Entwined Fates

Chapter 2

ZANE'S POV.

The message flashed on my phone's screen, demanding my attention.

"Boss, we are waiting for you to start the meeting." I sighed, feeling overwhelmed by the weight of recent events.

My mind was clouded with the truth I had recently uncovered - the truth about my wrongful imprisonment for my wife's murder.

But now, my focus was on seeking justice for my father and my beloved wife.

Pushing my thoughts aside, I texted my dad's assistant, Martha, immediately and told her to take over the meeting process for the day.

To discover the mastermind behind my wife's death, I have to be free. I know the meetings are important but justice is way more important to me.

The months I spent in jail increased the fire in me to know the true killer of my wife.

Immediately as I was about to swing the doorknob open, my phone beeped with Michel Duval's ID caller flashing on the screen.

He is the investigator I hired to help me with some clues on where to find my wife's killer.

He had discovered something significant at my wife's house, and I knew I had to see it for myself. "I will see you tonight," I told Michel before ending the call.

Stepping into the Hudson's construction company, which belonged to my father, I greeted Ella, one of my favorite employees, at the secretary's desk.

"Good morning, Sir Zane. Should I inform Mrs. Martha that you're here?" she asked, assuming I had arrived for the meeting.

"Good morning, Ella. No, you shouldn't," I responded as I rested my hands on the desk counter.

Your father has been poisoned. The words of the doctor replayed constantly in my mind.

“So, why are you here, boss?" Ella's question snapped me out of my thoughts as I quickly composed myself.

"Ella, do you have any idea who the last person was that visited my father before he died?

Ella's hand shook, and I quickly gripped it, smiling at her in the calm-down kind of gaze

“Boss, the truth is, I was not here when it happened, but...but Vanessa, my partner, was on the ground that day," she responded.

"That's alright. Where can I find Vanessa?" I inquired.

Ella told me Vanessa was in my father's office.

"Thank you so much," I said to her before exiting the elevator that led to my father's office.

The moment the elevator door dropped in the hallway leading to my father's office, the door opened, and I strode towards the office.

As I moved closer, I heard some weird noises coming out of the office.

My curiosity got the best of me as I imagined what must be going on there.

I have got just one way to know.

Forcefully, I pushed the officer door open, and the sounds became louder than before

My fist clenched the moment I caught sight of what was happening before me. David and the woman, who must be Vanessa, smooching and moaning passionately.

I cleared my throat, startling them. I stood there, eyes fixed on David, as Vanessa quickly got off him and searched for her clothes.

"What is the meaning of this?" I demanded. David ignored me, focusing on Vanessa as she hastily gathered her belongings and fled the room…

"Don't you know how to knock?" David uttered.

If David was not my brother, I would have pinned him on the floor and beat the hell outta him.

"Allow me to remind you that this is my father's office—"

"Our father's office, get it right!" David interjected, causing me to let out a small chuckle before responding.

"Are you not even the least bit ashamed of yourself for engaging in a relationship, not just with any woman, but with an employee of this company, in our father's office?

Need I remind you that he passed away just a few days ago?" I shouted, slamming both hands onto the table.

“I can do whatever I want, Zane." He stated. “Besides, I'm the president of this company now, or have you forgotten?" He added as I let out a slight chuckle.

"No. I haven't. You too should not forget I gave you this title, and I can easily change my mind if you misbehave," I mentioned, walking closer to David.

"Your empty threats do not scare me, bro," David uttered, grinning mischievously before exiting the office.

I cannot believe I made this decision. I should not have relinquished the presidency to David.

With David's bad attitude, he might ruin the company. I cannot let that happen. Not while I'm alive.

A few days ago after our father passed away, the lawyer had to tell us in the will written by my father that I should be the president of the company.

Yet, I felt compelled to give it to my brother David, who had always yearned for the position despite his cruelty towards me.

"Good morning, boss," Vanessa said, breaking the silence.

“Good morning, I mentioned as I caught sight of Vanessa.

“Boss, I apologize for what you saw a few moments ago,” she commented, bowing her head.

"It's okay. Just be careful. My brother isn't a good person," I warned her firmly, and she nodded in agreement.

"Ella told me you wanted to see me," Vanessa mentioned as I sat on the edge of the desk.

"Yes. I wanted to know if you have a list of what my father ate at work the morning before he had a heart attack," I asked, my hands in my pockets.

"No. He didn't eat anything. He only had juice that morning," she replied.

"Oh right," I said. "And did you notice anything else strange?"

"Before you got to the office that morning, Sir David was here too. I heard him arguing loudly with your father," she said.

"Do you know what they were arguing about?" I asked.

She thought for a moment. "No, sir," Vanessa said finally.

“You may leave,” I uttered as she hastily left the office.

The feeling of David causing my father's death dawned on me but I shrugged it off. David cannot do that to my father. Our father.

I pushed the thoughts aside and headed to my wife's house, where my investigator, Michel Duval, was waiting.

"Look what I found," Michel said, showing me pictures of my siblings, Liliana and David.

"What does this mean?" I asked, taking the pictures from him.

“I found the picture under your wife's bed,” Michel commented the moment we stepped into the living room.

"I don't understand how this can help the investigation," I said as I flopped on one of the couches.

"This means one thing. What if your wife was trying to tell you something about your siblings? What if they were part of the people who planned her death?" Michel asked, and I shook my head.

"My siblings wouldn't hurt my wife. I know they can be mean and greedy sometimes, but killing? No way," I said.

Just then, my phone beeped with a message from my mother, saying they were about to start a family meeting and were waiting for me.

"I have to go now. Call me if you find anything," I said to Michel, and he nodded slightly before I left the apartment.

*****

"What took you so long to get here? Dear brother," Liliana, the youngest sibling in the family, remarked as soon as I entered the living room where our mom and David were seated.

I ignored her comment and settled next to my mother.

"Welcome, son," Mom greeted me.

"Thank you," I replied. "I kindly request that we all behave today. I don't want any arguments, please," Mom pleaded.

"Arguments can't be avoided when this i***t is around," David pointed at me, making his remark, but I chose to ignore him.

"Mom, before you begin, I want to take this opportunity to say something," I announced as David shot me a glare.

"I want to... hmm... reopen the case of my wife," I confessed. It was something I had always wanted to do since I was released from prison, but I needed them to know about it too.

"What! What on earth is that?" David snapped me out of my thoughts.

"That's the most absurd thing I've heard today," Liliana chimed in.

"Can't you just let the dead rest in peace, for once?" David added, fueling my anger like a volcano ready to erupt.

"That shouldn't bother you," I retorted.

"Of course it does. We're tired of you always talking about your deceased wife," he continued.

"That's enough!" I yelled, rising from my seat as David stood up as well.

"Sons, please don't start," Mom pleaded, already on her feet.

"And what are you going to do? Hit me?" David taunted, tapping me forcefully on the shoulder, but I swiftly grabbed his hands and twisted them.

"Stop it!" Mom exclaimed, but it was too late. I twisted his hands, using my other hand to grip his neck tightly.

"Let me go," he managed to say, but I couldn't bear his irritating comments any longer until two bodyguards intervened and pulled me away from David.

"I'll kill you," David threatened, struggling to catch his breath as I released my grip from the bodyguards.

"I'm leaving. Take care of yourself, Mother,” I mentioned as I left the mansion. Fortunately for David, the bodyguards intervened. If not, I would have beaten the living daylight outta him, and I don't care if he is my brother…