Chapter 244
“Mr. Vale, I heard Alaric and Ms. Storm went to the airport early this morning. Do you have any idea where they’re headed?”
Ambrose was restless. The entertainment center project was nearly finished, and he needed everything to be perfect. Alaric’s sudden absence had him worried.
He pressed on. “They left early, just the two of them? No kids?”
“Yes,” came the response.
A vacation seemed impossible. Stellan had just opened Stellan’s Reassuring Clinic, and Alaric was overwhelmed with work. It had to be a business trip, but what kind of business was it?
Ambrose ordered immediately, “Get someone from Nexus Innovations to look into it.”
“Yes, Mr. Vale.”
Meanwhile, on the plane, Alaric and Stellan were settling in. As they made themselves comfortable, Stellan leaned her head on Alaric’s shoulder, clearly nervous.
“It’s a three to four-hour flight. If you’re tired, take a nap,” Alaric suggested, pulling her a bit closer.
Stellan shook her head. “I can’t sleep. I’m too nervous. I just hope this trip will pay off.”
Alaric gave her a reassuring smile. “If it works out, great. If not, we’ll figure out another angle. I have friends at the DA’s office, so pulling the old case files will be easy. But to get a retrial, we need solid evidence. That’s where we start.”
Stellan nodded. “It’s an old case. A retrial won’t be easy. Thank you for doing this with me, Alaric.”
Alaric’s expression grew serious. “If you’re certain Brennan wouldn’t do anything illegal, then this is a wrongful conviction. We need to clear his name. It’s about justice, Stellan. We can’t back down.”
His words hit Stellan deeply. She nodded, her resolve strengthening. “You’re right.”
“Don’t worry,” Alaric continued. “Even if the truth is hidden now, it will come out eventually.”
Stellan felt a surge of confidence. “Absolutely.”
Alaric smiled and urged her to relax. “We’ve been up early. Try to get some sleep.”
“Okay,” Stellan said, finally closing her eyes and leaning against him.
Alaric glanced at her, watching her drift off to sleep. With a soft sigh, he leaned back, hoping that this trip wouldn’t be in vain.
Back at the office, Denny had been checking for any leads but came up empty.
“So secretive?” Ambrose murmured, feeling more frustrated. If it was a business trip, Nexus Innovations would know about it. But if it wasn’t business… then it was something personal. And if Stellan was involved, it was likely related to her.
Could Alaric really be helping Stellan revisit the Storm family bankruptcy from seven years ago? Did he have that much free time? Ambrose had already gathered enough evidence to push for a retrial, but Stellan had chosen to trust Alaric over him. It stung.
“Damn it!” Ambrose muttered, slamming his fist on the desk. If things kept going this way, his chances of winning Stellan back were zero.
In frustration, he dialed Marigold’s number. She was currently busy trying to get the kids to go out and play.
Elisa was on board, but Caspian and Harry refused to leave the house. Marigold tried to convince them to go to the amusement park, but they weren’t interested.
Marigold persisted, but when Ambrose’s call came through, it only added to her irritation.
“Caspian, Harry, don’t you want to go to the amusement park? I can book the whole place just for us so it won’t be crowded,” she tried again, ignoring Ambrose’s call.
“No,” Harry answered quickly. “Going out should be lively. Just the three of us would be boring.”
Marigold thought for a moment and suggested, “Okay, we won’t book the whole place. You can play with other kids. How about that?”
“No,” Caspian said firmly. “More people means more germs. It’s noisy and annoying.”
“Then one of you can have a private session while the other plays with other kids.”
“Boring!” both boys said in unison.
Marigold’s patience was wearing thin.
“Just so you know,” Caspian added seriously, “we’re only here because Mom told us to. It doesn’t mean we accept you as our grandmother.”
“Yeah,” Harry chimed in. “If you don’t change, we’ll be led astray.”
Elisa, who had been listening quietly, shrugged. “If you guys aren’t going, I won’t either. I’m going back to sleep.”
With that, Elisa went to her room and locked the door. Caspian and Harry retreated to their study rooms, where they buried themselves in homework. Marigold’s efforts were wasted.
“Mrs. Knight, you need to take it slow,” Joe suggested kindly.
“Didn’t I just do that?” Marigold snapped, growing frustrated. “It was fine before, but ever since Alaric married Stellan, the kids have become more disrespectful toward me. They’ve been influenced by her.”
Joe didn’t have a solution and remained silent.
Marigold’s phone rang again. It was Ambrose.
“What does Ambrose want now?” she muttered under her breath. “Can’t he see I’m already annoyed?”
She was about to hang up, but Joe suggested, “Maybe he has another idea?”
Marigold scoffed. “His last plan failed. How can I trust him?”
Joe replied, “People on the same side can be temporary allies. You both want Mr. Knight and Ms. Storm to split. Two minds are better than one.”
Marigold paused for a moment, considering it. “That makes some sense.”
“Just hear him out,” Joe urged.
Reluctantly, Marigold answered the call.
Ambrose’s voice came through. “Mrs. Knight, I’m honored you answered.”
“Cut the crap. What do you want?” Marigold snapped.
“It’s important. Can we meet to talk?”
Marigold hesitated. If the kids had agreed to go out, she wouldn’t have bothered with Ambrose. But since they were ignoring her, she had nothing else to do.
“Fine,” she agreed. “You pick the place, and we’ll talk.”