Chapter 148 Matilda's True Intent
Martin ended the call immediately, hearing the familiar voice.
"People can sound the same on the phone?" Bryce said, trying to convince himself that what he heard was false.
"I can help you confirm," Martin said.
"What do you have in mind?" Bryce asked.
"It's the weekend," Martin said. "She is just a room away. Go see her, and I will call again," he suggested, and Bryce gave it a thought.
"Okay," Bryce agreed.
He wanted to see Angela anyway, and he was also very sure that the voice they heard was not Angela's. He exited the room and headed for the staircase.
He was soon on the floor where Angela's room was. He used the front door and entered the apartment. He then used the staircase and went up to Angela's room. He took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Zora came to answer as usual.
"I came to see Angela," Bryce said, and Zora nodded, letting him in.
Angela was sitting behind her desk reading. Her baby bump was now very evident. Bryce pulled his phone out and sent a message to Martin to make the call.
"Good afternoon, Angela," Bryce greeted.
"Good afternoon," Angela replied coldly. "What do you want?" she asked.
"I just came to see you," Bryce said. "I buried my mother today?" he said, but before he could say anything further, the sound of a phone ringing travelled to his ears.
Angela shifted her gaze to her phone and frowned. Bryce stretched a little to see who was calling, and he saw the word unknown flash on Angela's phone screen before Angela picked up the phone. She answered.
"Who is this?" Angela asked as soon as she answered the call, and Bryce tensed up.
"No, Eva was not working with Angela. This is not true," Bryce thought, even though he was staring at the obvious.
"Excuse me," Bryce said, knowing he needed a moment to think before he acted.
He had acted irrationally before out of hurt, and it turns out that what he believed was a lie. He didn't want to repeat that mistake. He wanted Angela back, and that meant clearing all misunderstandings.
Bryce stepped out of the room, and Zora was waiting outside the door.
"Are you alright?" Zora asked, seeing Bryce clenching his chest and slightly bent over, as if he was having a problem with his chest.
He was sweating too and breathing heavily.
"I am fine," Bryce said with difficulty and started walking towards the staircase.
Zora watched him walk away, funnily enough, for a while before entering the room to find out what happened.
"Angela, what is wrong with Mr Moore? He didn't look well to me?" Zora asked Angela, who was placing her phone back on the table.
"He said something about burying his mother today," Angela replied.
"I thought he had already buried his mother," Zora pointed out.
"Yes, I heard about that, and that is the reason I am surprised he brought that up again," Angela said. "But why would he say he buried his mother today?" she asked, and Zora shrugged her shoulders.
"Zora, can you help me find something out?" Angela said. "I know Mrs Davis kept me here to protect me from all those who want to harm me. I wasn't interested in what was happening in the city before, but can you help me find out what is happening?" she requested.
"Well, I am glad you are interested now," Zora said with a smile and retrieved her phone from the table.
She walked towards Angela, typing something on her phone.
"I am going to give you an update on what is happening to date," Zora said with a smile.
"For starters, Mr Moore did the right thing and had your name cleared of all the accusations levelled against you. He got the document, which declared you innocent, published in the newspapers and on all the social media platforms. For days, he had this going. Eva was the real criminal. She ordered the murder of Patricia Moore and Elena Moore. The news has it that she wasn't working alone. She committed suicide, but Bryce promised he was going to find the others involved," Zora informed her, and Angela looked surprised.
Back inside Bryce's room, Bryce sat on the bed trying to calm himself. He was having a panic attack when Angela answered the call, confirming her number was the one in the documents.
"Sir, are you alright?" Martin said, grabbing a glass of water for Bryce.
Bryce pushed his hand holding the glass of water away as he tried to calm himself.
"Martin, I need you to look into this," Bryce said, breathing heavily. "Find out if someone's number can be used to route a call to another without the person knowing," he said.
"Sir, are you suspecting that someone used Ms Angela's number to make these calls?" Martin asked.
"We are in a technological age. Anything is possible as people make a breakthrough with software experimentation," Bryce replied.
"I would find a way to get information from Ms Angela's phone to confirm indeed no call was received by her, and I will dig to find out what exactly went on," Martin said.
"Discretely, Martin. In the meantime, I am going to act like I believe the story. I want to see what Susan is up to," Bryce said.
"Sir, just want to prepare you, in case the worst happens. I know you want to believe in the innocence of Ms Angela. What if..." Martin began, and Bryce stopped him with a hand gesture.
"Don't say it. Whatever the outcome, I would protect her. If it means taking her out of this town, I will. I would do nothing differently if I were in her shoes," Bryce said.
"Finally admitting your love for her is deeply rooted," Martin said.
"Go and do as I have instructed. And you better not double-cross me. You know how I feel about her," Bryce threatened Martin.
"Don't worry, sir, I know better not to play with the heart of lovers," Martin said. "Is there anything else you would like me to do for you before I leave to carry out your orders?" he asked.
"I am fine for now. If I need anything, I will call you," Bryce said, and Martin left the place.
When Martin exited Bryce's mini apartment, he frowned. He had the feeling that someone was in the hallway. He walked down the hallway to his left and saw nothing. He hurried in to check the opposite direction, and it was empty. He hurried to the staircase and looked down. Still, there was nothing.
"Maybe I am overthinking," Martin thought and went back to use the elevator going to the ground exit.
Inside Matilda's room, Matilda had just finished taking her shower, and she was sitting on her bed holding a picture frame in her hand.
"Soon, my boy, you will be home. Just hang in there for me. I will come for you. It's been so long," she whispered on her lips, staring at the image of a boy.
There was a knock on the door, and she invited the person in. George entered, and Matilda frowned, seeing the expression on George's face.
"What is it?" Matilda asked.
"Bryce had requested an investigation to be done. It appears he is doing everything to clear Angela's name," George reported.
"But Angela's name has already been cleared. So what is his problem?" Matilda asked.
"I have a feeling that Devon and Susan have written a different narrative for Bryce to find out through an investigation," George said. "And Bryce has already taken the bait," he added.
"No, no. I need Bryce to commit to managing the family business as the Don. I can't have him distracted. I need my son back," Matilda said.
"It's been more than twenty years, do you think your son is still alive?" George said.
"He is alive," Matilda said. "And he is the same age as Bryce. I didn't ask the stupid servant girl Josephine to offend their Don. All she needed to do was sleep with him and leave. Why kill his son?" Matilda said angrily.
"I told you to brief her and find a way to compel her to give her body willingly, but you lied to her, and she only acted out of self-defence when the man's son came onto her. Who knew that boy with a huge cucumber had a tiny heart to go with it?" George said, expressing his hatred.
"I know you hate that boy because he slept with your niece, and you rejoiced when Josephine killed him," Matilda said.
"Raped," George corrected.
"Whatever, his father is one ruthless man, and you know it. We were not supposed to offend him, and we did. Now he has my son. A life for a life is what I negotiated with him. Josephine killed his son. It's just fair for her son to die to atone for that," Matilda said.
"Well, technically, your son went there to defend Josephine and was captured," George said, and Matilda got angry.
"Whose side are you on, George?" Matilda half yelled.
"Your side?" George replied.
"Then shut up and make sure Bryce concentrates on his path to his death. No loose ends. It should be on record that he was into criminal activities, and the criminals killed him. Do you understand?" Matilda said.
"Well noted," George said. "And what will we do with Angela once Bryce is dead?" George asked.
"I am only keeping her to win Bryce's trust and also create a positive narrative for ourselves. In the end, it would look like Bryce played us all. The motive is there, and working with criminals would communicate his intent of seeking power," Matilda said.
"So Angela walks free," George concluded.
"That is, if she doesn't poke her nose where it doesn't belong. She would, if not, we would add her to Bryce's list of crimes. After all, she murdered two Moore family members. We just need to bring a piece of strong, incriminating evidence hidden in Bryce's things to explain why he killed her," Matilda said.
"Well, noted. I will find out whatever it is Martin is working on, and we will make sure everything goes as we plan. We get my son back with Bryce's death, and Devon would naturally lose his power," Matilda said.
"What if we bring him to our side? He can help deal with Bryce," George suggested, staring at Matilda