Chapter 97 Too Late for Silence
It was Jude… of all people.
Jude was Marcus’s half-brother but they never got along.
For a second, I just stared at him, trying to place what exactly I was feeling.
“You are the last person I expected to ever see,” I muttered.
He didn’t move close immediately and kept his distance as if he had understood he hadn’t earned the right to step into my space.
“I figured you would say that,” he replied.
“Why are you here?”
He let out a slow breath, dragging a hand across the back of his neck as if he had rehearsed what to say and still didn’t know how to say it.
“I owe you an apology,” he started.
“That’s… interesting timing,” I said and let out a short, dry laugh.
“I know.”
“Oh, wow. I didn’t know apologies show up after everything has gone to hell,” I scoffed, leaning against my car before folding my arms.
His jaw tightened slightly, but he didn’t argue.
“I know I handled what happened between us when we were in college badly,” he continued.
“That’s one way to put it,” I chuckled dryly.
“I should have listened instead of taking Adeena’s side. I found out later that she was sleeping with my friend,” he stated.
“Oh.”
We both went silent for a while.
“So…” I said, breaking the silence.
“You came all the way here to discuss history or is there something else?”
“There’s more.”
Of course there was.
“I knew about Marcus’s plans,” he said.
That instantly got my attention.
“What do you mean?” I asked, straightening slightly.
“I know about everything, Alex,” he replied.
“The way Cassandra was planted in your home and the plan to take over your company. And that pregnancy? It belongs to Marcus.”
I didn’t interrupt. I just watched him speak, even though I was boiling inside.
“I wanted to tell you, but you couldn’t decode my messages,” he added.
“The anonymous texts?”
“Yes. That was me,” he nodded.
“Why anonymous? How did you expect me to decode a text that wasn’t explanatory?”
“Because Marcus watches me. I couldn’t risk him knowing I was still in touch with you,” he explained.
I let that settle then I cleared my throat.
“You expect me to believe you’ve been playing some kind of silent protector this whole time?”
“I expect you to believe I didn’t know how else to reach you without making things worse.”
I looked away briefly, my jaw tightening, then I looked back at him.
“Keep talking,” I muttered.
“One day, I decided to stop hiding behind messages. I was going to tell you everything face-to-face, so I followed you.”
“And?”
His lips pressed into a thin line.
“Marcus found me before I got the chance.”
“So what did he do?” I asked, my eyebrows furrowed.
“He threatened me and he made it obvious he was willing to act on it.”
“Wow!”
My fingers curled against my arm and at that moment, I wondered if I ever knew Marcus.
“The day Cassandra collapsed in your house, I was there. I went to warn her to tell Marcus to stay away from me.”
“What?!” my brows pulled tighter.
“I was the one you saw at the hospital too.”
“I know it doesn’t look good. But if I had moved hastily, he would have cleared everything, maybe along with me.”
I let out a sharp breath and shot him a knowing look.
“Are you willing to tell all this to the police?”
“Of course,” he replied.
I didn’t know what unsettled me more: what Jude had said or how much of it already made sense.
JOAN COLE’S POV
The first time I heard Alex’s name that morning, it came from small talk.
I was at the site, reviewing fabric samples with my team, when two consultants walked past behind me.
“… I’m telling you, it’s worse than they are saying.”
“Their investors are already pulling back,” one of them said.
“Over what?” the other one asked.
The first one lowered her voice, but not enough.
“Internal fraud. I heard it was someone close to him. Apparently, it’s messy.”
I didn’t look up. My fingers kept moving over the fabrics, but my attention had already shifted.
“Who?” the other one pressed.
“Alex Hart. His friend betrayed him.”
For a second, my hand went still.
Then I picked a swatch like it didn’t matter.
“Oh my God! Are you serious?” the listener whispered.
“Dead serious. I heard it from someone who works with their finance team. It’s not small money.”
I placed the swatch back carefully.
“People are saying it might drag the whole company down.”
That did it for me, and a tightness formed in my chest.
I exhaled slowly and forced back my expression to something neutral before turning around.
“Whose company did you say it was again?”
One of them blinked, slightly startled before recovering with a small smile.
“Alex Hart…”
“You know him, don’t you?” she added carefully.
“Used to,” I said simply.
That was enough to shut down further questions.
I turned back to the table, but the swatch no longer held my attention.
I tried putting all the pieces together.
Internal fraud, someone close to him, messy.
It didn’t align and that was the problem.
Because if it didn’t, then it meant he hadn’t seen it coming.
And that was dangerous for someone like Alex.
I pressed my lips together, annoyed at myself.
This wasn’t my concern and whatever was happening in his company had nothing to do with me.
Still, as the conversation behind me shifted to something else, the thought stayed on my mind longer than I wanted it to.
By the time I got home that evening, I had successfully pushed it to the back of my mind.
I dropped my bag on the chair and slipped off my shoes, rolling my shoulders as I headed for my room.
I took a warm shower, made something light to eat, and sat on the couch to watch TV when I heard a knock on the door.
I froze, remembering that the stalker hadn’t been found.
Lena wouldn’t knock. She would just use her key to unlock the door.
Dave would call before coming too.
I told myself.
Then who could be knocking?