Chapter 46

Holly

We were on the jet heading back to Arizona. Ryan was quiet .

“ I only hope he knows what he's doing”. He said.

“I think He does . The entire time Diane was standing there ,her eyes were on Caleb. Her eyes were smiling, it was like she was happy seeing him that Way”.

“ I saw that too”.

“ What if ? instead of Caleb keeping her in New York you two switch places. You go to New York and let Caleb bring her here. I know everyone in Payson will torment her ,she won't be able to leave the house. Aria and I used to terrorise our friends ,we used to sneak into their rooms and scare the living shit out of them”.

“ That's not a bad idea. I'll call Him when we get back”.

I want her here, Grace,Mya and the rest of the women in Payson will treat her the way she deserves to be treated.

Jason

The minute I got back to my office,my mother was waiting for me. I didn't look at her or say anything to her.

“ Your father is leaving for a meeting. He's going to be gone for three months, Why don't you come home and we can talk about this Jason”.

I picked up the phone at my desk.

“ Send Security up to my office now”. I Said putting the phone down. She stood up and looked at me. I wanted to say it but , wouldn't it would only tip her off that I knew and I was digging for information and that would put her on alert and she would be careful.

“ Very well Jason. If this is the way you want it then that's the way you'll be treated. I no longer have a son”. She said walking out of my office.

Why did I have to end up with a mother like this? Why was she hell bent on ruining people's lives? Why was she this wicked?.
I continued working, around one my phone rang.

“ What Caleb?”.

“ You made your mother very angry. She's currently ranting to someone who I assume is her henchman Taufik about you being a disloyal brat. Don't know what he said but she told him not to do anything to you yet. So I suggest for the time being you stay away from me and my family because she's getting hit with the divorce papers right now as we speak”.

Who the fuck was giving him this information.

“ How much are you paying your informant?”. I asked

“ A hundred grand a week and it's worth it”. He said, I could hear him chuckling.

“ Fucking idiot. I wanna build a resort, however not in Payson. I've found the perfect place. Arkansas, little Rock to be precise. I'm going to take tenders for it or Do you want half and half partnership?”. I Said.

“ Three person partnership ” He said

“ Ryan?”.

“ Yep “.

“ Okay Done. Well start on that after you've taken care of Catherine “.

“ I'll keep you informed”.He said ending the call.

I sat thinking. She's really going off the deep end here,my mother was no longer the person I knew. I was starting to wonder if I ever really knew her.

A week after Caleb told me she's getting divorce papers,she came back barging into my office. Questioning me about it and If I knew where the summit Meeting was being held. I just told her I didn't know and I wasn't interested in anything about them. She left not before telling me my father would regret it.

Caleb

Shit has been happening left , right and centre. Holly had called to tell me what she thought I should do. So I figured it would be better to put a good distance between her and everyone she knew. So I had Holly set the house up for me. It's been one year since she's been gone. There wasn't a day I didn't miss her. Catherine has been showing up more often, especially outside my company. Normally I would run her off but I started to let her be and if she spoke to me I just grunted a reply. I've started to let her get close.

I've been keeping tabs on Jason's parents. Diane didn't accept the divorce well. From the information I received she waited until Aaron came back from the meeting and slit her wrist in front of him. I tipped the media off about the incident and the senator told them his wife was mentally unstable. And that he couldn't condone her behaviour that he filed for a divorce and this was what she resorted to.

And that didn't sit too good for Diane,she created a spectacle at the hospital until they had to restrain her. Jason didn't go to the hospital, When I called him to let him know he just said that's their problem.

We were in the Jet headed to Payson for her one year death anniversary, Jason said he would meet us there. My mother and father were quiet but the brat was talking a Mile a minute. When we landed it was six in the morning. Ryan and Holly were there waiting on us. We headed over to my place.

Around nine Jason showed up. We were outside on the back porch when Max came looking confused.

“ What ?”.

“ Umm Boss , there's a man out here that says he needs to speak to you about Mrs Cross ” ,he said hesitantly. I looked at the others.

“ Let him in” , I said looking at him. He nodded and left,he came back a few minutes later with a man that seemed to be in his fifties. He looked like a learned and serious man.

“ Hello Mr Cross,my name is Clement Aldridge. I have something to discuss with you and every one of your family member, everyone that is here. However I have a request. Kindly leave your mobile devices in the house “. He said in all seriousness.

I looked at the others. I handed my phone to Max and so did everyone else. He took them into the house and walked back out, closing the door.

“ I am from a very small town, I cannot disclose the location. I am a doctor, the only one in the town. Mrs Cross is Alive “.

I stood up immediately “ What kind of sick fucking joke is this?” , I yelled at him. He raised his hands stopping me.

“ She said you would react this way. Let me explain. Almost one year ago, One Stormy night Miguel showed up at my house at three in the morning,with the lifeless body of a young woman.I asked Miguel who she was and what happened. Miguel is a fisherman. He said he had gone fishing as normal and saw the body in the water ,he didn't know what to do so he brought her to me”. He said, looking at us.

I sank into the chair. This has to be a joke right. “ Look, my wife was….”

“ Shot six times, that's the amount of bullets I pulled out of her body, Her face bares the scars from a blade”, he said, cutting me off.

“ Have a seat Mr Aldridge ”, my father said.

“ Why now ?, why did you wait so long?”,. Jason asked him.

“ Like I said, we're a small town. I didn't know Who she was and from the state she was in I assumed someone was after her so we kept quiet about it. I did the best I could for her. I guess the shock of what happened to her was too much for her . She has been in a coma for the last nine months. Miguel would check on her while I was at the hospital. No one knew she was there. It was five months in that I saw the changes. She was pregnant “.

I stood up immediately. “ Where is she?”

“ She forbade me from telling you. I confided in an older woman in the village and she was helping me and Miguel. You have a son Mr Cross, he's three months old. Normally a patient in a coma that was pregnant is an extremely complicated situation but we let it happen. I performed a C-section when she was close to what would have been her due date. Your wife woke up from the coma two months ago but she wasn't completely well. The first person she asked for when she could speak was her husband”.

“ Miguel, Margret and I explained to her where she was and what had happened since she had been there. She then told us what happened to her. She said to tell you and These are her words. Catherine,her mother,her father and Diane are responsible for it”.

I looked at the others. I looked at Jason and I could see the anger in his eyes. He opened his bag and pulled a picture out and handed it to me.

“ This is your son Mr Cross. He hasn't been named or registered as yet. She said she will only return after you and her brother can Make sure she and her son stays safe,she doesn't want anyone to get hurt again. She wants Someone Called Gertrude to be with her ,she said if anyone that was close to her goes where she is the people that hurt her will eventually find out “.

He handed me a phone. “ There is Only one number saved here , you can contact her with this phone alone. If you can kindly give me Gertrudes number, I'll contact her personally and let her know where she will be going. Also Mr Cross her face is not the same. I'm assuming it will also make her lack confidence “.