Adrian's POV

"F*ck! What do you mean he's dead? Are you sure?" Nate asked, looking alarmed.

I read the text once again before nodding. "Yeah, this person is authentic. It seems that the bastard died of sudden cardiac arrest. As if he even had a heart to begin with." I scoffed.

"He got off easy despite his evil doings. But what does it mean now? If the sick murderer is dead, who is behind this then? Who is trying to frame Eves?" Nate asked the question that was burning in my mind.

"F*ck!" I threw the phone away once again in frustration, stepping on it until the screen broke to several pieces. I had no answer to his question. Just when I thought I had figured it all out, I found out that I'd been following the wrong lead all along.

Nate sighed. "Does Dylan have a son who wants to take revenge or something?"

I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration. "I've looked at it but no. He apparently has only two daughters who are happily married and living far from the States. His wife left him some years ago. I've checked her bio, she's not suspicious."

I could feel a heachache coming at me with its claws out to torment me. The amount of alcohol I had imbibed last night did not help the matter at all. I knew it would only be a matter of time before I'd be arrested. A chill ran up my spine at the thought of this person trying to harm Eve. If not her uncle, then this person must have some serious ulterior motive to harm her.

"So what does it mean? This is getting too frustrating!" Nate added, running his own fingers through his hair. "Wait, Ad, if this is not Dylan's doing, then the person responsible for this can be more dangerous. We have to warn Eves! She must be in her apartment. We can go check on her!"

I stopped him when he made a move to get up and leave. "That would be of no use. She's not in her place." I said.

Nate stopped on his track and raised his eyebrows. "Then where is she? And how do you know that?"

"She's at her grandparents' place. She's reached there an hour ago." I replied calmly.

"Okayyyy. And you know that... how?" He asked dumbly.

I sighed. "Nate, did you seriously think I'd leave her without security knowing that there's a death threat literally looming over her?" I asked in exasperation.

"Oh, right." He replied lamely. "How long have you been tracking her?"

I rolled my eyes at him- a feature I'd acquired from her, I thought sadly. "Remember when she went to Paris?" I continued when he nodded. "Well, she had her own security but I discreetly asked her head of security to keep a close eye on anything that might harm her. I didn't know about all this then but I still wanted to be careful considering she was going to a different country.

I know very well that she can take care of herself- it wasn't the first time she'd be traveling as she said, but it was the first time she was going with the intention of opening an organization on foreign land. She doesn't know how nasty people can be when they don't get their way- especially to a 'foreigner' who is about to do business on their land. I knew she would disapprove if I told her of this so I asked him to keep me informed of every minor detail. I didn't do anything except strengthen her already existing security system. But I didn't know that they would turn out to be incompetent fools." I mumbled the last part to myself, rage consuming me once again when I remembered what the Blanchet bastard had done.

After I returned from the confrontation with my dad and Mr. Martinez that day, I had smashed my phone into pieces because I couldn't handle not answering her calls and not responding to her texts. I felt my heart break with every ring and every ping signaling her call or text. I had tried so many times to pick it up, if only to assure myself that what I once had was indeed real. But the old man and my promise to him made me hold back. I felt a mixture of relief and a strong desperation when my phone was finally damaged beyond repair.

I'd been having a bad feeling about  Blanchet ever since she had mentioned her upcoming meeting with him. I had some friends in his circle and knew all about his deeds. So I had arranged for extra security around her for the day of her meeting. I didn't care that she found out about it and broke all ties with me. Her safety was more important then than her anger towards me. Not that it would matter anyway, since there was no means for her to reach out to me and reprimand thanks to my new number I had only given to Ed.

I could still recall that intense dread I felt in every core of my being when I got a call from Ed saying that the bastard had managed to get into her room. I'd felt myself trembling with rage and dread- a lethal combination, I realized later.

"WHAT THE F*CK DO YOU MEAN HE GOT IN?! WHAT THE F*CK WERE YOU DOING? WE'RE YOU ENJOYING THE SHOW? Did I pay you to call me AFTER  it happened? I want everyone who was on duty to be fired. I don't know how you do it but replace them all RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

I cursed him with every words I could recall. The meeting was pushed forward all of a sudden with only Eve and her assistant informed of it. None of the security were informed of it. I felt some relief when I heard she wasn't harmed a lot but my soul was still ice cold.

I knew she needed me that night. I told myself to f*ck every promise and decided to go to her. I knew I wouldn't be satisfied until I saw her, and held her in my arms. I would deal with the consequences later. I started preparing a hot chocolate for her, knowing it would give her some comfort. I had to try it many times because of my trembling hands. I finally managed to prepare the drink after collecting myself several times. My heart was beating furiously against my chest. My mouth was dry and all I wanted that moment was to somehow take myself to her as soon as possible. I prayed every Gods above to help me reach her.

I opened my door hurriedly, only to see my brother Aaron standing right outside, ready to knock. He let out a relieved breath as soon as he saw me. "Adrian, thank God you're here! You need to come home soon. Someone has broken in and dad has been attacked! We called you but you didn't receive our calls so I've rushed to get you. Come on!"

My heart sank and jumped at the same time upon hearing this. Jumped in fright at the thought of dad being hurt and sank when the realization set in that I wouldn't be able to get to Eve. I swallowed a lump on my throat as I followed him after making a call. Aaron raised an eyebrow when I took my phone out of my pocket. I told him I'd changed my number without going into the details.

Dad had been knocked unconscious and the intruder had managed to take away the documents containing the property will made by uncle Nick. I breathed in relief when I saw that he was awake and well. The doctor informed that he had a minor concussion but otherwise alright. He asked to speak with me alone after convincing my crying mom that he was perfectly fine.

"Adrian, son, I'm so sorry I couldn't protect the papers." Dad said as soon as we were alone in his room. His voice were laced with regret and guilt. I hated seeing my father this way- injured and in despair.

I took his hands in mine. "It's okay, dad. You tried. I'm sure we can do something about this. Do you have a copy of the documents?"

Dad nodded, making some tension leave my body. Thus would make the work a lot easier. "That's great. We can make another one. I'll just ask Nate. Don't worry, dad." I assured him. "Now tell me the truth. Dad, how are you? Are you well? Does anything hurt?" I asked, turning his head this way and that, checking for injuries.

Dad winced in pain and I immediately let go of his head with a sheepish smile. "Sorry for that," I mumbled.

He chuckled. "No problem. And I'm alright. Just do a favor and convince your mother that I'm not dying anytime soon. She's been crying as if I'm six feet under right now."

"Dad!" I glared at him, making him laugh a little with his hands raised up in surrender. He suddenly grew serious. "Now I have no doubt that Dylan is involed in this. He has taken the documents and he will be making his move soon. You need to be ready for everything, Ad. And your mother, I don't know how she will react." He said in worry.

I shared his worry. The incident today had left no doubt who it was behind it all. I had my men searching for his whereabouts but there had been no results. I sighed but gave a reassuring smile to my dad. "It's going to be alright, dad. Don't worry."

Mom came inside with a bowl of soup, effectively halting our conversation. It hit me then that dad hadn't told mom about this whole thing, which must be weighing heavily on him as well since they had no secrets between them. I vowed to myself to make that son of a bitch pay for his actions.

I fed the soup to my dad and didn't refuse when mom asked me to stay the night. It was already late, and I felt my insides churn when I once again realized I wouldn't be able to go to her. It would take a least five to six hours to reach there even in my private jet and by that time I would be too late. Besides, I had to do something quick about the company. I had to make it known to the employees that I had taken over.

I excused myself from my parents and went out to make a call to Ed. He picked up immediately. "How is she?" I asked immediately.

"She doesn't seem fine, Mr. Stone. I don't think she has slept at all." He replied gravely. My heart let out a desperate cry on hearing this. I clenched my hands at my sides before gathering the courage to speak again.

"I have sent some muffins and a hot chocolate to be delivered there. He must reach you in a couple of hours. Give them to her. She might appreciate it. And... my jet will be on standby there in the morning. Use it in case she decides to come back." I said, feeling glad that I had sent dad's jet there. It had mom's name on it. I could only hope she wouldn't notice it. Even if she did, it would still be easier for her to accept than mine, which had her name written in big bold letters.

"Sure, sir." Ed replied.

"And Ed?" I called out.

"Yes, Mr. Stone?"

I swallowed harshly before forcing the words out of my mouth. "Don't let her know it's from me."

*

"God, this is a mess." Nate breathed out once I had finished telling him everything. I nodded in agreement at the same time my mind was running thousand miles per minute. Everything had been pointing towards Dylan as the culprit and now here I was, finding out that he had been dead for four months.

"So that was why you weren't here that day before the court hearing? You went to Paris and taught the Blanchet bastard a lesson, didn't you?" Nate asked rhetorically but I nodded anyway.

"And you are the one behind that artwork on his face." I nodded again, smirking a little when I remembered how he had pleaded me to stop when I threw punches over and over on his face.

"But how did you manage to convince the women to press a charge against him? As far as I know, he has shut every one of them up."

I shrugged. "He had shut them up with money. I offered more. To some he had threatened. I offered security and a place far from him. They were already having enough of it so my offer just made the work faster."

Nate spoke again. "Adrian, do you think you're doing right by hiding the truth from her?"

I thought for a while before sighing. "I don't know, Nate. I don't know what I'm doing at all, hurting myself and hurting her. Everything around me is f*cked up. I know that Eve is level headed. She's not the one to take any rash decisions on whim. I want nothing but to tell her so that she'd be extra cautious. But at the same time I can understand Mr. Martinez's fears. There's this possibility that she would choose to attack, considering it's her company and her parents that are involved- the things that hold highest importance in her life. There's no telling that she wouldn't seek revenge if she knows about the real reason behind her parents' death. I can't risk it."

Nate nodded. It was silent for a while before he spoke again. "So you have appointed people to follow her around? Is that all or have you done something else as well?"

"I've had them connect her car's GPS with their and my phone so that we always know where she is. I would've done it on her phone but her phone's security turned out to be too much for my men to crack without the phone on their hands." I smiled as I thought back to the time when I had easily unlocked her phone as added my number in her contact list as her hot sexy bestie. That felt like a lifetime ago now.

"And I've had some men looking over Eva as well. Mr. Martinez believed Dylan doesn't know about her but I wanted to be prepared. It turned out to be a good thing now because Dylan turned to be dead and this son of a bitch turned out to be someone else I have no idea about."

A thought popped in my head. It was something I had been thinking of since past week. I looked at Nate. "Nate, man, I want you to do something for me."

He raised his eyebrows looking intrigued and signaled me to go on.

I sighed. "There's another reason why I transferred the ownership to my name. As the CEO of Eva's, I wanted to have an access to the capitals of the company. I want to make the transactions to my own company in the similar way as Eve's but with double the amount."

Nate frowned and I could see wheels turning in his head. He looked at me in shock. "Do you mean...?"

I nodded. "I want to make it look like The Stones Inc. is the primary organization involved in fraud. Since I would be arrested, it would only make sense that my company was involved in shady business that I shifted to Eva's after I bought it. It will save her company's reputation as well."

Nate let out a curse, closing his eyes as I sat there silently. He finally spoke. "Ad, I know you're doing this all for her but... ugh. I know how ugly this is going to be but I still can't stop you. I just hope things gets sorted soon. What is it that you want me to do?" He said with a resigned tone.

"When I'm arrested, you'll be my lawyer, of course. Just make sure to draw their attention to the bank statements of The Stones Inc instead of Eva's."

He nodded, looking as if in pain. Nodding, he gestured me to stand up before doing the same. I frowned at him before obeying. I was totally caught off guard when he engulfed me into a hug.

"You've been my bestfriend since we were in diapers. I'm feeling so useless sitting here knowing what trouble awaits you and not being able to do anything. But I promise you I'll try my very best to do anything to pull you out." He said fiercely. I thought I saw his eyes glistening a bit but he hid it by hugging me once again before leaving.

The next morning, I knew it the moment I stepped into Eve's office that the day had come. My eyes met with Eve's assistant's which were glaring daggers at me. I quickly looked away from them, not wanting to be reminded of her because everything I saw, heard, felt or remembered took me to her.

I sat down on the chair in front of her desk. Although I sat in her office, I never used her chair. It was only hers. No one else deserved to sit there. I felt a strange melancholy as I sat. I strongly felt it in my bones that today was the day. My doubts were confirmed when a group of men walked inside the office with their cards held up for me to see.

"Mr. Adrian Stone, you are under arrest for fund embezzlement and fraud."

*

Back to Evelyn

"Ms. White, Mr. Stone has been arrested." Leah spoke from the other side.

I nodded despite knowing she couldn't see me. "I see. Did you get it?" I asked.

"Not yet, Ms. White. But I should have it anytime now."

I made a sound of approval. "Good. You know your job, right? Can I trust you with this?"

She replied immediately. "Yes, Ms. White. I'll work on it right away. And you can trust me. Your wish is my command."

I couldn't help but smile a little at her dramatic enthusiasm. "That's good. Now get working, Leah. It's your turn."

"Yes, boss." She chirped before hanging up. I looked ahead at the trees and birds in front of me, enjoying the calmness for a while because I knew there would be chaos soon.

I got up from the bench and walked towards my- Gramps' car. I mentally patted myself for thinking of taking his car since mine would attract too much attention in a small town such as this. I started driving, all the while feeling like I was being followed.

I drove through the busy marketplace and towards a small park I used to visit frequently when I lived here. I parked the car at the side before stepping out and walking towards the entrance of the park. There was no one nearby because it was a weekday and people were most probably busy in their own world. The fact that the park was somewhat secluded from the busy street made it look deserted.

I looked at my wristwatch. It was nearing noon now. I sat on one of the swings and took out my phone. I had been fiddling with it for sometime when my vision suddenly turned black. I realized that I wasn't alone in the park anymore.

Someone had blindfolded me and was dragging me somewhere with them. I wisely kept my mouth shut knowing no one would hear me here. It was for better because not a second later, I felt my mouth being taped and wrists being bound together. I was roughly pushed into what I felt as a car before the door slammed shut. I heard the ignition of the engine and felt the car starting to move.

I mentally counted the seconds we drove before the car stopped. That would mean I was someplace about 15 minutes of drive from the park. My heart was thudding with fear but I forced myself to remain calm. Panicking wasn't about to save me.

I let myself be dragged towards lord knows where before I was pushed down on a chair. I felt two pairs of hands tying me to the chair. Once they were done securing the knots, I heard the footsteps moving away followed by a creak of a door as it slammed shut. I added that sound to my list.

I could feel another presence around me. Soon after, I heard the footsteps coming closer. The sound let me know that it belonged to the same person. The footsteps came closer and I yelped in pain when the tape was harshly removed from my mouth. The son of a flying bat should be given some waxing sessions, I thought sourly.

I was still internally grumping at the pain when the person finally spoke. "So, ask away. Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here? Please let me go! I know they are the things in your mind."

I rolled my eyes despite knowing he couldn't see them behind the blindfold. "No, actually. I was about to say how '90s kind of cliché of you to kidnap a person and bring her in some old building with creaking door not more than fifteen minutes drive from the park but okay, you can answer those questions as well."

There was silence for some time before the voice spoke again. "Wait. How do you know all that?" It was asked with suspicion lacing the tone. I felt like the voice was somehow familiar, like I had heard it somewhere but couldn't match the voice to a face.

"You haven't been too creative in this kidnapping this, you know? Anyone with brains could figure that out."

I heard mocking laugh. "You think you're too smart for me, do you?"

I scoffed. "Think? Oh, come on! I know I'm too smart for you. Your time, place and method of this 'so-called kidnapping' has proven how stupid you are." I couldn't control my mouth despite my brain asking me to shut up, knowing it would land me in trouble.

I soon realized my brain was correct. A hand grabbed me harshly under my chin while the other pulled my hair letting my head lift up, making me wince in pain. "Listen here, bitch. I'm having enough of your smartass response. Anger me and I'll make sure you won't live to see another minute."

I kept quiet after that. My head hurt from where my hair was pulled. I heard the person laugh loudly. "Good, now that's a good look on you. Keep being silent like that and I might get back into a good mood. Now, I'll try to answer the questions if you are nice."

I pursed my lips. "Okay then. I'll be nice. Tell me who you are."

The voice laughed again. "Straight to the point, huh? I like it."  I flinched away in disgust when I felt fingers running over my cheek. "I am the reason behind everything."

I frowned in confusion. "Can you be clearer? What do you mean?"

I heard a chuckle. "Not so smart anymore, are you? Well, let me elaborate. I am the one because of whom your loverboy- that billionaire cut ties with you. I am the reason why he took his company from you. Ah, young love and sacrifices! Oh, how I love them, especially when they are benefitting me in ways I never imagined."

My heart started thudding furiously and my throat went dry. I licked my lips nervously before asking. "What do you mean?"

The voice laughed again. "What I mean, my dear Evelyn, is that I had initially planned this in such a way that you'd get arrested and I take over your property- and the ones left by your father in your name. Did you know that? He left a huge sum in your and your sister's name. Too bad she died with your parents. You're a lucky one, indeed. You should've died with them."

Even amongst my fears, I felt an immense amount of relief that whoever this person was, didn't know about Eva. I silently thanked the Gods above for this small favor and mentally patted myself for not introducing Eva to the media. My attention was drawn once again when he continued.

"It's a shame that you didn't- die that day, I mean. But still to my benefit, because I got to find out about the property will. Did you know it was with your loverboy this entire time? Aside from the sacrifice and everything, he toyed you the whole time. He wanted you around so that he could have the property your father left for you, which is a lot. Add your company to that and boom- we have a new billionaire! So when I found out about this, I had to intervene, you see? I had to have the property. Now, can you tell who I am, dear Evelyn?" The last sentence was said in a sing-song voice, making me want to pull their vocal cords out.

I narrowed my eyes through the blindfold, hoping that my glare was strong enough to kill this person. "Oh, cut the chase, whoever you are! I know you're not Dylan. He is dead. So who are you?"

"You know about his death, huh? That's... unexpected. But nice. Do you want to know a secret though?" I felt hot breath near my ear as they whispered. I refrained myself from puking in disgust as the person added, "I killed him, with my bare hands. Poor man was so thin that he was out in a couple of minutes I strangled him."

I let out a choking sound on hearing this. If I was feeling afraid before, my fears intensified tenfold at the realization. This person in front of me had killed the one who was responsible for my parents' death. It would mean one thing- this person was more dangerous than Dylan. A chill ran up my spine at the realization but I willed myself to remain calm.

"Sounds... interesting. But can't you remove my blindfold now? I want to see who you are. You're going to kill me anyway so think of it as my last wish." I tried again bravely despite feeling my heart hammering against my chest.

There was that laugh again- the laugh that promised cruelty and madness. It made me feel as though this person wasn't mentally stable but I pushed that thought away. Mentally stable or not, he had killed someone and caused so much pain to everyone. He deserved to rot in the hell of hell.

"You actually look beautiful this way, you know? Especially with the blindfold. I always thought you were beautiful but up close, you're more beautiful than I remember." There was a sigh. "But alas, you'll have to die. I'm not normally a generous person but since you asked nicely- and since you're going to be dead by the end of the day, I'll grant you this wish. Besides, I want to see the shock on your face when you finally know who I am. Ah, I'm so excited! Ready? Three... two... one... and here we go!"

I blinked a couple of times to adjust my eyes to the dimly lit room before hurriedly looking up to the person as if he was about to disappear soon. Once I saw their face, I couldn't stop my jaw from dropping to the floor.

The person winked at me.

"Remember me, Evelyn White?"

---

*hides from angry eyes*

Who do you think this mystery person is?

And come on... don't get angry at me! The next update will be just as soon. Pwomise!

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