53

53
Chapter 53 

Lyon's mind was racing, trying to piece together the situation. His gut told him something wasn’t right. “I have this feeling... It is Wendy. I just know it.” 

Martins stood quietly beside him, his arms crossed as he observed the scene. He didn’t speak at first, just watching Lyon carefully. 

“The police should be reporting back soon,” Martins said, his voice calm despite the tension. “But we can’t just wait for them. This is moving too fast.” 

Lyon paused in his pacing and turned to look at Martins. There was a silent understanding between them, and Lyon’s gaze hardened. He didn’t need anyone to tell him what to do. He had to act now. 

He turned back to Trisha, crouching down in front of her. His eyes softened for a moment, though his voice was still firm. “Trisha, listen to me. We’ll find her. I promise you, we’ll bring Kathryn back.” 

Trisha’s eyes welled up with fresh tears as she looked at him. She shook her head slowly. “I should’ve... I should’ve done something. I was too slow, I couldn’t protect her.” 

Lyon shook his head, placing a hand on her shoulder. “It’s not your fault. We’re going to get her back. You did everything you could. Now, we need to focus on finding her.” 

Trisha looked up at Lyon, her face pale. She nodded slowly, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. 

Lyon stood, his jaw set in a firm line. “Fiona, stay here with Trisha. Keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Let me know the second you see or hear anything.” 

Fiona, who had been standing a few feet away, nodded quickly, her expression just as worried. “I will,” she said, her voice tight. “You’ll find her, Mr Lyon. I know you will.” She said almost in a whisper. 

Lyon didn’t reply. He turned toward the car, his focus narrowing. “Let’s go,” he said to Martins, who was already heading toward the driver’s seat. 

As Lyon walked towards the car, his mind was still tangled in confusion. Kathryn was gone, and all he wanted was to get to the bottom of it. But then, as if fate had other plans, his phone buzzed in his pocket. 

He pulled it out, expecting maybe a text from the corps, giving him an update. But the screen showed a headline that made his stomach drop. 

LYON ALBERTO, THE CHAIRMAN OF ONE OF THE BIGGEST FIRMS IN THE STATES, MULDER CASE SURFACES. 

Lyon froze, his heart hammering in his chest. His breath caught in his throat. The Mulder case, he knew Wendy was behind it all. 

He stared at the phone, feeling like the ground beneath him had just shifted. His grip tightened on it, but his hands were shaking. 

How? Why now? The questions spiraled in his mind. He couldn’t just brush it off. 

“Lyon?” A voice broke through his haze of thoughts. It was Martins, standing next to him, a concerned look on his face. “Are you okay?” 

Lyon blinked and looked up, trying to shake off the fog. For a moment, he couldn’t even find his words. He didn’t know what to say. How could he explain what was happening inside his head? How could he explain the panic that was rising in his chest? He was too stunned to speak. 

“Lyon?” Martins asked again, stepping closer. 

Lyon shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. “I’m fine,” he said quietly, but even to his own ears, the words didn’t sound convincing. He wasn’t fine. Far from it. But there wasn’t time to dwell on that now. 

Without a word, Lyon turned and made his way to the car. Martins hesitated for a bit but followed him. The door slammed shut as Lyon climbed into the back seat, his mind racing. He couldn’t think straight. Not with the headline still haunting him, and not with the possibility of Kathryn still out there, at the mercy of whoever had taken her. 

“Take me to the office,” Lyon said, his voice cold, as he fastened his seatbelt. His tone was sharp, but Martins could hear the strain beneath it. 

“Sure, Lyon,” Martins replied, his brow furrowed. He could sense the urgency in Lyon’s voice, but there was something else too. Something was off, something wasn’t right. But Martins kept his thoughts to himself. Lyon didn’t need any more distractions right now. 

The drive felt like it took forever. The silence in the car was suffocating, and Lyon barely looked out the window. His eyes were fixed on something far beyond the car’s interior, his thoughts consumed by everything that had just happened. 

The past was suddenly rearing its ugly head, and now, more than ever, he couldn’t afford distractions. Not when Kathryn’s life was hanging in the balance. 

Martins kept glancing at Lyon, unsure of what to say. 

The look on his face was different than usual, there was a vulnerability to him that wasn’t there before. 

Lyon barely had time to react as he stepped out of the car. 

The sunlight hit his face, but so did the unmistakable weight of trouble. Before he knew it, officers were moving toward him, their faces stern, their movements practiced, like they’d done this a hundred times before. 

“Mr. Lyon Alberto,” one of them said firmly, stepping forward. “You’re under arrest for the murder of Mr. James, ten years ago. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in a court of law.” 

Lyon froze, the words echoing in his ears like a loud drumbeat. Murder? James? His chest tightened as his thoughts scrambled, searching for some explanation, anything to make sense of what he’d just heard. 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Lyon managed, his voice low but sharp. 

The officers weren’t interested in conversation. Two of them grabbed his arms, and before he could protest, they yanked them back. The cold metal of the handcuffs clicked around his wrists. The sound sent a jolt of rage through him. 

“Wait! Hold on!” Lyon barked, twisting in their grip. “This is a mistake!” 

Martins, who had been standing by the car, suddenly sprang forward, his face pale with shock. “Lyon! What’s happening?!” 

“Step back!” one officer snapped at Martins, raising his hand to block him. 

“Martins!” Lyon called, his voice laced with anger and desperation. “Call my lawyer.” 

“I will!” Martins shouted back, his voice frantic. 

But the officers were already moving Lyon toward the police vehicle, their grips firm and unrelenting. His feet stumbled slightly as they pushed him forward. He turned his head, his eyes locking with Martins for a brief second, his only lifeline in this mess. 

The office staff had gathered at the building entrance, drawn by the commotion. They were whispering, pointing, staring. Some with shock, others with suspicion. 

“Is that Lyon?” someone muttered. 

“What did he do?” another asked. 

And then, Lyon heard a low voice say, “I knew he wasn’t clean. I just knew it.” 

He gritted his teeth, his jaw tight. It was like the air had been punched out of his lungs. These were people he’d seen day in and day out. People who smiled to his face. Now they stood there gawking like he was some kind of monster. 

The officers shoved him toward the back of the police car. “I didn’t do anything!” Lyon shouted, his voice raw with anger. “You’re making a mistake!” 

“Sir, cooperate,” one officer said flatly, as though Lyon’s protests were nothing more than background noise. 

Lyon stopped fighting. He looked back one last time as Martins tried to follow, his expression wild with worry. “Martins!” Lyon yelled, his voice thick with urgency. “Find Kathryn! Do you hear me? Find her!” 

Martins nodded, but before Lyon could say anything else, the car door slammed shut, cutting him off. 

Inside the car, everything felt still, except for the hammering of Lyon’s pulse in his ears. His breathing was heavy, his hands flexing against the cuffs. He leaned his head back, staring blankly at the roof of the car. 

Murder. James. Ten years ago. The words swirled in his mind like smoke, suffocating him. He didn’t even know where to begin. 

He gritted his teeth. Wendy! 

The police car started moving, pulling away from the building. Through the window, Lyon saw his office disappear, the people growing smaller in the distance. He closed his eyes, trying to steady himself, but all he could see was Kathryn’s face. 

She needed him. She was out there somewhere, afraid, alone, and he was being dragged into this mess. 

His fingers curled into fists, the metal cuffs biting into his skin. 

“Wendy! You won't get away with this!” He muttered. 

Martins pulled into the driveway so fast the car tires screeched. He jumped out without even shutting the door properly. Inside the house, Fiona and Trisha were already waiting, their faces full of panic and questions they couldn’t find the words to ask. 

Martins stepped inside, his expression hard, almost angry. Fiona rushed toward him first. 

“What happened? Where’s Mr. Lyon? What’s going on?” she fired, her voice trembling. 

Martins just stared at her, his chest rising and falling like he was trying to hold himself together. 

“They arrested him,” he said finally, his voice low but heavy. 

Fiona froze, like someone had turned her to stone. 

“What?” Trisha’s voice cut through, sharp and loud as she stepped closer. “Arrested? For what?” 

Martins sighed, dragging a hand down his face. “They said… they said it’s for a murder. Something about one Mr James, ten years ago.” 

Trisha’s mouth fell open slightly as she stared at him. “Murder? That’s insane. That’s… that’s impossible.” 

Fiona slowly sat down, gripping the arm of the chair like it was the only thing keeping her grounded. “Two tragedies in one day?” she whispered to no one in particular. “First Kathryn… now this?” 

The room fell silent for a moment, just the sound of Martins’ breathing and Trisha’s thoughts running a mile a minute. 

Then Trisha spoke again, her voice quieter this time but clear. “Who’s doing this? Who hates them this much?” 

Her mind flipped through everything that had happened so far, Kathryn disappearing, Lyon being dragged away, Martins looking like a man who had seen too much. And then, like a spark in the darkness, a name clicked. 

She looked straight at Martins. “Who’s Wendy?” 

Both Martins and Fiona froze like they’d been slapped. Trisha watched their faces carefully. It was like she’d hit a nerve they weren’t ready to expose. 

“Wendy?” Trisha repeated, her voice stronger this time. “Kathryn mentioned her. More than once. Who is she?” 

Fiona glanced nervously at Martins, as though waiting for him to answer first. Martins exhaled sharply, shifting his weight. “She’s… she’s someone who’s been hanging around Mr. Lyon for a long time. Obsessing over him. She’s dangerous, Trisha.” 

Before Trisha could press him further, Martins suddenly froze, his eyes wide, like a lightbulb had just gone off in his head. 

“Wait,” he said, almost to himself. “Wait, wait, wait…” 

Fiona sat up straighter. “What is it?” 

Martins turned to look directly at Trisha, his expression so serious it sent a chill through her. “I think I know who’s behind all of this.” 

Trisha stared at him, her heart pounding. “Who?” 

“Wendy,” Martins said, the name dropping from his mouth like a curse. “It’s her. It has to be. Kathryn being taken, Lyon getting arrested, it’s not random, Trisha. It’s her. She’s been waiting for something like this for years.” 

Fiona looked like she might faint. “But… how? How could she do all of this?” 

“I don’t know yet,” Martins said, pacing like he couldn’t sit still anymore. 

“See Trisha, you have to come with me!” Martins suddenly said, motioning towards the car. 

“And me?” Fiona shouted. 

“Just stay behind and stay alert.” Martins said, as Trisha joined the front seat as Martins drove out speedily.