Stolen Love

Chapter Sixteen

Ashton

Without even realizing it, I absentmindedly scratched the back of my neck while delivering this information.

"I recruited someone during my quest to locate Mia," I mentioned nonchalantly.

Their eyes widened in surprise as they both turned to look at me.

"You were conducting an investigation on her?" Jarrod asked, his surprise evident on his face.

"No, I was simply trying to find her," I replied.

"You never brought that up before," Jarrod observed.

"I can't believe you kept my son's existence from me. What's the big deal?" I retorted.

He nonchalantly shrugged, saying, "You've got a point there."

"Listen, that night I really wanted to set things straight with her, but I found it hard to articulate my thoughts. I just went on and on," I clarified.

Jarrod gazed at me with a somber look and nodded in understanding.

"She was getting ready to leave and I was a complete wreck. I couldn't express myself properly," I explained.

"Yeah, to be honest, she didn't bring up the topic either. She wasn't keen on talking about you. But she did tell little Ash about you," Lisa revealed with a smile.

"Is that why he recognized me?" I asked.

They both nodded in agreement.

"Only good things," Jarrod added cheerfully.

I coughed softly, averting my gaze.

"I'll make contact with him once more, uncovering who she was with and all the details," I announced.

"Nan and Pop had a feeling you'd take this upon yourself, I suspect they might have had a part in obstructing your search for her," Lisa suggested.

"I had a suspicion," I replied.

Recalling when I brought on Colby, he returned empty-handed. I eventually threw in the towel and stopped my efforts to track her down. So I wasn't confident in his abilities.

"We should get the authorities involved," Lisa interjected.

"I've got a contact," I stated.

Jarrod glanced at me and gave a confirming nod.

"Simon?" he inquired.

I nodded in confirmation. "Yes, him. He mentioned reaching out to him if I ever needed help," I conveyed.

We exchanged glances.

"Do you still have his contact information," Lisa inquired.

"Yes, I do. We grabbed a drink together a few weeks back," I shared.

"Mia never really talked about that incident either, Ashton," Lisa said.

I sighed. Mia wasn't comfortable discussing the unfortunate events in her life. When we were still a couple, she used to share everything with me. She had a lot of trust in me.

When her parents passed away and the authorities intervened, we went through the entire legal process to ensure that the perpetrator was convicted and imprisoned.

The authorities required accounts of where Mia's parents were headed that fateful night. John, Mia's father, was driving with his wife Kate to have dinner with some business associates Their car was hit in an intersection by another vehicle that ran a red light and caused their car to flip multiple times, wrapping around a traffic light pole. According to the police, they didn't see the other driver coming.