The Billionaires Too (#2)

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MJ was never the one to take precautions, whether it was a matter of life or death, she just had to take a step forward. That was how she was and that was how it has always been. It was what she was raised to do, but for the first time ever, she felt trapped.

She was trapped in a grief she had not felt in a long time. It weighed down on her like a ton of bricks, and her heart felt heavy with a wave of emotions. It perplexed her to feel so vulnerable, because despite her hard surface, she had feelings; feelings she feared to show to the world.

She did not want to crack, she wanted to be strong as she had always been. But with every step she took forward, she took ten steps back. And that was how she found herself back at the bank after leaving Sandra's house.

The front of the huge aluminium building, was littered with yellow police tapes, with the caution: Do Not Cross. The doors were broken, with broken glasses littering the entrance. Papers, boxes, files, and stationery were scattered all over the floor inside.

All the barriers at the tellers and counters were damaged, and all the interior ATM machines were bombed.

MJ sucked in a deep breath as her eyes landed on the door to the manager's office. Her feet remained stuck as her mind replayed all the events from that day.

She walked towards the reception and stood on the same spot as she was on the day of the robbery. Alastair gave her a look, and she followed him on his way out, but then the men came in.

"EVERYBODY GET DOWN, RIGHT NOW!" Heavily armed men waltzed into the bank and started ambushing everyone. "CELLPHONES, PURSES, WALLETS OUT!" One of them yelled, and people started screaming.

One of the guys spotted her and started walking towards her with a dirty smirk on his face. "MJ Billings." He said, and she stilled. "So glad you are here; this makes my work even easier." His smirk grew wider, and his eyes glinted dangerously behind the mask. "Now move." He pushed her towards the office with the gun.

She walked behind Alastair until they reached the office, when the alarm went off, and the men shot the manager. She stepped into the room and stood in the middle with her back turned away from the desk.

There were blood stains everywhere, and the spot where Alastair was killed had a police sketch. She sat on the floor, with her back against the desk, and then she closed her eyes and pulled her knees to her chest.

'Now, get down.'

Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears, and this time she let them fall. Why did she not see the betrayals from far away? Why did she let Logan Parker and Sonya Smith distract her, and why did she believe Alastair Cooper when he told her he was not doing anything that could bring trouble?

The first time she saw Esperanza at the McEnroe Construction Company, she recognized her from somewhere, she just could not remember where. She only realised later on while in the car with Jorge.

You must be wondering what this is about.

Your brother had a very simple job to do, but he had to complicate things.

All he had to do was to give Esperanza that cheque, of course, not forgetting to stick to his dialogue and act.

All we want to do is to teach Jorge Billings a lesson he will never forget.

So that he does as he is told the next time.'

'Alastair's death was not an accident.'

MJ knew Alastair's death was no accident or coincidence, but she was hoping that Sandra would tell her that Alastair was just at the wrong place at the wrong time. But now she knew, there were many players in the game.

"Miss Billings." MJ groaned as Liam called her. "And here, I thought you'd be glad to see me," he said in a mocking voice and stepped into the office. He was in casual clothes, blue jeans and a green golf T-shirt.

MJ quickly wiped off her tears and looked up. "What brings you here?" She asked.

"I got a call from a concerned citizen, saying you were nowhere to be found," Liam answered nonchalantly as he ran his hand over the blood stains on the wall.

MJ sighed loudly and stood up. "Cameron has no reason to worry at all, I just went for a ride."

Liam stopped what he was doing and took a good look at her. "This is the lowest I've seen you," he said honestly, and MJ shrugged. "Is there anything you need me to do?"

MJ thought for a second. She had a lot to take care of; with an impending board meeting, Samantha's scandal, Logan Parker, the bank robbery, and Esperanza; she could not handle all that on her own at the moment, as much as she was capable, she was not in the right state of mind.

She took a step closer to Liam and faced him. "You said you'd do anything to get back into my good books?" She enquired.

"Anything at all, you mention it, and I'm at your service."

"Then relieve Cameron Parker from his duties immediately," She said and walked away. "Find Esperanza Montero for me."