Chapter 125 Misguided Loyalty
Eden’s POV:
I’m moving on autopilot, surviving on adrenaline alone. Several minutes ago when I heard James Artie leave his office with his assistant, I had let out a sigh of relief. I couldn’t believe I’d managed to remain hidden.
I’d tiptoed down the corridor until I found myself staring right at Noah.
My pulse had skyrocketed as I stared at him and I hadn’t been able to stop the wide smile that covered my face. As awful as it was to hear James’ callous words about my parents’ death, I felt like I was finally able to breathe again after the longest time.
I knew for sure who killed my parents.
Knowing that James Artie is responsible for all the pain I’ve felt, that my grandma has felt in the last ten years, knowing that he is the enemy I’ve been trying to beat in the last few months, gave me the fire to win.
That need to put him behind bars is what pushes me back in the direction of his office. I know that he’s gone back to his apartment to pack his stuff. I heard him tell Alice that he’s planning on leaving the country tonight so I don’t have time to waste.
I need to find out what he was talking about. One word is running on a loop in my mind: Luxen.
Logic tells me that I could just call the police and tell them everything I know but I’m scared that he’ll leave before they stop him. Alice is sitting at her desk when I enter the finance department. She’s the only one there and she’s typing away on her keyboard, no doubt booking the flight that will allow her boss to escape punishment.
“EDEN!” she squeals and anyone would think I’m as scary as her boss. Her eyes are wide and fearful. “What are you doing here?”
“I need your help,” I say softly.
“I… You need…” She hesitates, looking down at her screen. Her fingers move to the monitor, turning it off so that I can’t see to where she’s buying a flight for James.
“Just tell me where?” I ask.
“I can’t do that,” she whispers.
“You can,” I reply, my voice turning cold, “or you’ll go to jail with him.”
“He won’t go to jail. He’s leaving.”
“Are you going with him?” I ask even though I already know the answer. James isn’t even taking his nephew, he’ll never let his assistant tag along. It’s a risk he’s not willing to take. Not for Lewis and definitely not for Alice.
“No.”
“Then you’ll go to prison alone,” I whisper.
She doesn’t say anything, looking down at her perfectly manicured hands.
“I know you’re scared but I can help you.”
“No. You can’t.” Her eyes are wild and I can’t understand why she’s protecting him. “I owe him.”
I can imagine what she’s going to say. James Artie will have shown her some kindness, given her this job when she needed it most, helped her pay off some debt or something. Whatever it is, he never did it because he wanted to help her, he did it for leverage.
“You owe him nothing.”
“You don’t know.”
“You can tell me all about it later, but right now I need your help.” She glances up at me. “It would be one thing if he was just stealing from me or my family but he’s not. He’s stealing from everyone who works for this company. That includes you.”
“Not anymore. I can’t stay here, can I? Not after what I’ve done.”
I don’t know what to tell her. I thought I’d proven myself to her when I didn’t fire Holly. If I can help her, I will but she has to make the right choice. I can’t help her if she’s going to keep helping James.
“James saved my life,” she says gently, almost reverently. “I know he’s a bad man. Done terrible things. But he’s never been that way with me. He saved me…”
I consider asking her to tell me about it. I have a feeling I won’t be able to convince her until she does.
“I was young and stupid,” she says like she’s remembering a precious memory. “I was in a bar and I was a little bit too drunk. There was a guy there, he seemed nice until he wasn’t.”
I know where this is going. She’s going to tell me that James showed up and played the role of her knight in shining armour. I listen to her as she continues but she doesn’t tell me anything that makes me reconsider my opinion of James.
“I can’t help you, Eden,” she says with a tear in her eye.
“Very well,” I reply as I come to stand next to her. “You’re fired.”
I push her away from the desk as gently as I can because she doesn’t fight me. As much as she thinks she can’t help me in some misguided loyalty to James, she doesn’t want to stand in my way either. She takes her handbag and her coat and begins to walk around her desk.
Shrugging into her coat, she glances back at me, just as I’m turning the computer monitor back on.
“I really am sorry, Eden.”
I shake my head, barely registering her words as I take in the information on the screen as I mutter under my breath that she should save her apologies for the police.
Picking up the phone that sits on her desk, I dial the emergency number and wait to be put through to the police. She’s gone before I glance up again.
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