51

Leo

Tony most probably then only loved to discuss Ariadne and it was starting to give me much more peace of mind than ever before, but I couldn't stop thinking about Layla and Nathan.

The cops had not provided anything that could point to the criminal, and I was starting to think that they were not taking the case seriously for one reason or another. My contacting the IP didn't seem to be having the supposed effects.

"It's time for the meeting, sir..." Celine walked in.

"So what do you think? Do I proceed?" Tony queried. What was he even talking about?

"Ah, yeah, yeah... it's... it's fantastic." I pretended to have heard all of what he had said from the beginning to the end, whereas it was totally otherwise.

"You don't have any idea of what I'm talking about, do you?" He frowned.

"You caught me!" I admitted. "I'm sorry...I..."

"You are overwhelmed." He said as a matter of fact. I knew.

"I'll be there in a minute." I turned to Celine.

"Sure sir." She smiled and walked out.

"Have they not caught the criminal yet?" He asked. I shook my head in negation.

"Layla must be terribly sad." He said thoughtfully.

I swallowed. I was terribly not okay.

"Is the efficiency of the cops decreasing or what? I mean...how could he still be missing despite everything?" He demanded.

I didn't know, myself, what I knew was that I couldn't get this boy's mother off my mind. But I shouldn't tell Tony I had a wet dream about her under the shower. He'd freak out despite the fact that the total number of countries in the Americas did not match up to his body count, in fact, the latter was superior.

I wasn't sure on what to base my wet dream, was it the fact that I had been abstaining for some time now, and I wanted to fuck just any woman or the fact that I participated wanted Layla 'cause...I meant, my feelings for her were rekindling in my heart, and I just couldn't stand the reality that she was with Henry and had a son with Ethan Brooks.

Henry! Imagining them together made me want to set my head ablaze.

"You okay?" Tony profusely tapped on my desk.

"I'm fine." I breathed.

"You are sweating!" He frowned.

"It's nothing..." I dabbed my forehead.

"Who sweats in this damn weather?" He grimaced.

I knew right.

"I have to be at a meeting now. You should return to your office." I pushed back my chair and prepared to leave.

"It's crazy how Layla shows up, and you return to this state." He said, standing up.

"What do you mean?" I queried.

"Nevermind...I'll be going out with Ariadne, I hope you have prepared my next payment." He winked.

Layla

She had not truly promised, but as I set my eyes on Nathan, I knew something had happened. Something I didn't want to be interested in.

"Mummy!" He kept on calling out to me as I fondled him in my arms. He had been returned to his kindergarten on the morning of the third day.

"Are you okay?" My lips were quaking as I kissed him and examined him rather impatiently. My heart was leaping for joy as much as I was teary and on the verge of an outburst.

Miss Honey was standing at a corner, watching us affectionately. The Proprietor had gone and come back, putting this and that in place and making me sign some documents.

"Uncle Henry?" He was staring at the man like he had seen an apparition.

"How's my little man doing?" He ruffled Nathan's hair.

"Good!" He chimed. "Those guys are pretty nice, but they wouldn't let me see or tell me where my mummy is." He whined.

"Did they hurt you in any way?" I examined his body again.

"He looks perfectly intact and fine, Miss Carter. " She opined.

"I want him to see a doctor, nevertheless." I insisted.

"The school clinic can have him examined..." She tried to explain.

"There's no way I'm leaving him here." I was firm.

"All right then... we'll contact you when the cops contact us." She said.

Something must have happened between them, Chloe and Ethan, but I didn't care. Mrs. Carter was there to smother Nathan with lots of kisses and chocolate bars. She wouldn't even hear of junks or cavities. Everyone was happy to have my son back home.

"Is Leo still out of town?" He twitched his brows as he sucked his teeth.

"Ah," the words stuck in my throat, and I wasn't able to get them out. Mrs. Carter glanced from Henry to me. Sofia and Georgina were quietly chewing their steak. This was the first time I noticed they both ate in the same manner.

"You could choke on pepper when eating and talking, Nathan." Mrs. Carter corrected.

He nodded without any arguments.

"What if we brought Leo to you just for today?" Henry suggested. His eyes lit up like the stars.

"Yes! Yes! Yes." He continued jumping on his feet.

"Great!" Henry chuckled. Mrs. Carter shook her head indignantly.

"Your son is attached to that man, I wonder why." She frowned.

"Yeah...I didn't think it would go so far." I sighed.

"Yet, it has..." She turned to face Nathan. "What has Leo done for you? He bought you lollies?" She interrogated.

"He's my good friend." He responded.

"Well..."

"I think Mrs. Carter has issues with the Coopers." Sofia began telling me when we took the dishes to the kitchen.

"What do you mean?" I was curious.

"I mean...she literally shooed Mr. Cooper away two consecutive times." She testified.

"What are you talking about? Leo was here?"

"No, not Leo...Mr Cooper, Leo's dad!" She exclaimed.

Leo's Dad?

"When was that?" I wanted to know.

"He was recently here and then..."

"Recently?"

"Yeah...when Nathan went missing."

I wondered what was happening here. Hannah never told me anything about knowing Mr. Cooper.

"Why was he here? Do you know why he came?"

She fell silent for some time.

"I think she's carrying Mr. Cooper's baby." She said uncomfortably.

I gasped. Was I hearing right?

"Did you hear...did she say anything about that? What did they talk about, Sofia?" I couldn't but express my shock.

"I...I... could you just pretend I didn't say anything?" She pleaded.

"But you heard something, didn't you? Are you sure of what you just said?" She was staring directly into my eyes. I thought I had begun to terrify her with my bewildered expression, so I withdrew.

"He asked her whether her baby was his or not." She said after a moment or two.

"What was her response?" I was desperate to know.

"She denied it,"

I sighed.

"But it was a lie!" Sofia added.

"A lie. What do you mean?" I was dazed.

"Yeah...Mrs Carter is so bad at lying, I could easily tell she was lying." She responded.

I held my head.

What was happening here?

Could Sofia be saying the truth?

Should I confront Hannah or not?

Why?

Why did it have to involve the Coopers again?

I was mad at myself.

At Leo, at the Coopers.

I must admit, I was already considering what Sofia had said mostly as a truth. If it was true, it meant that Hannah's mysterious baby daddy was the business tycoon of COOPER CORP, and she was literally a mistress to him.

Goodness!

How could Hannah, of all people, put herself in this mess! But then, I shouldn't think so far, yet I needed confirmation, and she was the only one who could actually tell me everything I needed to know.