His Perfect Wife Strikes Back

136 What Is Mia Up To?

"What do you mean by getting rid of her?" I asked cautiously.

"You know." Vickie gently scratched her neck.

"No, Vickie," I said. "I would never hurt her. She's my sister."

"But what if she wants to hurt Frade, or you?"

"How do you know she'll hurt Frade?" I sighed. "Maybe you're thinking too much."

"Oh, young lady." Vickie shook her head, "I've lived longer than you, and I've always believed that people who are dead don't come back to life. Unless she's not dead at all. That Mia must have a purpose when she shows up at this time."

"But why did you want to kill her? I don't understand."

"Just dealing with trouble," Vickie said sternly. "This woman has turned two brothers against each other, and this time her presence may cause even more trouble."

"Even without Mia, Frade and Daley would have fought over the power." I glanced at Vickie. "You know that. You just simply don't like Mia, but you wouldn't kill her."

Although I don't like this sister much, I never want to hurt her.

"My gut tells me that keeping this woman around Frade is going to be a disaster for him." Vickie looks at me meaningfully. "You don't want anything to happen to him, do you?"

"I'm married, Vickie." I held up the ring on my index finger. "You're the one who told me to choose Daley. Don't make me swing between your grandkids."

She wanted me to stand in the middle of the scale to keep her two grandsons in balance, and as Daley's wife, I would know if he had done something to Frade. And she knew I wouldn't want to see Frade hurt. But I was tired of being someone's tool.

"You love Frade the most, don't you?" My words hit her heart, "Everything you do is to protect Frade. Vickie, you're not being fair to Daley."

Although he was born from incest, he had no choice in his fate. Compared to Frade, Daley was just a tool to be used by the Logan family.

"If Frade hadn't been in a coma, I don't think you would have sent someone to get Daley back. It turns out that Daley is good at running the family business as Frade, but you still want Frade to inherit the family, don't you?"

"You don't understand him," Vickie wailed. "Arthur is a ticking time bomb. He has the blood of a madman, just like his mother. If the family is given to him, it will soon be over."

"That's your prejudice against him," I said disapprovingly.

"Oh, poor girl. I guess you didn't know that Daley was a drug lord in Mexico? At first, I thought he wasn't gonna bring his drug business home. But my people told me that he secretly made drugs in one of the family's abandoned factories. The Logans had some shady businesses in the past, but my son put them all out of business before he died. "The Logan family will only run legitimate businesses in the future, and if the family is put in Daley's hands, that plan will fall through."

I thought about the abandoned factory where Gina was being held, and I vividly remember when I went back to that factory, I would always smell a terrible, pungent smell. Was that Daley's drug-making factory?

"When I heard about it, I fainted with anger. Look, that's why I'm lying here."

"You've got it all figured out, haven't you?" I asked.

"If Daley is willing to give up the drug business, I will give him some family business as planned. If he is not, then he will have to go back to Mexico."

"You're not stopping them from going to war over inheritance." I shook my head. "They've made enemies of each other, and I've chosen to side with my husband."

"At least they won't fight while I'm alive."

"And after that?" I didn't mean to offend her, but I had to show her the truth.

"As I said, I will announce in my will who will be the heir."

She's still laying it out, I thought. The experienced woman had her agenda.

"But I didn't want to see my grandchildren fighting while I was alive, so you're going to help me figure out what Mia came back for," Vickie said, taking my hand, "Eva, I like you. If you were my granddaughter, I might give you my inheritance."

"Don't be ridiculous. I can't do it." I smiled wryly. "That's a man's job."

"Oh, don't sell yourself short," Vickie said. "My vision is blurry, but my mind is clear. You have the same abilities as a man. Help me."

I looked at Vickie and said, "I promise you, I will find out if Mia is plotting against Frade, but you also promised me that you wouldn't hurt her. She's my sister."

"I promise." Vickie smiled with satisfaction. "You can go back and rest now. If you have time, I still hope that you come to see me. I slept well with your company last night."

"I will." I think I like this old lady more and more because she always gives me a similar kind of familiar feeling.

I left the room after the nurse came. When I went, I saw a message on my phone from Daley. He told me that he had something urgent to take care of and that I should go back home myself.

The men in black were gone from the hospital corridor, neither were Frade or Mia. As I stepped into the elevator, Mark and Liv came up to me.

"Hey, Eva," Liv said sheepishly. "Mark wants to talk to you about Mia."

"You picked a hell of a time." I glanced at Mark.

"I'm sorry. I know you didn't get much sleep last night," Mark said, "But I'd like to talk to you about what we found out."

"Well, where to?"

"My place," Liv said, putting her arm around my shoulder. "You can sleep in my bed, too."

"That's very thoughtful of you." I tried to smile.

Half an hour later, we arrived at Liv's house. I borrowed her bathroom to take a shower, and after drinking a steaming cup of espresso, I felt refreshed.

"Here's what we found out about Elena," Mark said as he pulled a stack of documents from his portfolio and handed them to me. "Turns out Elena is Mia."

"I know that."

"Liv and I wanted to continue investigating how Elena changed her name to Mia after she left the Sky club and how she approached Frade. The trail went cold. But I did find out about another friend of Elena's. Her name was Amy, and she and Elena were both Camilla's adopted daughters and Elena's closest friends. I wanted to find out more about Mia through her."

"Did you find Amy?"

"Yes, but her name is Rose and she lives in an apartment in Manhattan."

"Rose? Oh no!" I said hastily. "You can't go to her."

"Why not?" Mark and Liv both looked at me suspiciously.