Were you mine?

Chapter 45 Find Out

Author's POV

Percy sat in the darkness of his room, his gaze fixed on the world outside his window. The moon cast a faint glow over the garden in front as if it was a silent witness to his solitude. He felt like a ghost, invisible to his own family. But he was used to it. Especially for his parents. He hated every moment he spent at home especially without Phill or Mercy. Both of them were out, working while he was left home alone. He would have gone back to his hilly retreat but Mercy wanted him to hang around a little longer. She said she needed his help with some of her projects.

The door creaked open, and a maid slipped in, placing a glass of juice on the table. She moved with the stealth of a cat, careful not to disturb the shadows. As she left, Percy noticed she hadn’t closed the door properly.Voices drifted in from the corridor. His mother’s voice,Elizabeth's voice, hushed but intense, cut through the stillness. She was on the phone again, her heels clicking sharply against the marble floor as she paced back and forth.

Percy couldn't have been bothered but then he heard her yelling and he caught names and words like ' Jake', ' my husband' and 'Mercy'. It was enough to make him get up and tiptoe forward. Percy leaned closer to the door, straining to hear.

“I don’t care how hard it is, find out what happened!” his mother hissed. “I’m paying you enough to get results.”There was a pause, and Percy imagined the detective on the other end, squirming under her wrath.

“I need all the details about Jake,” she continued, her voice barely above a whisper. “What’s his game? And what’s this about a big transaction between his father and my husband? I need answers, now!I have waited long enough. There are more competent people overseas. If you are unable to do your job, just tell me.I will fly them in tomorrow.” Percy’s heart pounded in his chest.Calling foreign intelligence service was possible for someone of Elizabeth's status but it had to be of some high priority, for her to do so.

He hadn’t heard much about Jake. Just that he was Mercy's costar. He didn't like or dislike Jake enough to give much thought into him. But this time around the name sent a chill down his spine. What could be so important about him that it had his mother, the Elizabeth Rodgers of all people,usually so composed and aloof, on edge?

The detective’s muffled reply was inaudible from the other side, but it clearly didn’t satisfy her. She let out an exasperated sigh.“Look, I don’t care what you have to do. Just get me those details. I need to know what my husband’s hiding. That ungrateful moron has been leeching me for years. I thought he was a cow,harmless and meek, so I kept him. But it seems like he had been hiding his teeth.I need to know what he had been doing behind my back. Beside it's also about my daughter. I need to know why Jake’s suddenly back in our town.Is it really to build a career or get close to Mercy. I need to know if he had any ulterior motive.”

There were some more muffled voices from the other side. And it completely blew away her patience. " How dare you tell me to relax! Just do your damn job. What? What did you say you found out? They were in this city? Years ago? They lived here? No? Jake was born here? What are you talking about? No, I don't have the time. Get me all the details at my office,first thing tomorrow."

She hung up abruptly, her frustration palpable. Percy leaned back in his chair, his mind racing. Who was this Jake after all? And what did his father have to do with him?He didn’t have to wait long for more pieces of the puzzle. His mother’s voice, now directed at someone else, floated back to his ears.

“Marissa, can you believe this nonsense?” she snapped. “These private eyes are useless. They can't even trace a simple transaction.But they are here telling me this Jake, who claimed he always lived in the hills, once lived in this city. This isn't funny anymore.”

Marissa, the family’s oldest maid and Elizabeth's confidante, responded hesitantly, “I’m sure they’re trying their best, ma’am. It must be difficult...“

"Difficult?” his mother interrupted, her tone icy. “They’re being paid to uncover the truth. And the truth is, there’s something big here. Something we’ve been kept in the dark about.I know it. I can feel it in my heart. I am never wrong about my intuitions.Wait a minute.”

Elizabeth turned towards Marissa, her lips curled, eyes towards thr ceiling, a prominent frown on her forehead as she lost herself, contemplating something. " It seems like Percy and Jake are the same age, doesn't it? ”

Percy was shocked to learn that his mother still remembered his name. But why the sudden compassion?

But Elizabeth didn't wait any longer. She strutted off. Percy quickly moved as she crossed in front of his door, making sure she didn't notice him.

Percy’s curiosity was piqued. He needed to know more. Silently, he crept towards the door, careful not to make a sound. Peering through the crack, he saw his mother, her face a mask of anger and determination. Marissa stood nearby, wringing her hands nervously behind her. "This Jake,” his mother continued murmuring as she walked, “he’s not just some random kid. There’s history. Connections. And that transaction… it’s the key to everything. If only those detectives could do their jobs.”

Percy’s mind whirled. His father was always so secretive. He never dared to defy his wife despite her rendezvous. Did he really do something fishy or was Elizabeth simply mad because he had kept a secret. Besides, he was worried about Mercy. What if Jake was really in town with an ulterior motive? What if she was in danger?

Percy knew he couldn't handle this alone and he shouldn't. There was only one person he could go to and it was none other than Phill.