Epilogue #3
He sat down in front of his computer and seemingly began scrolling, occasionally tapping the mouse before there was a loud banging on the door.
With a deep sense of satisfaction, I saw all the colour drain from his face as he quickly realised what was happening.
In speedy succession, several people in official uniforms crashed into whatever house or apartment Dixon was staying in.
Since it was only a webcam, we could see just one angle, and most of the action happened off screen, but we could hear the shouting and scuffling as Dixon roared the place down, resisting arrest.
Finally, I watched as two men and a woman carted him off, and then the screen went blank. Gasps and cries of emotion sounded from the second row, while the rest of the audience cheered.
“That’s right, ladies and gentleman. We got our guy in the end.
He’s being carted off to America as we speak to face charges of fraud and identity theft.
It’s the very least he deserves. So, this story has a happy ending.
” He paused, his attention raking over the crowd while a mischievous glint shone in his eyes. “But wait, it’s not over yet.”
Jay motioned above the stage to the black-and-white countdown board.
It had been a high number when we’d first arrived in the theatre but was now clicking down almost to zero.
Five, four, three, two, one … as soon as the numbers flattened out at zero, several of those in the second row started to receive notifications on their phones.
The buzzes and beeps echoed through the space.
My chest whirled with exhilaration. What was happening?
In my peripheral, I realised Jace wasn’t watching the stage.
He was watching me, savouring my reactions, and at that moment, he reminded me so much of his dad.
“You might have noticed there was a number up there when you first arrived,” Jay explained.
“Two hundred forty-five thousand, six hundred thirty-two point nine five, to be exact. That is the precise sum of money that our catfish stole from you all, and it has now been refunded directly to your accounts. Thank you, and good night.” With that, Jay gave a final bow before he turned and walked off the stage.
I blinked in wonder. Okay, what? More to the point, how?
For a brief second, the audience sat in astounded silence.
I had no idea how Jay had managed to pull this off, especially since Dixon would’ve gone out of his way to hide the money, but I had a feeling Jay’s “friend,” a certain someone who was a financial technology genius, had had a hand in retrieving the funds.
The crowd went wild, clapping and cheering filling the theatre while the catfish victims displayed shows of emotion, crying and hugging one another.
My exhilaration turned to a strange kind of relief.
I hadn’t realised until that very moment how much pain I was carrying for everyone who’d been scammed, including Jace.
But in the space of a few short minutes, my faith in humanity had been restored, all thanks to Jace and his dad.
I turned and pulled him into my arms while his came around my waist, holding me as I gushed, “That was amazing. I knew you two were up to something.”
Jace’s low chuckle vibrated through me as he pressed a kiss to my neck. “Of course, you did. You’re far too clever.”
“Seriously, sometimes I think your dad might not be completely human,” Roan said, shaking his head. “How he manages these kinds of stunts is beyond me. Every time I think he can’t possibly top his last one, he goes ahead and does it.”
“He’s definitely human, his brain just works a little differently to the rest of us,” Jace replied before looking to me. “You really aren’t mad?”
“Of course, I’m not. Dixon’s been arrested, and those people have gotten their money back. I’ll be able to rest easy tonight knowing something good happened for a change.”
Jace smiled his devastatingly handsome smile as he took my face into his hands and pressed his mouth to mine. “I honestly don’t deserve you. I love you so much.”
His words had my heart shimmering away in my chest. “I love you, too.”
“Yeah, yeah, enough with the lovey-dove stuff,” Angus interjected. “Let’s go backstage and see your dad. I have about a million questions to ask him about tonight’s show.”
“He’ll never reveal his secrets,” Jace chuckled. “You’ll only be wasting your time.”
“I’m gonna try anyway,” Angus replied, determined.
Jace tugged me up to standing, then wrapped his arm around my shoulders as we left the box and headed backstage.
“Hey, I have an idea,” he whispered as the others went ahead of us. I canted my neck to him as he continued, “Let’s go home and take advantage of the empty apartment.”
A whirl of need filled my belly when I saw the heated look in his eyes. Being parents, it was certainly a rare occasion that we had the place to ourselves, and Jace was right; we should take the opportunity. He didn’t need to ask me twice. “Okay, let’s go home.”
We were like a pair of teenagers, unable to get out of there fast enough.
And that was the beauty of Jace and me. We’d been each other’s first loves, and there would always be a kind of bright-eyed, youthful excitement between us, no matter how old we got.
He’d always be able to make me feel the way I did when I was first falling for him, and it was as exhilarating today as it was over ten years ago.
When he’d first arrived back in my life, I’d been terrified, but perhaps I was only afraid because deep down I’d never stopped loving him. A part of me wanted him back in my heart and now he was there, existing right next to the rhythm he loved so much, exactly where he’d always belonged.
END.