Chapter 48

It was morning and Jack was fuming, impatient to go and meet up with his mother. Though he didn't want to accept the fact that she could be behind everything that had happened to Ana, even her disappearance, there was a lot of proof pointing to her.

And Jack had to remember how the other girl who had tried to pin her baby on him had quietly withdrawn. Granted, he continued helping her with finances and all that, but he had made sure the child knew he wasn't his dad. Just some random good Samaritan.

But her withdrawal had been so sudden. And when Jack had asked his mother about it, her only words were Don't worry about it. It was strange, really. Jack had never bothered to understand why but now he absolutely needed to know.

He needed answers to all his questions. Jack loved his mother deeply. She had sacrificed a lot for him. But loving her did not mean turning a blind eye to her faults. If she was doing all this, then she needed help, as soon as possible. And Jack, as much as it would hurt him, was ready to give her that help.

He sighed and picked up his coat and slid into it. This was not a conversation he was looking forward to. He knew his mother. She was going to have a heart attack. Okay maybe not literally. But it would hurt her so bad that he was doubting her.

But Jack needed to do this. He needed to put both their minds at rest. His mother, if she was the one behind everything that had happened, needed someone to bring her back to her senses. And if she wasn't, then both of them needed to work hard on their issues. And Jack was probably going to spend his whole life trying to make up for doubting her.

He took in a deep breath and walked to the garage. Today, his driver was not there. But depending on the outcome of his meeting with his mother, the driver could be there at the end of the day. That is why he had him on hold. So that whenever he needed something, the driver was available.

He drove slowly and on an impulse, he dialled Ana's number. It went to voicemail, as he expected. But he spoke nonetheless.

"Hey baby. I'm so sorry about my attitude of the other day. I know it's no excuse. I know I should have trusted you. And I have no excuses for that. All I want you to know is I love you very much and I'm trying to get you out of wherever you can. I'm going to do all I possibly can to get you out of whatever mess whoever out you in. I hope you forgive me. See you soon," then he cut the call.

It was kind of therapeutic. He was talking to her. Even though she wasn't listening, it had made him feel better. He was not going to stop at that though. He had much bigger plans. He was going to find Ana and he was going to cuff her up. And nothing would ever separate them, not even his usual insecurities.

With the usual morning traffic, he reached his mother's office in about thirty minutes. His mother was an event planner. It didn't matter that he was one of the richest people in the country and maybe even on Earth, she wanted to work. That was one thing he had always admired with her.

He looked at the building. His mother had leased the bottom half for her office and some sort of work place, and the top half was always empty. He knew she had leased it as well. But she never used to it. And she would never let anyone set up anything there cause it was going to be embarrassing.

Jack had not understood her reasoning but he didn't try to argue with her. Trying to argue with her when she felt she was the one on the right was a terrible thing to do. You were never going to come to a compromise, just turn around in circles.

Jack walked into the building and as soon as he got in, the sight of his mother's secretary greeted him. He had never really liked the woman. She looked like she was money-grubbing and not only her looks. Her personality as well. But his mother liked her so he had no say in the matter. It wasn't his business at the end of the day.

"Good morning Jack," she said cheerily and Jack frowned.

"It's Mr Knight," he corrected, then walked to his mother's office and knocked. He hated it when people he did not know tried to be too familiar with him.

He heard her almost inaudible oh but to be honest, he did not give a shit. She could cry if she wanted and he still wouldn't have turned back.

Sometimes he could be ruthless. It was no wonder a lot of people in business did not bear any liking towards him at all.

Jack walked into his mother's office when he heard the come in. Yes, he had not told his mother that he was coming. But he was not dumb. Her secretary had probably shot her an email real fast. Cause if it was anyone else at the door, they'd have been turned away.

He walked in with the grace of a lion and sat in the chair opposite his mother. He looked up at her and their gazes clashed. Neither of them said anything, they were gauging each other.

Then Dorothy broke the silence. "Jack. To what do I owe this visit?" she asked with a beaming smile on her face.

"I'm sorry to say, Mother, this is not a social call," Jack drawled lightly, not wanting to hurt her but having no choice. He just couldn't pretend he was here just for formalities when there were more important things to be worrying about.

The smile left Dorothy's face as quickly as it had appeared and her expression became guarded.

"What's the reason for your visit then?" she asked carefully. Jack held the urge to roll his eyes. He did not want to disrespect his mother any more than he already had.

"I think you can guess what I'm here to talk about Mother," Jack responded, looking at her face carefully to gauge her reaction.

But Dorothy's face gave nothing away. She looked as unaffected and as aloof as she always did. Almost like she didn't know what the hell Jack was going on about. But Jack was no fool. He knew his mother knew exactly what he was her about.

"Do I look like a diviner or a mind reader to you? Tell me what you are here for. You might be Jack Knight, but I'm still your mother," she said sharply.

Jack took in a deep breath and looked at his mother. "Mother I am sorry. I may appear caustic and extremely disrespectful while telling you all this. But I need answers," he said apologetically.

"Go ahead. Say your piece," Dorothy said, not even acknowledging his words. Jack sighed.

"Mother, do you have any idea where Ana is?" he asked finally.

"Ana?" she asked, raising one perfectly arched brow. Jack sighed. She was going to make this very difficult for him. She was not going to admit to anything.

"My girlfriend," he said thinly, raising a brow as well.

"Oh," was all Dorothy could say, her face still expressionless. Jack knew that his mother was going to behave exactly like this. He didn't know why he had expected miracles.

"Yes. She's been missing for a couple of hours, a day practically," Jack said. There was still no recognition on his mother's face.

"Where are you trying to go with your line of questioning Jack?" Dorothy finally asked. Her face was completely closed up. It was almost like she was hurt.

Jack swallowed. "Mother, I am just trying to understand this. Not up to 24 hours before she disappeared, she was here to see you Mom. And you said some really caustic things to her. You told her you were responsible for the infiltration of her home. What do you expect me to think? I'm in a limbo here, mother!" he exclaimed, ribbing a hand over his face.

He was put in a very difficult situation. He didn't know what exactly to think at this point. He had no doubt Landon was telling the truth about Ana coming to see Dorothy and her reaction. But he didn't want to hurt his mother. She was still his mother.

"You would believe a girl you met not even a year ago over me Jack. This is the worst kind of betrayal to have ever existed," she said with a hollow laugh.

Jack put down his head, not wanting to meet her eyes. When it was put like that, he sounded like the worst son to have lived on the planet.

"Jack, I have sacrificed a lot for you. I have gone through so much for you. I have done a lot for you. And you come and shoot all that in my face because of some little slut that is trying to pin her bastard son on you." By this time, Dorothy was up and walking around.

She stared at her son. It had never occurred to her that even after the video she had sent to Jack, he would take that little hussy's side. She had expected him to cut all ties as he was someone who could not tolerate infidelity.

Dorothy had to give the little bitch kudos. She had guts, Dorothy would give her that. She was ready to risk her own life and her bastard's life just so that Jack recognized the baby.

"Mother–" Jack started, but Dorothy saw that his resolve had already been cracked. She could get to him easily now.

"Yes, I admit it Jack. I sent that man to her apartment. It was a harmless prank. I just wanted to–"

"Wanted to what? Frighten her? Cause that worked really well. Congratulations," Jack interrupted sarcastically.

Dorothy blanched. That had not worked well. "I'm sorry Jack. I felt like I was doing it for your own safety. Turns out I was right anyways. You saw her kissing that other man. She doesn't care about you–"

"Mother," Jack interrupted quietly. "Are you the one who sent me that video?"

Dorothy swallowed. She kept on making blunders. She had no idea Jack held the girl in such high esteem that he would literally be at loggerheads with his own mother.

"Yes Jack. I was the one," she responded primly. "I was just trying to let you know the type of person she is." Like it was something good. Like it was something to be proud of. Maybe according to her, it was good. But Jack was not fine with it at all.

"Mother, the more you talk, the more seedy things I discover about you. Please do tell me more. Tell me how much you wanted to separate me from a girl that you had to go such ugly measures," Jack said. He was seeing his mother in a different light.

He knew she was ruthless. That was a quality that was good in business and she had passed it down to him. But right now, it was such a disappointment. Even if Ana wasn't carrying his child and she was doing nothing but lying, nothing justified his mother's behavior towards her.

"Jack–" Dorothy said weakly, sending that she was already losing her son.

"Just tell me one thing Mother and I might forgive you. Where is she?" he asked, almost like he had heard her whispered plea.

Dorothy was silent for a moment, clearly gauging the stakes. She came to her decision a few minutes later. "She's at the warehouse. Jack I'm so sorry–"

"Save it. If anything is wrong with her or the baby, we'll be seeing each other in court." With that last phrase, Jack stood and went out of his mother's office, ignoring the frazzled secretary trying to tell him goodbye.