Kissed by Winter [Discontinued]

24. Keeping The Options OPEN!

A/N: Look at that. You didn't have to wait for a millennial for another chapter! ROFL. The usual. Vote, Comment and Share s'il vous plait. Heart Heart JPC <3

"What are you saying?"

"Your suspicion was on point, ma'am. It was blackmail. Each investor that backed out has a ghost from the past, and someone had the patience to go after all of them. This doesn't look sudden at all now. That person could have been planning this for months, years even."

"Do you have any leads on who might be behind this?"

"The tracks are impressively covered, but I have a name. I have emailed the report on an alias ID. The details will be couriered to you shortly. I have some thin leads too, but I need more proof. Give me a couple of weeks. Meanwhile, can a trip to Bahamas be arranged within three days? If my suspicion is right, I will get some answers there."

"You'll have the tickets by tomorrow. Thank you, Evan."

"My pleasure, ma'am."

Lyanna kept replaying the conversation in her head until the parcel finally arrived. She logged onto the alias email account and found Evan's report. As instructed, she forwarded the email to Arina Volkov–McCoy, Summer's mother, who was personally overviewing the investigation. Next, she printed out copies of the document and deactivated the account. One name prominently featured throughout the document: Matthew Gerald. According to Evan's report, this 'consultant' had been to every ex-shareholder's place.

She asked her father about Matthew Gerald, but he did not recognize the name. Over lunch, she met Summer and they discussed the mystery man.

"I could ask Nick. Dad likes to keep his circle small but Nick is far more connected."

"You could, but what if this leads to his uncle? Or worse . . . him?"

"That was always a possibility, Summer, which is why I planned this."

Lyanna produced a file of neatly arranged papers.

"This is a long sh—wow, you think he'll go for this?"

"Only one way to find out," Lyanna said. Her phone rang then and she was visibly surprised to see the caller ID.

"Nicho–"

"I got it. I got it. I got it."

***

They reached home after a pleasant dinner.

"That was surprisingly fun," Lyanna said as Nick kept the access key in his pocket.

"Agreed," Nick smiled.

Okay, maybe I should ask him now.

"Nicholas, since we seem to be on an extended ceasefire anyway, I would like to share something with you."

"Go on," he could sense the shift in her demeanor. In the past when women did this, they were asking him either for money or for love. Lyanna was not one of those women though. She was different. A good different.

Here's hoping.

"It's more of help I seek. I ask you because you are more connected in this industry—"

"Do you mind if I change first?"

"Sure, no problem. I should probably change too."

They both solemnly walked toward their respective rooms. In a few minutes, Nick came out dressed in his grey tracks paired with an olive green slim-fit sweater holding his iPad in one hand and humming a tune. When Lyanna entered the living area, she was pleasantly surprised to see Nick leaning against the sofa. His eyes were downcast and he was still humming the tune breezing through the content on his iPad.