Chapter 51: Chapter 51

CHAPTER 8

I'd gotten the drug from the drug dealer and from what I understood, the drug was something that was really hard to detect in the blood, so if Luke did go for a test, there was a fat chance that nothing would be found in his system.

Lydia rushes somewhere, and before I know it, she's back with a glass of water. Rocky uses his jacket to cover me up. We begin to hear sirens.

"Did someone call the police?" Rocky asks.

"Yes. I did." Lydia says. We share a knowing look.

"We'd like you to come to the station to give a statement, ma'am. If you're okay. Would you like to go the hospital?" The officer in charge asks. I nod.

"I'm fine. I'll be there, but can I come in the morning? I'd like to go home to my son." I say. Rocky has his arms around me.

"Alright then. As for this man, he'll be spending the night in the cell." The woman says and walks off.

"Can you please get my car?" I say to Rocky as I hand him my keys from my purse. "It's a BMW."

"Everything worked out perfectly. I must say, you surprised me. When did polite, kind and benevolent Natalie become so vicious?" She asks.

"Vicious or not, Luke did in fact rape me. This is just how he gets to pay for doing that. The Natalie you speak of, she doesn't exist anymore, and Luke is responsible for it, and I will punish him for making me turn out this way.”

"What's your next plan?"

I walk past her as I speak, "Laurel is my next target. After all, she placed the call that made my father collapse. I'll go after her next and I won't stop until I send her away."

"What? Send her a way? Wait, are you saying you'll have her killed?"

I turn around, "No! I'm not a murderer. I have a special place picked out for her already."

"Where?"

"Somewhere fit for her. A place where she would wish for death, but it would be very far from her." I say.

***

As I arrive at my penthouse, I notice a black tour bus at the far end of the street. There was something odd about the vehicle, but I choose to ignore.

"Is Louis sleeping already?" I say as I enter.

Ashley and Maja, the cleaner, gasp. Ashley rushes towards me. "Ma'am what happened?"

"Nothing serious, Ashley. Please, don't be frightened Maja.” I say to the middle aged woman. Maja was also mute like Delores, but she could hear. She nods vigorously, her right hand on her chest. I head for my bedroom. I take off my torn dress and my lingerie. I head for the bathroom. I feel relaxed as the hot water falls on me. My mind flashes back to the events of earlier this evening. Luke choking me and hallucinating about his mother. I really didn't know exactly what happened to Luke's family and his sister. I knew there was something more to what he'd told me. What I didn't just understand was how my family was connected to Luke's. Why did he seize our wealth in the first place? We weren't the richest family in London, so why did Luke target us over other affluent families? Why did he choose us? Why did he choose me?

**

Wearing my robe and laying on the couch in my bedroom, I text Lee Martins, setting up a meeting for whenever he would be available.

My mind drifts off to Kelly. I hadn't seen or heard from her in a long while. I remember the files she'd given to me and asked me to access. I want to check it again, but I'm too tired and head straight for the bed.

LUKE's POV

As much as I didn't want to attend any social event or gathering, I had to, because it was more or less David's party.

Wearing my cuff links, I raise an eyebrow as I see Laurel enter the room. We shared a room now, the room that formerly belonged to Natalie and I.

"You look great, Laurel." I compliment her. She wore a blue sequin dress. She was a brunette, so darker colors were suitable for her. Countless times, I had to groom her on how to dress like a lady— how to match my standards.

She hugs me from behind, intertwining her hands with mine.

"Are you ready to leave?" She asks

"Yes. The car's ready." I respond.

**

As we arrive at the Jackson residence, we are welcomed by Lydia, David's wife. I wondered how Lydia could put on such a good show, pretending that she had a happy marriage. I knew all too well detailed explanations of almost every single incident that occurred between herself and David. Apparently, David couldn't even get rid of her because she had some kind of noose around his neck.

"Thank you for coming."  She says looking directly at me.

"Thank you for having me, Lydia."

She chuckles and flips her hair, looking at an irritated and uncomfortable Laurel. "Is this your plus one?"

"This?" Laurel exclaims. I close my eyes as I assess the situation. Lydia was indeed Natalie's friend.

"Lydia, we honored your invitation. I'd appreciate if you showed her some respect." I state.

"And as much as I'm grateful that you did, I don't remember sending you a plus one invite. Have a great evening, regardless." She says and walks off.

"Why doesn't she like me? I didn't even do anything to her!"

"She's Natalie's friend. It’s expected."

"It was expected and you let me come here?!"

"You said you wanted to let society know you're my woman, right? Doesn't seem you're enthusiastic about it.” I say as I walk off.

**

It's been over an hour since I'd left Laurel. I am with David now, sharing a bottle of whiskey.

"Teach her a good lesson and take your legacy back!" David says, at the brink of drunkenness.

"How can I do that when she controls a good majority of the company? We can't even vote her out.”

"So? That's not the Luke I know. Find her weaknesses, there must be something you could use against her, force her to step down as the Chairman.”

"I had Caleb plant a voice recorder in her office but he said she hasn't said anything suspicious. I even planted a mole as her secretary to report back to me whatever Natalie does, but it's like she has no ulterior motives or she's simply too good at hiding her plans." I say, gulping my whiskey.

"If you can't get the evidence you need, brother, fabricate it." David says, laughing sadistically. I get up and leave him there, drunk.

"Lucas Carrington!" I hear and I turn to see a few socialites I know.

"Ah, Harold, I didn't know you'd be here, and your wife, Mrs. Devine, how are you? You look stunning, as always.”

The middle aged woman blushes. "Thank you."

"Last I saw you was at the annual gallery of arts bidding ceremony. How are you? Do you have custody of your son?" The man asks and I freeze, as my eyes fall on Natalie as she walks into the party.

Mrs. Devine continues, "Oh, yes, that's true. We remember your ex-wife was pregnant." As those words leave her lips, my mind flashes back to a few days ago, when I saw Natalie holding the baby at the office. For some odd reason, I wanted to rush downstairs and see the child for myself. I wanted to hope that there was a possibility the child was mine, but I knew better. The child belonged to Rocky, and it angered me.

"Please, have a sit."The officer tells me. I sit. My hair is tied back in a ponytail. I'm dressed in a turtle neck sweater, black palazzo pants and brown suede pencil heels.

"How ya feelin' today, Miss?"

"Better than yesterday, thank you.” I respond, as I'm passed a pen and paper.

"So I'll need you to narrate the story from when you got into the house till when you were rescued. Don't leave a single detail out."

I nod, "Okay.”

"You're taking up the case right? Do you want to drop it or go to court?"

"Well, I don't know, I'm still so lost and confused." I lie. I knew exactly what I wanted. My plan wasn't about sending Luke to jail. That would be too easy for him. That wouldn't be enough punishment. What I wanted was to see him publicly humiliated, and take more things from him.

"I'd like to consult my lawyer if that's okay."

"Absolutely. Please, go ahead."

"No, I don't have one yet."

"Well, you can choose a lawyer from the government, if you want. We could assign one to you."

I squirm uncomfortably in my seat. No way in hell would I allow a government lawyer work for me. "It's not compulsory is it? I'd like to source a lawyer on my own, detective." I say. She smiles at me. It's almost as though she can see exactly what's going through my mind. I had to play my cards carefully, especially around this woman.

"Not at all, Miss. . .?”

"Richardson." I tell her.

She nods, "Got it. Please." She gestures to the blank paper. I nod and begin to write.

**

"So, I'll go over this, and contact you as soon as we need you. You were formerly Mrs. Carrington?" She asks, surprised.

"Yes. We were married." I respond.

"That says a lot."

"Is he. . .?” I ask.

"Your ex-husband? Oh, yes. He spent the night here, but his bail is currently being processed.”

"Bail?"

"Yes. Why's that so surprising? You wanted him spending more time here, huh?"

"I was just curious." I say. I get up to leave. "I'll take my leave, detective. I'll be back as soon as I find a lawyer." I say.

"Breaking his heart was one thing, but now, you want to ruin his life too? Wasn't that enough for you?" Laurel asks me. I'd tried ignoring her and walking right past her, but I couldn't help myself. I had to have the last say.

"No, Lucas has himself to blame for that. I didn't try to rape myself, did I?"

"If you think for a moment that I believe you, then, you must be out of your damn mind."

"Listen, Laurel." I chuckle, "Heh. I really, really don't care if you do or don't. Perhaps, if you were capable of keeping a man, yours wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place." I say and I'm elated as she squirms angrily. "Have a good day, and while you're at it, do try to work on your. . .” I gesture at her dressing. She was wearing a loose fitting blouse and flare jeans and boots. "Choice of attire." I say and give a small smile. I exit the building. The more I saw Laurel, the more my hatred towards her grew. I should hate Luke a hundred times more, but I just can't help it. I hate Luke a thousand times more.

My chauffeur arrives. I enter. "Take me to the DA's office."