67| GOOD NEWS OR BAD NEWS?

"Mom, I think I'm being followed." Titi complained, breathing heavily as she took out a bottle of water from the fridge and began to down its content. Kayla raised a brow.

"Followed? Girl, what the hell are you saying? Why would anyone follow us?" She questioned, becoming alert at the same time. Titi finished drinking and tossed the bottle, taking a seat to catch her breath.

"Hell, if I knew. One minute I'm walking back from this boy's home and the next, a black car—"

"Hold on, what boy's place?" Kayla snapped, cutting her off, to which Titi rolled her eyes.

"Stay with me, mom, that's not the problem here. I was being followed. FOLLOWED, by God only knows who, and I was being followed for almost one hour, but since I didn't have money for any Uber, I kept walking faster, hoping I'd lose the creep. I didn't. He only drove past our house when I got here but I swear he was following me." She said and Kayla stared at her daughter some more before grabbing her, only to spin her around to check if she had developed any kind of injury.

"Mom, I'm okay! They just followed me here, nothing else." Titi said and Kayla looked as if she was about to ask another question when someone knocked on the door. Kayla started towards the sound, but Titi held her back and whisper-shouted at her, "Really? I just told you that I was being followed earlier and now when someone knocks, you want to go open up?"

Kayla's eyes widened as she realized her mistake and her heart began to beat fast. "So.. what do we do?" She asked the teenage girl and Titi seemed to be lost in thoughts for a while but the knocks became more persistent and she slightly jumped at the loudness of it.

"Okay, I'll go check who it is and come back to tell you." Titi said, to which Kayla nodded and she padded towards the door stealthily. When she peeked outside, it was only their neighbor and she sighed in relief, beginning to unlock the door.

"It's Irene." Titi announced, looking back at her mother who said nothing as she pulled the door open.

"I'm sorry." Irene muttered and just when she saw the officer behind her, beginning to shut the door behind her, the man pushed it open wider and stepped into the house, grabbing her arm.

"You're under arrest, Miss Kayla and Miss Titi Castile. For impersonation, amongst others and for being an accomplice to the act, respectively. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say, can and will be used against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one would be provided for you." He spoke, directing the officer behind him towards Kayla. She turned, about to run, but the officer grabbed her in time and fixed the handcuffs behind her back.

Liam finally entered into the house and spoke with a lazy smirk, "Here's where everything ends, Kayla."

Her eyes widened, "L-Liam?"

"Warm regards. Take these criminals away, officer." He responded.

______________

The entire Michelson family was gathered in Arsen's living room, patiently waiting for the lawyer. However, Frema's mind kept drifting off to her son, Josh. The boy had suddenly fallen ill and Frema could not help but think that his sickness had something—if not everything to do with Eron's health. So many what ifs crowded her mind, but she struggled to stay present and act like she was not losing it. She had almost decided to get on her feet and go over to the room where her son received treatment from a doctor to stay with him, but the lawyer chose that moment to arrive and she sat back on her seat, her back straightening. Infact, everyone had sat up at the sight of him and Frema did not miss the scowl on her father's face when their eyes met. She could not blame him. Immediately her father lost his wealth, the man suddenly went AWOL, until he came out of hiding and began to move around with Eron, ditching their family entirely. ‘He had better come to say something good’, Fremantle said in her thoughts.

"Good day—"

"Keep your greetings to your crooked self, will you? Go straight to the point, not everyone has time on their hands." Arsen interrupted the lawyer, Isaiah, when he tried to speak. The man looked taken aback for a split second but he got over it soon enough and cleared his throat, continuing,

"Alright, I'll just go on with it. These documents which I have in my hands contain every single property which Mr Eron Castile took from the Michelson family. Every single property and much more, and I'd be expatiating on that right now."

They all exchanged glances, all five of them. Parents, Arsen, Frema and Riley. They could not hide the shock on their faces and did not speak because of it, allowing the lawyer to continue,

"Mr Eron Castile demanded that today, being the third day of October this year, that I would make sure that I return everything to your family, whether or not he is present on that day. I caught wind of his accident and while that saddens me, a job is a job. His statement is the only reason that this transaction is happening in his absence. But enough of the long talk, let's look into what more Eron wants to hand over to the family."

This time, Frema's father spoke, "Summarize everything while at it, okay? We aren't lawyers, we do not care about the irrelevant terms."

The man nodded and went back to reading out the document with his glass perched on his nose, "In summary, my client, Mr Eron Castile, has instructed me to hand over your companies back to you and other buildings, all the money in your previous accounts has been restored back."

There were series of gasps and small smiles shared in the room but after that short pause, everyone turned to listen to what more Isaiah had to say.

"In addition, my client has doubled the success rate of the companies and improved the building infrastructures, he has also gone into some meaningful investments which was rewarded with mind-blowing profit. Also, my client built one more branch for the company with some of the profit and he has dedicated that one to Miss Fremantle Michelson here. From today onwards, everything I have stated here belongs to the Michelson family and has been permanently removed under my client's name. I'm still open to being your lawyer if you need one—" Arsen chucked a pillow at the elderly man's face and earned himself a shove from his father, but that did not stop him from maintaining his stern glare on him.

"You're lucky there are people around us. I would've ended you." He threatened. Isaiah only muttered some words under his breath and called on them to sign the documents before taking his leave.

Then Arsen grinned widely, "Ladies and gents, we're back."

"Oh my God." Riley suddenly exclaimed, her eyes fixated on her cellphone. All eyes turned to her inquisitively. She slowly lifted her head to look at them, most especially at Frema. Then she swallowed and finally said it,

"Eron Castile has just been reported dead."