. He stared at me. Okay Lila, you have his attention, you had better say something. "Uh… I wanted to thank you for this evening, thank you for standing up for me." I muttered quietly, fiddling with my fingers.

"What?" He asked, and he widened his eyes. "Oh… That." He mumbled.

"I'm really grateful." I continued, wishing he'd say something instead of just sitting there and staring at me.

He adjusted his sitting position and faced me squarely. I looked down, afraid to meet his gaze. After he a while he began speaking.

"I didn't do that because I wanted to help you or anything," he began, glancing at me. "I did it because I was tired of seeing Ximena's face and she was causing too much racket. So don't go thinking I'm just being nice. I'm really not." He completed and a sadness so dark overshadowed and I felt tears pooling in my eyes. I Did my best to shrug it off and still put a gentle smile.

"Thanks anyway." I said with a smile.

He said nothing as he stood up and, picking up his things, walked into the house. I stayed back there for a while and hastily cleaned the tears that had trickled down. How does he always make feel me this way?

Slowly, I gathered myself and walked into the house. On the way I met Nico who looked like he'd been eating something.

"Hey Lila. You still up?" he asked, as he munched.

"I'm going to sleep now." I replied.

"Oh, that's too bad. I was hoping you'd come with me to the dance room and help me create new choreography, since you've got killer moves."

I smiled at his complement.

"And yeah, I saw Dean leave just now. Where you two talking?"

"Yeah, kind of. I was thanking him for this evening."

"Oh…" he muttered.

"So tomorrow, right?" he asked, and I nodded.

"Yeah, tomorrow," I promised. "Have a goodnight," I said and walked into my room.

***

(The next day)

Ellen's POV:

After Mira came home last night, she told me she had found someone who will help me with the investigation. Her name's Natalie Maddox and I get to meet her today.

We were at the dining table and I was serving breakfast. Mira had insisted on doing it, but I declined. It was my only way of thanking her for helping me all this while. Darren, her husband, was here as well.

"Darren? I need to ask a permission from you." Mira spoke up after some time.

"What is it?" He asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Natalie would visit today. She and I need to talk about some things."

"Really, no problem. You're free."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"I have to go now. I'm running late." Darren said and stood up to give Mira a kiss on the cheeks. Then he took his suitcase, and Mira bade him off. After a while, she returned and looked at me.

"You'll meet Natalie today, so you have to be prepared. I have to go to work, but I'll leave early. In the meantime, is there anything you need to know."

"Um, yes. I need it to pay a short visit to someone."

"Okay. You can go. But please lock the doors properly." She warned.

"Will do." I replied.

"I have to go now. See you in the evening."

"Have a good day," I said after her.

Okay, time to shower and get into some proper clothes.

***

I had left the house a while ago and was at the entrance of Beamlights Entertainment. I wanted to give Nikita a surprise visit, to inform her of the war that will come her way.

Knowing really well the security wouldn't let me in without a proper pass, I brought out the access card Cage specially crafted for me. It would always be valid, not how long it had been used. It was going to be useful today. Showing the security the pass, they let me in. I walked up to the elevator and punched Nikita's office floor in. The elevator opened and closed behind me.

After some time, the elevator bell dinged, and I walked out of it. Walking towards the secretary, I tapped the table to make her aware that someone was in front of her.

"Hello ma'am, good morning."

"Good morning. I'd like to see your boss, Nikita."

"I'm sorry, but do you have an appointment with her?"

"Yes, I do," I said and brought out the card. She stared at me and then at the card.

"O-okay. I'll let her know right away," she said and made some calls.

"You can go in now." She announced after some time. I collected the card from her.

Without knocking, I pushed the door open and walked in, meeting Nikita, bent over some files.

***

Nikita's POV:

"Didn't they teach you to knock before entering someone's office?" I asked without raising my head up from the files I was checking. Whoever entered didn't reply to my question. Slightly angry, I glanced at her.

"Hey! I'm talking to…" The words were stuck in my mouth as I stared at the person in front of me, maybe ghost?

"Y-y-you!" I stammered, shifting backward. "How come you're still alive!?" I shrieked.

"Surprised to see me?"