CHAPTER 48: FOUND SOMETHING

Cassandra’s eyes locked onto Erica, and she let out a scoff. "Look at that," she muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. "Still clinging to your childhood friend like a pathetic little girl who can’t move on."

"Come on, Cass," Daniel said, tugging at her arm. "Let’s just go."

"Stupid and pathetic," Cassandra continued, shaking her head as Daniel led her toward the door. "Some people never learn to grow up."

I started to rush toward the stairs as I saw Erica turn around, but Axel caught my arm.

"We need to have a chat," he said, his voice leaving no room for argument.

I nodded reluctantly. "Let me just check on Erica first."

I climbed the stairs and found Erica sitting on her bed, looking shaken.

"What happened down there?" she asked. "I heard shouting."

"You should have stayed in the room like I asked," I said, sitting beside her. "It was nothing serious. Just some family drama with my sister."

"It didn’t sound like nothing."

"Everything’s fine now. The police left, and so did Cassandra. You don’t need to worry about it."

Erica studied my face carefully. "Are you sure? Because it seemed like..."

"I’m sure," I interrupted. "Now, I need you to rest. I’m already running late for work, and I still need to talk to Axel."

I could see she wanted to ask more questions, but I was already heading for the door. Deep down, I was dreading the conversation that awaited me with Axel, especially given how distant and cold he’d been since last night.

I made my way downstairs slowly, hoping to avoid the inevitable confrontation.

But when I reached the bottom of the stairs, I could hear Axel moving around in the kitchen. I lingered by the staircase, checking my phone and pretending to be busy, hoping he would leave for work before I had to face him.

Minutes ticked by. I heard the front door close and let out a sigh of relief. He was gone.

At the office, I tried to focus on work, but my mind kept wandering to Cassandra’s cruel words about our mother. "It’s too late," she’d said.

What did that mean? Was Mom getting worse? Had something happened that I didn’t know about?

I pulled out my phone and tried calling my private investigator. I know we talked not too long ago, but it felt like a while, as I needed answers. The phone rang several times before going to voicemail.

"Mr. Kendall, this is Layla O’Brien. I need an update on the case. Please call me back as soon as possible."

I tried again an hour later. Still no answer.

The fear that it might actually be too late to see my mother again was eating away at me. What if Cassandra was right? What if Dad had completely turned Mom against me, and I’d lost my chance forever?

I called Helena into my office. "I need you to clear my schedule for the rest of the week."

"Is everything alright, Mrs. Layla?"

"I have some personal matters to attend to. Just reschedule everything for next week."

Helena nodded and left to make the arrangements. I couldn’t concentrate on work anyway. I was too worried about Mom, frustrated with my investigator who wasn’t responding, and anxious about having to face Axel at home.

I left the office early, hoping to avoid running into Axel. But as I approached my car in the parking garage, I saw a familiar figure leaning against it.

Axel was waiting for me.

"Going somewhere?" he asked as I approached.

"Home," I replied curtly, unlocking the car.

We drove in almost complete silence. I could feel the tension radiating from him, but I wasn’t in the mood to deal with another confrontation.

"You’ve been avoiding me," he said finally.

"Why would I? I was just busy."

"Don’t lie to me, Layla."

I didn’t respond. What was the point? He’d already made it clear that our arrangement was strictly business.

When we got home, I headed straight for the stairs, but Axel blocked my path.

"We’re having that conversation now," he said firmly.

"I’m tired, Axel. Can we do this later?"

"No. We’re doing this now."

I crossed my arms, resigned to whatever lecture he was about to give me.

"You can’t keep giving the enemy cards to use against you," he began. "What happened this morning with Cassandra? You almost gave them exactly what they needed to have you arrested."

"I was defending myself!"

"You were about to assault her in front of police officers! Do you have any idea how that would have looked?"

I knew he was right, but I was too frustrated to admit it.

"And another thing," he continued. "Erica needs to leave. As soon as she’s well enough, I want her out of this house."

"Axel, please. She has nowhere else to go."

"That’s not our problem."

"How can you be so heartless? The other day, you were willing to help her, and now you want to throw her out on the street?"

"It was just minimal assistance, like I said last night. Now, she’s a liability living under our roof."

"She’s my friend!"

"And this is my house!" His voice rose slightly. "I won’t have dangerous people coming after someone under my roof and putting us all at risk."

I stared at him, trying to find some trace of the man who had defended me against the police this morning. "I don’t understand you, Axel. One minute you’re protective and caring, and the next you’re cold as ice."

His expression hardened even further. "Don’t expect anything from me, Layla. I thought I made that clear last night. This is business. Nothing more."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving me standing there feeling more alone than ever.

I went to my room and closed the door, his words echoing in my head.

The people I’d lived with my whole life, my father, my sister, were now my enemies. And the one person I’d thought might actually care about me had just reminded me that our relationship was nothing but a contract.

I didn’t know what to feel anymore. Anger? Hurt? Disappointment? All of the above?

Eventually, exhaustion took over, and I fell asleep on top of my covers, still fully dressed.

I woke up to the sound of my phone buzzing incessantly. Groggily, I reached for it and saw multiple missed calls and text messages from my private investigator.

The messages were urgent: "Have proof. Need to talk ASAP." "Something big. Call me." "Time sensitive. Very important."

My heart started racing. I immediately called him back, but again it went to voicemail. What kind of proof had he found? And why was it suddenly so urgent?

I checked the time; it was nearly dinner time. My stomach was empty, and I needed to eat something, even if I didn’t have much of an appetite.

I made my way downstairs to the dining room, where I found Erica already seated at the table. She looked better than she had this morning, though still a bit pale.

As I entered the room, I caught a glimpse of Axel in the hallway, apparently heading toward the front door. But when he saw me coming down the stairs, he seemed to change his mind and quietly made his way to the dining room instead.

I didn’t think much of it; I had more pressing concerns on my mind.

"How are you feeling?" I asked Erica as I took my seat.

"Much better, thank you. I hope I wasn’t too much trouble this morning with all the commotion."

"You weren’t any trouble at all."

Axel joined us at the table, but the silence that followed was deafening. The tension from our earlier conversation hung in the air like a thick fog.

Erica tried to make small talk. "The food looks wonderful. You have excellent staff."

"Thank you," I replied, though my mind was elsewhere.

"I was thinking maybe tomorrow I could start looking for a new place to stay. I don’t want to overstay my welcome."

I glanced at Axel, whose expression remained neutral. "There’s no rush. Focus on getting better first."

My phone started ringing, and I saw it was my investigator calling back. My heart skipped a beat.

"I’m sorry, I need to take this," I said, pushing back from the table.

I answered the phone as I walked toward the hallway. "Hello?"

"Hello ma’am, are you there?" Kendall’s voice sounded frantic, and my heart immediately skipped a beat.