Chapter 77: Untitled Chapter

GIANNA

“Everything. But first I would like you to walk me through the process, like how do your clients usually sign up that this big mistake could have just happened?” I would seriously like to know how it could have escaped their notice, if they are such professionals.

Either they are overestimating themselves, or I’m underestimating the culprit. To be fair, as a director of a branch of hotels who has been working for years in the field I know how easy it is for any small amount of mistakes to impact a company no matter how tight it security is.

But that was the rational part of my brain musing, right now I wasn’t rational. I felt like an idiot asking Ruin this question now, when it should have been the first thing I asked the guys when I realized the truth instead of hiding away to stew with my thoughts back at the cabin.

To be honest I was rattled and overwhelmed with everything I’d learned. I still am in a way, everything feels so surreal, like how could they not know that I didn’t sign up? And why in God’s name will anyone sign me up for something like that?

I mean my life can’t have been that bad, that bland and boring for someone or my family (if it’s them, and the evidence against them just keep piling up) to make this kind of huge decision for me, right?

I shake away all these questions in my head battling for dominance. In time I will get all the answers.

“I should have probably asked either Jax or Dane this question, but I was, you know… shocked. You have to understand this isn’t an easy thing to believe much less accept,I feel like…to be honest I still don’t entirely know how I feel,” I said, and that was the absolute truth. I feel like I had to give an explanation why I hadn’t demanded they tell me everything.

“I get it, you’re overwhelmed. It’s understandable and okay to be shocked, anyone in your situation would be. I assure you Gianna, what happened to you was unprecedented. That wasn’t what our firm is about. In the years since NYME was established nothing like this has ever happened before,” Ruin replied, his expression serious.

“We take our clients’ privacy seriously, each and every client we’ve had till date goes through a thorough background routine checking, it’s meticulously conducted by my most trusted employees and myself.” He frowned.

“When you were signed up I wasn’t here, so I suspected that things might have been handled poorly. Which is why I started investigating the minute I was back, unfortunately there was nothing that could lead us to whoever the culprit was.

Everything was done by our rules which led us to believe the problem is from your side. It’s probably someone close to you who has valuable knowledge of your life, but there’s a slim chance that we could be wrong. From our investigation we’ve deduced that it’s possible that there are actually two or more people or groups of people we’re looking for.”

“What? Groups of people? Why would they target me?” I asked perplexed, looking at Jax with creased brows.

He only sent me an assuring smile. Ruin sat forward at the edge of his seat, his legs wide in a man-spread,that darkness I’d glimpse swirling in his golden brown irises.

“It’s a probability. Without a thorough investigation, at this point I’ll say we’re only grabbing at straws,” he said.

“Again, how do your clients apply for your services?” I repeated my earlier question. It was Jax who up until now I’d pretended hasn’t been playing with my hair, running his fingers through the long strands since he sat back down who answered the question.

“Some of our clients signed up upfront right here, there’s a private reception area for that. That approximately amounts to almost a quarter of our clientele. Most prefer signing up online, since we deal with mostly high profile people of society we try to accommodate their needs for secrecy.”

“Firstly they sign online, then we send them the hard copies through mail and have them sign them up and mail it back to us.” Hearing it from him it sounded just like any normal business.

“Some make payments with cold cash afraid of leaving a trail, while others pay online through a series of methods on our secure platform. It’s relatively just like any other business, it’s easy. And we’ve never had any breach of security…”

“Until now,” I said, cutting Ruin off. Looking him straight in the eyes. He nodded.

“Until now,” he agreed.

I’m not an ignorant person, such ‘secured platforms’ as he’d call it, aren’t all that secure. With the help of technology the world has progressed beyond man’s expectations.

And with the kind of business they run, they probably have hundreds if not thousands of sensitive information about their clients just there for the taking.

And someone probably took them, it’s just a suspicious thought in my head I could be wrong of course.

“I promise you I’m going to do everything possible to catch the culprit. I won’t rest until I get this fucker and I’m willing to compensate you for this incident in any case, this is partly our fault for not making sure it was you who was actually signing the contract.”

I shrugged my eyes meeting dark intense green eyes, I glanced away. I don’t need any compensation.

“I just want the truth, I want to catch this person whoever they are and I want to know what their angle is,” I replied,

“You will get your answers, we’re doing everything we can and we won’t rest until we get to the bottom of this,” he assured. That reminded me of something I had wanted to ask since Jax and Dane told me the truth.

“Can I see the contract I’d supposedly signed.”

“Of course, it’s a good thing that I’ve already compiled all the information we had of how you came to be here,” Ruin said.

He stands up and strides to his desk where he grabs a file and his laptop, and walks back.

He placed the laptop and file on the table in front of me. The contract was a bunch of paper staples together inside the file. I was surprised by how thick it was, I must have been staring at it for quite a long time because Jax suddenly said.

“You should probably read it.”

“Yeah, okay.” I mumble my hands, shaking a little as though I could already see the name of the suspect who signed me up.

I was so deep into reading the contract that I didn’t know when they left me alone, it wasn’t until I raised my head to ask something that I saw I had been sitting alone.

Dane, Jax and Ruin are standing on the other side of the office, their voices low as they whisper furiously to each other.

“Is something wrong? Did anything happen?” I asked with narrow eyes. The two of them doing it was bad, the three of them hiding something from me irritates me so much, not to mention it’s rude.

“Not at all Pet, we’re just catching up on business. Do you need anything?” I shake my head feeling that familiar burn in my chest. Must be another new client then.

“I was just going to ask my secretary to bring us some drinks,” Ruin said, punching in a number on his phone. He fired up his orders then he raised his eyes, smiled at me and asked.

“Gianna, what would you like?”

“Coffee would be fine…thanks,” I added the last word at the last second. Tucking my hair behind my ear as I continue reading the contract that has now completely captured my attention.

“How do you like your coffee?”

“What?” I asked, blinking at him, he smiled at me.

“She likes it black with two spoonfuls of brown sugar, I like mine with no sugar thanks,” Dane answered, cutting between Ruin and I. Blocking the man from sight.

I went back to the part I was reading which had me blushing from my scalp to toes.

My God!

This is what someone had signed me up for? I really thought I had seen and done it all in those days I spent with them. Turns out it could have been more if the truth wasn’t revealed.

It took everything I had to not outwardly fan myself, that feeling however was forgotten when I saw my forge signature on the last paper.

And I know deep down even if I don’t know when or how that it wasn’t forged after all. I signed this contract. I did. Only I don’t know how or when I did it without realizing what I was signing up for.

“This was my signature,” I whispered. I stood up and hurried to them.

“We know…” Dane said.

“No. No, you don’t get it. I signed this!” I yelled, shoving the paper in his face.

“What? Are you sure?” Jax asked, taking the contract from my hand.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

“Well, that narrows it down then,” Ruin said.

Yeah it does.