Chapter Twenty-Three

It has been almost a week now and everything seems to have gone back to normal. Although Stella suspects that something happened to her that night, she can't seem to remember it clearly enough and with no proof or evidence of what happened, she has nothing to go off of. Athena hasn't let her guard down yet completely; Stella doesn't need anything to go off of in order for her to attack Athena.

She has never needed a reason to hate Athena, she just always has because Athena has the life that Stella wanted, and instead of doing what most sensible people do and work hard to achieve that dream, she resorts to stealing and false claims.

"I will never understand where that sense of self-entitlement comes from in some people," she mutters to herself.

"Who is self-entitled? You wouldn't be talking about that ape of a boss of yours, would you?"

"What do you want, Preston? Does Gabriel know you made a key to his personal suite?"

Ever since they coincidentally ran into Preston Knight, he has been popping up whenever he wants and following Athena around. She has noticed that Julian is more present as well during those times, and she can't help but feel Gabriel sent him to keep a watch on Preston.

Something about their relationship keeps warning her that it isn't what it seems, but she doesn't have the courage to ask Gabriel about their relationship, or his past in general. The lines between their relationship has blurred over the past few days and she no longer knows what Gabriel sees her has anymore.

"Gabriel should know of my behavior at this point in time. It might have been a while since we last saw each other, but I haven't changed much – though it seems he has quite a bit." He gives Athena a choice look.

"What does that imply? I've only known Gabriel for a few weeks, not long enough to know what he was like before. If you're trying to pry me for information about your old childhood rival, you're snooping in the wrong place, I believe Julian is a better fit to answer your questions."

Amazing, she saw right through me with only a few words. This girl…she is quite perceptive.

"Are you by chance working at the moment?" he asks, catching her off-guard.

"I suppose since you've been abroad a long time, you aren't familiar with the entertainment industry down here anymore." Athena walks over to a stack of newspapers and magazines piled up at the front of the foyer and picks through until she finds a cover of herself.

But she doesn't have to look far.

"What the…" she mutters, sifting through the many magazines, seeing her face over and over, one after another. Ones from a few months before Athena tried to kill herself, and ones from years ago when she first started her career.

"W-why…why are these here? Why are there so many of them?"

"You weren't kidding, I didn't realize you were such a hot shot." Preston walks over and peers at the stacks of magazines, all of them featuring the many faces of Athena Rose throughout her career. "Looks like he collected every single issue."

"What, who did?"

"Well, whose hotel suite does this belong too again?"

Gabriel. Has he been collecting these magazines as they came out, or had he shown interest in them after we had already met? Has he always known who Athena was, is meeting him even an accident?

The shrill sound of her phone cuts her off, seeing a call from her lawyer.

"Mr. Collins, has there been any news about my dad?"

"Unfortunately, there has, but I wasn't able to catch it and put a stop to the transfer in time, I'm not sure how your father managed it, but he was able to secretly transfer the property ownership of one of the Rose families summer villas just outside the city. I'm trying to find anything that I can to prove he transferred the property illegally and without proper ownership, but it will take me some time, I don't have any experience in this, I'm just a defense lawyer."

Having a lawyer get his hands so dirty might not have been the best idea to begin with, as she listens to the panic in his voice.

"Don't worry, Mr. Collins, I can figure that out. Just keep and eye on his activity and make sure he hasn't discovered the whereabouts of the will first. Let me know the second he does something suspicious."

Preston, who has been silently eavesdropping while absentmindedly flipping through the magazines, tosses it aside and strides up to Athena once she is finished speaking.

"Do I hear mischief in the air? Is there any chance I might be of service to you?"

Athena thinks about it for a second. Preston does seem like someone who might have connections. What are the chances he knows someone who can get this kind of information without alerting anyone, especially her father?

"Know anyone who is good at hacking into personal computers and find encrypted and hidden files?"

Preston grins, for once feeling useful. "What if I told you I know several? Sadly, most of them are abroad, but one is still very much here in Luxe City, and he's a lot closer than you think?"

"Really, do I know him? Who is it?"

"He would be referring to Mr. Monroe."

"Ah!" Athena and Preston scream in unison at the sudden appearance of Julian.

"God damn, man! Make some noise when you enter a room, scuff your feet or clear your throat, something to alert the people in the room," Preston shouts, covering his chest.

"Why, so you can continue to lead Miss Rose towards a dangerous path? Whatever you're planning, Mr. Monroe won't involve himself for you."

Preston wraps his arm around Athena's shoulders and pulls her into him.

"But your master will certainly do it for Miss Rose, won't he?"

Julian rushes over and slaps Preston's arm off her shoulder and pulls her away from him, before clearing his throat and giving her his attention.

"What is it you need help with, Miss Rose?" he asks, his tone and expression changing completely, it's painfully obvious to everyone in the room but the person it matters most too, just how much Gabriel cares for Athena.

"Did he really mean Gabriel is the hacker he knows?"

Julian looks reluctant but nods anyway. "Mr. Monroe is very skilled in many aspects of technology, I'm sure if he has the ability to help you, he will."

Athena thinks about it, giving Preston a side glance. "Then I'll ask him when I see him next. When will he be returning? We have quite a few things to speak about," she says, her tone darkening.

Julian picks up on it. "Is there anything else wrong, Miss Rose?"

It is Preston who jumps to answer, a giddy smile on his face as he picks up a small stack from the large pile of magazines and fans them out in front of Julian.

"Oh boy, is there ever!"

***

Gabriel shuts down his computer and lets out a heavy sigh as he ends another late night with no leads. They gained no information from the man they captured and there was nothing left behind in the warehouse where they found Stella Madden. Based on the fact that she seemed unharmed other than the bruises and scrapes she received during the kidnapping, that tells him they didn't try and torture her for information, but that isn't to say she wasn't awake and aware during any point.

He needs to make sure that if she does have any solid memory of what happened, Stella and her mother won't come after Athena, and if they do, she isn't left vulnerable. All he can do at the moment is keep her hidden and put Julian as her bodyguard for the time being, but that leaves himself wide open.

"It has been a week and we haven't uncovered anything more than we already knew, why are you still working so late?" Julian asks.

"What are you doing here? I asked you to watch over Athena at Monroe Towers."

"She's here actually, there is something Miss Rose wants to discuss with you. I managed to get there just in time before our unwelcomed guest led her astray. It seems Miss Rose is having difficulties with her family again, namely her father, and needs someone with great hacking skills to help her out. Preston was about to mention you, I'm sure of it, with ulterior motives of course."

Gabriel lets out a sigh as he thinks about his very unwelcomed guest that has forced his way back into his life, much like Preston did when they were kids. They grew up in the same neighborhood, and although Gabriel liked to keep to himself and often stayed inside, Preston would always find his way to his front door or classrooms during school, to pick on Gabriel and bully him into playing with him.

Over time Preston became the only person Gabriel could call a friend, being from a wealthy but unstable family, he was under constant watch and attention, always having to uphold the best image. All the other kids were afraid of getting close to him and offending the Monroe family, causing the downfall of their own family.

This was before anyone knew of his father's drinking and gambling problem, not knowing he couldn't lift a finger to their name, let alone bring down an entire family and their fortune.

"Has Preston behaved himself around her?" Gabriel asks. What he wants to ask is how Athena has been while he is away, purposely avoiding her to deal with the new arising feelings he keeps finding himself having towards her.

"For the most part, he isn't any different than his normal Preston self. But there is another issue I have to warn you about before Miss Rose comes in here."

Gabriel raises a brow, wondering what could have possibly gone wrong in the few days he has been away.

Julian clears his throat and looks away awkwardly.

"Miss Rose found the stack of her magazine covers in the foyer and has questioned where they came from. I suppose the housekeeper didn't remember to get rid of them when she was prepping your suite."

Gritting his teeth, he lets off a string of curses in his head and blows out a deep breath to keep his composure. "I asked her to hide them."

Julian recalls when Gabriel started collecting the magazine covers that either featured Miss Rose or had stories on her inside, under the guise that he was trying to learn what kind of person she is, before agreeing to hire her for such a sensitive role.

That no longer seems to be the case.

"Is it possible you've started to develop feelings for Miss Rose?"

Gabriel answers his question by spinning his chair the opposite way, so Julian can no longer see his face. He was never someone who could hide his expression from someone as observant as Julian. It doesn't help that he has known Gabriel for so long, he can read him like an open book by now.

"Is that why you've locked yourself in the office these past days? You put up Miss Rose in the same suite as you, yet you don't even have the courage to go home and see her."

"I put her there so I know she is safe, and I've locked myself here ever since so I can make it safe for her. I'm not an idiot, Julian, and neither are you. It's clear that Athena has some enemies of her own, and these ones are even closer to her than my own, though I suspect my own enemy isn't that far."

"Are you having second thoughts about welcoming Preston Knight back into your life?"

Gabriel chuckles dryly. "I still have yet to welcome him back, he just has a habit of inserting himself wherever he feels he is needed, which he never is. But no, when it comes to my current situation, I'm not concerned about his involvement. I don't believe even someone like him can be this stupid as to try and steal from me in this manner."

"Why do you assume that?"

"Because I know Preston, and it's clear not much has changed about him. He has just as powerful connections as I do, the only difference is my connections might be considered cleaner than his, especially when it comes to their methods, but they aren't thugs like these men are. They wouldn't stoop so low as to kidnap innocent people to get their way, they have much better ways to steal if necessary."

Gabriel has too many issues to focus on, with a new one being added to the basket; Athena might now know a small part of his feelings for her and might misunderstand his affection – for obsession.

"You said Athena was here to see me about an issue relating to what again?"

Julian shocks himself that he forgot he has Miss Rose waiting in the lobby at the moment.

"She needs your hacking skills in relation to her family."

Gabriel chews his lip and runs his hands through his hair, regretting it instantly after messing it up and tries to smooth it down, looking like a nervous wreck already. Julian tries his best to keep a smile back, wanting to burst out laughing at the rare sight of Gabriel Monroe being frazzled over a woman.

"I-Is that all…she is here for?"

"It's bad that you have to ask that."