"Stupid or brave, Leonica, none of that matters." He began, turning his weight towards her. "What does matter is the fact that whoever did this could be a threat to you. Have you had any altercation with anyone recently?" Leonica paused, her lips parting. Had she? Not that she could think of. The last one was with Angelina and since the news had gone out, she was sure that she hadn't bumped shoulders with any other person. "Not that I can recall." She replied.
Leonardo looked down, thinking "And Gabriel? Could it be possible that someone was targeting you and Ashley in his stead?" At his question, Leonica actually took a solid minute to think back. Suddenly, she recalled the accident with Ashley, the video tape. Arvan had sent and how she found out that it was obviously a planned hit. Her brows furrowed. Could these two be connected? "What is it?" Leonardo asked after noticing the change in her expression.
She looked up, opened her mouth with clear intentions of letting her brother in on what she had discovered about Ashley's accident and how this may be related, but then quickly shut her mouth.
He was already a busy man, having his hands full, not just with her problem, but also with the business. She didn't need to add this burden to his shoulders as well.
"It's nothing, don't worry about it." She forced a smile onto her lips and Leonardo stared at her, not convinced, but be decided not to push.
If Leonica was keeping something from him, then it had to be a matter of grave importance and if it were anything else, he would have been informed.
"I'm calling the police." He announced and pulled out his phone while Leonica silently nodded her head, not having anything against the police. Perhaps a little investigation could help.
A few minutes later, the police arrived, asking questions, taking pictures, and writing reports.
Leonica didn't know when, or how, but before she could even realize it, the sun had set and the moon was high up in the sky.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtWhen the police finally left, Leonardo gave Leonica a firm warning about staying alert and if she saw anything suspicious, to inform him first, not the police.
With a reassuring nod, she gave him one last hug and shooed him off.
Now, left alone, standing outside her house with the moonlight as her only source of light, the words written on the gate seemed to stand out more, taunting her as her lips pressed together and her jaw clenched It could have been anyone, someone who knew her, someone who knew Gabriel There was a long list of suspects, yet at the stime, it was short. From the writing, PRICEY SLUT, it was clear that the culprit or culprits was female She knew it wasn't going to be easy to find the culprit, but what really bugged her was the fact that whoever did this, had taken out the cameras.
"Mommy, you don't have to cwith me, you know." Leonica turned her head, pausing midway in shutting the blinds that allowed moonlight into the halls way between hers and Ashley's room, her eyes met the ones of her son, who had spoken to her.
She sighed, looking at him from the corner of her eye and smiled.
"You think I can leave you here alone after what had happened? "I'm just in my room." Ashley pointed out, gesturing towards the open door behind him. When his mother gave him a pointed lock, he sighed, shaking his head while wondering where the woman who had told him everything was going to be alright, a few hours ago, had gone.
"I know honey, I know." Leonica cooed. "But... Don't you want to sleep with mommy?" She asked him, a slight tone of hurt Jacing her voice and Ashley could hear it loud and clear.
The young boy's shoulders sagged, feeling a bit bad that his mother was making such an expression. Young as he may be, he wasn't ignorant to his mother's feelings. "Okay." He agreed and watched his mother smile, happy Leonica stepped away from the window, pulling the string attached to the blinds and shutting it "Good." She whispered, walking over to the switch board and switching the lights off.
She walked towards Ashley and held his hand. "Let's go, you must be tired," she said, leading him into the bedroom and over to the bed.
Ashley didn't need any persuasion. As soon as the back of his knees hit the edge of the bed, he let himself tall, not minding that his mother had followed suit.
Tucked under the shit with her son, Leonica waited for sleep to come, but after a few minutes with no show and Ashley's turning and tossing, she finally decided to say something. More to distract herself from her wandering thoughts than anything else. "Ash?" A sleepy hum was heard from beside her, the younger male answering. "What did you tell your father? The promise, I mean?" "Malaysia," Ashley answered, yawning shortly after. "I told Daddy I wanted to go to Kuantan because mommy looked like she really wanted to go there." He added, sounding more sleepy this taround.
"Is that so?" Leonica asked and closed her eyes. She hadn't expected the place that Ashley had chosen to be one she said she wanted to visit after binge watching an entire season of her favorite anime. "Mhin, good night mom." Leonica didn't reply and only shifted to get into a more comfortable position Soon, Ashley's breathing becmore stable and deep. His mother sighed, knowing that she was going to be the only one who would be kept up tonight, worrying over who could have vandalized her property. Going into the company the next day without getting a wink of sleep felt like a suicide wish, yet Leonica still did it. When her alarm clock went off, she forced herself up, and into the shower, hoping that the cold water would somehow wake her up, I but it had failed her and she had found herself standing in the presidential lift of her company after waking Ashley up and dropping him in school, with her eyes feeling like lead, begging for a good ten hours of rest. She stepped out of the elevator at the dining sound and was instantly rushed by a familiar face.
"Leonica, Finally!" Anastasia exclaimed, placing her hand down on both sides of her friend's shoulder. "I've been trying to get a hold of you all through yesterday, what happened to your cell?" "My what?" Leonica asked, her eyes wide and alert, not having any idea about what her friend had said.
Anastasia blinked at her. "Your cell phone." She repeated slowly.
"My cell?" "Yes, the gadget which allows you to make and receive calls and text messages?" Anastasia repeated slowly "Oh, that cell." Leonica breathed out, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"You okay? Anastasia asked after taking a better look at her.
"Fine, just peachy." The other replied and began walking away.
"Are you sure? You look like someone who had stayed up all night." She commented, matching her friends pace. "I'm fine." Leonica insisted. "How about you? What are you doing here? No case to handle?" "I took a day off." "Why?" ...Derek texted me." Her words had Leonica stopping in her track and turning towards her with wide eyes, sleep disappearing the very next second.
"What?" Anastasia swallowed before she repeated. "Derek, he texted me." Leonica's face becsour, shortly after, holding a look that Anastasia recognized all too well. "What? What aren't you telling me?" She asked Leonica hesitated, contemplating for a few seconds before deciding to tell away. "A few months back, Derek pickedup. We had a drink, caught up on things. He asked about you, but I didn't say a thing," Anastasia's eyes narrowed the more she spoke. "I promise." "You promise?" Her tone had suddenly becdefensive. "Leonica, you knew Derek was in town, he asked of me, you knew this, yet you said nothing" "I forgot." "You forgot? What, is your problems with your ex husband more important than the fact that the possessive asshole who had nearly ruined my life, is back in town? Anastasia's tone had risen to a point where a few people were now glancing in their direction H "Annie-" "No, Leonica. You should have said something, I'm your best friend, or did you forget about that too? Too busy with Gabriel?" She spat, anger evident in her eyes.
Leonica had no answer for that, and so she didn't say anything, leaving Anastasia to shake her head at her, her pony tail whipping the side of her face in the process.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"What are you doing nowadays?" Her question was clear, pointing directly at the matter on the table that needed settlement.
"Anastasia, listen, I'm sorry, okay? I fucked up that one time, okay? But m how was I supposed to know the dude was still batshit crazy. You saw him suffer like I did, you must know that he has changed." "That's not what I asked." "Annie." "No," Anastasia held her finger up. "I don't want to hear your excuse, just answer my damn question. What are you doing, with Gabriel and Arvan and Owen?"
"Gabriel is the father of my child, Arvan is a dear friend and Owen," She paused, sighing heavily as her m shoulders sagged "Owen is a family friend, a brother, who is only trying to look out for me." "Bullshit!" Anastasia sneered, abruptly pulling Leonica into the nearest room when the stares began to get too much. "Bullshit, Leonica." She repeated. "You're not a kid, neither am 1, so we're both old enough to understand what those two men meant in their speeches." Don't rub in the obvious, Leonica thought.
"And Gabriel," She chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Don't even getstarted on him." "Gabriel is the father of my child." Leonica repeated, the answer sounding far too rehashed.
"That's all he is? Your ex husband? The father of your child?" "And an asshole." Leonica added and Anastasia scoffed.
"Right." "It's true. Don't be fooled because I hang around him lately, I'm simply trying to help him recover his memories."
Anastasia rolled her jaw, she wanted to push on further, but she knew if she did this argument was argument was going to escalate into one of their usual ones. And that she didn't want. "You're gonna end up hurt, again." She warned, her tone a lot less hostile than before.
"I'm not." Leonica assured, holding her gaze. "And I'm sorry, for forgetting about Derek. Perhaps I thought he wasn't important longer" "And he isn't meant to." Anastasia grumbled. "I don't know why I got so panicked over a simple message." any Because they were all aware who Derek was, Leonica thought, but held those words back. She didn't want to spoke her friend anymore than she seemed.
"It's a human thing" She settled for that, giving her friend a Pat on the shoulder. "But you shouldn't worry yourself." "You're right." Anastasia answered with a sigh, the tension from before quickly dying down. "I'm sorry for flaring up at you." She apologized.
"I deserved it." Leonica threw her a smile and pulled the door open, stepping out.
However, the moment she turned around, she bumped right into someone's chest, spilling a sudden rush of hot coffee onto her white blouse.