CHAPTER 76: WHAT IAN DID? (1)

Ian spent the better time of the night before, after Shelby had left him, going through the portal he had reluctantly opened on the vast computers in his cold room. The more he unearthed, the more pronounced his frown became.

His mind wandered back to the proceedings of that day, trying to link the details that he remembered vs what Shelby had told him and also the details that were now on the screens before him.

His heart plummeted down to his stomach, leaving him with a sinking feeling in his chest.

’This can’t be happening!’

"What happened then?" He dropped his head into his palms, allowing his mind to wander back to that day five years ago.

That fateful day, as Ian stepped out into the sun-drenched streets, he felt the gentle heat radiating off the ground he walked. The air was thick with warmth, and he couldn’t help but feel energized by the sunshine on his skin. It was the kind of day that made you want to be outside, soaking up every last drop of the day’s light.

"Where is she?"

"Your highness..."

Ian gave Currey a disapproving look, causing him to change the way he was speaking, smiling sheepishly. "Chairman, she -"

He hesitated only a bit, but knowing how Ian would react, he held nothing back, "I think she went out with her fiancé."

At the mention of fiancé, Ian’s heart shattered into tiny pieces, and he paused.

"Why did she have to go and get herself engaged to that loser!"

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing for you to concern yourself about."

Currey lowered his head and whispered, "They already have a child; why can’t they get engaged? This level of obsession with Aliya is getting too much! The lady is just twisti-"

Currey’s whispering abruptly halted as he sensed a chilling gaze directed towards him.

"Where is she?"

"I think they headed for the new park, I-"

Ian had already turned and left with this information.

He quickened his pace towards his car just as the sun disappeared behind a large cloud, causing a sudden drop in temperature.

’Just like my mood,’ he thought.

He sat in the driver’s seat and was gone in the blink of an eye, leaving Currey behind.

"Wait!" Currey shouted, running after the car to no avail.

"Why is he so smitten with that woman?! He does not see anything apart from her. She is already engaged, but that still does not deter him? What did she do to him? She is such a witch! ... Just seducing all men she comes across! I mean, who which woman would leave Ian? The one and only Ian and go for that nobody.... What was his name again? Yes! Tyler! Who would do that!"

Currey pinched his nose to mimic Aliya, ’It true love....’

"True love, my arse! She should be firm with the chairman then. She keeps leading the poor man on making him look...."

’What am I saying?’ Currey slapped his mouth several times and cautiously looked around making sure that he was truly alone. He had only been venting because Ian had left him behind, but it was an almost usual occurrence when it came to matters of Aliya.

He walked straight through the vineyards and inspected a few things. Currey looked around when he was deep into the fields and made sure that no one was there, before he vanished from the naked eye.

Ian was about a two-hour drive from the park, and the sun had long since set when he pulled up there.

He parked and then pulled out his phone, pressing speed dial one.

’Why isn’t she picking up?’

He wondered, heading into the depths of the scenic park. Even in the dimmed light of the evening, little fireflies started to flutter, hopping from one flower and leaf to another; Ian was so immersed in his emotions that he could not see the serenity nor the beauty around him. Even though Aliya was not his, he became very unfocused when she was not around. ’That was-’

The phone rang and rang several times, his anxiety growing worse by the minute.

"What is wrong with her? It’s getting so dark now, and she’s not even answering her phone. I can’t help but worry if something happened to her?" He muttered to himself, increasing his strides. At that time, he was determined to search all the nooks and crannies of the park that evening for her. Even with this, he knew that if Aliya was there, she would be at the most secluded part. She had a knack for them. In his mind, however, a different conversation was going on.

’I’m probably overreacting now. Why am I always doing this? Let me just confirm that she is okay! Idiot! Tyler is probably with her. But is he any good?’

Ian strode around for a while and then sighed.

"This is the last remote side that I have visited. I better get back then. She may have left already."

He turned to leave and then stopped by some foliage, running his hands on its delicate petals. Ian paused and sniffed the air. His eyes narrowed, and he looked beyond a thick hedge of bush. He only hesitated for a moment before heading in that direction with determined strides.

The scene that greeted him was startling. But for Ian, that was nothing. He surveyed the place.

A young-looking girl with blond hair sprawled on the ground in her own pool of blood. She looked barely out of her teens! Her hand was pressed on her tummy, which had most of the blood soaked.

Ian approached the girl and felt his heart start to thump aggressively. It was as if it wanted to jump out of his chest. He stopped right by where she lay and squatted by her. Ian pressed two fingers by her throat. Even though it was warm, her pulse was very weak. It was as if she would let go of life at any moment. Even with her bloody self and bruised face, he couldn’t help but acknowledge her beauty.

’This is not the time for such thoughts, Ian,’ He couldn’t help but soften his cold eyes for her sake.

"Alive but barely hanging on..." He observed her for a bit and then added, "With this much blood loss, she won’t survive anyway."

He sighed again and then stood up and turned to leave.

The feint voice of the girl rang out through the quiet night as she pleaded, "P-pleas-e h-elp me..."

***

In the cold room, Ian stared at the screen and then said out loud to Currey, who had been unaware of his thought journey,

"... then I called the emergency services and sent her to the hospital. I remember getting her there myself, as she would have been long-dead by the time the ambulance arrived. I took care of the wound temporarily and drove her there myself. I remember that I was so apprehensive for her. I was indeed nothing like my usual collected self."

Currey stayed in the back and observed Ian’s reactions. Ian looked like he was in distress, trying to get his brains to give him the same or even similar information as his wife had said.

He slapped his forehead several times.

"Why did she say that? It did not happen like that!"

The fact was, if the proceedings had not happened like that, Ian had nothing to worry about, but even Currey, who had limited knowledge, knew that the data on the screen was not to be trifled with.

That data also meant Ian needed to get to the bottom of what really happened that day because Shelby’s version of the event was the most probable.

Currey wisely did not say anything and watched his boss struggle but Currey also knew that this was a fight that was best fought by Ian himself.

’He will unearth it! I trust him!’

".... And then I sent her to the emergency room. The peculiar thing was that they could not reach any of her parents. For some strange reason, I signed the consent form for her operation. I even went the extra mile and hung around to ensure she was okay before I left. That’s what I did, right?"

He turned to Currey, this time finally addressing him. It was as if he was seeking a confirmation from him.

"I- "

"Wait- unless I was...."

Currey smiled in a way that suggested that he knew that Ian had cracked the issue’s essence. By the reluctant look on his face, Currey was becoming more sure by the moment.

Ian suddenly stood up, still in his robe and then walked up to a panel on the wall. He pressed his palm against the transparent glass, and a scanner picked up his prints and opened up another larger space for him.

Ian walked straight with his face set in a grim line and selected a red vial from a wall of different-coloured-looking vials.

With no hesitation, he chunked down its contents and then grunted, falling down on his knees and holding on to his head as if in pain.

It was then that a whole space of memory he did not know existed, flooded to him as if he was watching his life in a movie form, but it was that one night that caught his attention, making his heart sink even further in mixed feelings.

*********

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