Chapter 119A died manFor the first time, sleep was not something Elijah knew for an entire night, and when the
morning light crept into his room, he was sitting onthe edge of his bed, feeling a bit exhausted after
spending every second of last night rearranging the chess board to his liking, and it was time for him to
make his first move.
But as he reached for his phone, an unknown number suddenly popped up on the screen, causing him
to pause and then answered, frowning when heheard, “You little crook…”“Who is this?"
novelbinElijah asked impatiently.
“You are loaded as fuck! It’s all diamonds… The ring is worth millions of bucks.
You have been shitting around with the act of being a broke ass, but you got the dollars and you are
not afraidto spend them on Peach!”“It’s you… from last night’s call…"
The frown on Elijah’s face deepened, realizing that Jacob was switching in between contacts, and then
he heard his voice laugh hysterically through the phone before saying, “Why though… Why hide the
fact that you are loaded with cash… What’s your sick game here, boy? Huh?!"
“You have five more minutes to send me the next picture of my wife,"
Elijah said calmly.
“Right… Right.
And now that I know how much you are willing to spend on just a wedding ring forher… I have a little
more than Elmer’s lawsuit getting dropped, to ask for Preach freedom."
“Name your price… I am listening.”The line went quiet immediately, and Elijah woke from the bed,
pacing back and forth across his room in his socks.Twenty million dollars!!"
Jacob finally shouted over the phone.
“Twenty million for her release.”Immediately, Elijah’s expression darkened, and he silently snorted at
those words before saying, “I don’t have that kindof money laying around but give me one week, and I
will get it.”“So you are fucking loaded! Wow… I asked your wife how much she thought her ring was
worth, and she called a couple of thousand dollars in guesses… Peach doesn’t know who you are…
What are you playing at?!"
Jacob said with a type of cockiness in his tone that made Elijah realize Scorpio was a hundred
percentright.
“Your five minutes are up.
I would like a picture of my wife now.”“Oh, don’t worry, boy.
Now that I know the value of who I have, Peach will be well -taken care of… Until you make the wrong
move… then I canpromise you that her pretty face is never going to look the same."
“No need for threats… I will start arrangements for the money and Elmer’s release today.
Just… Don’t… Don’t hurt her.”“We have eyes on you, boy… I hope you know what’sat stake here…
Don’t tempt me to unleash my dogs that are drooling over your wife…"
“Like I said before… There’s no need for threats.”The call abruptly ended in Elijah’s ear, and he
withdrew his phone to stare at the screen, taking only five seconds to dial Scorpio up.
“Good morning, boss."
Scorpio’s voice said over the line.“I told you when I hired you that I will never make you kill anyone for me… And I am standing firm by
those words, but I needyou to pick up a list of items forme…”As Madam Jewel was about to drink her
tea, she halted the cup against her lips as Dean and Martha entered the dining room, a look of worry
glued on the couple’s faces.
“What’s wrong?"
Madam Jewel asked half-heartedly, not caring much for her son’s marital affairs.
It took Dean a couple of moments to compose himself, and even then, his hands were shaking slightly,
and thensaid, “Melina did not go home yesterday… and she’s not picking up her phone.”A spark of
worry woke in Madam Jewel’s heart since she knew that she had called Melina to help her with Jacob’s
plan last night, and she knew that Jacob hadPeach, meaning that Melina executed her part perfectly,
but why she never went home was what had Madam Jewel stumped.
But she laughed off her concern slightly and said, “You know Melina… She has friends and loves to
hang out with them.
She will turn out soon.”When Dean raised his brows at her, she smiled at him, and yet, inside, shewas
worried since something felt very off about this whole thing.
“Then why is she not answering her phone… This is not like my daughter."
Martha said quietly, and MadainJewel frowned before looking away, trying hard to put a positive spin on
the situation and thinking of something else to say.
“Exactly! That’s what I’m trying to figure out!"
Dean said, exasperated and frustrated, “I know she’s a womanwith her own life to live, but doing a
vanishing trick on us is not like her!”A nervous laugh escaped Madam Jewel’s throat at Dean’soutburst, and when she looked into his eyes, she realized her son was frowning at her, and she
mumbled, “Let’s not act like Melina has not done some weird stuff that had not shocked all of us… like
marrying that… that thing… that has your brother in jail."
“Mother,"
Dean whispered, feeling a sense of guilt and shame rise within him.
“She will turn up… Soon.
Let’s just wait."
“I trust your word then, mother."
As she watched her son walk off and his wife followed after him, her smile slowly faded into agrimace
as her mind drifted back to the last conversation she had with her granddaughter and that no one else
in the family knew what Melina and her discussion were about Peach.
Quickly, she picked up her phone from the table and dialed her granddaughter’s number, tapping
hernails anxiously against the table in hopes that Melina would answer.
Straightening his shirt collar, Elijah stared at Melina’s phone vibrating on his dresser and his brows
snapped together at the word, “Grandma,"
and thenhe grabbed his coat and wore it before picking up her phone and shoving it into his pocket.
“You Hayes want to play dirty… Then I will muddy the damn water, and we can all roll around in it till
someone drowns to death…”Elijah mumbled, his eyes darkening before he wore his dark shade to hide
his tired eyes.A moment later, he heard a knock on his door, and he sighed at his reflection in the mirror before
heading toopen it.
“Good morning, boss."
Ryan greeted him and then pushed past Elijah and entered the suite with Rookie and Matt.
“Where are we heading,"
Matt asked, looking at his boss with a raised brow.
“To see Mr. Bamford,"
Elijah replied.
“You are reporting Peach’s kidnapping to the police?"
Rookie asked, feeling uncertain about that.
Studying his men’s faces, Elijah hesitated and then said, “No, to have lunch withgoing to do about
Peach’s kidnapping?"
Ryan asked.
“But… B-ut… What are we
“You guys are doing nothing, except to head to the company and run things there like everything is
fine… Jacob is watching.
Also, continue the search for the Doc.”“But, boss…”“Shit is about to go down, and I need you three
hands as clean as possible… just in casethings go south, okay?… Plus, this Jacob guy got eyes onme, and if he is watching me, then you guys are also under his watch.”Frowning, Matt hesitated as he
stared at his boss in concern and then asked,"
What is about to go down?”But Elijah just gave him a weak smile and patted his shoulder before
commanding them in a calm voice, “Get to work."
At nine o’clock, Elijah walked into Mr. Bamford’s office, and the chief constable raised his gaze at the
sound of his footsteps.
“Mr. Darius… What a surprise to see you here this early… Is there a problem?"
Mr. Bamford asked, leaning back in his chair with crossed legs as he watched Elijah take off his shade.
“No problem."
Elijah simply said with a small smile before taking a seat, “I just thought it would be nice to have a
coffee with you…Does your secretary know how to make a banger dark coffee?"
“Umm… are you sure that there is no problem?"
Mr. Bamford said with slight confusion as he noticed the bags under Elijah’s eyes.
Resting his phone on the chief constable’s desk with his keys and grinning as Melina’s phone vibrated
in his pocket, saying calmly, “Nah, I am good."
A slight scowl crossedPeach’s face when she heard the room door unlock and open, keeping her eyes
on the table.
“Can I get my ring back?"
Peach whispered, without raising her head.“Don’t worry, your husband is capable of replacing it when you get back to him… this one is mine now,
and Iwill be a fool to give you it back,"
Jacob said through gritted teeth as he sat down across from her.
Even though her anger was rising, Peach remained silent and kept her eyes focused on the table,
afraid to look Jacob in the eye.
Suddenly, she heard his footsteps approaching her and her heart sank to her feet as he bent forward
toward her face and whisperedin her ear, “Let me tell you asecret, little girl… You are in love with a liar
and a fake… I don’t know why that boy married you, but you shouldn’t take his feelings for you so
seriously because guys like him can change on you anytime.
Trust me, honey.
He’s a player, and you are just a part of some kind of mess-up game he’splaying out of boredom or
whatever reason he has given himself.”FUTELThen he pulled away from Peach, making her finally stop
holding her breath when he heard a knock on the door.
A sigh of relief left Peach’s lips when he walked off, leaving the room, and then she rested her head on
the table, squeezing the fiber of her skirt tightand whimpering softly.
“What is it, Scotty?"
Jacob asked irritably, staring at his man.
“Mel said that Elijah has entered the police station."
Scotty stated.”… You think he will tell on us."
Eyes devilish and face dark, Jacob smirked as he said, “Scotty… Scotty.Let me tell you a thing about going into battle, once the enemies know your weakness, you are fuck! A
dead man… And that’s what Elijah is…a sitting duck.