191: VISIT LUKE’S POV After waking up to the sound of my alarm blaring in my ear, I groaned and rolled over, trying to ignore the annoying noise. But then I remembered that I had some things that needed to be done as soon as possible. The night had been tough; I had a lot to think about. I had a lot going on in my mind. My workplace was destroyed–a building my grandfather put so much effort into working on. And on the other hand, Ariel’s son was killed, who happened to be my son as well. It was sad that I couldn’t even spend time with him. And Ariel didn’t arrive home last night. I wondered where she must be right now. I quickly made my way to the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face to help wake me up. As I stood in front of the mirror, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of dread wash over me. This job interview was for my dream job, and I couldn’t afford to mess it up. I turned on the shower, letting the hot water soothe my tense muscles. As I washed myself, I couldn’t stop my mind from racing. I hoped Ariel was fine. She was so upset with me yesterday that I could tell she would have stabbed me if she had a knife in her hand. But it didn’t make sense. How could she just come and accuse me of killing her son when she wasn’t even present in the building at the time got shot? It was like a movie with a bad script; it really had me perplexed, honestly. he After showering, I wrapped a towel around my waist and returned to my bedroom. I quickly rummaged through my closet, trying to find a suit for today. I finally settled on a navy blue one. As I was getting dressed, my phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID and saw that it was Jack. I debated whether to answer it or not. It was about business, and I didn’t want anything distracting me. I just wanted to look for Ariel. I hoped she’d be fine wherever she was at the moment. My phone kept ringing, so I answered it. “Hey, Jack. How’s it going?” “I’m the one who should be asking you that, sir. The building, aren’t we going to get a new one done?” “You do know that’s not the only building of The Smiths here in New England, right?” “I know, sir. But remember that this is something your grandfather worked on. It’s been ruined, and now we have to fix everything.” “I know that, Jack. That’s why I’m leaving you in charge of that.” “You’re leaving me in charge of that, sir?” “Yes. I have things to take care of right now. And you’re the only one I can trust. You’ve been with me for so many years. And you’ve helped a lot in boosting the success of this business. Even though it was already a success before you came, your hard work counted, and I’m really grateful for that.” “Thank you, boss.” 2/3 “No problem. Now, just let me know when you need help with this project you’re going to work on.” “Okay, sir. I promise it’s going to be a success,” he told me. “I know it’s going to be a success. We just need to be careful. Assign security to every other location of our company in New Haven.” “I will do that right away, sir.” We said our goodbyes, and I finished getting dressed. There was no need to grab a briefcase or look at myself in the mirror. There would be no time for that. I greeted Randy and Ethan and walked out of the mansion. Good morning to Marcus, then out of the gate and straight to my car. I drove to Ariel’s mother’s apartment. And the moment I got out of my car, I saw her, Sydney Walker, leaving her house. She locked her door, and the moment she paused, she turned around. Yes, that was what happened when she caught sight of me. She halted, not taking her eyes off me. I walked in her direction, not taking my eyes off her as well. I got close, and we still couldn’t put an end to the gaze. Of course, the two of us barely talked. But right now, I was in no mood for dispute, conflict, or whatever. “Luke, I didn’t know you were coming.” I sighed. “I didn’t want this myself, but what can I do? “What’s the problem? Is everything alright?” “You haven’t heard what happened?” She made a confused face. “What? Did something bad happen?” “Yes, your daughter’s son died last night.” “My daughter’s son? Hold on, Ariel has a son.” “Oh, you don’t know?” I raise my brows. “I have no idea why she refused to tell you. But she has a son, and she also has a daughter.” “I can’t believe it,” Sidney said under her breath. “Ariel has kids and didn’t tell me about it,” “Well, she had a son; he’s dead now.” “That’s terrible.” “I know,” I said, taking a deep breath. “And you want to know the most painful part? She’s accusing me of killing her son.” Elizabeth glanced at me immediately. “Why exactly? Did you two have a disagreement?” “Well, something like that. But forget about that. I came here looking for her; is she in the house?” “No, she’s not,” Sidney answered, shaking her head. “You can’t find her?” 101 VISIT “No, and I’ve been trying to call her but can’t reach her. I clearly have no idea where she is at the moment.” And after some minutes, I vocalized, “I’ll be leaving now. Have a nice day.” As I began to walk away, she halted me, calling out my name. I turned around to look at her. “What?” She became silent for a few seconds, clenching her fists. “Don’t worry, it’s nothing. You can go,” she answered, looking down. I nodded. She had no idea what was on her mind. But I knew I shouldn’t be wasting more time. I needed to find Ariel. I didn’t know why, but my mind was telling me that she was not in safe hands. I got into my car and drove away. I went to meet Andre at his company. One of his workers had told me to wait while she would go and inform him. And you could just guess who it was. It was Rose, my former worker. Yes, I clearly remembered firing her. She must probably be laughing at me because my building burned down. I stood for minutes, waiting for André, as I was looking at the people moving around in the building. The place was actually nice. “Luke Reynold,” Andre called my name. I turned around, looking at him as he walked in my direction. Rose was behind him, walking confidently with her glasses on. “What a nice thing it is to see you today.” He shook hands with me. “So tell me, why have you come here?” “I believe you have knowledge of what happened last night.”
