"As if I've never walked into a wolf's den before." I smiled at him faintly. I didn't know why he was bothered if I met anyone. Or perhaps he was worried I'd do something that would probably not be good for him.

"Luchellies are dangerous, Liara." He said, gritting his teeth and I chuckled.

"As if you are any less." I taunted. Watching from my cabin as he pushed the crowd aside to find Julie, one thing was for sure she meant more to him. I wondered why he bothered to act as if he cared for me, too.

"I'm not what I used to be. And it's not about me, to begin with. It's about you giving your hands to a hungry lion." He answered, throwing his hands frustrated. I raised my eyebrows at him and clicked my tongue.

"Too late as I've already held my hand up for the lion to take," I said air quoting it.

"Your family, your friends, they all will be at risk. You don't know what he is capable of." He explained as if I was a kid and knew nothing about the world I was already fighting to survive in.

"Why did you come here?" I asked, changing the subject. Arguing with him was a waste of my time, as I had a lot to take care of before meeting him.

"About Shimmers. What have you thought about their illegal business?" He asked. His audacity to barge into my cabin and inquire about my plans so he could rescue Julie.

"Why bother knowing about the details?" I asked, walking away from him towards my seat, finding the topic too boring to even discuss.

"Mr. Charles, please have a seat," I said, directing Charles to take a seat. But neither of them moved an inch. I sighed as Charles looked at Zearo for permission, making me frustrated.

"I have a busy schedule and have lots of things to do. If you are done with your dramas, leave me alone." I said, holding my pen tighter. The handle pierced my skin, and I winced. My habit of holding the pen tighter to control my anger has been a constant struggle these days.

"Stop piercing your already injured hands." Zearo rushed towards me and fumbled with the drawers, perhaps to find the first aid box.

"I can take care of myself," I said, swatting his hands away from me, but his stubborn ass held my chair, not allowing me to move, and pulled my injured hand to apply ointment.

"You behave like a teen getting jealous of her boyfriend giving attention to another girl." He whispered into my ears and I glared at him.

"You can only dream about such horrible things." I shook my head, unable to believe he thought I had feelings for him.

"Why did you ask me to meet you?" Charles suddenly interrupted us and I glared at Zearo, as he was constantly wasting my time. As he applied ointment to my injury, I held a file in my left hand and handed that to Charles.

"My ticket to freedom. Hand this over to the Chief as it's a top priority and holds really important matters." I said, watching Charles as his expression turned sour every second. To clear the misunderstanding that I was using him as a postman, I raised my finger, stopping him to argue back, and continued, "Chief asked me to give this file to you as he believed you as the most reliable staff he had. I hope you understand the importance now." I asked, hunching a little forward and relaxing my hands on the desk.

"Okay." He said frustrated as he still didn't believe that it wasn't my idea to hand him such an important file.

"So, that's it. You may leave." I said, holding my hands up towards the wide-open door. I wished Zearo would also leave me alone, but he was stuck in my office as if I glued his legs on the floor.

"Yeah," Charles replied and walked away, leaving me and Zearo alone. I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, and got back to work. I was doomed after investing in the Shimmers, and the protest made it worse. The Andersons and Co were also not running like I expected and had to think of a way to make it smooth to cover up the losses I suffered.

"What?" I whispered, frustrated as I felt Zearo's eyes roaming around my face. His presence gave me a jittery feeling. Keeping my focus locked on the laptop, I asked him.

"What was that?" He asked, and I pushed the specs closer to my eyes and looked at him.

"What was what?" I knew he was too curious to know about something and was in no mood to sell that off.

"That file. What was in that file?" He asked, crossing his legs in front of me. I gave a once over to the way he was behaving and dropped the pen on the table. My patience level was just about to explode.

"That was none of your business. This- "I pointed at the SAMS label above my grandma and mother's photo and said, "is none of your business. I've been entertaining your acts even though I suffer losses that don't mean you'd cross your boundaries."

"I want to help." He blurted. I took off my specs and looked at him as if he was joking, but no, he had a serious expression that didn't suit him.

"Help me?" I asked, making sure I heard it right.

"Yeah, about Luchellies and the Shimmers. I will help you." He said, hunching down a little.

"Even if I planned on making Julie suffer because of illegal immigrants' disposal?" I asked.

"Julie wasn't involved in any bad work. I am sure about it.'' He said, and I laughed at his kid-like brain.

"Do you have any proof?" I enquired.

"She told me she knew nothing about it. She lost her employees as Logan killed them to tame her.'' If Julie was in front of me right now, I would have clapped for her brain.

"Verbal proofs aren't allowed in court unless verified. I need verified proof." I said.

"Why should you be troubling others when you have made others' life miserable?" He asked.

"This is not about me. This is about the kids rotting somewhere inside the Shimmers." I said, pointing at myself. He's accusing me of something that I did hurt me more than when I felt bad for people who suffered because of me. An unimaginable pain surged across my chest and I whimpered. Mere accusations shouldn't affect me when at least they were true, but still, it hurt.

"Look, I have lots on my plate. Please don't pile more dirt from your past life." I spat. My words came out naturally as I struggled to control my emotions.

"Okay." He said and walked away without giving me a second glance. Perhaps I regretted for a mini second if I hurt him but that flee-past my mind as I looked at the piles of papers in front of me waiting for my attention.

"Weekends huh, who are you kidding?" I asked, recalling Zearo's question as he was driving us back to SAMS when he asked whether we don't give our employees weekend holidays.

"Ah, seriously Liara." I cursed as it hadn't even been five minutes since Zearo left my cabin and I started thinking about him.

Of course, I love challenges but challenges bring threats if you have powerful enemies. I have had powerful enemies throughout my journey to where I am now. But the beginning was worse. I used to get constant threats from the people who either were my competitors or people jealous of my progress.

Sighing, I turned my chair around and gazed at the ladies who stood proudly in the portrait behind me. Even if they weren't physically with me, their mere photo made me feel like I was being watched and cared for by them every time I had a hard time overcoming a hurdle.

Grandma used to say, "Your actual fight is with yourself and not with the surrounding people. No matter how strong your opponents are, if you fight with the fear that evolved inside you as you gazed at them, no matter how powerful your enemy is, you will easily take them down." And that's what I believed in and have worked for.

"No matter how hard I try to find an ending to my crazy imagination, it still gets overlapped with my suspicion," I whispered as I went through the reports of something really important that I was searching for for months.

"Suspicion only takes you to somewhere close to where you should have been." I raised my head as I saw Brian walking toward me. I smiled at his charming face and closed the files that lay open on my desk.

"What brings you here?" I enquired, partly skeptical, as his unnotified visits always give me a heart attack.

"Something urgent came up and when I reached SAMS, I saw the commotion." He said, shaking his head, not at all upset by the hateful words of the people.

"Yeah, that, I just -" I began, but he raised his hand, halting me. I raised my eyebrows. What exactly was his problem?

"Investing in Shimmers had to be by far your best decision." He said happily. His sudden change of demeanor surprised me.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I knew he was not talking about the financial aspect. There must be more to it.

"Shimmers holds the strongest connection to all the crimes of Logan Johns. His father was not aware of it, and Logan took advantage of his power. The same thing goes back to the time when his father was alive. It connected them to Luchellies and, as promised, the Luchellies were the prominent clients of Logan." He explained. Luchellies were indirectly connected to me in so many ways. We had to meet one day or the other. I thought.

"Interesting fact is that-" He paused, raising his hands in the air as if playing music before revealing the suspense.

"Overdramatic." I chuckled and started going through the documents, and he dropped the bomb.

"Your precious husband had him captivated a few days back and has been hiding him ever since." I felt numb. My ears buzzed as I heard it.

"They had an issue that related to Logan's Sister and caretaker of Shimmers, Julie Johns. You might know about that." He pointed at me and I recalled that after signing the contract, he flew to Florida. So that might be the case.

"You mean, Zearo has Logan, and Luchellies are in search of him?" I asked as it was too much.

"I know for sure that he has Logan, but I could not find where exactly he had him locked up." he slumped his shoulder dejectedly.

"The warehouse." I stood up as I remembered my team spotting him near the warehouse when I was hurt. He could only intensify my troubles. I shook my head.

"Make sure you fast-track the search for his mother. By any chance, I have to find her before anyone can." I hurriedly said to Brian, and he chuckled.

"I've been rubbing my ass on a concrete floor for nothing. I'm spending sleepless nights because of that." He huffed as a child.

"I will treat you to a delightful meal," I said, dismissing his childish nature, and he showed me a thumbs up.

"Let me go to California with you." He blurted.

"I can't take you. It's risky." I explained.

"I can take care of myself and I'm sure I will be of help if I'm there." He said. I thought for a second, contemplating his offer. Of course, I needed a tech guy and no one was better than him.

"Fine, fine," I said, grabbing my overcoat. Walking past him, I said, "Tell Aria to book tickets for you, too. I must hurry somewhere. Will meet you there." I patted him and brushed past him, wearing my overcoat.

Walking down the exit, I quickly dialed a number and unlocked my car. "Where is he?" I asked, getting inside the car. After entering the address on the GPS tracker, I drove past the heavy traffic around my office. Twisting my neck, I whispered, "Dear husband, you've got too much to explain." 

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