ENDS

Hunter’s p. o. v.

I stepped into the office with practical everyone in there greeting their good mornings and giving me eyes of pity. Not surprised that they had heard the news too, the media didn’t really give enough options to hide it.

Yeah, my dad had forgotten to call in telling everyone to take the week off. So I had to do it personally today.

Even after I was seated, some employees walked up to my office to practically pay their condolences. I wouldn’t have liked it on a normal day but seeing it was just to show how much they cared, I actually thanked them for it.

Most had shown concern for the whereabouts of Iris, I easily told them that she was alright. Although hiding the part where she had quit her job.

Today, I really didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have a secretary and seeing as the rest weren’t aware, a schedule wasn’t prepared for me. So all I did was go through my planner, hopefully to know what I’d be doing in the office for next week till I found another secretary.

So as I was sorting out whether to have a meeting with Harley and Porters next week, I heard the sound of my door swing open.

And there are practically only two people in this life who’d do that.

Firstly, there’s Iris. Who undoubtedly had resigned so she couldn’t be the one.

Hence that could only mean…

” Dude, aren’t you supposed to be like, dead or something?” Chance’s voice made it’s way to my ear, clearly meaning my second guess was totally correct.

” Unfortunately I’m not ” I replied with a grin as he walked up to me and we exchanged a Bro handshake before we both took our seats.

” How’s you holding up? You know.. with Louisa gone and all?” He asks carefully like he’s afraid that he’s touching a soft spot.

Surprisingly he is.

” First of all, she isn’t gone. She’s temporarily been kidnapped” I corrected.

” That’s the same thing ” Chance shrugged as he lifted a brow and leaned into his chair.

” No. Gone makes it sound like she’s dead which she definitely isn’t ” I sigh and run a hand through my hair.

There was a few seconds of silence before he spoke up again.

” Are we still dealing with Soldo? Or there’s a money starved individual trying to ask for a ransom?”

I thought about that too and funny how I actually wished that was the situation, but this smells too clean not to be Soldo’s doing.

Plus if it was a civilian seeking for ransom, we should have gotten a call by now.

” I strongly believe it’s Soldo, I mean… Louisa got abducted right under my roof at the exact moment of the bomb scare”

” Funny how this happened as soon as you realized she’s your daughter. It looks like he knew and was just patiently waiting for the right time to strike ” Chance said with a chuckle but his laughter came to an abrupt pause as soon as a look of analysis crossed his face.

And trust me, it’s not often that look crosses his face.

” I’m sorry if I may be heightening your tension but I think you’ve got a spy living with you ” he says with wide eyes like he’s expecting me to retort and prove him wrong but when I didn’t he jumped to his feet.

” Hunter you have got to be kidding me!”

” I figured it out too, I’m still silently praying for it to be false but if not…”

” You’re practically living with a killer ” he completed

” And I don’t even have a clue to which one of them is”

The two of us went silent and Chance began pacing the room like he’s thinking.

” Have you thought of placing them under a spy?” He suggested

” Those things cost a lot. I’m not ready to explain to my Dad why millions are leaving the family account ”

” Tell him it’s to hire spies to watch his employees ”

” And why would I want to spy on his employees?”Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

” Because one of them is a snitch”

” A snitch to who if I may ask?”

And at that question, Chance realized the impossibility of his plan.

There’s no way to tell Dad the reason for hiring spies without mentioning Soldo.

And then comes the big question ‘Who’s Soldo?’

After releasing a sigh, he puts his hands in his pockets and stares at the ceiling for a moment.

” This is messed up ” he groans and I actually found his reaction funny that I laughed at him.

What are friends for anyway?

” Really messed up ” I add and watch as he smiles.

” What about the Reid’s?” He asked, still standing.

” I believe Michelle is okay and Mr Reid’s scheduled a meeting tomorrow ”

” just the two of you?”

” Yeah”

” I have a positive feeling about that”

” Me too” I honestly had a hopeful positive feeling.

” Alrighty then mate. I’d leave you to it, I’ll stop by your uncles place tomorrow to check on everyone ”

” Hopefully I’d be home by then so you wouldn’t try anything stupid ”

” boo-hoo.. you’ve got work”

” Nah, I’m off till next week ”

” Then what are you doing here?”

” came to clear out a few things ”

” Ohh… idiot” Chance muttered the last part but that didn’t stop me from hearing it.

I smiled at my meaningless victory and was actually happy that I had a stupid yet a bit helpful friend like Chance.

At least I’ve got one person I can lean on in hours of my idiocy.

But Iris has got my entire family.. definitely not fair.

Speaking of Iris and family…

” Chance, I wanna ask. Did you know Louisa was my kid?”

He actually smiled like I had told him he’s not an idiot.

” From the very first time I set my eyes on her, and I saw her from halfway across in a restaurant where she was with her mom and Mason”

He had also known . Had I literally been that blind??

” And you didn’t find it important to tell me?”

” It’s not my place to tell, but I honestly thought you’d be more observant. I mean how can you not? That girl looks like she was cloned from you ”

” I thought she was dead!” I defended.

” So did I, but I could tell from the beginning. And I believe that you could too but you didn’t want to believe that she’s yours”

” What exactly are you getting at?”

” What I’m getting at, is you had a faintest sense that Louisa maybe your child but you deliberately chose to not believe it. Though I wouldn’t blame you, I couldn’t believe she’d let Louisa live under the same roof as you after everything ”

” I couldn’t believe she even bore my child, she hated me well enough to have aborted”

” Oh Hunter punter… Hated is a past tense. She still hates you ” he finished off with a grin ” peace out Bro ” and like that, he walked out of my office.

His last statement still resonating in my mind…

She still hates you.

No doubt that I may believe his words for once.

As I try to return back to my previous activity before Chance had arrived, a knock interrupted me.

The fact that I wasn’t able to finish this schedule for the past three hours is beginning to irk me.

” come in” I replied and waited for whoever it was to do so.

But when she did, I could literally feel myself pale and develop cold feet.

” Hunny… long time no see” she said in her usual exotic yet sultry voice that was always laced with an Italian accent.

She took slow strides towards my table in her incredibly sharp heels before speaking again.

” Missed me?”