Chapter 83: Chapter 83

CHAPTER 40

"Mr. Carrington? Luke Carrington?" A cop says. Luke comes in front of me. It's as though he's shielding me from them. "This is he. How may I help you, officers?"

"You're under arrest for illegal money laundering and sex trafficking. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence. Turn around." The Officer says, and I gasp, shaken to my very core. I look at Luke, flabbergasted.

Luke looks at me, "I- I've done no such thing. Where's the evidence? You can't arrest me on just allegations and speculation."

"We have evidence, sir. Your accomplices have not only given your name, but we've found your operation base too. Please, cooperate and turn around."

"Accomplices? Who are these accomplices?" Luke asks, and by this time, the employees had gathered round. Everyone was watching.

"You'll find out when you come with us." The Officer says and then he forcefully turns Luke around and cuffs his hand. I close my mouth, shocked. I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to believe it. Luke looks at me.

"I didn't do it. I didn't do it, I promise! I didn't do it, Natalie, believe me!" He pleads, as they drag him out. I hold my head, as I try to think. I was having a terrible migraine.

"Get me a lawyer!" I hear Luke scream from outside. I run outside to see him one last time. We both look at each other. He's put in the car and they drive off. What the hell just happened?

I'm driving as fast as I can to meet up with Lydia. She was the only one I could talk to at this point. There are a million things going through my head but I couldn't process a single one. He apologized. He knows. He's accepted Louis as his son. He knows I'm innocent. Those are the only things I can seem to hear constantly as though it's a mantra being repeated.

I arrive at Lydia's house. I get down as fast as I can and I race to the gate. I push the black cantilever gate, trying to make my way in but it's locked. Shit. I bring out my phone. I dial Lydia's number. It's switched off. Now, I'm beyond frustrated. I bang the gate again. As far as I knew, the gate was never locked, so why was it locked now? The cars were still inside the compound. "Lydia! Lydia! Lydia?" I try calling her again, but it's still switched off.

"The house has been locked up for a few days now. They probably went abroad." I hear a voice say. I turn around to see who it is. It's a gardener. I point at the house, "You know them? Did you see them leave?" I ask, desperate.

He responds, "Nah. Even if I did, I couldn't tell ya that ma'am." The man scoffs with his deep American accent. I walk to my car, still trying to get a hold of Lydia.

***

An hour later, I'm still outside Lydia's house, hoping that she'd miraculously appear. I try her number for the nth time, but it's still switched off.

I drive off, unsure of where I'm heading to. I turn on the radio to listen to some music, hoping to get my mind off things. I pause as soon as I hear something that catches my attention.

"Billionaire, Lucas Carrington has been arrested by the Hackney police. He's facing counts of money laundering and sex trafficking. It's alleged that Mr. Carrington owns a sex trafficking ring of mostly minors alongside his accomplices, Senator Jackson and his son, David Jackson." I halt my car immediately. I'm flabbergasted. A sex trafficking ring with the Jackson’s? I bury my face in my palm, unsure of how to feel or react. I take out my phone again and dial Lydia's number. It's switched off. The radio anchor continues, "Police got extra information and evidence through the recent merger of  Carrington Industries and Petra Robinson Jewelers." I hear. Alex's company? Did the police find out about the backdated merger? It was illegal and if they did, Luke would get into more trouble. How did they find out? Was this Caleb's doing? Was he trying to get Luke out of the way? Was this his grand plan? Could it have been Alex? I had a million questions going through my mind. It was either Caleb or Alex. I needed to confront Alex first. I drive off.

****

I remembered where Alex's house was, so finding it wasn't an issue. I ring the doorbell, and in a minute or two, the door's wide open. Alex is dressed in a checkered pajama set. I enter.

"Hi." He says.

"Is that the stench of cigarettes?" I ask, looking around his house. For a rich guy, the house was quite moderate.

"Yes." He walks closer to me, looking a bit flushed. "Would you like some water? Juice? Coffee?" He asks.

"No, I'm fine. I just want to ask you a question." I say, looking him in directly in the eyes. I wanted to be able to tell if he would lie to me or not.

"Yes? Anything for you, Natalie." He responds, taking my hand. He places a kiss on my hand.

"Did you set Luke up? Did you have him investigated and turn him in? Is that why you agreed to an illegal merger with him? Just so you could get him out of the way and have me all to yourself. Is that what you did?"

He looks at me, an eyebrow arched up. I couldn’t quite explain or understand the expression on his face. "Lucas is in jail?" I eye him carefully. Was he trying to pretend? He continues, "I would never do that. I admit, I do dislike the man for so many reasons but I only agreed to the merger because I knew you wanted revenge on that man. I was going to punish him myself, true, but not like this. I didn't do anything to him." He says, and something in me immediately believes his words. I look away, embarrassed that I even accused him. I'm thinking about Caleb and him possibly being the one behind everything. I feel Alex, hold me by my waist, and then he begins to squeeze my rump, placing wet kisses on my neck. I hold his arms, as though I want to push him away, but I'm too engrossed in my thoughts to push him away. Could Caleb have murdered Jennifer too? Jennifer overheard him at some point so could she have possibly heard something worse, something she shouldn't have? I feel Alex's face on mine, and then he begins to kiss me, but before I can kiss back or even push him away, bile rises to my throat. I break the hug and begin to rush round the house, looking for a toilet.

"Natalie? What's wrong?" I find a bathroom. I enter and lock it. Alex bangs on the door. "Are you okay? Natalie!" I begin to vomit in the sink, holding my hair. I feel better, but strangely weak. I hadn't eaten all day. I rinse my mouth and the sink. I look around for a towel. There's none. I open the medicine cabinet to see if there's a wipe in it. There's none so I close it. I'm turning to leave, when something catches my attention. A medicine container. I open the cabinet again and bring it out. I take out my phone from my skirt pocket. I search for Prozac. I gasp, looking at the results. There are other drugs there, so I check a few of them. I sit on the water closet. Now, I can piece together all of Alex's actions. He knocks on the door again. I look at the door as it dawns on me. Alex was obsessed with me. He had a disorder; Obsessive love disorder.

"A moment." I respond, trying to get myself together. He could be dangerous at any moment, he could even kill me. I get up and begin to arrange the drugs back into the cabinet. I take a few deep breaths when a wave of nausea hits me. My eyes fall on a sachet of condom. I take it out as I begin to recall that night with Alex. We had raw, unprotected sex. Shit. Bloody hell. "Oh, God, please no." I pray silently as I check my period calendar. I was late. I sigh, defeated, as I realize my situation. I was pregnant.

****

"I need to go, Alex. Please." I say, hoping he wouldn't go crazy on me. I was scared shitless, hoping that he wouldn't notice that I'd gone through this stuff.

"You just got here. Hold on, it's the first time you're coming over."

"I've got to go. I need to pick Louis up from Lydia. I'll call you when I'm home." I say, as I finally reach the door. Finally, I'm out of Alex's house. I heave a sigh of relief as I enter my car. I lock the doors. I begin to sob, holding my stomach. I knew I was pregnant. I'd been eating a lot whenever I had the chance to. It was a symptom I had with Louis. How was I ever so foolish to get myself into such a messy position?

***

I'm parked in front of Hackney police station where Luke probably was. I can't decide if I should go in or not. I try Lydia's number yet again. It's still switched off. I remember Luke's word, his apology. It really took Luke listening to Rocky to believe me. We needed to have a conversation.

"I'm here to see Lucas Carrington." I say to the police officer.

"Who might you be?"

"I'm his ex-wife. Are you letting me see him or do I need to get our lawyer?"