Chapter 113: Chapter One Hundred and Thirteen

Aiden

"Don't forget that the money you received has been confiscated," Jordan reminds her.

Janine's eyes flicker with indecision—a clear sign that she has caved.

"There is a man," she finally says, her shoulders sagging as she confesses. Her head hangs low.

"Not several men," Jordan states. It is a declaration, not the question it should be. Janine has changed her narrative, and one can only hope she is finally speaking the truth.

Janine nods in confirmation.

"Do continue," Jordan gestures, keeping his curiosity vague; he doesn't want to undermine his earlier claim that he already had evidence to indict her.

"I wasn't manhandled. We met last night and he struck a tantalizing deal with me. I was in a financial bind, so I couldn't refuse the huge stash of cash he gave me."

So, this entire conspiracy was hatched the very night we arrived at the restaurant?

I huff.

"Do you recognize the man?" Jordan inquires.

Janine shakes her head. "I don't remember faces on first sight."

Is it just luck that the waitress they selected on the spur of the moment had this specific flaw? Or had they always known that Dad would take Hermione and me to that restaurant and planned it all ahead of time?

Clearly, Janine is a pawn. She wasn't lying when she claimed she didn't know Annabelle; they must never have been introduced. Their attack was spontaneously hatched the moment Hermione entered their line of sight.

"But he told me it wasn't poison. That she wouldn't die," Janine says in a pleading voice, her face looking as though she is on the verge of tears.

Is she stupid?

I likely mirror Jordan’s thoughts—which he cannot utter aloud during an investigation—with the questioning lift of an eyebrow.

Is she kidding? Who accepts a foreign substance from a stranger, laces another person's drink with it, and expects it not to be poison? Of all the gullible people I’ve encountered, Janine is definitely topping the chart.

"He told you it wasn't poison and you believed him? What did you think he had given you, then?"

"It was meant to be a prank," Janine says in a low voice.

She ought to be embarrassed by her answers. God, I hate this interrogation.

"She's not getting out of here," I say to Noah.

"She won't," he assures me. "She's trying to play it smart, but she's doing a woeful job of it."

"I have to leave now. Let me know the outcome of the interrogation," I say to Jordan's colleague, who is monitoring the screens.

"Jordan overstepped his bounds by inviting you in here, and now you want feedback on the interrogation?" the man asks.

I don't give a damn who he is. I know I ought not to be in this room. I will ensure this "butt-faced" idiot doesn't tattle and get my friend in trouble—because from the look of it, that’s exactly what he’d love to do.

"I brought those two here. They are my capture, not yours," I remind him. If not for my respect for Jordan, I wouldn’t be opposed to taking matters into my own hands and dealing with these two foolish women for plotting against my wife.

Janine's information holds no appeal from this point forward. She has given the only clue she knows, and damn, is she stupid. And greedy. The money was her undoing.

If there is a man... and I certainly knew Anna didn't act alone... then there is only one way to find out who he truly is.

I hate the decision I have to make. It portends more danger if I’m not careful, but I have to eliminate every threat against my wife. We need every accomplice arrested; we cannot leave a single loophole behind.

Beatrice is behind bars now, but not all of her accomplices have been apprehended. The threat against my mother is imminent, and I cannot allow the same to happen to Hermione. I will do anything to protect the two most important women in my life.

I relay further instructions to Noah on what to do before turning to leave. He steps out of the back room with me, accompanying me outside. Kash is waiting behind the wheel; he immediately steps out of the car when he spots me descending the stairs. Once I am inside with Kash, Noah returns to the station and we drive away.

"We will be visiting my mother first," I tell him from the backseat.

"Noted, sir."

Kash navigates the car along the highway toward the private care center where my mother is being treated. I review files in the back, getting some work done before we arrive at the hospital. However, I am entirely unprepared for the news I receive upon our arrival.

"Oh, Mr. Mendes," a nurse I don't recognize chirps at the sight of me, her eyes widening. It has been a while since I last checked on my mother’s welfare, as I’ve been consumed by my responsibilities at work. A typical dutiful son, I am.

"I was just about to call you," she says. "Please, come with me. I'll lead you to the doctor."

A sinking feeling fills my gut as I follow her toward the doctor's office. This dread is reinforced when one of the men I stationed to guard my mother sees me and grinds to an abrupt halt. He avoids my gaze, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

I abandon the nurse and charge toward him. "Was there an attack? Where is my mother?"

The hospital atmosphere doesn't suggest it has been under siege, but based on the reactions of the nurse and my guard, it’s clear something has happened. I shake my head, refusing to believe it. "It’s not true."

"My condolences, sir," Stiles says, dipping his head in a low bow. "She passed away just a few minutes before your arrival. There was no attack."

"I was told she had six months to live!" I hiss, my hands trembling at my sides. A chill washes down my spine, enveloping my body in a harsh, unforgiving embrace.

The nurse steps forward. "That was an estimate, sir."

My stomach quivers with grief. I wasn't there for my mother in her final moments; I had been too busy with work.

"Where is she?" I inquire in a low voice.

"She is being transferred to the morgue as we speak. Follow me." The nurse veers away from the doctor's office, heading instead toward the morgue.

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I receive Raymond's call as I drive to the shaman's residence to relay the news. She is the person most worthy of being told first. I try to shut out the image of my mother’s pale, lifeless form. I might have been with her at the end had I arrived earlier. Her body wasn't fully cold to the touch yet, but it was evident she hadn't died an easy death. Her strength had been maxed out by her experiences and the multiple conditions she was enduring. She was a fragile woman who had carried too much weight on her shoulders.

In a surge of anger and bitterness, I slam the center of the steering wheel, the horn blaring. I blink back angry tears, my heart pounding in my chest. Memories wash over me, overwhelming me—her smile, her laughter, the shell of a woman she eventually became, and finally, her death. I had anticipated this day, but I never expected it to come so soon.

Consumed by grief and feeling out of control, I abruptly swerve off the road. I lower my head over the steering wheel and cry out. My lungs burn, my throat feels dry, and my voice is hoarse.

"Mom!" I cry, alone. This is the only time I can truly let out my anguish.

I struggled to maintain my composure while signing her death certificate. Her body will be retrieved from the morgue for the funeral in a few days. I know I have to pull myself together, but I can't; the pain is simply too much. I had requested that Kash grant me privacy when I stepped out of the hospital, and he had excused himself at once.

"I'm sorry," he had said, clearly judging from my expression that something had gone terribly wrong.

Another call rings, jolting me out of the pensive state I had momentarily sunk into. It's from Neil. Right now, I have no time to think about work. I ignore it, letting the call ring out just as I did with Raymond’s. Raymond never calls more than twice, and I am grateful for that principle.

Neil, however, is a different case. I receive six persistent calls from him before I am forced to acknowledge him. It must be something important.

"Where are you, Aiden?" Neil inquires, his voice frantic.

My gaze sharpens. What has happened this time? "What's going on?"

"Start heading to the company now. Your presence is urgently needed," Neil responds.

"What is going on, Neil?" I repeat.

"It's an emergency, sir. Come to the office at once," he says sharply, ending the call before I can say another word.

Adrenaline floods my veins, fueled by the anxiety that something terrible has occurred. It had better not be another death. My father isn't my favorite parent, but I can't lose him at the same time I lost my mother. It can't be death, though; I wouldn't be summoned to the company if it were.

"Enjoy the spotlight while it lasts, Aiden. You’re going down very soon."

Lachlan's threat echoes in my head. I accelerate immediately, driving toward the intersection where I can redirect my path back toward the company.