Chapter hundred and twenty six

Dallas

I took a few breaths trying to steady myself as I strolled towards the car, Xavier beside me. We didn't say a word to each other till we got to the car.

“Do you think they lied to us?” I asked as we settled in.

While I believed they might be going to Tony's and that they burned the letter because the letter specified so, a part of me wasn't entirely convinced. It all seems too convenient.

“No.” Xavier replied, his face serious. “But I don't think they told the entire truth either.”

I nodded in agreement. They had no reason to lie if they didn't even know he was alive.

It made sense that they didn't know as contacting them might have risked blowing his cover. Visiting the twins seem to have proved futile now.

“But I'm fairly certain he sent the letter. He probably anticipated we would visit his daughters. I just don't understand why he didn't give a specific location.” He said more to himself than me.

“The content of the letter seem really vague. There might have been some code in it that they couldn't decipher before they burned it.” I muttered.

it didn't make sense that he just ordered them out of the house without a direction. The way Stephanie described the letter as ‘woven with urgency’ also didn't make sense.

The twins were one of the dumbest people I know. If they could decipher the urgency, what exactly did he write?

I glanced at Xavier to see his brows furrowed in concentration.

“Something doesn't add up.” He finally muttered and threw his head back into the leather chair.

“What are you thinking?” I asked.

“According to what I've learned about them, the twins have a lot of friends. Mostly, party goers like them. But why did they think to go to this ‘Tony’? And who is Tony?”

“Sylvie's boyfriend.” I quickly supplied.

The same thought had ran across my mind several times in the past few minutes. Alot of things weren't adding up.

My phone rang and I pulled it out of my purse. That was when I noticed a small bruise on my my knuckles. I must have gotten it when I hit Sylvie. I didn't register the pain until now.

I sighed and swiped the answer button.

“Hello,” I said, trying to sound cheerful even though I didn't feel like it.

“Are you okay?” Oliver said from the receiving end.

He'd probably heard what Sylvie said through the recording device in my hair. I'd completely forgotten about it.

“Of course, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?” I snorted.

My question was met with silence. I chew on my lips, not sure what to say to fill the silence. Now that the high of the anger had reduced, the only thing I yearned to do was curl up against him and cry my eyes out.

“We have a new development, guys. Come back soon.” Ethan said, sparing me from having to say something.

“Sure, we'll be back soon.” I chipped and ended the call before either of the could say anything.

I inhaled sharply in an attempt to steady myself.

“You might want to clean that,” Xavier said, his gaze directed at my bruised hand. “I have first aid kit.”

I simply nodded and muttered my thanks as he handed the small box over to me.

“Do you need help with that?” He asked.

I shook my head and started working on my hand. I needed to do something with my hand, because despite the satisfaction I got when I told the twins about their father, I was far from okay.

Xavier must have understood my need to be occupied as he didn't argue with me. He simply started the car and drove off.

The silence wasn't comforting at all. It added to my rage, suffocating me. I had finished dressing my knuckle but we were still a long way from reaching the mansion.

“What do you mean when you said I saved you?” I asked suddenly.

I was desperate for anything to fill the silence.

He looked hesitant for a while that I almost thought he wouldn't reply. But just as I was about to let it go and stare out the window, he sighed,

“Six years ago, I went to Korea for some business meetings.” His jaws tightened as he spoke. I found myself wondering if there was more to the ‘business meeting’ but I didn't ask.

“I got into trouble with some people and ended up in an alleyway, drugged and beaten to the point of death. Two girls passed by and the assholes got it into their head it was a good idea to have ‘fun’ with them.” His jaws flexed, and his eyes flickered with anger as he spoke.

“But they didn't know, they were about to be taught the lessons of their lives.” He smirked as of amused by his own words.

“The girls overpowered them and freed me in the process.” He threw me a glance and grinned widely.

My brows creased with confusion as I pondered on his words, but I couldn't come up with anything.

“I don't understand.” I finally said.

“October 16, 2017.” He threw me a glance as if saying ‘figure it out’.

I remembered the date. It was the I received the news that I'd been accepted into the Olympics.

Lisa and I were out late drinking to celebrate. We were going home after getting so drunk that we didn't realize where we were going.

Well, I got really drunk and lost sense of direction, while Lisa guided me.

We'd thought to pass an abandoned alley so we could get home faster, but we came across a man held at gunpoint.

I didn't remember much due to my druken but I recalled throwing up at the sight.

Despite my fear that day, Lisa and I had stood side by side and fought our way out. Luckily for us, some other people thought to pass the alley. The kidnappers ran away without finishing their job.

I was too drunk to remember the face of the man they held captive. He had slipped away while Lisa and I engaged the kidnappers.

“Oh, that was you?!” My face lit up with surprise.

He nodded, not taking his eyes off the road.

“I'm so glad you're okay. We were worried about you for days, but neither of us could find you because we didn't see your face.”

Lisa couldn't sleep properly for a whole week because he feared something has happened to the man. I wasn't any better. In the end, we convinced ourselves that he got away.

It was so shocking to discover the man was Xavier.

“Can I ask you to keep this between us? No one knows about my capture. Not even Oliver or Ethan. I'd like to keep it that way.”

I noted he wouldn't have told me if I hadn't heard his slip earlier.

“You can trust me.” I gave him a small smile which he reciprocated with a grimace. It's like he doesn't know how to smile properly.

“Why were those men after you?” I asked after a few minutes of silence.

I saw his eyes darkened and his grip tightened around the steering. A dark emotion evidence on his face as his the memory haunted. I suddenly regretted asking about it.

I knew first-hand how horrible remembering a part of your past can be. Guilt overrode my curiosity and I tried to change the subject.

Luckily, my phone pinged and I picked it up to read the text I got. My heart thundered, a mixture of relief and annoyance coursed through me as I read the text.

“What happened?” Xavier asked. He seemed to have snapped out of his trance.

A quick glance at him showed the absence of that haunting expression.

“It's Ron.” I rubbed my palms together, hoping it would calm my nerves.

“He wants to discuss something about Lucien.”