Chapter 151 Chapter One hundred and fifty
ARA
Lenora must have thought the worst. Before I could say another word, she dropped to her knees right there on the cracked pavement.
“Please don’t fire me!” she blurted, panic flooding her voice. “Mrs. Slade, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to deceive anyone. Please don’t withdraw the support you promised me. I really need this job.”
The boy beside her looked like he had just discovered gravity worked differently for rich people.
I blinked, surprised by the sudden desperation.
“Lenora,” I said quickly, stepping closer. “Relax. We’re not going to sack you.”
She looked up slowly, like she didn’t quite believe me.
“And we’re definitely not withdrawing our support,” I added.
Relief crashed over her face so hard her shoulders sagged.
Thayne, however, was far less concerned with her employment status.
His eyes swept across the street, the broken buildings, the group of men still watching us from a distance.
“Why are you in this neighbourhood?” he asked, his voice calm but edged with suspicion.
Lenora hesitated before pointing at the boy still standing beside her, mouth half open.
“I found out he was living in my aunt’s former apartment,” she explained nervously. “And… we just clicked.”
The boy finally found his voice.
“We’re just hanging out,” he said defensively.
Thayne frowned. He exchanged a look with me.
Then another with Liliana.
Because the words ‘my aunt’s former apartment’ had just changed everything.
Liliana stepped forward slowly.
“Your aunt,” she asked carefully. “What was her name?”
Lenora wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand.
“Lola. But Aunt Lola didn’t get the chance to help us like she promised because she moved out without telling anyone.” Lenora’s voice carried a strange mixture of sadness and confusion.
“You know what?” Liliana said suddenly, stepping closer. “Let’s stop circling around the point.”
She tilted her head slightly. “Your aunt… how exactly was she your aunt? Biological or… something else?”
The question caught all of us off guard. Even Thayne raised an eyebrow. Lenora didn’t seem surprised though.
“She was my mother’s eldest sister,” she explained. “But she separated from the family after they disowned her.”
Her voice softened.
“They’re both dead now. My mother and Aunt Lola.”
The words landed heavily between us, like cement.
“We don’t have time for family history right now,” Thayne cut in briskly. He turned to the boy.
“Young man, lead the way. We need to search your apartment.”
“Thayne!” Liliana scolded immediately. “You can’t just barge into people’s homes like that.”
“It’s alright,” the boy stammered quickly.
“We—we can go inside.”
He gestured nervously toward the building. The moment we stepped through the doorway, the smell of dust and old wood greeted us.
The apartment itself wasn’t terrible, it was just small and cramped.
And desperately in need of new furniture. Like, ASAP.
Lenora broke the silence first.
“Why were you asking about Aunt Lola?”
I answered before anyone else could. “She was my mother.
Lenora’s mouth dropped open.
“And we believe she might have left her belongings here,” Liliana added quickly. “She didn’t have time to pack before relocating.”
Lenora frowned.
“That might be difficult to prove,” she said slowly. “If her things were here, Nate would’ve told me.”
She turned toward the boy.
“Right, Nate?”
Nate stared stubbornly at the floor.
My stomach tightened.
“Are her things here, Nate?” Thayne asked, impatience creeping into his voice.
Nate hesitated. Then muttered, “I found five bags… and about twenty-something boxes.”
Every nerve in my body lit up.
“Including one camera,” he continued quietly. “I repaired it last week because I found someone willing to buy it.”
Lenora’s lips began to tremble. “You were going to sell her property without telling me?” she demanded, her voice shaking. “Her things have been here this whole time?”
Her eyes filled with tears. “You’re selfish, Nate. Why didn’t you say anything?”
Nate finally lifted his head. His expression was miserable.
“I didn’t want you to forget me—”
“Well,” Lenora snapped, wiping her eyes, “now you’ve given me a reason to.”
“Hey, hey,” Thayne interrupted, raising a hand. “You two can reconcile later.”
His gaze sharpened.
“Nate… where are the things?”
“At the back, I'll show.” He said, leaving already to lead Thayne through a door I didn't notice when we came in.
Lenora was my cousin, wow. No wonder I'd immediately felt the irresistible urge to help her that day.
How come my mother never for once mentioned she had family? They'd disowned her when she needed them the most. It was enough reason to move on without them.
“We found it!” Liliana exclaimed. I didn't even notice when she left.
“We need to play the footage and see if it'll roll.” Thayne's voice floated into the sitting room.
Lenora and I went to join them. Liliana was surrounded by so many carton boxes when we found them, and she was shedding silent tears.
“I was the one who bought her these rollers. Her hair was wild, like yours. And she loved rolling them.” She said softly, holding open a carton containing hairdressing tools.
“Mum, we'll cry about that later. Just in case you've forgotten I wanna use this footage against somebody today.” Thayne's impatience was rising, and so was his voice.
I grabbed his arm, forcing him to turn around.
“Scolding everyone will not help you fight Jimmy or your father. Your mother was her friend, don't you think she's a brave woman for showing up in this place that carries so many memories from the past? Especially after everything she's been through?’ I asked him in my best stern tone.
Thayne opened his mouth to speak but Nate’s voice drew us back to the present.
“The footage is rolling.” He announced.
“What's in the footage? Why did you drive all the way down here because of an old camera?” Lenora asked.
“It's our only evidence to prove that Jimmy is a bad man.” I said demurely.
“She was raped?!” Nate asked, turning to face us all with wide eyes. No one had warned him about what he would find in the footage, and he looked truly traumatised.
“Aunt Lola was raped? Was that why she moved out?” Leonora's face fell.
The sound of Thayne's phone ringing silenced everyone.
Thayne picked the call and put it on loudspeaker.
“Hello!” It was Sasha's voice. She sounded rather breathless. I wondered why.
“What's the 4-1-1?” Thayne asked immediately.
Sasha grunted, then let out a soft whimper.
Liliana wrinkled her nose, her eyes flickering my way.
“The AI review came back just now and it's going viral.” More whimpers and moans, then a muffled, ‘Stuart, pleeeease.’ Stuart's groan was audible through the loudspeaker and Lenora covered her face.
“Sasha!” Thayne barked into the phone.
We all knew what was happening over there. Sasha was getting into it with Stuart.
“Sir, sorry. I called to ask you to send the footage across in three minutes. It's been only ten minutes since the review came in, it's best we take advantage of the situation and air the footage.” She sounded like she was talking through her nose.
“After this, I'm separating you and Stuart. No fucking on duty, you idiots.” Thayne said angrily and shoved his phone in the back pocket of his pants.
“What next?” I asked, not wanting to remember the sound of Sasha's moans on the phone.
“We're sending the footage to her right away.”
“Let me help.” Nate offered.
“No.” Lenora disapproved.
“I'm sorry about your relationship problem, but we need Nate now, honey.” Thayne said to her.
“Give me the address for pasting the footage, sir.” Nate sounded confident, he really wanted to prove himself to Thayne.
Thayne recited the server's router number once and Nate memorized it.
In less than a minute, Nate waved the camera at us with his phone in his other hand.
“The video should be with your PR team now, Mr Slade.” He announced.
I threw myself at Thayne, and he caught me, wrapping his large arms around me and stroking my back.
It was done. It was finally done.