Chapter 27: Fragments

Ashton’s POV

Today, my mother and I were meeting with Frederick and Evelyn. I couldn’t wait to see the new evidence they’d found. Evelyn wasn’t working alone. She had a whole team behind her.

My thoughts drifted to Lily. She could be so adorably jealous sometimes. But how could she be? Evelyn and I never truly had a story. It was just unspoken feelings, locked away in silence. She belonged to my past. My future… was Lily. And I wasn't going to let her go.

Still, I sometimes enjoyed her jealousy. It meant she loved me. I remembered the tender moments we’d shared, her warm breath against my skin, the softness of her lips, the desire in her gaze... Just thinking about her made me want to go home. But something kept me tethered—this anger, this unresolved vengeance tied to her father. He hadn’t been proven guilty, not yet. But I was waiting. Waiting for truth to catch up.

Maybe I was the reason Lily felt frustrated. I hadn’t truly touched her, not in the way she deserved. She was still a virgin. Not because I didn’t want her. God, I wanted her more than anything, but every time the moment came, something in me pulled back. I was afraid. Afraid to be broken again. None of my love stories ever ended well. My first love, Sandra, left wounds that never fully healed. I feared betrayal. I feared abandonment. And a part of me feared Lily might do the same.

A knock at the door pulled me from my spiraling thoughts. I gave them permission to enter. My mother walked in, followed by Frederick and Evelyn.

I stood to greet them, offering a warm welcome. We took our seats around the table. Evelyn already had her laptop open, files neatly arranged in front of her.

“Are you ready?” she asked, glancing between my mother and me.

“I’m a little nervous, but I want this over with. I want the man who killed my husband and son behind bars,” my mother said quietly, exhaling a shaky breath.

Evelyn turned her laptop to us. The room tensed.

“There’s a street CCTV clip from right before the crash. It’s the only surviving footage. Just a few seconds, but it’s something,” she said, pressing play.

I leaned closer, eyes fixed on the screen. A car was following closely behind my father’s vehicle.

“Whose car is that?” my mother narrowed her eyes.

I was just as curious. The footage wasn’t the best quality—blurry and grainy.

“Wait, zoom in on the back. There’s a logo or something,” Frederick said, studying the screen intently.

There it was. A pentagon-shaped blue logo. Familiar.

“That looks like a company logo,” Frederick muttered, turning to me, stunned.

It confirmed what I’d long suspected. David Taylor was involved.

“That’s Taylor Group’s logo. David Taylor’s company,” Frederick said, eyes wide.

“I told you from the start, Ashton. David Taylor had to be involved. No one hated your father the way he did,” my mother said, her voice trembling with rage. Her fists clenched tight. She had despised David even when things between him and my father had seemed civil.

“Don’t jump to conclusions just yet. What we need to know is this—on the exact day of the accident, three years ago, did Taylor Group send anyone to attend the same project bid Raymond and Liam were heading to?” Evelyn’s eyes moved slowly across the room, studying each of us with quiet intensity as if measuring not just our reactions, but what we might already suspect.

“This is the only surviving footage? No other movement captured?” I was growing impatient. I needed more. I needed enough to destroy David Taylor’s lies.

“For now, this is all we have. But every piece matters, Ashton. My team and I will focus on tracing David Taylor’s movements and his company’s, especially around the time of the accident,” Evelyn replied. Her tone was calm, composed. She was no stranger to uncovering the darkest truths, no matter how buried.

“I hope we uncover everything soon. I still stand by my first suspicion—David Taylor is our strongest suspect.” I was certain of it. He might’ve been careless in some ways, but he was cunning enough to hide his tracks when it mattered.

After the meeting, Evelyn and I took a moment to talk over coffee at the office café. We ordered two Americanos, a granola bar, and some trail mix. It felt like slipping into old times, two friends catching up, even if the air was heavier now.

“So, what’s it like being married, Ashton? You must be happy. Your wife’s absolutely lovely,” Evelyn said, sipping from her steaming cup.

“I am happy,” I replied, pausing, “though… there’s a shadow that lingers. Knowing David Taylor may have had something to do with my father and brother’s deaths, makes it hard to live fully in the present. Sometimes it creates tension between Lily and me.”

Evelyn could be trusted. I knew that. She had once been the keeper of all my secrets.

“That must be hard,” she murmured. “What scares me… is that Lily might know more than we think.” She bit into the granola bar, eyes fixed on me, as if searching for the truth within my silence.

“She knows nothing, Evelyn. She only met her father shortly before the wedding.” Lily had no idea about the accident case. She was simply acting like any daughter would standing up for her father.

“It’s just a theory,” Evelyn said gently. “But we have to stay alert. Everyone close to this case... everyone needs to be watched. Even the ones we love.”

I didn’t want to think of Lily as someone I had to question. I knew her better than anyone, maybe even better than her own mother.

“By the way... is it true you’re still single?” I asked, steering the conversation elsewhere. “Hard to believe someone like you doesn’t have a boyfriend.”

Evelyn gave a cryptic smile. She paused, then met my eyes.

“Love only happens once, Ashton,” she said softly. “The rest… is just learning how to live.”

And with that, she smiled again, just a thin, wistful curve of her lips.