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Chapter 53 - TWIST OF FATE

I cannot undo

what I have done;

I can\'t un-sing

a song that\'s sung.

And the saddest thing

about my regret—

I can\'t forgive me

and you can\'t forget.

— Lang Leav —

***

I am leaving this house for good, without regrets, and I plan to never return. And if I ever find myself coming back to this godforsaken place—that would be to attend my absentee father\'s funeral. If not his then most probably it would be Vince\'s funeral since there\'s a long queue of enemies waiting to pull a gun into his head if given the opportunity.

There are so many things to pack but If I could bring everything with me, I necessarily needed to rent a teen-wheeler truck just to carry all my things which include appliances and personal belongings. But bringing them all was the last thing on my mind—all I want is to escape this place real quick. The sooner the better. So I decided to pack the only thing?I\'ll ever need—clothes.

There on the bed, a large suitcase was spread open, and clutter of clothes was stuck inside in a disorderly manner as if a thief had sneaked inside the room and was randomly hauling things inside the already crowded compartment.

Realizing I\'ve packed everything I needed, I pulled the zipper close and groaned impatiently when it refused to move. I overstuffed the suitcase with clothes and it\'s now impossible to pull the zipper upward. Shaking my head on how much time I already wasted, I pulled a handful of t-shirts out and threw them across the bed, and sighed with relief when I was able to close the suitcase.

I walked out of my room without looking back thinking it was not just my personal things I left behind but the bright future ahead of me as well. I\'m no longer the rich and influential CEO of Greyson Enterprises. I\'m a poor man with only a cent in my pocket. All my bank accounts had been frozen and even if it wasn\'t, I wouldn\'t dare touch the money coming from the man I abhorred. I just want to prove to Ybbrahim Greyson that I could afford to live without accepting anything from him! Not even a cent!

"I guess it\'s over Ace. Not only do I have your ex-fiancée now. I too have the company for myself."

The devil himself was standing in front of me, a smug smile was playing on his lips while he watched me pull the suitcase. I dreaded this encounter, not that I fear Vince, it\'s just I fear what would possibly happen after the last of self-control escapes my body. I don\'t want to speed up his funeral. He should live to witness the agony of how he would ruin the company and sink it on a quicksand under his management.

I gave him two years or even three to ruin everything including his reputation. I could see the dim future waiting ahead for him. He would sink into the mire—deeper than I did.

"You keep her Vince," I respond rather calmly while referring to Angela. "A real man will never let his woman be borrowed like a playtoy."

I smiled when the eyes staring at mine flared with fury. Vince never changed, he still possessed a terrible temper that could easily ignite. One day, his lack of self-control will be the end of him.

I moved to the door. Engaging in another reproachful argument with him proved to be pointless since I wouldn\'t gain anything. In fact, I would lose something important to me if I continue to listen—my patience. It had been wavering a while ago, I was surprised that I was able to hold myself still.

"Don\'t waste your time searching for Phoenix. She\'s definitely dead."

His words rang painfully to my ears. I stopped walking and turned to Vince. He was smiling knowing that he just said a remark that triggered me.

"I wouldn\'t be surprised if you ordered Angela to kill her. You despised Phoenix for turning you down. It was too late for me to realize how desperate you become to tear us apart."

Vince said nothing. The smug smile on his lips faded away. I gave him no time to recover and made a beeline straight to the door.

Once outside, I pulled the trunk and stored my large suitcase inside. I then moved briskly to the car\'s side, pulled the door open, and climbed inside the car. Moments later, I was traveling under the hot afternoon sun on my way to the investigator\'s office.

While driving, Vince\'s horrified expression played on my thoughts over and over again wondering why he suddenly looked as if he was caught in the act after I mentioned the possibility he ordered Angela to kill Phoenix. I wasn\'t serious when I told him that but I wasn\'t expecting to garner such strange responses from him. Up to now, I\'m confused, wondering if my unexpected retort hit home.

"My apologies Sir Greyson, but the case concerning Phoenix De Amore was closed. There was no foul play found. It was ruled that her untimely death was caused by drowning."

It was the news that welcomed me when I arrived at the Investigators\' Office. My temples turned into a furious scowl. Something I could define as anger bubbled inside me. My chest tightened painfully until I couldn\'t breathe.

Seated on the opposite side of the table, inside the investigators\' office was one of the men who handled Phoenix\'s case. When the investigator called me earlier to meet him, I was already expecting good news from him. But after hearing what he has to say, the world came crashing down to me. I wasn\'t prepared to let the case close when her body hadn\'t been found yet.

I took a deep calming breath, restraining my temper under control. "No foul play? Are you goddam kidding me?"?My response was calm which was the total opposite of what I felt.

"Sir it\'s obvious that when the fire broke to your condominium, Phoenix De Amore was trapped inside." The investigator explained impatience was now visibly written all over his face. "To save herself from burning, she broke the glass window and jumped out of the building where she met her death. That\'s how her life tragically ended."

I gritted my teeth from the frustration that came to the surface at the sight of the man who didn\'t even flinch at the mention of death. He was obviously dealing with death almost every day but at least he must deal with the situation with professionalism and even if it was just a pretense, he should act as if he cared. Instead, he was bluntly showing his lack of concern at the news I dreaded.

"The fire broke down because of a faulty wire! Damn! Even the fire alarm didn\'t blare at that moment! And to add to that, the automatic sprinkler didn\'t function which was quite suspicious considering it was functioning well when it was last checked by the condominium staff. That\'s the bloody reason why I can\'t eliminate the possibility of foul play."

The officer took a deep calming breath before his accusing eyes surveyed my expression. "Speaking of the foul play Mr. Greyson, it was your own Condo where Phoenix De Amore jumped. You are also seen in front of the place she was staying before she disappeared. May I remind you that If there was a prime suspect for her disappearance it was you."

Aghast, I shot the Investigator a horrified look. "Are you assuming I was behind all this?"

"You shall remain innocent unless proven guilty Mr. Greyson."

I shook my head in huge disbelief, wide unbelieving eyes continue to stare at him. He may not say it out aloud but he assumed I killed Phoenix.

"I didn\'t kill her! I will never do that! I\'m a jerk! A bastard! But I will never be a killer!"

I slammed the door shut, leaving him dumbfounded by my unexpected outburst.

My chest was heaving with violence even after I was settled inside my car. I was still overcome with disbelief at his accusations. His words still rang painfully to my ears.

The ringing sound of my phone woke me up from my deep reverie. I stared at the phone for a moment, irritated by the whining sound that was piercing my ears. I waited for it to stop but It didn\'t. Instead, it began to annoy me even more with its persistent ringing.

"Hello." I snapped without checking who the caller was. I made it evident that I was not in my best mood today.

"I finally found the stolen painting, Ace."

Holy shit! I glanced up and saw Emmanuel Timothy was the caller, a private investigator I hired once to do me a favor.

The painting which was stolen from me! It had been finally found!

"Where could I find it, Emman?" My voice trembled with excitement. I?had been searching for it for five long years. I couldn\'t believe I found it now despite the most unusual timing.

"In Cordova. A man named Alexander Crawford was the man who now owned your masterpiece."