Chapter 84 Blessing And A Curse

Chapter 84 Blessing And A Curse
DOMINIC POV:
I awoke early in the morning and found Eileen cuddled up against me. 

A few days had passed since the podcast exploded and the family had a barbeque bonfire to clear the air. 

I realized that night that she didn’t need alcohol in her to act all giddy and tipsy. The sugar from the soda had the same effect. In my slightly buzzed state, I waited until Leigh had settled with the girls and Dan retreated into his own tent before picking her up bridal style and carrying her to our room. 

We made out like teenagers at a party, giggling and chatting until she drifted off to sleep. Her carefree manner had taken me by surprise. I realized belatedly that she had gone to such efforts to thank me for what I had done. 

She didn’t need to. Considering that I wanted to be of use. I wanted her to lean on me and use me without any concern. Like a real family would. She appeared too indebted to me and I wondered what it would take for her to allow that sliver of doubt in her to dissipate.

I slowly slid out my arm from under her and rolled out of bed. I glanced at her to make sure I didn’t jostle her. It was before six and she had classes lined up. I, on the other hand, needed to be at work for an international call. 

I checked in on the children who were fast asleep before leaving the house for the office. Someone from the security team raced up to my side the moment I stepped into the building. 

“Sir, the man from last time has been lurking around the ground for the last couple of hours.”

I sighed. “Did you take him to the back?”

He nodded. “He demands to see you, but I informed him you are not available without an appointment.”

I nodded. “Have him leave and make sure he doesn’t make a scene.”

I walked away and entered my office. The next few hours passed by in a blur of meetings and preparation. I saw Greg walk past the conference hall a few times and knew he had some updates to give. 

When I finally had a moment to breathe, I called him over. 

“What’s the update?”

Greg grinned. “Things are going better than I imagined.”

From his expression alone, I could tell he was thoroughly enjoying whatever Arther had suffered. The fact he had crawled back in hopes of meeting me alone told me everything I needed to know. 

“His job offer has been rescinded, and from what I heard, he went to their office and threw a fit. Security escorted him out and he has been barred from entering the area completely.” He tried to hide his smile. 

“He will have a tough time finding something new,” I said under my breath. I was happy with how this had been handled.

“But that isn’t all. His student loan repayment starts soon and we bought out the personal loans as well. The lenders have been hounding him for the last few days.”

I hummed. “And his parents know?”

He nodded. “When they couldn’t find him at home, they went to the parents’ place to get the payment. The cops weren’t called because they feared he had done something wrong.”

I didn’t want to embroil them in this mess, but they were part of the reason why Arthur had turned into a menace. 

“So far, they don’t know about Bethany.” That part surprised me. 

“How could they not know what he was up to?” Or they were pretending not to know anything. 

Then an idea struck me. It rubbed me the wrong way. “He wasn’t at home when the lenders came. So, where was he?”

Greg pressed his lips together. “So far, he has been lingering around Eileen. The guards saw him quite a few times but he never approached.”

So, he knew she was protected. 

“Collect the information and turn it over. We have to back him into a corner, but I can’t allow him to harm Eileen in any way.”

Greg nodded. “I recommend you give them more security.”

I sighed. “I already asked Dan to bring in more people. With Leigh staying at the property, I am less concerned. She has her own set of guards protecting the kids, as well.”

Greg looked relieved. But his reason had more to do with Lucy who was frequently out with the kids. “We only need to put more pressure on him, then. I can’t wait for this to be over.”

I chuckled. I understood that it was taking a toll on everyone. And Greg was handling everything from the lawyers to the podcasters who were still grumbling about their video being taken down. He barely had any sleep and his girlfriend was also busy with school and taking care of the kids. 

“Oh, have you called Gardener yet?” he asked out of the blue. 

“He spoke to Eileen. Even if Arthur doesn’t do anything wrong, we have to make sure he doesn’t get the better of us.” Life rarely worked out the way we wanted. And believing my plan was fool-proof would be disastrous.

“So, you’re okay with giving Arthur visitation or partial custody?”

I scoffed. “Of course, I am not. He doesn’t want Bethany but that doesn’t mean his parents won’t either. If he is aiming for Eileen’s salary, we have that covered as well.” I glanced at Greg meaningfully. 

“What did you do?” he chuckled.

“Eileen decided that this isn’t considered a job any more because she is taking care of her own kid. So, she has resigned from her job.”

Greg threw his head back and laughed. “Poor Eileen…”

I shot him a warning look. 

He raised his hand in defeat. “I know, I know. Right now, she needs to focus on Bethany and school. You can give her all the money she wants. But I have a sneaking suspicion that she doesn’t care much about your money.”

I sighed. “It’s a blessing and a curse.” 

Greg rolled his eyes. His phone buzzed and he took his phone out. He groaned when he read the name. “Duty calls,” he said quickly before rushing out of the room. 

I checked on my own phone and smiled when I saw an update from Eileen. She was in between classes and sent me a picture of her lunch. I replied to her, bemoaning my workload before returning to work. 

It was around three in the afternoon when my phone rang again. I glanced at my phone and furrowed my brows. 

‘Why is Leigh calling me suddenly?’ She rarely did unless it was serious. 

I picked the phone up and pressed it against my ear. 

“Dominic, he took the kids. He took the kids,” she blurted out. 

“Who took the kids?” I wondered. “Their dad?”

“Arthur… Arthur took the kids,” she yelled urgently. 

The world tilted on its axis. I felt my heart sink to my stomach. The kids she spoke of wasn’t her own. No, they were mine.

“Did you call the cops?”

“One of the bodyguards did. The bodyguards are already on his tail. But he had a getaway car ready ahead of time.” She stopped. 

“What happened? Explain to me slowly.”

“We went to the strip mall and were walking around for a bit with the kids. I had to take the girls to the washroom, so I brought them in. I thought we had enough guards… I don’t know what happened, but by the time I got out, the police was already called.”

It made no sense. How could Arthur steal both the kids while there were guards around? “Where is Lucy? I want to talk to her.”

“I think she is in the getaway car with Arthur.”

I started walking again. “If Lucy is with them, then I can worry less.”

I couldn’t. But having Lucy meant the kids would be safer. 

I was already walking down the hallway, making my way to the exit. “Keep me updated. Don’t panic. Just stay calm,” I advised her. But it was more for me. I needed to calm down. 

Decisions made in a panic never had good results.

“What about Eileen?” she whispered. 

I stopped mid-step. 

Yes, what about Eileen?

“Dominic, what do I tell Eileen?”