Darkest Deception (Deception Series)

36

“You can go right in. He is waiting for you.” I nod at Remo’s assistant and walk past her towards his office.

As soon as I turn the door handle, I know I will not be leaving without my whole world shifting. This conversation will wreck me and destroy everything I have known. Just how much will I be able to handle?

It’s time I pick myself back up and take back the reins of my life. To stop everything spiralling out of my control and take action.

I won’t be sitting in my room being depressed when I have so much money, power, and resources at the tip of my fingers to do as I please in life.

The door shuts behind me, and Remo stands up from his seat, buttoning his suit jacket.

“Ms Ambrose, please sit down.” He motions to the chair in front of him, and I take my seat.

He watches every single movement of mine, quite like Helia.

“Can I help you with anything?” He lifts a brow, running a finger along his jaw, quietly watching me.

“Yes. In fact, you are the only one that can help me.” I lift my chin up high.

“Right.”

I nod with a smile. There is something about today that feels right. Like I finally understand everything and nothing can make me fall again.

“How long have you known Helia?”

Remo doesn’t answer for a second, something a lot like amusement twisting in his eyes.

“Why? Finally interested?”

“Well?” I lift a brow, waiting.

“For about a decade or so.” He shrugs, but when you are so close to people you cover murder for, you know exactly how, when, and where you have met them. You remember every detail as to always stay ahead of them in case anything goes wrong. So for him to act so casually, my suspicions have turned out to be correct.

“Right. I will ask you one more question, and I want the truth. The complete truth. No lies. No deception.”

Remo’s lip quirks up.

“Helia has done some questionable things, and I have been in the midst of them, or sometimes the cause. Unintentionally. How long have these ‘things’ been going on for?”

Remo doesn’t answer. In fact, he doesn’t even look to be in a mood to answer.

“What ‘things’ Ms Ambrose?”

I slam a hand on the table, leaning forward. “Murders, Mr Cainn. Murders.”

Remo looks me dead in the eye for a moment, then he throws his back with a taunting laugh.

“I cannot believe it. With the number of bodies I had to clear up, you were bound to find out,” he continues, looking me directly in the eyes. “Helia is a murderer. Yes. And I hide them. We have never boasted of being clean businessmen, as other people do. No one at the top is a sweet, innocent angel. Every single one of them has made a deal with the devil. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

I blink.

“Everywhere you walked, Helia followed in the shadows and left bodies behind him. You only have to look back and see the bloodied path he has created for you. Helia… doesn’t know how to deal with emotions like a normal person, as you have no doubt gathered.” Remo gets out of his seat and walks around the table.

“He is unhinged, too carefree, but he isn’t stupid nor someone to take lightly. Helia’s obsession with you began as soon as he saw you the first time. He argued with me. He gave me, Remo Cainn, an ultimatum. You are not something he will lose or easily let go of.” Remo leans down, grabs the arms of my chair, and narrows his eyes. My words climb up my throat and lodge there.

“You are his obsession. A very dark, very twisted obsession. If you are here to find a way to get rid of him, it’s best not to linger in that delusion. It won’t be happening. If you are here to confirm what has been going, especially with the recent news of the Madden sisters, then yes, your suspicions are correct.”

Pushing my chair back, so he has to release me, I get up, crossing my arms.

“I have suspected it for a while but didn’t want to believe. But then I realised that if my father could fake his persona in front of the media and still be a monster behind closed doors and sell his daughter? Anything could happen, honestly.” I shrug.

It’s hard to maintain contact with such a powerful figure like Remo, but I’m going to stay in my place and not back down.

“How did it happen? How did you pull off the Madden sisters? I’m sure you are aware of their father and what position he holds in society.”

Remo nods, looking to the side as if to hide a smirk. “Of course I do. Just as you know my position in society, Ms Ambrose. Because of Helia, I know exactly how and where Fox Madden has been smuggling lab-made diamonds into the UK. It brings in billions of dollars but at what cost? All it took was one meeting and a little video evidence, and it shut him up.”

Remo moves away from me towards the floor to ceiling window of his office wall.

“Everyone loves money to the point they will even sacrifice their own children in this city. It’s disgusting because they gamble lives for money, not even seeking justice, but at the end of the day, we all are power-hungry humans.” Remo looks over his shoulder at me, his black hair slicked and not a single strand out of place as he stands at the top of the city he owns.

“Someone is willing to protect you in this city, in this country, this world, so be grateful. Especially since that someone is Helia. If it were up to me, after finding out about what happened to Aurora, I would have dug your grave long ago.”

My heart stops.

His words pierce a wound in my heart, but I keep my mouth shut.

“Thank you.”

I turn around to leave when he stops me.

“One more thing. Don’t think Helia doesn’t know about this marriage of yours with Erik Kellias. He’s keeping quiet about it to help you come to terms with everything. He not only has been bothering me and Aurora about what to do with you and how to approach about his feelings without scaring you off, but he has also been trying to put you in my and Aurora’s good graces, to save your relationship with her, because in his words ‘my emerald looks very sad these days.’ That motherfucker is getting too sappy for his own good.”

My heart pangs inside me. I lift my hand to soothe it, but it doesn’t work.

Nor does it work when I am in my kitchen, waiting for Mum to come home, to tell her that I am going to publicly announce that I am breaking off my engagement with Erik Kellias. It has to be done.

Remo’s words keep repeating in my mind while I wait in the quiet kitchen.

My emerald looks very sad these days.

I look sad, he said. My emerald, he called me.

My eyes drop to my hand where I am wearing one of his gifted rings on my middle finger. It’s a silver band with small rectangle emerald-cut diamonds all around it. It looks gorgeous against my slightly pale complexion.

I run my hand through my golden hair, a smile touching at my lips, recalling how Helia noticed when I only cut just two inches off my hair.

“You won’t let me go, right?”

My head snaps to my left, where the door of the kitchen is. Helia stands there with a grin on his face, dressed in an all-black suit, hands in his trouser pockets as he leans against the doorway, his black hair falling into his eyes.

“What?” I whisper, slowly standing up from the stool.

He rests his head on the doorframe, the sharp edges to his face more prominent, dangerous, and haunting.

“I love you. You know that, right?”

My hands grab hold of my blue wide-legged jeans. I suddenly feel hot under the long-sleeved jumper I have on.

“Do you love me, Emerald?”

I open my mouth, but no words come out.

Helia pouts in front of me. I look down at the floor.

“I’ve done so much for you, laid the world at your feet.”

I gasp when his voice comes from behind me. I turn around and see him standing there, looking through my fridge.

I look back to where he was, and he isn’t there anymore.

What…?

“I gave you a part of me as you gave me a part of you. I know you never gave anyone that privilege, so I gave you something in return.” He straightens and looks at me.

His eyes…they are filled with love.

For me.

“There will be no one after you for me. Never was before you either. Do you believe me?”

I nod, biting my lip as tears start to gather in my eyes. I do.

I do so much to the point I believe I can look past his sins and mine.

He made mistakes, and so did I.

“I will love you obsessively.” Helia’s right next to me now, grabbing my hand and lifting it to his lips.

“Believe me, still?”

I nod, a smile spreading on my lips.

“Love me?” he pleads, his eyes waiting.

Yes. Yes.

Yes, I love you.

I open my mouth to say just that when I blink, and he vanishes.

He’s not here.

It was just a hallucination, but I need to tell him.

I do.

Rushing towards the kitchen door, I walk through the hallway and bump into someone I didn’t see coming.

“Where are you rushing to?”

Mother.

I step back. She walks into the kitchen and grabs a fresh glass of water from the fridge.

This is my chance.

I need to set everything right. I need to do this.

I can figure out about my company later. Figure out everything else later.

I just need to tell Helia how I feel.

“Mum. I sent my written statement about breaking off the engagement with Erik. I’m not marrying him.”

Mum’s head snaps to me. “What did you say?” she grits out.

“You heard me. You force me once more? I will throw you out of this house. Enough from you. I had enough from you. You get yourself together, or I will not be so gracious anymore.” I walk up to her and bend down to her height.

“Raise your hand at me once more, and I promise you I will put you in jail for life. Don’t underestimate me. You don’t know who I am, it seems. Go ask your friends, your colleagues, anyone in your tea party, and they will know exactly what I have done. And I will not hesitate to do any of it to you.”

She opens her mouth, probably to scream at me.

“Shut up!” I snap.

Her mouth shuts.

“Not a single word out of your mouth, Leyla Torre. You have lost everyone in your life.” I step back, not trusting her to not attack me as I move away and walk back up to my bedroom to grab my car keys.

As soon as I am in my bedroom, I release a sigh. It feels as if the bricks that were weighing down my heart have finally fallen.

My laptop pings, and my eyes snap to it, the subject of the email freezing my world.

Result of the hard drive. Successful.

My hands lift to my lips.

They did it. They retrieved the footage.

As soon as I open the email with the retrieved footage, I sit down and watch it.

The first starts off on the day two figures walk into our house: Remo and Helia. I look at the date and see it’s the date… my father died.

The clip switches, and I see inside the office. Remo threatens Dad. Dad shouts and screams, but Remo stays silent until he grabs hold of his throat and gets in his face to say something that makes Dad’s eyes widen. The clip switches to Helia standing in the hallway with his gun raised as he shoots at every single guard that rushes towards him. My heart bleeds in heartbreak inside of me. It shouldn’t be feeling, bleeding, or calling out for Helia.

It’s a bloodbath, blood everywhere, as I had seen that day.

Remo starts to hit and beat Dad up, forcing him to sign a document that Helia takes and walks out with a manic smile and bloodied hands and face.

Remo shoots Dad, and he falls limp to the pool of his own blood.

My hands lift to my lips as I see the driveway footage of me and Mum walking up to Remo, who whispers something in my ear and walks away. They were both wearing black clothes, so I couldn’t have seen the blood.

My eyes lift to the corner of the house and see Helia standing there.

The picture I saw!

It was Helia.

And the rest of the clips are ones that had been deleted. All of Helia standing outside my home every night for the next month. It continues until recently.

My hands shake.

The document he signed.

It was the papers to put Glamorous in Helia’s name, under Remo’s control.

It was all orchestrated, as I expected.

I saw the own murder of my father.

And I don’t feel a single ounce of remorse.

No one knows it was committed by Remo Cainn.

I have been able to uncover a dirty secret of Remo and it’s in my hands.

I could ruin everyone with this one tape.

What do I do?

I get off the chair, running my hands through my hair, trying to think through what I should do.

I love Helia.

I love whatever he is, however he is.

But this… what do I do with this information?

It could get my company back. But I don’t think Helia would be willing to give it to me if he is here only for this company.

I sit down at my desk again and type up a report, asking a reporter to investigate the document that was been signed by my father. I copy it, ready to send it to the lawyer who has been preparing my case for this company.

But I can’t attach the file.

I should delete it. But then how will I get my company back?

Remo won’t give it up, he isn’t that generous, except to Aurora. And I doubt Helia would give it to me. He won’t. Not when it’s the only thing keeping him away from the police knocking on his door. It could help him explain where he has been if they were to question his presence.

It solves all his problems. That’s why he has been so tight-lipped about it.

But this company, it’s mine. It has been my mission and my motivation for most of my life.

I love working for it, I love everything I do.

But… I can’t betray Helia like that.

I don’t know what to do.

My company is a part of me.