62__Middle of.

Her arms were tightly crossed, her brows pinched together in a frown.

Clearing his throat, Marc found himself shuffling his feet, looking away. “I can explain.”

She scoffed. “You better.”

“I planned to release him. And I did. Didn’t even keep him for an hour.”

“Wh—” She shook her head speechlessly at him. “You think that makes a difference?!”

He frowned petulantly. “Why’re you yelling at me?”

“No.” Amelia shook her head. “You don’t get to pout after you kidnapped my father. There are consequences for actions, Marc. Why did you do it?!”

“I don’t trust him, that’s why!”

Why did the man end up with a misssing child? Marc planned to get him back in the interrogation room as soon as Arson called with the DNA results and this time, he wouldn’t let him go.

“You don’t trust my dad? Does that make sense? Why would you need to trust him? He doesn’t trust YOU!”

He scoffed. “He doesn’t even know me.”

“He doesn’t need to! He knows the years he spent paying back loans and debts after countless settlements! That’s enough for him to not trust you lot!”

His eyes narrowed. “You’ve lost me.”

Frustration made her clench her teeth and she stomped her foot with a dark sound.

He blinked. Had she just growled at him?

“First, he got arrested,” she spat. “You promised, you’d keep him out of jail after our agreement, but that was a fat lie! Because you then sent him back to jail! And then you kidnap him?!”

“I had my reasons!”

“What reasons?!”

“Sorry to interrupt—

They both turned. “What?!”

Thomas Harris blinked.

Marc frowned in shock. “Thomas. What the bloody hell are you doing in my house?”

Thomas pointed both hands awkwardly behind him. “I came up in the lift.”

Marc started marching towards him and Thomas jolted away. “Woah. Wait! Security let me up!”

Marc grabbed him by the collar. “Why would they do that?!”

Thomas was trying to free himself, one hand protecting his face from any unexpected punches. “Marc, wait!”

“They have orders to let nobody but family up!”

“I told them I was family!” He turned his face away, holding one hand up between them like it could hold Marc off.

“What?”

“I… I told them I’m James’s father. The guy I saw at the lift was clearly young and probably the most gullible of your security team. He let me up.”

Marc shoved him back and pulled out his phone to call security.

Amelia momentarily forgot her own problems and came forward to stare at him with wide eyes. ‘You’re Jamie’s dad?”

Thomas was catching his breath, turning to look at her. Again, the sight of her stopped him short. God, she looked like his mother.

“Dr Parker. Hello. It’s… good to see you again.”

She nodded, waving it away. “Hi, hi. You’re James’s dad? How?”

“Ah…” He scratched the back of his head. “It’s a bit… complicated—”

“Tom?”

Thomas raised his head and Amelia saw his eyes widen.

A look she couldn’t name filled his brown eyes. It was a mixture of pain and fear. “Elizabeth…”

Turning around, Amelia watched Elizabeth stop at the centre of the living room, her wide eyes focused on Thomas.

Lowering her eyes, Amelia saw James beside his mother, looking at Thomas with an unaffected blink.

“What are you doing here?” Liza asked.

She looked down at James and automatically pulled him behind her.

It was too late. Thomas had already seen him and his face had gone pale.

“Elizabeth, is that…?”

Marc hung up and marched back to them. “Take James upstairs, Liza. Thomas is leaving.”

He grabbed Thomas’s arm.

“Just let me see him,” Thomas said quietly. “Marc, I’m begging.”

“If you don’t leave right now,” Marc muttered. “I’ll lose my fucking temper. So, get out.”

“Five minutes, Marc.”

“Don’t piss me off, Thomas. How dare you come here when Liza’s here? You didn’t even have the fucking decency to…” He trailed off, clenching his teeth.

“I didn’t know. If I’d known she was here, I would have stayed away. It wasn’t on purpose—”

Marc started dragging him away.

“Marc, it wasn’t on purpose!”

“Get the hell out.”

Elizabeth hurried forward. “Marc!”

Her brother paused; Thomas held tightly in his grip.

Amelia hurried back into the living room, taking the hand Jamie held out like he was requesting moral support.

Holding him against her, she frowned at Marc to relay that he had to keep things at a minimum in front of the child.

With a sigh, he forced himself to calm down. “He needs to leave, Liza.”

Elizabeth bit her lip, meeting the golden eyes she loved so much. It hurt to look at Thomas Harris and she cursed her idiotic heart for still loving the man.

“Five minutes, Marc,” she said softly. “I’ll give him five minutes. Let him meet James.”

Marc’s eyes narrowed to green slits of fury. “James? Let him meet James?! Are you insane, Liza?”

“Fine, he won’t meet James. You’re right, it’s too early. But let us talk. Just me and him.”

He stared stonily at her. She was out of her mind. It was like she didn’t remember the nights she’d spent screaming and crying in his house where her mother wouldn’t see her. She’d forgotten all the pain this bastard and his father had put her through.

“Marc.” She had tears in her eyes. “Please.”

Thomas swallowed hard, feeling his heart break at the sound of her voice.

He’d lived for years keeping himself away from Elizabeth Aryan. He kept seeing her lately and it was destroying him inside. He wanted her back with every fibre of his being, but he couldn’t push it.

Not after the promise he’d made her to stay away.

Releasing a heavy breath through his nostrils, Marc visibly collected himself and stepped away from Thomas with bunched fists.

“Fine.”

*********

Thomas and Elizabeth stood before each other, silence between them. The entire room was in silence and the reason was a very obvious one.

Amelia stood in puzzlement as she looked at Marc. With hands crossed over his chest, he stood right between them like he was about to referee a wrestling match.

What on earth was he doing? Why was he looming over them like the shadow of death?

Turning his gaze away from James, Thomas nervously glanced at Marc, looking away when he glowered at him.

James had lost interest in all of them, trying to put his fort together in one corner of the large living room.

Sneaking up besides Marc, Amelia leaned toward his ear. “What the heck are you doing?”

He glanced at her. “I agree, this is insane. But she wants to talk to him, I couldn’t stop her.”

She blinked flatly. “That’s not what I meant.”

Elizabeth shot her a subtle look of gratitude and Amelia smiled, grabbing Marc’s arm.

“We’ll just step out for some ice-cream.”

“No, the bloody hell we won’t,” Marc said.

“Yes, we will,” she muttered, tugging him along.

“Thanks,” Liza said quietly.

“I want you out of here by the time I return,” Marc muttered as he was dragged away. “Elizabeth, don’t hesitate to call security if he tries to go near James.”

Amelia pushed him into the lift and got in with him.

He lurched towards the closing doors. “And also—”

The doors shut and he was pulled back by Amelia.

Huffing, he straightened and glared down at her. “Why did you do that?”

“You were clearly failing to read the room. Those two wanted to talk. Alone!”

Frowning, he turned away. “Nothing good ever comes out of their talks.”

She tilted her head. “I had no idea that Thomas was Jamie’s father! How? Aren’t your families enemies?”

“That’s why it’s a secret,” he muttered. “James had the misfortune of being born to parents who both value their material possessions over him.”

Quietly, Amelia thought it over. The Harris family were even more closely connected to the Aryans than she had thought. Her father had known that, hadn’t he? That’s why he’d told her to stay away from the Harris family, no matter what. Then, that had to mean that the Harris family were also involved in whatever secrets the Aryans were keeping. The secrets surrounding her mother’s death.

Speaking of her father…

She looked at Marc just as the lift opened.

He marched out and she followed.

“Wait, you didn’t apologize for kidnapping my father!”

He frowned as he walked, rolling up his sleeves. “You didn’t ask me for an apology.”

Amelia scoffed. “I shouldn’t have to! You’re not supposed to kidnap people, especially not your wife’s father!”

“I told you, I had my reasons. Besides, I didn’t actually kidnap him. What do you take me for? I simply got Arson to ask him a few questions, I didn’t realize it would frighten him.”

He walked out of the dark car park and stood on the gravel leading to the gate so he could look up at the living room windows.

“Yeah, right, it wouldn’t frighten him to be dragged into a van. Give over! Dad definitely said he thinks Marc Aryan had him kidnapped. He was tied!” She huffed, marching towards the gates. ‘That sounds like kidnapping to m—”

Amelia paused. Looking around her, she realized Marc had stopped walking.

“Am I talking to myself?” she questioned. “What are you doing? We’re going for ice-cream!”

“I don’t like desserts,” he muttered, staring up at the windows with narrowed eyes.

“You look like a stalker with those dark circles under your eyes,” she spat. “Come over here.”

“Don’t order me about, Amelia.” Especially not when she was the reason he had the dark circles.

“Come or I’m having ice-cream without you.”

He looked blankly at her. “Be my guest.”

She scoffed. After having her father interrogated, he didn’t even seem sorry at all. She decided she needed a break from Marc after all. Elizabeth was there with James, so Amelia would take a guilt-free break!

“Fine!” she said. “You stay there and obsess over your sister’s love life! I’ll go and have ice-cream. In fact, I’ll be having that ice-cream with the first handsome man I meet on the way!”

His eyes lit up with mild shock, brows drawing into a frown. “I see. You’re attempting to use some jealousy tactic. Unfortunately for you, I’m immune to jealousy. And even more unfortunate, I doubt you’ll find a man there more handsome than me.”

She gaped at him, her jaw going slack. With a weak huff, she searched for a comeback to his sharp and annoyingly classy statements.

In the end, she only crossed her arms with a rather juvenile scowl. “Whatever! You think you’re all that, Marc Aryan?! You’re not handsome at all.” She was lying through her teeth. “You’re mid!”

“Mid? Is that short for middle? I’m middle of what?”

“Yeah, you’re mid and I’m gonna have ice-cream with a real handsome man! You can stand there and stalk Liza and Mr. Harris and also think about why it’s sick to kidnap people!”

She spun on her heel and marched to the grand gates.

He watched her punch numbers on the security pad, her every gesture filled with anger. Finally, the gate opened and she stomped out of the yard and down the clean, empty street.

Marc stood there for a moment more and then reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone.

The number wasn’t saved on his phone, but he’d seen it once, so he remembered it.

He dialled and waited. The call was immediately answered.

“Marc?” The voice was filled with doubt and confusion. “Woah. I can’t believe you’re calling me.”

“Good morning, Olivia.”

“Good… good morning. May I ask what this completely unexpected call is about?”

He frowned toward the gates. “I have a question.”

“Oh. Okay?”

“What does… “mid” mean?”

*********

Belinda Harris sat quietly in the backseat of her car. She’d given the driver instructions to park a little distance away from Marc’s house.

Not close enough to be spotted, but close enough to monitor everyone who went in and out of the house.

Of course, she’d had to sit through the boredom of Elizabeth going in and then the shock of seeing Thomas go in, but finally she was rewarded for her effort.

Finally, after over an hour of waiting, she watched as Marc’s wife came marching out of the place.

Making sure her shades properly covered her face, Linda watched Amelia march right past her car.

A soft smile curved her plump lips as she glanced at her driver. “Follow her, Rupert.”

She loved it when things went well. She needed to have a talk with Amelia Parker and she would do it today.

She couldn’t wait to see the look on the girl’s face when she told her that she knew everything. From her mother’s death to her secret reasons for the fake marriage with Marc. Belinda knew everything.

She was ready to make Amelia leave Marc. The girl would do it. If not for the money Linda would offer her… then definitely for the evidence of her mother’s murder that she would give her.