Chapter 104 It's Time You Know the Truth - Part 2
Bryce sat there staring at his father, waiting to hear what his father would say about Angela's parents. He had already done his investigation and was already aware that Angela's parents had been murdered. He was already aware that Mr and Mrs Anderson adopted Angela when she was 13 years old, but he still waited to hear what his father would say.
"Angela's father, Mr Adams and I were colleagues from the same college. That was where we met, in college. We became friends because we kind of shared the same business ideas. After college, my uncle passed, and since he didn't have any family and my parents were already gone, he left everything he had for me. I had enough to invest in a business idea we had. We got an additional two people on board, and we became the first four CEOs of the business, A.A.M. Group. Even though it was my money, we divided the shares of the business equally because I believe we all contributed to the business. We were into jewellery designs and artefacts. We hit our target and exceeded it by the end of the first year. We became the talk of the city as it was not that easy for a new business to start, break even and make over 100% profit within a year," Devon narrated, and Bryce listened attentively.
"I am not sure what got into Mr Adams. He was very ambitious. By the time the three of us came to the realisation, he had made himself the owner of the business. The other two members and I went together to his office and confronted him about it. He gave us a file with our signature. We signed our shares over to him. He was the one handling most of the paperwork. We all had our roles to play. The terrible thing we did was to trust him and hence paid less attention to some of the documents he had brought to us to sign. He gave us two options: either we work for him as employees, or we exit the company. I was not ready to work for him, so I left the company and started a new business, Diamond Corporation. A year later, I heard he tried to scam some people, and the people killed him. Even though those who committed the crime died mysteriously a week later, we found out that he transferred the ownership of the company back to us. Why and when, I don't know, but one officer brought the document to me. I called the other two, and they didn't want anything to do with the company, so we sold the company and shared the money among ourselves," Devon narrated, and Bryce listened in silence.
"His daughter, Angela Adams, was sent to the orphanage and was adopted by the Andersons. From the orphanage, I found out that Angela was very bitter because her parents were murdered in her presence. She was bent on finding the murderers of her parents," Devon said. "I could understand her. What those people did to her parents in her presence was very cruel. They traumatised a 13-year-old girl and scared her for life," he added.
"Is that why you didn't want me to be with her?" Bryce asked, interrupting the story for the first time.
"Not really. I didn't want you to be with her because of her deceptive attitude. I understand she has no love for anyone, and she is just searching for her parents' killers. She will just use your money and break your heart. Dating men to search inside their homes for anything that will connect them to that day is her game now," Devon replied.
"That day you brought her here, and she fainted. I saw this by her side," Devon said and showed Bryce the artefact.
Bryce took the artefact and just looked at it briefly.
"Her father was a collector. This was a gift from him to me. I understand he kept the twin of this artefact in his home. The day he died, the artefact went missing," Devon narrated.
"So this is why you believed Angela killed Elena?" Bryce asked, surprisingly calm about the story his father was telling him.
"Yes," Devon said. " I suspected she may have concluded that someone in this family killed her parents because of this artefact. Your mummy getting killed too, just two days after Elena's burial, confirms my suspicion. She is picking us up one by one," he said, and Bryce frowned, showing a reaction to what his father was saying for the first time.
"Is that why she asked for a divorce at the hospital?" Bryce thought.
What his father just said felt like a perfect explanation for why Angela asked for a divorce at the hospital.
"Have you wondered why she left the hospital and never returned to your home again? I knew she sent you her resignation, but you chose to put her on a long leave," Devon said, and Bryce snapped out of his thinking.
"Yes, I was aware. She sent in her resignation, and you put her on a long leave using the drug incident as an excuse. I know, but I didn't mind as long as she was far away from you. I didn't know she was just giving herself space to plot her revenge," Devon said. "Son, this is why you must stay away from her and double your guard. Get a bulletproof vest and keep it on at all times," he advised.
"I see," Bryce said.
"What? You don't believe me?" Devon asked, seeing the neutral reaction of Bryce. "Or you already knew the story?" he asked.
"I am hearing this part of the story for the first time. I was already aware of Angela's parents' murder, and I already knew that the Andersons had adopted her from the orphanage," Bryce said.
"But?" Devon said.
"But nothing. I am just not sure how to react to the story," Bryce said honestly.
Bryce was listening to his father talk about Angela's father and what he did, but it didn't make him angry. It rather made him feel sorry for Angela. He rather wished he had known this story earlier; he would have treated Angela with more love and care. This was how Bryce felt listening to his father, and this is why he could not react angrily as his father had expected.
"Well, now you know. Please, you are all I have, and I need you to be safe," Devon said.
"As promised, I will get our best lawyers on the case, and I will have Angela moved to a well-guarded place until she gives birth. We take custody of the child, and she can go to prison to serve her sentence, whatever that would be," Devon said, and Bryce remained silent.