: Chapter 23

“What?” I gasped. “How? How did this happen?”

She shook her head, wiping her tears. “I don’t know. I just got a call from the police station half an hour ago. And since then, I was calling Achilles non-stop, but he wasn’t picking up his phone! Even our lawyer called him. Where is he?”

A while ago, means we were in his bedroom then…

Blinking away those thoughts from my mind, I said, “Don’t worry, Tess. Everything will be fine. He’s in his penthouse right now.”

“All right. Let’s—” The blare of her phone cut her off. Receiving it, she listened to whatever the other person said and then cut the call. “It was him. He’s waiting for me outside in the car. I gotta go!”

“Wait! I’ll come with you,” I insisted. I didn’t want to leave her alone in that state.

She nodded, sniffling. “All right, let’s go.”

Once we were outside, we found Ace in the driver’s seat with a rigid form. Though his grip on the steering wheel was tight, his expression gave nothing away. Ignoring the memories of what happened in his penthouse and the flutters in my stomach, we got into his car and then drove away.

When the car came to a stop outside the police station, flashing lights blinded my vision. A small crowd of people with cameras in their hands huddled outside of the car, throwing a bunch of questions at once.

“W-what the hell? Who called them here?” Tess exclaimed.

After a moment of silence, he spoke with his jaw tight. “Let’s go.”

“But Achilles—”

He turned to Tess, who sat beside him. His features softened. “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”

At his assurance, she nodded and got out after him as four bodyguards, who came along with us, protected them from the crazy paparazzi. As soon as I got out behind them, an arm immediately wrapped around me, pushing my face into a warm chest.

“What’re you doing?”

I was ready to pull away as he guided me through the chaos with his protective arm around me, but then I decided against it. His hold and the way he hid my face from those hungry cameras told me the reason behind his act. And I didn’t want my face to be printed in tomorrow’s newspaper.

Even in this situation, he didn’t forget about my safety. He didn’t go to Tess, but he came to me…A warm sensation spread across my heart.

Once we were inside, I created some distance between us. The officer behind the big desk was on his feet as soon as we strolled in, or should I say, Achilles Valencian, walked in. Because the draining color from his face was instant.

Carter and a middle-aged man in a black coat and a white shirt with some files in his hand—maybe the lawyer—were already present.

Tess rushed to Caleb, who stood behind the iron bars. With a disheveled shirt, messy hair, and dimmed eyes, he looked shaken. When Tess reached him, he wrapped his arms around her as much as he could with the bars in between.

“Oh God! Are you all right, baby?” she asked, eyes sparkling with tears.

He nodded, kissing her hands. “Yes, I’m fine. Don’t worry.” Even after his assurance, there was an edge in his voice. “Achilles is here. He’ll get me out of here. Everything will be fine.”

“How did it happen? Why did they arrest you?” she asked, wiping her wet cheeks.

A long sigh left him as he rubbed his face. “They found drugs in the trunk of my car.”

Both of us gasped at that.

“Drugs? But how did they get into your car?” I queried.

“I don’t know. They stopped my car on the street out of nowhere and started searching. When they found them in the trunk, they brought me here,” he replied.

“I don’t believe this! Someone is trying to frame you!” Anger flashed in Tess’s irises.

“I know. But they won’t just listen to anything I say.”

“Why don’t you sit first, Mr. Valencian. We can talk then.” The timid voice of the officer made me turn around.

With hands in his pockets, Ace stood before the desk, melting the officer under his steely gaze. “Why don’t you release my cousin first? I’m not here to chat with you. Let’s get down to business, shall we?”

“Yes, yes, of course.” The officer eagerly nodded and instructed one of his men to let Caleb out. “I’m extremely sorry, Mr. Valencian. I just got here and found out our junior officer charged your cousin with possession of a controlled substance. If I knew earlier, I wouldn’t have let him do it.”

The moment he mentioned drugs, the sudden stiffness of Ace’s shoulders didn’t go missed by me. But he managed a blank face.

“Then what was he still doing behind the bars when I came here? I believe my assistant and lawyer arrived before me. Am I right? What were you doing until then?” He cocked his head, a muscle of his jaw ticked.

The officer gulped. “Actually, Mr. Valencian, it’s a case regarding drugs. So we have to do some procedure before releasing the accused.”

“Very well then. My lawyer is here. Read the papers and release him.” As he pointed to his lawyer, the middle-aged man came forward and showed some papers to the officer.

That man didn’t even read them properly before returning them. No one could with Achilles Valencian’s stormy eyes set on them like a tiger ready to jump on its prey.

Once Caleb stood beside him, he gave him a look and they both exchanged nods. The always happy Caleb didn’t have his smile on today. Though Ace was a closed off person even with his family, his love for them wasn’t any less. His actions spoke it more than his words.

Looking down at his watch, he glanced at the officer. “Where is your phone, Officer?”

The dark blue uniformed man frowned. “Why?”

His phone rang in his pocket. As he fished it out, his eyes widened seeing the name flashing on the screen. When he put the phone to his ear, they came out of his sockets after he heard what the other person had to say on the phone.

“I hope you understood what you’re instructed to do?” Ace asked, cocking his head.

The nod was hesitant. “Y-yeah, Mr. Valencian. The termination letter will be sent to our junior officer as soon as possible.”

Termination?

Of course. The result of crossing Achilles Valencian’s path.

I shook my head.

“Good. Now find out who planted them in Caleb’s car and get back to me within two days,” he ordered. “And you know what to tell the media, don’t you, Officer?”

“Yes, of course, Mr. Valencian. Your family’s name will be cleared, don’t worry. And we’ll try our best to find out who was behind it as soon as possible,” the officer replied.

Nodding, he put his glasses back on and grabbed my hand. But before we were out of the door, he stopped and looked over his shoulder again.

“And yes, Mr. Blake. Be careful of whose family you’re dealing with from now on. Because next time, who knows, it could be you in your junior’s place.”

As all the color drained from the officer’s face, Ace pulled me into his chest again and walked out the door.

Once we were secured in the car and drove away, I turned to Caleb, who sat on the back seat with Tess, her arm clutched around him.

“Do you know who could be behind this? Who tried to frame you?” Though we haven’t seen each other in years, I trusted him enough to tell he wasn’t a person to be tangled with such things.

His gaze met his cousin’s eyes through the rear-view mirror for a fleeting second.

“I’m not sure, but it could be Antonio Raymond.”

“It is him! I’m sure!” Tess hissed. “This time he has crossed the line!”

I frowned. “Who’s Antonio? And why would he do that to you?”

“He’s the owner of our biggest rival company, AR Industries. That man lives with the agenda to destroy our fame and image to get back to the top in the market, the place that was snatched by Valencian Corp from them.”

The same company who was competing with our every deal and using the leaked information? Now it all made sense.

“We’re in progress with the Arabs regarding a mega project. If we get this, our clothing market will spread across the whole Middle East. And that’s what is bothering him. So he wants to defame us by this and turn the Arabs against us,” he continued, lips pressed tight in displeasure.

The whole time, Ace remained quiet. But his tight grip on the steering wheel was the proof of the storm brewing in him. This whole incident was bothering him a lot.

I wanted to reach out and hold his hand, but I held myself back.

“But he couldn’t do it on his own, right? He must’ve used someone to do this.” I pointed out. “Did you see anyone suspicious around your car today?”

Maybe we could find out who was leaking information from the office if we get a hold of this person?

Caleb shook his head. “No. I left home this morning and was going directly to the office until they stopped me in the middle of the street.”

“They must’ve done it either at night or this morning before you left,” Tess thought aloud, her brows furrowed.

“But who could that be?” I looked at Tess. “Did someone visit you last night or this morning?”

She nodded. “Yes, some people I called to resize my wedding dress and make some changes. They needed to see it on me before they fixed it. So, they dropped in this morning.”

“Maybe one of them did it? What about the watchman? I mean, he stays there all the time—”

“He didn’t do it,” Ace finally spoke up, casting me a look. “He’s been working for us for years now. He’s reliable.”

Caleb nodded, agreeing. “Yeah, Joe wouldn’t even think of it in his wildest dreams.”

“Oh, okay.” Then something clicked in my head. “What about the CCTV cameras? I saw them installed in your house. You’ve got one outside, right?”

Tess sighed. “Yes, we do. But it wasn’t working since the night of our engagement party, and I was too busy to call someone to repair it.”

From the party night? When a lot of people were present there?

“That means…”

“It was all planned. They did it on purpose so that they could execute their plan easily.” Ace finished for me, his nostrils flaring.

“Oh God! And we were so clueless about it,” Tess whispered.

“Did you notice anything weird about those people who came for your dress repair?”

She shook her head. “No, all of them were there with me all the time.” Then a realization crossed over her features. “Yes, Liza came this morning to collect some files.”

“Liza?” I was shocked.

“No, babe. Don’t go there. I told her to come and collect those files for a meeting I wouldn’t be able to attend at Valencian Corp because I had some urgent work at OC Textiles. And she is one of the most trustable employees of our company. She didn’t do this,” Caleb said.

Even I agreed. She was a good person and had been a great friend of mine from the day I met her. Honest and hardworking. And then something flashed in my mind. Her weird behavior this morning around the corner and…

I sat back against my seat and stayed quiet, waiting to reach OC Textiles, while Tess and Caleb whispered sweet things to each other in the backseat. Ace matched my silence. But I could feel it, it was the calm before the storm.

As soon as we reached the office after we dropped Tess and Caleb to their home, I rushed inside. Taking the elevator, I went directly to the forty-ninth floor and went to the place where I saw her talking to someone on the phone.

The bin!

Thank God it was still here, and no one took the rubbish out.

Crouching down before it, I moved some paper cups and tissues aside. My nose crinkled as I touched those tissues. Only God knew what they were used for. But I had to do this.

I just hope it’s still there.

With my fingers crossed, I moved some more things until it came into my view. The plastic bag with some white substances at the bottom.

She threw it in here.

With shaky hands, I picked it up. I hoped it was not what I thought it was. Opening the bag, I slowly took a sniff. I froze.

It was indeed drugs.