Chapter 452 - The end of Cox family (1)

~ Reno, White family villa ~

Sarah and Aiden are packed ready to leave for Las Vegas.

Elanor and Oscar wished them a safe trip, and then headed to have breakfast, leaving youngsters to say their goodbyes.

Aiden was in the back of a black Lincoln, browsing on his phone while waiting for JoAnna and Sarah to finish with their goodbyes.

"Have a safe trip, let me know when you reach, and when you check in to your hotel. Take care of yourself, and don't get into trouble..." JoAnna listed few more things while hugging Sarah, and added with a whisper, "…and don't get married."

Sarah frowned and whispered back, "What's with you? Why are you mentioning that, again?" Sarah remembers that previous day JoAnna also mentioned marriage when they were sitting next to the swimming pool after lunch.

JoAnna straightened her back and spoke in an official tone. "I'm just saying… don't do it without me. I'm entitled to be there, as a sister. Don't deny me that pleasure… otherwise I will never forgive you."

Sarah saw that JoAnna didn't finish talking, and panicked thinking that her sister will say something crazy aloud for Aiden to hear. She knows that JoAnna enjoys teasing her, and she has no filter. She pulled JoAnna to the side and whispered with urgency. "Fine, fine… can you, please, stop talking nonsense? There is no way we are going to get married now. OK?"

"If there is no way, why are you freaking out?" JoAnna was enjoying seeing Sarah all flustered.

Sarah was shocked hearing JoAnna's words. 'What do you mean why? Because you are talking about marriage! That is a big deal!' She can tell that JoAnna is teasing her, but still she can't let Aiden hear this kind of crazy talk. Sarah puffed her cheeks few times while thinking how to answer and decided to say what's on her mind. "I don't want him to misunderstand." Sarah gestured with her eyes toward Aiden.

"What is there to misunderstand? Do you think he will marry you just because I mentioned it?" JoAnna revealed a huge smile while tilting her head slightly and observing Sarah.

"What's with the delay? We will stay only few days. You can always talk later… At this rate, we will miss our flight." Aiden reminded Sarah while peeking through the open window of the car.

Sarah grimaced at JoAnna and warned her to stop with her nonsense before getting in the back of the black Lincoln next to Aiden. Few seconds later, White family driver started the car and drove away.

As soon as the car started moving, Sarah relaxed in her seat and exhaled in relief thinking how finally she is out of JoAnna's reach to tease her. Danger of embarrassment is gone.

"You look like you have something heavy on your mind." Aiden pulled her to sit close to him.

"I was just thinking about last night." Sarah lied with an awkward smile.

Aiden looked at her for few seconds, confident that she is not telling the truth, but then decided to drop it and play along. "Yes. It was eventful. It's never boring with you around."

"Why are you pinning that on me? If it's not for your handsomeness, we would not be targeted." She pinched his cheek lightly.

"They were going for the money, not the looks." Aiden reminded her while rubbing his cheek.

"You can't deny how that is also part of your charms." Sarah kissed tip of his nose and leaned into his embrace. Her mind was wondering toward the casinos. She was planning what she will do first.

Aiden was happy to see Sarah in good mood. Based on her expression, he can tell that she is in planning mode. He was wondering what part of her will he get to observe once they enter casinos. Aiden knows that a good show is coming; something new and considering that involves Sarah, it will be beautiful. Aiden hopes that he will not be in the way, and that maybe he can even help Sarah in whatever plan she has.

In front of the White family villa, Jeff looked at JoAnna's big grin while her eyes followed the car which was slowly moving away down the long driveway. "Are you going to tell me what is on your mind?"

JoAnna smiled and shook her head. "Nothing… I'm just enjoying a bit…"

JoAnna knows Sarah probably better than anyone. Sarah is not in the marrying mode, but the more Sarah hears about it, the more she will be open to the possibility. It's like planting a seed which slowly grows. Not every seed will sprout, but the more seeds are planted, the higher possibility is that Sarah will finally face the fact of her forever with Aiden. It's obvious that she loves him, however, she lives in present and is not eager to make long-term plans. In the past she was betrayed often, and Sarah's mechanism to cope with that is to avoid planning for future. She avoids tying herself to people or to places because of fear that it will disappear and cause her sorrow. Sarah knows that she loves Aiden and can't imagine her life without him, but an official commitment is something Sarah is still avoiding. JoAnna decided to help her overcome that obstacle.

JoAnna turned to face Jeff. "While on topic of enjoying, Sophia got the ball rolling on her side. Lindsay will be arrested today." She checked time on her Patek Philippe wristwatch which Jeff gifted her on the day when they got engaged, officially. "Maybe it happened already. With that, our story with Cox family is done."

Jeff was dazed by JoAnna's smile, and it took him some time to snap out of it and remind her, "There is one more item left on that list. We need to sell things." He was talking about Cox Industries and their two partner companies. He went to Cox Industries himself, while his people handled breaking the news to other two partner companies. Now all three are closed, and ready to be sold. Jeff already has a plan in place, and his people are handling assets and former employees.

"Yes, yes… go and make us money…" JoAnna agreed. She was proud of her future husband, and it showed on her face. "When you take a break, maybe we can spend some time at the pool?"

"Sounds good." Jeff agreed and kissed her. "Mmm… how about a break before I start work?"

JoAnna giggled. "You know what to say."

They walked inside house while holding each other.

JoAnna and Jeff just stepped in the hallway when Jeff's phone rang. It was Steve. Jeff hesitated for a second before glancing at JoAnna. "Give me a minute… maybe it's something quick and I can still take that break."

JoAnna nodded. "I will be in the in the garden." She headed toward the back doors knowing that the chance of Jeff joining her before lunch break is close to zero.

…

Outside White family property, Timothy Cox is sitting inside his car.

He was staring for a long time at the tall metal gate, which is closed, preventing him to enter the property. Timothy drove around two times, and only found a tall non-climbable wall. There is no way for him to enter.

The only entry point to property owned by White family is that gate. But it's closed. And if Timothy wants to enter, he needs to enter password in the keypad, or to use intercom to ask to be let in. He knows that he can't use any of those two options. He does not know the password, and if he uses intercom, no one will let him in. It has a camera. Staff probably knows that he is not welcome, and if they don't know they will ask their masters.

Timothy was weighing his options, and thought of giving up the idea of going in. What's the point? What will he do there? He can't even get inside property, and there must be security inside as well. His time will be better used if he goes back to Cox family villa and tries to talk to his wife. Now that Lindsay is arrested, he has better chances of reuniting with his wife. Together they can think of a way to help Lindsay. He can't give up. This can't be the end of Cox family.

Just as he finished this thought, Timothy saw the gate opening.

Black Lincoln exited and drove away. Timothy spotted younger son of White family and a lady in the back. There is a high chance that Jeffrey is inside!

He watched as the heavy metal gate started closing slowly. It took him a second to swiftly exit his car and rush toward the gate as fast as he could.

He managed to squeeze in just in time before gate closed.