Love, Helena

Chapter 26

It's been a long day. Nothing had gone nearly as expected, and every hope of it getting better was quashed. The night was even longer and darker. Enough things were happening to tip the mood over to a state of numbness- as if he were watching the things happening from a lens so far above and away, even though he was in the middle of it.

For Xavier, nothing mattered more than damage control. He did not anticipate things to go so south. And now that they did, he could not help but feel responsible for not taking into account all possible scenarios. The media has likely dragged his and Helena's name through the mud by now, and truly if it were just him, he would not have batted an eyelash. In his line of work, he was used to it, and everyone working for him knew how to manage the situation without directives, but now is a different story. He did not want a single mouth speaking bullsh*t about Helena. He did not want her name in tabloids and magazines. He did not want any scandals attached to her or to anything she tried to do with a passion.

Xavier tightened his grip on the leather seat as the car rolled into the parking lot of his company. He could not even look her in the eye after what happened for fear of what might be there. He felt that he failed her, and he wasn't worthy of being near her if he couldn't even protect her from things like these. He stepped through the private entrance with his assistant on his tail, only one mission in mind. He wanted to fix this, and he called on every person that could eventually help control the situation before it gets worse. Entering the meeting room, Xavier found his media and legal team both huddled over their papers and computers, working quickly to do what he paid them to do best. He didn't care if he had to personally threaten every single trashy magazine to take down any mention of Helena Wren, and he made it known to the group of people just how serious this was.

Pacing back and forth between a few people who have been updating him about the situation, Xavier stopped in front of one of the big windows and ran his hand frustratedly back through his hair. The city seemed to be half asleep, the streets empty, and the lights glowing against the fog. How could a night so seemingly peaceful be so nightmarish? And if he felt this way, what must Helena be thinking or feeling... "F***!" He cursed himself, hands balling into fists. He was an idiot for not being by her side, not having her near enough to comfort and stand by. Though he wasn't sure if he would be a positive impact on her considering this whole situation getting out of hand because of the public weight he pulls- because of his involvment with, as the media loved to remind them, his best friend's ex-wife. To him she was infinitely more than that but nobody would know, and that is exactly why he ended up where he is: stuck and helpless.

"I'm sorry sir," His assistsnt cut his brooding short, "There seems to be something here that doesn't add up."

"What?" Xavier asked gruffly as he took a seat.

One of the attorneys grabbed some papers and his laptop. "Here, the papers state that the land is a property of Helena Quinn, inherited from her family. That is the document we've had in our possession the entire time."

"Yes, and?" Xavier kneaded his temple as he took the document to read over it carefully.

"Well in this other record," the attorney motioned to the screen. "It shows that the land is co-owned by Zachary Bradford, the ex-husband."

Xavier looked between both papers in confusion. This simply cannot be. Helena had told him before that Zach did not even know about that piece of land they wanted to use for the project. "The document we have in our hands is official, as confirmed by Helen."

"That is the thing, sir." The man scratched his beard nervously. "After giving directives to the investigator he came back with yet another piece of information. This land was very recently sold to some unnamed investor."