Chapter 46: Chapter 46

"Where are you going?"

I immediately looked at him when I heard him but I also immediately averted my gaze.

“Elena and I will meet. I'll be right back.” I lied to him. I stepped out of the house again but I blinked quickly when I saw that he was in front of me.

“You know you’re not supposed to go anywhere alone, Solei. Don't lie to me,” he said and forced a peek at my face.

I bit my lower lip and remembered again who called me yesterday. This afternoon, we are scheduled to meet as he said in his text. Fortunately, Hector doesn't know about this. He didn't see the text right away and I immediately gave him an excuse that I think he bit as well.

I know I'm not supposed to go alone right at this moment. I also told myself that I don’t want to judge him right away based on what I know, but my gut feeling is telling me that I need to know something. I feel like I need to know more. I feel like he hasn’t told me something yet.

"I'll be careful, Hector, promise." I convinced him and looked up at him.

His forehead furrowed even more while staring at me. He seemed to know very well that I was lying and that I wasn't telling him something — the reason why I don't want to look at his eyes but damn it.

“Where are you really going? Why don't you want to tell me?” His expression softened so I immediately felt guilty especially when he asked that.

I averted my eyes again from him and heaved a sigh. “I’ll be quick. Leon is with me. He is waiting for me outside,” I said and left.

I felt him following me but I ignored that yet. I just walked straight without looking at him because I didn't want it to happen that I could tell him the truth. When we got out of the gate, I immediately saw Leon standing on the side of his car.

Before I could approach him, Hector quickly stepped closer to him so I was stunned.

"Where are you going?" I heard him ask my cousin who glanced at me for a moment.

“I don’t know either, Apollo. She just called me earlier, she said she was going somewhere important,” he replied so the wind blew me away and I approached the two of them already.

I turned to Hector who was looking at me seriously again. I took his arm and gently stroked it. I want him to know that I'll be fine.

“Don’t worry too much. You take care of Amari first please,” I said as if he was even more annoyed.

“Of course, Anastacia. You don't have to say that anymore because she is my daughter. Damn,” he replied firmly to me.

Now he's mad, Ana.

“Don’t worry, bro. I'll take good care of her and bring her home immediately.” It was Leon who spoke.

Hector didn't answer. When I looked at him, he looked at me rudely. I was about to kiss him on the cheek but he quickly turned away and turned his back on us.

"Take care," he said coldly and went inside so I felt heavy.

“Why didn’t you tell him where we are going? He's worried sick, Ana,” Leon said immediately while we were in the middle of our way.

I ignored what he said. I picked up my cell phone when it rang and there I saw a text from the same number again.

Unknown Number

Are you on your way?

To Unknown Number

yes

“He doesn't need to know anymore. It's not that important,” I replied and looked out the window.

“If it's not important, why are you going? What if it's just a troll?”

Then it's much better. I'd be more at peace if it wasn't true and I was just being lied to. My mind would be calmer in case it wasn't true. I have nothing to lose if I shoot.

"Just be mindful of your surroundings, Ana, if you don't want me to go with you inside," Leon told me when we arrived at the Aragon Estate.

I nodded at him and looked up at this super-tall building. This is different from the company where I used to work and where Ares manages. I just don’t know why he’s still here wanting to meet whoever it is. At first, I didn’t want to consent to what he wanted when he mentioned where he wanted us to talk. But because of the constant turmoil in my mind and what Agatha said that day, I agreed.

I'm sure nothing bad will happen here because there are a lot of people inside.

When I got to the floor he said, my heart had almost come out of my ribcage because of the force of its crash. I don’t know why I’m nervous. I don't feel anything but anxiousness. I'm about to throw up!

“Ms. Anastacia Solei?`”

I quickly turned to the person who called my name and I was exposed to a woman in corporate attire. She smiled at me so I just frowned because I didn’t know what to say.

“You're Ms. Anastacia, right?” She asked more so I immediately nodded.

“Ah, yes, miss. Is there a problem?" I asked in fear that I might have done something I didn't know about.

She smiled at me again and approached. “Mr. Chairman is waiting for you. This way please,” she said and guided me to nowhere.

I haven't spoken yet. I let her take me to whoever she was referring to until we entered a hallway towards the same door at the end. I felt even more nervous because I just now realized that it was no longer part of the building. It's like a secret passage.

"Ah, miss, are you sure this is the way?" I hesitated to ask her because I had a really bad feeling.

"Yes, Ma'am, don't worry," she assured me so I didn't do anything.

When we reached the door, I just noticed that there was a passcode that had to be entered before finally entering. As soon as we entered, I was exposed to the dim light. I couldn’t see anything around because it was just pure black. I would have panicked if I hadn't seen another door right away. We went in there again and there I saw a large room. It looks like a warehouse. There are many different weapons across the whole place. There are also many doors in every corner of this vast area. I looked at the door we exited and there I saw the words "Main entrance".

"Here, Ma'am." This woman woke me up and guided me back to where.

I just drifted with her until we reached the outside of the warehouse. It is wider compared to the inside. It's like a training camp. There were also large men with weapons on their sides. Others have many tattoos.

“Mr. Chairman, she's here.”

When I turned to what this woman called, there was a tall man behind us. He's wearing a black coat and tie. He had a cigarette in his left hand.

“Leave us first, Hana. Bring her some drinks.” His voice is deep and whole.

When the woman he called Hana finally left, he only confronted me. I flinched slightly and gasped when I saw the large scar on his face. It looks like an X and centers his left eye down to his cheek.

"This scar really terrifies new people here," he said and even touched his scar.

I swallowed and kept looking at him. He was muscular but had traces on his face of his age. His body was still stretched like a handsome young man. Who is this man?

"Who are you?" I couldn't help but ask him.

He smoked a cigarette for a moment and placed it in the ashtray on the small table beside him. I just watched his every move. He grinned at me again and pointed to the chair on the other side of the round table.

“You need to seat, hija. We have a lot to talk about,” he said and sat down with me first. He faces the vast land in front of us.

“Just answer my question. Who are you? Do you know something about my father?” I asked him without doing what he said.

It was a long time before he spoke again. He just kept staring at nothingness. Gradually I began to feel the exhaustion of my patience but that also immediately disappeared when I heard him sneeze.

“Is that what you want to know first? I thought you'd like to know who your father's killer is. That's why you came here, isn't it?” He asked as if he already knew what was on my mind.

I was stunned for a moment. When I realized that I might not really be able to handle what I know now, I slowly sat down in a chair. I wanted to look at him to see if he was telling the truth but I couldn’t. I stared at the emptiness as I waited for what he would say next.

“This place is my former head office anyway. Apollo took it from me then without saying anything even to my position. Why? Simply because he wanted to avenge his life to his own father,” he began which I also did not understand at first but when I remembered what Hector told me the other day, I looked at him.

"You're his uncle Louie," I stated. I saw him grin.

“Is that what he told you? How foolish,” he laughed in response. “I’m not Louie. I'm Lincoln. Louie is my brother and he was dead a long time ago. He died with your dad. This organization is mine, something that Louie doesn't want to happen because it's too dangerous, but look, no one can stop me, right?” He said and looked at me.

I blinked twice. "I don't understand," I uttered.

“Of course, you can't understand lies, Ana. You can never understand things that are not true. The truth behind all the lies that have come to you is one of them,” he said seriously and avoided looking at me again.

I took a deep breath to reduce the weight of my chest, but I felt it get heavier. Especially the next thing he said.

“Your father, Anastacio was my best friend back then. We dreamed together of having an organization like this. He was my first mate and secret industrial spy. But the difference is we're bringing justice to the poor who just want to have a good life, contrary to what your family wants, which your father also believed when he met Ariza. After betraying me by telling the authorities about my whereabouts, he left with your mom. But then your mom killed my wife.”

I gasped when I heard that. I could feel my heartbeat slowing as I tried to calm myself. I bit my lower lip to suppress my emotions especially when I remembered everything Hector said. He says his Uncle Louie’s wife was the one mom killed. Why is it different now?

“And the only thing I received from your father was sorry. He apologized on behalf of Ariza for killing my wife. And Louie and the others accepted that because they knew Anastacio. Your father is a good man, Ana. I can see him in you honestly,” he said in a low voice. It was full of pain.

“That day he came here to apologize, Apollo was here listening. He recognized Anastacio because this was the last he saw when his father died. Apollo is the only son of your father's stepbrother, Hades…”

When I heard that, I quickly turned to him. "W-what are you saying?"

“Apollo shot your father. He chased after your father that day because he wanted to avenge his father's death. He has known you before you even met him. Your family, your grandmother, and your grandfather know the whole truth, Ana. That's why I really want to know, how could you fall in love with the person who killed your father?”