Chapter 298 - Someone Worth Thanking
Sometimes telling lovers things weren't meant to only fuel their desire to remain. High they climb, harsh they fall, the words of others echoing amidst their ruin.
As Lina started out the window, Mia's words echoed in her mind. She hoped Mia didn't have an unhealthy obsession with Kaden.
"God, that'd be freaking weird," Lina muttered to herself, her grip tightening on her tablet. She was browsing through the portfolios again, in case she missed something. Her mind was elsewhere.
Lina contemplated Mia's words. Last night. How did Mia know that? Which man was Mia referring to? Lina felt strange questioning who it could be. It just proved the people's theory that she once played with the heart of three heirs. One was dead, but still. She worked hard to clean her image.
The wedding was canceled. The biggest political marriage of the century was suddenly halted. Everything was postponed. Then, when the marriage talk died down, all calls were necessary. Lina's people made the shot a month after the separation. To her surprise, the wedding services were resuming, as if Kaden never intended for it to be shut down. As if Kaden was waiting for Lina to change her mind. In the end, he still had a glimmer of hope.
"... the catering, florists, and decorators have been booked for the gallery exhibition…"
Right, so many things were canceled. Flowers imported from different countries had to be donated, the catering food was given to homeless shelters and soup kitchens, the musicians' beautiful songs were given to the public as a gift, and their properties were never properly divided.
Truthfully, Lina didn't even know what was under her name. Lina never bothered to check.
"Thank you, Estella," Lina said in response, revealing a slight smile that the rear mirror could see.
Estella was sitting in the passenger seat, jotting down information and making quiet phone calls for confirmation. She briefly nodded her head and began to page other people on the list. Everything had to be perfect. It always should be. She expected no less. All of the guests were too spoiled by Lina's gallery's splendid celebrations.
"How did you get home yesterday night, Estella?" Lina asked.
"Oh, you just reminded me," Estella slowly said. "I called the manager of the club earlier and he was reluctant to show the security cameras. I've pressured him quite a bit, even with lawsuits, but he countered with violation of privacy."
Lina deeply frowned. "Even when you mentioned the drugs?"
"Yes, they grew even more tight-lipped after hearing that, believing we were the police," Evelyn murmured.
"Find out who the club owner is," Lina decided.
"The manager is claiming he's the owner," Estella stated. "But I've dug into the pocket where the money actually ends up in… and something about a Triad came up."
"Triad?" Lina echoed. "As in, a mafia family?"
"Yes, a powerful and terrifying one in Ritan. Not many triads survived, but the ones were able to clean their money of blood through legal businesses. We're unable to track the owner down," Estella explained. "Whoever he or she is, they're a terrifying force."
"A triad with a legal business…" Lina murmured, touching the neckline of her shirt. She bit her bottom lips, hoping it wasn't the name hanging on the tip of her tongue.
Lina knew the Yang was and still is a powerful triad. The Yang clan was composed of many powerful branches, with some in close connection to the Imperial Family of this continent. But there was another dangerous family that lurked in the underworld, one that Lina was well acquainted with.
"Medeor," Lina breathed out.
"I was thinking of DeHaven," Estella curtly mumbled.
"Dehaven?" Lina repeated, genuinely intrigued. "But Kaden—"
Lina cut herself off. Estella caught her gaze in the rear view mirror. Silence engulfed the vehicle. Even the driver shifted in his seat.
"House DeHaven wasn't rumored to be a triad, back in the early 1900s, they were a reputable family of military generals and lieutenants," Lina explained.
Lina would know. Her second life was engulfed in as much gunpowder as her first life was with swords.
"Then again, their possession of arms and weapons were and still is frightening," Lina said, finishing her thoughts out loud. "You think the club could be owned by House DeHaven?"
"I have good hunches. Rumor has it, Chairman DeHaven was spotted entering the club with a client and escorted to the VVIP lounge. Medeor was nowhere in sight," Estella said.
Lina tried to scramble her brain for something. Then, she straightened up. "Pins."
"What?"
"Pins," Lina repeated. "We need to visit the club again. I need to see the pin on the manager's clothes."
"Was he wearing a pin? I don't even remember if he was wearing a suit or a button up," Estella returned.
"Clubs are built on owned territories. No mafia member is stupid enough to trech on another's turf. To maintain peace, the manager should be sporting a pin of his triad," Lina explained.
Lina wished she didn't know the ins and outs of the underworld. At times, she was grateful for the knowledge that the Yang have taught her. More specifically, the weird knowledge she'd gain from her horrendous Second Uncle, Clyde. To this day, they have not spoken.
The day Lina walked out of Wraith, she cut ties with everything and everyone. Lina canceled all bank accounts affiliated with the Yangs, took out the money she made, left the ones that weren't hers, then changed her number, moved to a skyscraper with the best security in Ritan, and placed half the Yang members into her "block and detain" list of guests.
"Are we going there right now?" Estella echoed. "You will be cutting your lunch time."
"I'm fine." Lina gazed out the window with a slight frown.
Lina recalled her therapist's words clearly.
"Sometimes, when people aren't able to handle their lives, handling what goes into their mouth is their only peace of mind. One can't control their life from spiraling apart, but they could control putting down the fork," her therapists' softly said.
Lina stopped attending the day after that. Lina didn't need someone to tell her what she already knew. So, she grabbed a granola bar from her purse, took a bite, and directed the car to drive to the club.
"I need to know you got back safely and that my men didn't fail you. I also need to locate and thank my savior," Lina said. "It's the least I can do, don't you think so?"
Estella offered a slight smile. Her stomach nervously twisted. She didn't feel so good about this.
Gazing into the rear view mirror, Estella said, "Well… let just hope your savior is someone worth thanking."
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