Chapter 232 - Chance (3)

He studied her expression for a sign of this being a joke she had come up with. When he found none, he burst into laughter. "Are you out of your mind?"

"I really mean it. Give her back to me and I promise, you will never see her again." She insisted stubbornly.

He wanted to knock some sense into her dumb head. She must be under the influence of some crazy drugs to think up such nonsense. "Who told you I disliked my daughter and don't want to be in her life?"

Her eyes widened in shock. "You…"

He raised a hand to shut her up. "Get out of my sight. Don't appear before me again if you still want to be part of her life." He threatened, his underlying meaning clear. If she appeared before him again, he would take Rosaly away from her permanently.

It was not a trivial matter and she didn't doubt that he could do that out of anger.

However, his response shocked her. Didn't Desmond hate kids? Why would he want to take one away permanently? She frowned deeply when she recalled the only time they discussed the topic, when she had suggested getting off her birth control so they would have a baby, and his response had been that he wanted nothing to do with children. What was that about? Her brain turned in possibilities. Was it because he just didn't want to have a baby with her? Then the joke was on him.

She was still reeling in shock when a female bodyguard approached her. "I'm sorry ma'am, but I've been instructed to search you."

"How dare you!" She wanted to slap her but was no match for a highly trained bodyguard.

"We cannot ignore the risk of you taking pictures to tarnish Mr. Fort's reputation. Excuse me.

She gritted her teeth. Desmond dared to humiliate her now, huh.

"Just you wait." She spat angrily.

"Sir, I didn't find anything suspicious." reported the bodyguard when she went back to the car.

Desmond hummed in response without tearing his gaze from the sleeping Rosaly. She was snuggled up against him with her hand tightly grabbing onto his clothes. Maybe that was just how kids slept, he thought, gently prying her hand off so it wouldn't get cramped. He had expected Angela to try and use their meeting as a chance to rile Zaria up. Luckily, she didn't, but he didn't let down his guard. There was no way to guess that woman's next move and it was better to be safe.

When they arrived, he gently took his daughter out of the car. He had tried not to wake her but she opened her eyes thanks to his movements.

"Daddy, where is this place?" She asked as soon as her mind cleared. This was not her home.

"This is where I live." He answered, wondering whether she wanted a toy or a snack. What did little girls like?

While he hurriedly googled what to do with a little girl, the latter was curiously taking everything in.

"Daddy, why is this clock so big?" She asked, pointing at the grandfather clock at the large wall clock that nearly covered the entire wall.

"Because I wanted a big one?" He wasn't sure what explaination would make better sense. As expected, his answer only made her more curious.

She tilted her head to the side. "But why such a big one?" She continued asking, and he was helpless. He had almost forgotten. If kids had a trademark, it would be the questions they ask.

"Well, I don't know. I thought it was beautiful."

"It is really beautiful." She remarked and went on to ask a gazillion other questions about random things, before she yawned. "Daddy, I'm hungry."

"What do you want to eat?" He tapped her face, and she was puzzled by his question.

"I get to choose?"

The excitement in her eyes told him that something odd had been going on her entire life. Was it such a big deal?

"Yes. What do you usually eat for dinner?"

The mention of dinner made her eyes droop. He patted her head and waited for her to make a choice.

"Can I have pasta, just this once?" She asked. He took note of her trembling little body and wondered why she would think it was a risk asking him that.

"You like pasta? I'll make you some." He promised, before remembering that he was a rookie in the kitchen. It would probably be a miracle if he didn't burn down the entire kitchen. After three unsuccessful attempts, he conceded and called his part time chef to do it. Meanwhile, Rosaly was beside herself in excitement.

"Come here." He grabbed her halfway through her sprint across the living room and sat her down. She cocked her head curiously.

"Do you like pasta very much?" He probed, finding her response earlier bizarre.

She nodded. "Mommy won't let me have it."

Of course. He knew it had something to do with Angela and quite possibly some dietary restrictions. "Why not?" He asked, trying not to sound harsh.

"Because ballerinas can't be fat."

Why in the world would a little girl have that kind of thought in her mind?

He wanted to interrogate Angela but knew that it would only cause damage. If she was half as toxic as he was starting to think she was, she would punish the girl later if he asked about it.. On the other hand, it was quite possible that he was being overly sensitive. He would have to investigate it.

After dinner, where the girl had managed to scarf down two servings of pasta since the rare opportunity had presented itself, he gave her his tablet to play with as he went to pick Zaria up.[1]

…

Two hours ago.

"Zaria, here!" Natalie waved when she saw Zaria walk into the restaurant.

Zaria rushed over and gave Natalie a hug. "Hey, are you doing okay? You look dull."

"I've not been leaving the house much." She brushed it off with an excuse.

Zaria knew she was lying right away. Since when did staying indoors make anyone look sad and have swollen eyes? Although she had done a good job with makeup and it was barely noticeable, Zaria could recognize a swollen eye even under dark colored goggles. Nonetheless, she didn't probe. The woman probably had a lot going on, especially after her break up.

"You said you had a clue about the mole?"

"Yes." Natalie called for the menu. "You may want to prepare yourself psychologically for this."

"I hate you so much!" Zaria complained. The warning had just made her anxious.

"Don't hate me yet. I'm sure you should hate the mole instead."

"Is it someone I know?" She had a bad feeling about it.

"People you know, to be exact."

"Okay. Put me out of this misery, Natalie." She grabbed the menu out of the other's hand to make her talk.

"Liam and Ximena."

An entire minute of silence passed.

"Yeah, that can't be right." She giggled through her words.

"It is, Zaria. I saw Ximena with my own eyes. And she is in cohorts with Liam. She couldn't pull it off on her own and you probably wouldn't tell her such secretive information so she bugged Liam instead."

"And why exactly would Liam betray his own company?" Her voice raised in disbelief.

"Because he is in love with her." Natalie whispered, and when she saw the clear disbelieving look in Zaria's eyes, she sighed. "I know this sounds crazy, but you won't believe the kind of things people do for love."

"I know. But I also know that Ximena would never do that kind of thing." She insisted.

"Do you trust her that much?"

"With my life."

Natalie was speechless for a moment. "I saw her leaving Preston and Fort Group building on Sunday. It's such an odd day and when I asked whether you were in your office, she said she had no effing idea where you were. The point is, she was shocked to see me."

"And why does that make you believe she was doing something wrong?" Zaria couldn't understand.

Natalie took out her phone, found a picture and showed it to her. "Is this the type of folder that's only used for confidential, executive files?"

She glanced at the pink folder and nodded. It was part of how they ensured Desmond and Liam got to read the most important documents first.

"I saw Ximena carrying one when she left the building. She is neither an employee of Preston and Fort Group, let alone an executive one. We both know that these files don't get into anyone else's hands for privacy reasons."

Zaria was confused. Why would Ximena get access to such a document? Even so, she still couldn't believe that Ximena would betray her. Something strange was going on.

She trusted Natalie too, so she grabbed her phone and made a call.

"You finally remember that I exist." Ximena's tone was full of displeasure.

Zaria cut the chase since it was an important matter. "Xim, I want to ask you about the folder you were carrying when you bumped into Natalie."

"What folder?" Ximena sounded puzzled.

Zaria looked at Natalie with a raised eyebrow. Her hypothesis was right. Something strange was going on.

____

[1]... Think of it as two times the amount of pasta you would serve a child. Not adult servings.

What do you think is going on here?

A. Ximena is feigning ignorance/innocence?

B. Natalie is lying?