Elusive Memories

Chapter 26

Adrian paced furiously while Ruben sat with his head in his hands. Joe silently watched everyone while Gary was still looking out through the windows obviously lost in his thoughts. Adrian was furious the whole day and controlling him was one of the hardest things Joe had to do till Ruben appeared. Amelia was sleeping after two days of continuous crying. She was unusually silent and didn’t even eat properly. Luke was down with a very high fever and no one has told him yet about the latest happenings.

“What should we do now? Ruben asked.

“Even inside this house, she is not completely safe. Don’t let her be alone even when you have visitors.” Gary replied.

“I am not going to let her out of my sight even in here if I can help it.” Adrian muttered in anger but Ruben was still staring at Gary.

“Why did you say that? Did you find something in those books?” He asked him.

“I wish. It’s a lot to read and I had to go to the court to give statements regarding a case. Anyway, I’ve already started and have completed two or three. Most of it is filled with Meridith’s views and her problems, how she met Jonathan and few prominent events which led to that. The problem is, it mentions a lot of your relatives who opposed that marriage and most of them felt that he was totally mesmerized with Amelia. According to Meredith, even though he was still very sharp and busy with business matters, his daughter was the prominent influence in his mind after her birth. He used to say that she brought luck to his life and I think that’s because after Amelia’s birth, whatever venture he took became successful and the total financial assets doubled or tripled within the two years after her birth.”

“He made sure that he could spend more time at home, even though he kept a close watch in the office affairs and that didn’t sit well with some of his critics. His actions infuriated them further when he started buying very valuable gifts for his little daughter. He called them investments and even though none of those were bad moves and some of that decisions, even helped the company stay on track during difficult times, people always found fault with his decisions. Meredith always feared that this anger might turn towards Amelia someday which will harm her. Even though your Father told her that those were unfounded fears he made sure that Amelia was under strong protection always. Amelia too used to keep away from some of your relatives. Meredith didn’t know why, but she simply refused to go near them or even talk to most. Since Amelia was a ‘daddy’s girl’ she used to spend much time in or around his room and office and she might have heard him arguing with some of them.”

“Any particular names?” Adrian asked him seriously.

“Actually, there are a few and I am looking into most of them. I need to find something before I confront anyone mentioned in it and another thing is it will alert our suspect if he is one of them.”

“I agree, but whoever it is has started crossing the limits and it is getting dangerous day by day.” Joe broke his silence to make the suggestion.

“I know and I’ve thought about it. I have already applied for a long leave and once it gets sanctioned I will complete reading those books and in the meantime will be able to stay here, keeping and eye on her. If you are okay with it.” He said while looking at Adrian asking for his permission.

“You are welcome here Gary. She will love it and I can be relieved whenever I have to travel. How long will it take?”

“Two weeks. By that time I am sure that I will find something which will put a stop to all this”

“I think that’s a good idea. We have to be very careful till then.” Ruben said while standing up.

“What they did this time is really nasty. Thinking about it makes my blood  boil.”