Chapter 10

Chapter 10

ALEXANDER STONE

"you can't find her? I am paying a fortune and all you tell me is that you can't find her? It's a party for Jesus sake and there's a guest list. There are CCTV cameras. She must have gotten off a cab with a plate number. Run the plate number and get the driver's info. Call and ask where he picked her up from. Simple!"

I walk straight into my office as the elevator doors glided open, oblivious to Diana's greetings.

Today has been quite a whiplash.

I had one of my dreams and this time with a more scary experience.

I was alone in the room where my father used to lock me up. It was day at first, and then suddenly, dark shadows crept up on me.

A ghostly hand reached out to my neck and wrapped a noose around it. My trachea jerked and crushed to pieces as the distorted voice whispered.

“Look at me.”

My fingers flex, but I don’t reach for the hands that are stealing my air. If I touch them, they will force my eyes open, they will make me see.

“My dear baby…” The voice is less distorted now, honeyed, almost in a singsong like my mum's.

“Let me look at those eyes…” the familiar voice said

Fuck no.

No.

If I don’t look, I’ll be safe. If I don’t look, I won’t know what will happen and it’ll all be over faster.

Or that’s what I believe as the ghostly harsh fingers jam against my neck and crash the one thing that’s giving me air.

“If you don’t look, it’ll hurt more.” The voice is still honeyed, cool, soothing almost, and I would’ve believed it if

I didn’t know what hides behind it.

“No…”

“Alex, look at me.” the voice transitions from feminine to that of my fathers. One which scared me as much as the sight of him.

“I’m going to hit you and make sure to leave marks, you little bastard.” My dad's voice said

“No!” I screamed and that’s when my eyes opened.

There’s a ringing, loud and constant and without any breaks.

At first, I think it’s all in my head. The ringing. The pounding against my skull. The fucking shadows.

My head is the place they go to when they decide to visit me occasionally, just to make sure they still have a hold on

me.

That the little boy inside me that I’ve been slowly killing over the past seventeen years isn’t dead.

He still breathes, still closes his eyes, and has fucking nightmares about the shadows of the past.

He still lives with his demons.

And he is me.

But the ringing isn’t in my head. It’s from somewhere beside me.

My phone.

I snatch it from the bedside drawer and receive the call from the Private Investigator I had contacted to find the mystery lady from the ball.

I should have given the task to a more competent person given the fact that he has not given me a tangible update on the case of my missing or dead mother. A task I had given him nearly five years ago.

If my mum truly died, there should be a record and since there is none, it can only mean that she disappeared.

Where, is what I do not know? She couldn't have vanished into thin air. Where is she hiding? She has a lot of questions to answer and I won't stop until I find her and bury all the guilt there is in the world in her heart.

"I have done all that but the car wasn't captured on the CCTV. And when she left the hotel, she still had her mask on and as I said earlier, these things take time" Pharrel said.

I take my fingers through my hair. I had less than twenty-four hours to stop a stranger from carrying my baby.

What if she is ovulating and the deed had been done? Or what if she trusted the protection of the condom too much to not take contraceptives?

Different circumstances overwhelmed me and I know being hopeful for the best does not work in this type of situation.

Something distracts me again. My intercom. It's Diana.

"I want an update in the next hour, Pharell and if not, you are fired" I end the call abruptly.

I pick up the intercom.

"What the fuck is it Diana?" I know it's wrong to lash out my anger at other people but hey, I have no choice here besides, I pay her handsomely well to take my shit.

"You have a call from PR," Her voice said, clumsily over the phone.

"Send it... Yes, Davis,"

"We have a problem" Davis never calls when there's a problem because he gets it fixed before it gets to me. The fact that he was calling to tell me first made me realize whatever the situation was, is dire.

"What?"

"You are topping the headlines"

"And..." That's not news.

"With a lady. Somebody took a video of you with a lady from the ball on Saturday night and in the clip, you two were kissing. What's worse is that Sophia went on Instagram live this morning to spew a lot"

"What.did.she.say?"

"Quite the contrary of what you are thinking. She defended you but the problem is, I think it's a carefully thought damage control to continue to make her look good and make you look bad. People are beginning to boycott La'belle and from the looks of it, stocks will plummet. You are the only one facing the backlash here because nobody recognizes the other lady"

Since our divorce, I hadn't concerned myself with what Sophia did. If that was the justification she needed to make herself feel better, I didn't mind the narrative she gave the media. Maybe she thought that I would one day come out clean and tell my side of the story but the truth is I had planned not to since she wasn't affecting me in any way. Now, I am not so sure anymore.

I tried to act like I'm unbothered because we were friends before anything else and I thought that we are still friends. It's about time I give her a call and set the records straight. I have had it.

How do I fix this? Charles is going to be happy should he see this. I can imagine the smirk on my father's face.

"What's the fix? I am sure you have one. Don't you?" I really hope he does because I can't really come out and say "I had a one-night stand with a lady who caught my attention"

"Send a press release to the media. Our side of the story is that she threw herself at you"

I arch a brow. That would be unfair to do to the mysterious lady but, I don't play fair when it comes to protecting what's mine- my company.

"I know it sounds crazy but trust me when I say it will die down with that kind of countermeasure"

I do trust Davis. He's the oldest staff I've got and if he is suggesting that opinion, it means that it'll work.

"Do your thing. I will give Sophia a call"

It's time she stop meddling in my business.

I shoot her a call once I hit the end button with Davis' call.

"Hi, this is Sophia, I am not available to pick up now so leave me a message," The voicemail said over the phone.

"We need to talk" That was all I said before ending the call.

The girl who wore red and was mouthy is no longer here.

Under normal circumstances, I’d let it go.

Infact, I should be glad that she is not one of the clingy ones who demand

to have my phone number or tells me to call her.

But the fact that she left without a word sends sparks of fire through my veins.

My flings don’t disappear on me. Ever.

And yet, this woman didn’t think twice about it.

That’s a fucking first.

I fuck a lot of women—like, a lot, so many that I’ve lost count—but none of them has been as memorable as the girl who made me lose my rationality.

I can't believe I am spending minutes of my time fantasizing about a one-night stand.

Get a grip, Alexander! She is just a one-night stand. A fling. Nothing more.

I turn around to catch Diana staring at me. I shoot her a stare back and as usual, she went back to what she was doing.