Chapter 25: Chapter 25

For a minute I couldn't comprehend what was being said.

'Which family?', I asked hoping I heard wrong.

'Sinclair’, Claire said.

'Are you sure?'

'I'm not 100% sure that this is the family you were looking for. You must know that this is a prestigious hotel and many rich families are catered here. Depending on your requirement, I'm guessing it's them. This is as far as I can know. Even if I ask other staff discreetly, I don't think anyone remembers after such a Long time. I'm sorry honey, I wish I have done more to confirm it. Now if you don't mind let's sort this out before someone catches us.'

'Ya. Sure'

My thoughts are scrambled. I don't know what to trust anymore. Should I trust Claire's deducted results or wait for more concrete evidence? Isn't it wrong to doubt someone you love? Love? Whoa.

My brain put a sudden screeching brake to my thoughts. When did it happen? When did it change from like to love? Can one tell the exact turning point? Do I really love Rafa? Though we have dated for 2 weeks now, we still don't know much about each other. Whenever we meet outside the office, talking is the last thing on either of our minds. Can a girl love someone without knowing about their past or even trivial things like hobbies? Yes. You seem to fill that criteria, Supplied my mind.

Stop it, I chide myself, wondering why my inner voice has become so insistent lately, offering comments and suggestions at will.

With this new revelation in mind, I went to Kade for some light shedding on the clues. I knocked on his door just for formality before entering.

'Generally, people wait for my permission before entering', he chided me.

'Do I look like asking permission before doing anything? That is just to enter your office. Forget it'

'Huff. Why do I bother?'

'Why indeed! Anyways, I came here to discuss a totally different thing', I filled him in on what I discovered, all the time meeting his disapproval look.

'What did I say about sharing before doing anything?', Kade asked grudgingly.

'That's what I'm doing. Sharing.'

'You know what l mean, and you know it. God Erica, you could have gotten caught. Or worse hurt. Just imagining the scenarios gives me an unwanted headache.'

'Chill dad. Nothing happened', I tried to explain but he rounded the corner, cutting me off in mid-explanation.

'Sure. Say that when you got caught. I said not to bulldoze into the situations without a proper plan. You know the risk. I can't lose you now that I found you', he said staring in my eyes.

Whoa. That was... intense. I looked into his eyes, knowing the sincerity of his words. It would be a lie if I say I never imagined him that way. Who wouldn't? No one can say no to that body, coupled with his personality, he is a total package. Unfortunately, keeping in mind my new revelation, I don't know how to tread.

'Kade... I ... uh', I stammered, trying to explain.

'Something's changed. You are not meeting my eyes. What is it Erica?', he asked way too serious.

He never called me Erica unless it's serious... I mean way serious. My mouth went dry realizing the severity of his emotions. Other than Rafa, Kade is the only one close to me now. I don't want to hurt him. But I realized that I never told him about Rafa. I feel so stupid right now.

I told something that I never even told Raphael. 'Kade... I love Rafa'.

I felt him stiffen before taking a huge step back from me.

'Who?', he asked quietly, turning from me. I tried to read his body language from his back, but I'm no master at that. Even though I couldn't see his face, I know this much that I hurt him. So, I tried to explain how I came to work for Raphael, how we fell into a relationship (excluding bedroom details, of course).

At this, he turned towards me and said, ‘You are saying, you love a guy with whom you were in a relationship for 2 weeks? 2 weeks?', he repeated in case I didn't hear the first time.

'I..', he didn't let me finish it.

'Never mind about the evidence you just learned, which if I'm not wrong involves HIS family'

'I know', is all I could say.

'You really love him, don't you?'

This I could answer without any guilt. 'Yes. Yes Kade, I really love him. I don't believe in THE ONE generally, but it seems I found him anyway'

'I wish you knew what you're doing ', and just like that, he wore his mask again. It's very rare for Kade to open, let alone spill his guts. Guilt, my old companion, is his head.

To diffuse the tension, I asked him about the tracking of those accounts. Kade said they should be almost ready by now and made the phone call.

When he ended the call, he was serious. More than normal for Kade.

'What is it?'

'It's Sinclair', I didn't want to believe it when Claire confirmed it, but now I'm way less sure.

'What? Are you sure? Did they double-check?', I asked hoping it's wrong.

'Yes. They did.'

'What...’, I cleared my throat and tried to ask again.

'What does this mean?'

'It means, your sister's killer is either within Sinclair family or aided by them', he drove the nail directly to the home. No sugar coating with Kade. What with the stellar mood I put him in.