Alexander POV
I found my mother in her study late afternoon. She was sitting in her usual chair, the one by the window, with a cup of tea perched delicately on the table beside her. Her posture was as stiff as ever, her expression one of cool, nonchalant as she skimmed through the pages of a magazine.
“Mother, we need to talk,” I said, my voice strained as I stepped into the room.
She looked up from the magazine, arching an eyebrow at me. “Alex, dear, what’s the matter? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”
I didn’t waste time with pleasantries. “Christiana’s house was set on fire last night,” I said, watching her closely, searching for any flicker of emotion. The entire place was destroyed. The kids were inside.”
Her eyes widened slightly, and she set the magazine down, her lips pressing into a thin line. “The children… are they alright?” she asked, her tone as controlled as always, but I could hear the underlying concern.
“They’re fine,” I replied, though my voice was tight with the tension I was barely holding back. “Thankfully, they got out in time. But the fire was no accident”
Her gaze hardened, and I could see the gears turning in her mind. “What are you suggesting, Alex?” she asked, her tone icy. “That someone deliberately tried to harm them?”
I swallowed hard, preparing myself for what I had to say next. “Mother… did you have anything to do with this?”
Her reaction was immediate. Her eyes flashed with anger, and she shot up from her chair, her voice rising. “Are you out of your mind, Alex? How dare you accuse me of something so vile!”
“I had to ask,” I said, my voice cold, though it pained me to be this way with her. “I know how much you despise Christiana, how much you hate the idea of her being in our lives again. But if you did anything–if you even considered putting those kids in danger-”
“Stop right there!” she snapped, pointing a finger at me, her expression furious. “Yes, I loathe that woman, but those children. are my blood, my grandchildren! I would never harm them! How could you even think that?”
I held her gaze, my heart pounding in my chest, emotions swirling within me. “Good,” I said, my voice low and dangerous. “Because if I find out that anyone had a hand in this, they’ll pay. And I don’t care who they are. I won’t let anyone hurt Christiana or our children.”
Her expression faltered, shock replacing the anger in her eyes. “Are you threatening me, Alex?” she asked, her voice quiet, almost disbelieving.
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t. The words hung in the air between us, heavy and unresolved. Instead, I turned and walked out of the room, ignoring the sound of her voice calling after me, demanding that I come back, that I explain myself.
But I couldn’t. I was too consumed by the storm of emotions tearing through me–regret, fear, anger, jealousy. The image of Christiana with Daniel, the way she had looked at him, the way the kids had run to him–it was all too much. And then there was the fire, the terrifying thought that someone out there wanted them dead. It twisted my insides, leaving me feeling more helpless than I ever had before.
I stormed through the house, needing to get out, needing to breathe. Every step felt like I was walking through quicksand, my mind a chaotic mess of conflicting thoughts and emotions. I had failed them. I had failed her. The woman I loved, the mother of my children, was lying in a hospital bed because I hadn’t been there to protect her.
And now, this gnawing doubt was eating away at me, this horrible uncertainty about who could have done this. The confrontation with Daniel, the fire–it was all pushing me to the edge.
I stepped outside, the cool evening air hitting my face like a splash of cold water. I wanted to scream, to punch something, to find whoever had done this and make them pay. But all I could do was stand there, my fists clenched, my chest heaving with the effort of holding back everything that was threatening to spill over.
What was I going to do? How could I make this right!
11:53 AM
Chapter 49
The thought of Christiana’s face, pale and pained, flashed in my mind, and I closed my eyes, fighting the urge to break down right there.
I couldn’t lose her. I couldn’t lose them.
But right now, it felt like I was losing everything.
I stepped out onto the balcony. The night air was cool, but it did nothing to calm the storm raging inside me. I pulled out my phone and dialed James’s number, my fingers trembling slightly with the pent–up frustration and anxiety that had been building all day.
It rang only once before he picked up.
*Sir,” James’s voice came through the line, professional as ever, but I could sense the tension. He knew why I was calling.
“James,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, “what’s the update? What have you found out?”
There was a brief pause, and I could hear him taking a breath on the other end. “The private investigators and the police are still looking into it,” he began, his tone cautious. “They’ve been working around the clock, but the culprits. they were smart. They carried out the job with precision.”
My grip tightened around the phone, knuckles whitening as I tried to keep my anger in check. “What do you mean ‘smart? How could they get away with something like this?”
“They’re saying it looks like someone used a helicopter,” James continued, his voice lower now, almost as if he was reluctant to say the words out loud. “They sprayed diesel over the entire house from above while everyone was asleep. And then they threw a lighter.”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak. The image of it played out in my mind–Christiana, the kids, everyone in the house, completely unaware of the nightmare descending upon them from the sky. It made my blood run cold.
“They were professionals,” James added, trying to fill the silence. “Whoever they were, they planned this meticulously. There were no traces left behind, no witnesses, no mistakes.”
“Damn it!” I hissed, slamming my fist into the balcony railing. The metal rattled under the force, but it did nothing to release the rage boiling inside me. “How can they be so elusive? No one saw anything? No one heard a thing?”
“Nothing, sir,” James replied, sounding genuinely troubled. “It’s as if they vanished into thin air. The authorities are doing everything they can, but these people… they knew what they were doing.”
I ran a hand through my hair, pacing the length of the balcony. My mind was racing, thoughts tumbling over each other, each one more maddening than the last. “We need results, James. I don’t care what it takes–double the team, hire the best of the best. I want whoever did this found, and I want them found now.”
“Yes, sir,” James responded immediately. “I’ll make the necessary arrangements. But sir.. this kind of operation, it’s going to take time. These people… they’re not amateurs.”
“I don’t care how long it takes,” I said through gritted teeth, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “But I want every lead followed, every stone turned. I want to know who’s responsible for this, and I want them to pay.”
James was silent for a moment, likely choosing his next words carefully. “We’ll do everything in our power, sir. I promise you
that
“Good,” I muttered, though the word tasted bitter on my tongue. There was no satisfaction in it, no relief. Only a gnawing fear that I was losing control of everything I cared about. “Keep me updated. I want to know the moment you hear anything- anything at all.”
“Of course, sir,” James assured me. “You’ll be the first to know.”
I ended the call and stared out at the city again, my mind a whirlwind of dark thoughts. Someone had tried to murder my family. They had invaded my world, threatened the people I loved, and they were still out there, free. The thought of it was
unbearable.
I clenched my jaw, the muscles in my face tightening as the realization sank in deeper. Whoever did this wasn’t just after
