Chapter Twenty Six

That message startled all three of them but no one wanted to let it show. What else could Emily lose other than Ryan whom she had already lost. Sophia looked at the message again and immediately, she knew that it was a threat. “So it has gotten to this,” Sophia said looking at Lucas who was already trying to call Vanessa to get further information from her, but the call moved to voicemail. “How are we going to find Vanessa?” Emily asked. “I don't think that she would still be in her apartment. Because whoever sent this message might also be after her “ Sophia responded.      Lucas reached for his pocket and brought out his phone. He opened his gallery and checked the picture of Vanessa and Daniel Brooks. When he magnified the background he saw the entrance of the building at their back.

“Hold on!” He exclaimed. “See what I found.” He said as his countenance changed. Sophia and Emily pulled their chairs closer to him as he showed them visible signage just ahead of the door which said: Carter Holdings- Parking Lot B.

“The fact that Vanessa met Daniel inside Carter Holdings says a lot. It means that they had help from inside.” Lucas said as he shook his head. “Let us not make any accusations so soon. We need concrete evidence before we make further claims.” Emily responded.

“I will dig further into Daniel Brooks and what he has been up to, since I am already investigating Carter Holdings. Lucas assured them.

As they were still sitting there trying to wrap up the meeting, Sophia's phone which was already on the table buzzed. When they all looked at it to see who was calling, they saw that it was Vanessa and they all sat still.

When Sophia answered the phone call, she could only hear someone breathing from the other side. They could all hear her because the phone was on speaker. “Are you there? Vanessa… is anybody there?” She asked multiple times. That was when a male voice spoke and said, “You have to ask Emily to do as I said.” As soon as he said that, Emily's heart skipped.

“Who is this and why are you with Vanessa's phone?” She asked but the male voice did not respond. After a few seconds, he responded and said, “You know who I am. We have met before.” Is this Daniel Brooks?” Sophia asked with a bit of fear in her voice. But the voice kept quiet. “What did you do with Vanessa?” Emily asked but there was still silence. Immediately, Lucas brought out his phone and tried to locate the phone number to see if they could get their exact location.

Whilst they were still trying to figure out what to do at that point, Emily decided to let Damian know what was going on so she picked up her phone and called him. Damian did not hesitate to pick the call. He picked it at the first ring. After they had exchanged pleasantries, she told him what had happened. “Someone left me a warning via text, asking me to stop questioning Vanessa or my husband would not be the only thing I will lose. We tried calling Vanessa to verify the identity of who she had met in Carter Holdings but an unknown male, picked up her phone.” Emily narrated. “Where are you calling me from?’ Damian asked as his voice became serious. “I am at a cafe with Sophyans Lucas, Vanessa's boyfriend.”

“I have to let you know something.” Damian said. “Why is it?” Emily asked.

“I decided to look deeper into Victor Knight's men, and I discovered that there is a Daniel among them. But I will let you know the full details whenever we see.” Damian responded and he ended the call.

“I've been looking into Victor’s people. I found a name connected to Daniel.”

They sat quietly for sometime, but that quietness was disrupted by the beeping of Emily's phone. When she looked at the screen, it was a text message from Vanessa warning her not to trust Lucas.

Never Trust Lucas, the message said.           When she read that message, she was not scared for a moment. Lucas was one of the only ones who helped her when almost everybody around her was untruthful. She showed them the warning that Vanessa sent her.

“Vanessa is trying to put us as loggerheads. Maybe Daniel was the one who sent the message from her phone. You cannot trust this message. Was it not just an unknown male voice that picked up her call when you called her?” Lucas told them.

Emily's phone buzzed again as another text message had been sent to her. It was a picture of Damian and Emily. Apparently, someone was watching them because the picture was clearly taken earlier that day.   Emily did not believe that Lucas was her enemy. There has to be more to this text message. And Lucas was going to help her uncover it.