Chapter 33: Chapter 33

'Elizabeth Walton. The sole heir to Walton industries. The only one which is powerful enough to rival the Sinclair dynasty.'

'So? Why is she linked to this case? I don't get it'

'Henry married his rival's daughter. So did Edward. Now you get it?'

'Oh...oh', I get it, god, did I?

'You mean to tell me that...Raphael Sinclair... will be ...marrying her?', I spattered each word out, jealousy raging its ugly head.

'No. But it was decided in the family that she would be married into it or so the rumors say'.

'No one... and I mean no one can tell Raphael Sinclair what to do. This I know. So, it would mean she must be for Nathaniel. She has a motive. She must have thought Sophie as a threat to her position. It would be her. Don't you see it? She has the power and motive', I defended my case, making sure to target HER.

'Erica... she may have done it. Or maybe not. But you, behaving like a jealous girlfriend, doesn't help.'

'I'm not... I was just explaining', I said meekly knowing full well I launched my attack too soon.

He grunted in response. I mentally planned a sneak attack on a certain Watson, contemplating which method is good to beat the crap out of her. Hmm. Tough choices.

'Forget it'

'But'

'I said forget it', he gritted each word out. 'No sportsmanship in you. You could have reached places, my friend. Hey, where is Lady Charlotte? The baby of the family? You never mentioned her. Gosh, I know better than you. And I didn't use any PI for that', I smirked at him.

'As I was going to say, if you cease with your interruptions, this is Charlotte Sinclair', he placed a photo of a tall, model-thin dark-haired woman of my age.

'She needs nutrition', is all I could reply.

He scoffed at my assessment, returning to the discussion, 'bratty, spoiled and shadow of mother dearest. She can play anyone, and especially Raphael (looking at me), as easy as, if not better than a symphony. No one says no to her...ever. She wants it, Raphael makes it happen. No questions. Fell into the bad crowd for a while. Got addicted to drugs. Raphael sent her to rehab. She is clean for 5 weeks now, but still with a mean streak. Simply put she is a chameleon'.

'Five weeks? That's the time of my relationship with Raphael', I mumbled searching for any coincidence.

'Pure chance. Anyway, to your earlier statement, if she says to do something, Raphael Sinclair does it. And she is a friend of Elizabeth wanton'

A rock of 1 ton just dropped in my stomach. Suddenly the chances of me with Raphael started dwindling before my eyes.

'People change. Situations change'

He shrugged to my positive emo talk.

'What are the chances of me becoming best friends with Charlotte?'

'-100%'

'Thought so'

'I wonder how Rose managed to achieve that feat. From what you said, Charlotte Sinclair is a piece of work'.

'So do I. Because a girl with Raphael Sinclair as her puppet is scary’, he said with a gleam to his eye.

'Is she scary enough to kill Sophie?'

'Think about this- she was a druggie, her best friend who was to marry her brother found out her position is being threatened. Do the math. Because neither of them is saints.'

'If we think like this, then the entire Sinclair clan has a motive to kill. I thought this was supposed to untangle us. Not make a Super knot so tight we couldn't find ourselves. What a mess!'

'At least we know they are dangerous enough to silence someone'

I picked our plates to the dishwasher for a thorough scrub. I should probably go to my home now that the danger is averted.

'I thought of finding out who sent those bikers when I beat them to a pulp. Now the chance is gone. Why didn't the police contact me? It's not like we covered our tracks yesterday', I asked Kade.

'Not if they are under orders not to contact you'

'Does a guy, who killed me, could kill my only family?'

'Only you can answer that Erica.'

'Great. You can try becoming a shrink now. You are wasted here. Anyways...I should go home. I missed work today. Don't want my work to pile up'

'Are you sure? Do you feel you can handle it?'

'Yes. Last time the odds were stacked against me. But this is my domain. I shall manage. I can't hide every time I'm threatened'

'As you wish. Remember, I'm just a phone call away'

'Ya ya... sure dad'

The next day, I arrived at 7 o'clock to get some work done. However, Raphael beat me to it. Jeez, does he never sleep? I contemplated how to face him… how to behave after knowing his background. No matter what, I shouldn’t let him know.

'Ms. Anderson, come to my office', comes Raphael's stern voice through the intercom breaking my serious thoughts.

Déjà vu. That's what this is. Raphael hardly calls me Ms. Anderson anymore. He sure is angry by the tone of it. And this time, it's totally my fault.

I knocked on his door and entered with a rather full smile, which looks ridiculous.

'Good morning Mr. Sinclair', I said cheerily.

'Is it Ms. Anderson?', he asks oh so calmly, sweat beads on my forehead.

'Uhh... I think so'

'How good is this morning? Could you describe it to me?'

And here folks lie Erica Anderson. God rest her soul. She was murdered brutally by her lover, when she couldn't explain HOW GOOD IS THIS MORNING keeping a straight face, says my inner diva.

What pair we make? Even our inner bitches match. Not that Raphael's Hyde personality is a bitch. No. It's not male appropriate. Instead, I would go with a dickhead. I must have uttered the last sentence aloud because the intensity in Raphael's stare increases. Oh shit! It seems the premonition of my inner diva is soon getting true.

Yay!!! Party!!