Chapter 67: Chapter 67

Chapter 67: bingo!

Andrea sat down on the bed, lost in thought. She wanted to meet him, but recalling how much Sean didn't get along with Jacob gave her second thoughts.

"Andrea!" Jacob called out to her from the other end of the line.

She jolted out of her thoughts and raked her fingers into her hair. "Where are you?" she suddenly questioned.

"I'm currently at the office, but we can meet up at a cafe close to my company," he said casually.

She took a deep breath. "Okay, I'll be there shortly," she said before hanging up.

She threw her phone on the bed and suddenly slammed her fists on it continuously. "What is wrong with me? Why can't I say no to him?" At that moment, she felt like crying, realizing the mess she had gotten herself into.

Her marriage to Sean was one of the best decisions she believed she made, and she couldn't afford to ruin it all because of anyone. On the other hand, she didn't know what was wrong with her. Her initial plan was to refuse Jacob politely or come up with some sort of excuse, but unfortunately, her mouth betrayed her.

She went into the walk-in closet and looked for something decent to put on. She settled on a casual,maxi dress that looked completely dowdy and unattractive. After she got dressed, she tied up her hair in a messy bun before picking up her handbag.

As she arrived at the cafe, she spotted Jacob seated close to the window, patiently waiting for her. She made her way over to his table and slowly took off her face mask.

"Why are you in those?" Jacob asked with a quizzical look on his face.

She looked around her surroundings vigilantly before saying "I'm feeling a little under the weather today," she nervously chuckled.

"Okay. By the way, you look lovely today," he complimented her as he pushed a cup of strawberry smoothie to her. "I ordered this for you. I hope you like it."

Andrea's jaw almost dropped as she stared at him in blank amazement. She couldn't help but lower her gaze to her dress and begin to wonder if Jacob had a problem with his eyesight.

"What is it? Are you okay?" he asked frantically while patting her hand.

Andrea quickly regained her composure and withdrew her hand from the table. She lowered her gaze to the smoothie and took a sip, savouring the natural flavour of fresh strawberries blended with vanilla.

"Thank you, Mr. Jones. Why did you call me over?" she asked.

"Andrea, can you quit the formalities? Please call me by my name," Jacob said.

She froze and slowly raised her head to meet his gaze. The words Sean said to her a while ago flashed through her mind instantaneously.

"There's no such thing as a platonic relationship between a man and woman."

Is Sean right? Is it possible that Mr. Jones has started taking a liking to me? Then I'd better stay away. I'm married to Sean, and I can't afford to break his heart, she thought to herself inwardly.

"Andrea, are you alright? You can tell me if anything is bothering you," he said, placing his hand on her shoulder.

She felt her shoulder weaken at his touch, and she moved her body uncomfortably. As she expected, Jacob understood her message, and he took his hands off her shoulder. "I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable. I'm just worried about you."

"You shouldn't be. I'm fine. So, tell me why you called me over. Is everything fine?"

Jacob nodded. "Well, Tyler told me you came to the station yesterday, and I just wanted to thank you for that. Believe me when I say I know nothing about Kylie's demise," he said as he stared at her fixedly.

Andrea nodded. "You don't have to defend yourself to me. I know you're a good person, and the real perpetrator behind this will be caught soon," she said with a smile.

"Dollface has been held in police custody. I don't think it was her who did it. I know that both of them aren't on good terms, but one thing is for sure: Lilly is too sensible to do something so heinous."

"Then who do you think is behind it? Apart from the name you just mentioned, is there any other person who perhaps hates Kylie to the extent of murdering her in such a cruel way?" Andrea asked while arching her brows.

Jacob narrowed his eyes as he remained silent for a long while before shaking his head in defeat.

"There's just something I'm quite amused at. I saw Kylie the day before she was murdered. You remember when you spilled the drink on my skirt? I met her in the restroom."

"You mean you met Kylie in the restroom?" He asked with a deep line appearing between his brows.

Andrea nodded. "Yeah. We only glanced at each other briefly. She was talking to a lady on the phone, and I have a keen sense of hearing, so I could pretty much eavesdrop on their conversation. The person at the other end of the line said something like she had a surprise for her back at the mansion."

Jacob's eyes gleamed with rare hope. "Really? That's great news! I'm sure that person must be the murderer. Can you try to recall the name of the person she was talking to on the phone?"

Andrea tapped her forehead lightly as she squinted her eyes, scanning through her memory for the murderer's name. She snapped her fingers as a smile crossed her lips. "Hannah."

Jacob froze as his expression darkened immediately. " No way. Are you sure about this?" he asked, his tone coming out severe.

Andrea nodded. " What happened? Do you know her?" she asked with a puzzled look on her delicate face.

" She's Kylie's assistant, but why would she do something so vile to her boss?" he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

”Give me a sec." he brought out his phone and called his assistant, Simon. "Get me all the information on Kylie's assistant, Hannah,right this instance," he said and hung up straight away.

"Thank you for assisting me. Now we are one step ahead in this case. I believe the truth will come out soon, and the real criminal will be punished for their atrocities," he said.

"I'm glad I could help with the little knowledge I have. I might not be familiar with Kylie, but I want justice for her. No one should suffer or die the way she did," she said while displaying a bright smile on her face.

"Andrea, I don't know if someone has told you this before, but I will say it anyway. You are a very sweet and caring person, and anyone who has you in their life is the luckiest person in the world," he said.

"Then I guess someone like you is lucky to have me," she said while sticking out her tongue playfully.

He gave her a smile. "When are you leaving New York?" he inquired curiously.

"Not anytime soon," she said while inspecting her tinted fingernails casually. "Never!" she added this inwardly.

"That's great! Once the whole case is over, maybe we should catch up and watch a movie together," he said.

Hearing this, Andrea's heart sank deeply. "Mhm. I need to go now. Thank you for the treat," she mumbled as she rose to her feet.

……..

While at Shimmers Company, Sean had just finished a meeting with the board members and was heading back to his office. He recalled receiving a message on his phone from an unknown number during the conference and decided to check it.

As he sat down in his office, Sean relaxed into his chair and unlocked his phone. He was left in shock upon finding photos of Andrea and Jacob at a cafe. "What kind of rubbish is this?" he muttered angrily, his gaze piercing Drew, who was seated on the couch.

"Come here and find the owner of this number immediately," he beckoned.

Drew nodded and retrieved the phone from Sean's possession before leaving the office to carry out his boss' orders. Minutes later, he returned to the office. "Boss, this number belongs to Philip Myers," he said, returning the phone to Sean.

Upon hearing this, Sean couldn't help but snicker. He knew that Philip was capable of anything to split him up from Andrea, but he refused to fall for his tricks. Sean believed that all the photos were photoshopped by Philip.

After making himself believe this, he felt unsettled, like something was weighing him down on his chest. " Drew. Come here,' he ordered.

"Look at these pictures. Do they look original or photoshopped?" he passed his phone to Drew, who was standing just a metre away from his chair.

"Boss, I know you might not like what I'm about to say, but this looks quite real….to me," he added quickly, not wanting to get on Sean's nerves in the early hours of the day.

Philip's call came in at that moment, and he picked up confidently: "What is your riddle? Can't you just let me and Andrea be together in peace and move on with your miserable life? And what do you think you are doing or trying to achieve by sending these photos to me? Do you think that a stupid photo will be able to split us up?"Sean chuckled sarcastically.

"Then I guess you must know about her seeing someone else today, but let me tell you two things: they seem pretty close, and lastly, don't forget she was once with me; it can be you today and someone else tomorrow," he said, and Sean could imagine the smug look on his stupid face when he said those words.

Sean clenched his jaw. "You son of a bitch! You better keep that filthy mouth of yours shut. How dare you speak about her like that? You should be ashamed of yourself. I see you have no respect for women. That's why you dumped your wife and son with no tiny bit of remorse. Don't ever call my line again, you dirty looser,' he spat out furiously before hanging up.

"Get his number blocked immediately,' Sean said to Drew while passing his phone to him. Immediately after Drew left, he brought out his backup phone from his drawer and decided to call the landline instead.

The phone rang for a while before the housekeeper picked it up. "Hello, sir," she said.

"Is Andrea there? Give her the phone," he ordered.

"Sorry, sir, madam left the house a while ago,"

"What was she putting on? And how long has she been gone?" he asked impatiently.

"Ma'am, was putting on a blue dress, and she has been gone for an hour now."

" Any of this must not get to her ears. Understood? "

"Yes, sir,' she nodded vigorously, even though Sean couldn't see her from there.

"Andrea, what are you up to?" Sean asked himself, trying his best to suppress the rage that was threatening to emerge within him.

*******

JJ Entertainment

A knock was heard on the door before it was pushed open, revealing Assistant Simon. "Boss, the results are out," he informed him while placing a file on the table.

Jacob waved his hand in dismissal before carefully flipping through the files. The more he read, the stronger the frown on his face became.

He suddenly shut the file and relaxed his chin on his hand. "Bingo!" he exclaimed, his expression closing up.