Chapter 14 Who is Vincent?
Ariel
Okay, what the fuck was going on? What was this? Richard had been involved in her murder?
I sat still in my seat, trying to process what I had just read and ponder if this was a sick joke and the heading would soon turn to 'Rising pop star Ariel Bennett murders her boss after years of exploitation and sexual favours'.
I definitely wouldn't be this surprised if it were that, but Richard committed murder and Kira's at that... That was shocking.
I knew Kira. Kira Matthews. One of the biggest artists under the company at the time I joined. I'm talking platinum records, billion-numbered streams, tours sold out, and brand deals everywhere. She was the global IT girl, only for her to be announced dead one day. According to the news, she had died in her apartment after overdosing on illegal substances.
So that hadn't been the case?
I read through the rest of whatever I could find. Apparently, he had gone to her house that fateful night of her death, forced himself on her after drugging her and had the nerve to record it.
I... What...
I flinched when my phone suddenly started ringing, my eyes going to my hand, which I hadn't even realized was shaking. I mean, yes, I knew Richard had been capable of a lot of things – pimping out artists, rape, beating me up – but I didn't know he had been capable of this, which should be stupid considering how many times he had come close to killing me or even forcing substances on me.
I think I was just shocked because I was realizing how easily that could have been me on the news, being announced dead. No one to really know the truth, no one to really know what
I shut my phone when it started to ring again and fisted my hands. I was in the mood to talk to no one, especially my sister. I'll talk to her later and… Lie again.
I headed back to my apartment after a good minute of sitting in my car. My anxiety, which I've been battling for years since I met Richard, kept trying to crawl its way to the surface and the enclosed space of my car hadn't helped with my breathing at all. I needed to take my meds.
"Ariel!" I froze the minute I came face to face with Jonas. He was in front of my apartment and looked extremely concerned.
Ugh, fuck me. So much for avoiding the questions. He had just been waiting for me to get back home.
"J-jonas... When did you get here?" He rushed to meet me halfway through the short walk to my door and probed and peered at me for another good minute.
"Are you okay?" I had responded to that in the car. "Y-yes."
He stared at me for a long second, then pulled me into an unsolicited hug. Or was it actually unsolicited considering the fact that I was the one holding onto him so tight?
I don't know when I started crying.
"Aw... Ariel." He patted my back a few times, finally able to give the comfort he has been offering for years. He has always been attentive, if I'll be honest with myself. Those times he randomly asked if I was okay, his concern at my bruises, and his constant probe into what Richard was doing because he had always suspected something.
It took me about five minutes before I stopped crying, snot and all, now on his shirt. He pulled back and peered into my eyes. "Are you feeling better now?"
I guess so. I was making it a habit to cry on people's shoulders now, including a fucking killer and that reminded me that yup, everything was in fact not okay and that I couldn't feel fine even if I wanted to.
"You've seen the news on Richard, right?"
He nodded. "It's why I called you. I wanted to make sure you were okay."
I nodded.
"Shall we go in?" He asked and I nodded again.
On getting into the apartment, Jonas didn't interrogate me as I would have expected yet again. Instead, he sat me down on my sofa and he went into the kitchen to prepare me some tea as well as my meds before sitting down opposite me in the living room.
"So..." I started once the silence had stretched long enough. "What is going on?"
"About the company?"
I nodded. "Well, I'm not sure. I came here the minute I saw the news but it's mostly that the company is in chaos. You'll need to come into the company, you know that, right?"
I nodded again. "And the tour?" That was a touchy subject for me but I had to ask.
"It's been taken care of, don't worry. Richard did that before he..."
Yeah. So... “What do I do now?” “Is my career over? Is the company going to fall apart?"
"Unlikely. Investors wouldn't let their money go to waste like that... I believe. And you've done nothing wrong. Why would your career be over?"
Well, let's see if he still sees me in that light when he finds out I've murdered someone.
He stood up abruptly. "I just came to check you were okay. I have to go back into the office and see what exactly is going on. You're obviously still shaken so you can leave coming in till tomorrow. Just make sure you don't do anything stupid, okay? I'll be back as soon as I can."
All I did was nod.
"See you later then."
He stared at me for some moments before he left, like he wanted to say something but he didn't and just grabbed his bag and left.
Well, what now?
By the next day, the situation had escalated so much that Jonas had to call me to advise against me coming into the company at the moment.
Things just kept coming out. Things I wasn't sure were true. From embezzlement to murder to criminal involvement. It made me wonder, was it their doing? Those guys. Was this their way of covering up Richard's death?
I mean, most of the things that were coming out had happened a long time ago and somehow they didn't make it on gossip blogs, much less social media, but suddenly, everything was coming out at once.
The thought of it made me shudder.
Who were these men even?
Who is Vincent?