Are you forgetting she is my daughter?
Luther' Pov
"Find out everything you can about Sophie. Use the company’s resources if you need to. Do not hold back. Something is not right," I said to Mateo, keeping my voice low as I looked at Charlotte, who was sleeping peacefully on my lap. After she woke up in the hospital, she refused to speak or even look at her mother. She only wanted to come home with me.
"I already started," Mateo replied with a small smirk, lifting his wine glass and taking a sip.
"What do you mean?" I asked, gently moving a strand of hair away from Charlotte’s face.
"I have been digging into her background since the day she lied to Charlotte using your name," he said proudly, raising his glass a little.
"And what have you found so far?" I asked, making sure Charlotte was still asleep. The doctor explained that her blood pressure had dropped because of anxiety, which affected the oxygen supply to her brain. He also mentioned that the medication he gave her included a mild sedative, so I knew she would be asleep for a while.
"On the surface, she looks perfect. Everything is clean. But my gut tells me there is something deeper. I am going to keep digging. My instincts are rarely wrong," he said.
"Then go further. There must be something. I just found out that when her husband was shot, instead of calling emergency services, she contacted the family doctor and lawyer first. That is not normal," I said with a deep sigh.
"What the..." Mateo stopped halfway through his sentence. He quickly covered his mouth, remembering Charlotte was asleep on me.
"I am telling you, there is something off about that woman," I added.
Mateo straightened a bit. "Let us leave her for now. I found some new information about the van that has been following Charlotte. We managed to trace the number plate, and we now know who owns it."
That caught my attention. I sat up carefully, trying not to wake Charlotte.
"But Daren said the van did not have a plate," I said.
"Only at night. In all the photos Daren sent, the van has a number plate during the day. But at night, the plate is always gone. Remember the night Charlotte stayed at Kate's, when her mother called with that lie?"
I nodded slowly.
"That night, Daren was watching the house, but the van never showed up."
"So?" I asked, motioning with my hands.
"Hold on," Mateo said as he scrolled through his phone. I tapped my foot against the rug, growing impatient.
"You are getting restless," he said without looking up.
"Mateo, now is not the time to play around," I warned him.
"Marya Sanders," he finally said, leaning back on the couch.
"What?"
"The van, the Cadillac, is registered under that name."
I tried to think if the name was familiar, but it did not ring a bell.
"I looked into her and found an address. We can send someone from the team to check it out. Also, that same night, the one the van did not appear, there was a break-in in Charlotte's neighbourhood again."
The moment Mateo said that, I began to suspect the man driving the van was involved in the break-in. It could not have been a coincidence that when he was not watching Charlotte, there was a robbery in her neighbourhood.
"So if we find this Sanders woman, we might also find the driver and maybe even the person behind the break-ins."
"Exactly," Mateo said. "I just want to know how this man is connected to her and if they are working together to harm Charlotte."
He had voiced exactly what I was thinking.
"I really hope that car is not stolen. If it is, we will have more questions than answers, and I cannot afford that right now. I need to end this stalking situation before Charlotte finds out."
"I already checked. The car has not been reported stolen. That means we have a real chance of tracing the woman and maybe getting to the man too."
That gave me a little relief. Finally, something we could work with.
"Move quickly before they realise we are investigating and disappear."
"First thing Monday morning, you will have everything on your desk," Mateo promised.
I nodded but said nothing. I was already worried about how long I could keep this hidden from Charlotte. And Brittany... her return made everything more complicated. She had not shown her face since I threw her out of my office and banned her from the building, but I doubted she would stay away for long.
"I will see you on Monday. I need to get home before my wife comes looking for me," Mateo said with a small laugh.
"Maybe one of these days, she and Charlotte should meet. It has been a while since I saw her too."
The moment those words left my mouth, I felt guilt settle deep inside me. Mateo had always stood by me, yet I barely made time to visit him. His wife worked from home, so our paths rarely crossed.
"Maybe," he replied, but his tone had shifted. I noticed it immediately and wondered if I had said something wrong.
After he left, I carried Charlotte to my bedroom. She did not stir once. I changed her clothes carefully and tucked her in under the covers. It was still early in the afternoon, so I headed to the kitchen to make her something to eat for when she woke up.
As I walked down the stairs, the doorbell rang. I frowned. Only two people knew where I lived, Mateo and Stanley. Since Mateo had just left, I figured it was Stanley.
I opened the door, and sure enough, Stanley was there, but he was not alone.
"Where is she?" his wife demanded. She pushed him aside, walked past me, and barged into the penthouse as if someone had shoved her.
"Keep your voice down. She is asleep. The last thing we need is for you to wake her up when she clearly said she does not want to see you," I said firmly as I followed her inside.
"Are you forgetting she is my daughter?" the woman snapped.
Stanley stood behind her in silence. The tension on his face said it all. This was wearing him down. And I could not blame him. He had just gotten married days ago, and already, everything was falling apart.
"And are you forgetting that Charlotte clearly said she does not want to see you?" I asked, keeping my voice even, though I was far from calm inside.
"Please, everyone, can we just sit down and handle this like adults?" Stanley said, trying to keep the peace as he looked between the two of us.
"Sit down?" his wife snapped, her voice rising. "How do you expect me to sit down when your brother is blocking me from seeing my own daughter?" She threw her arms into the air with exaggerated flair. In that moment, it became very clear where Charlotte had inherited her dramatic streak.
"I am only doing what your daughter asked me to do," I replied, folding my arms across my chest as she gave me a sharp, judgmental once-over.
"And who are you to make that decision?" she shot back.
"Her boyfriend."
The words left my mouth before I could stop them. The moment I said it, I saw Stanley’s eyes widen and his lips move silently: "Shit." That was when I realised I had made a mistake. A big one. And there was no taking it back now.
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