Did you steal that
The sound of her office door opening made Melina raise her head and looked at Josh, the reporter that
Elijah punched.
his nose had a bandage on it, and it was still swollen, and Melina’s brows snapped at the sight of him.
“What are you doing here?! I told you to call me. Not show up in my face, and not without warning me!”
Melina said, resting back in her chair, crossing her arms against her chest and narrowing her eyes as
she stared at him. “I just got laid off from my job!” Josh said as he sat in the empty seat in front of her
desk. A look of confusion filled Melina’s face as she cocked her right eyebrow, waiting for him to
explain further.
“The news I covered about Elijah and your cousin was pulled down from the media,” Josh said, making
her look at him in shock.
“What?!” Melina exclaimed, her voice cracking as she spoke through clenched teeth. “Who would dare
cross me and my family like that?!”
“My boss said the news offended someone powerful and he couldn’t risk us getting involved with a
scandal by spreading such bad rumors. So, he decided to pull the plug on everything we published
about Elijah.”
“Someone powerful? Are we still talking about my ex-husband?!”
“Who else did you hire me to spread those stupid stories about?” The raise in his tone made Melina
clench her jaw tightly, her eyes turning into slits as she glared at him angrily as she coldly uttered,
“Don’t forget who presence you are in. I will advise you to not piss me off,” Josh simply grinned at her
and replied, “I’m just a humble reporter… Well was a reporter, so I won’t dare-” “I can make your life a
whole lot worse than losing your job, so I suggest you watch what you say before speaking. Got it?”
Grinning even wider, Josh leaned forward and winked before saying, “Got it.”
“Did your boss tell you who this powerful person was that is suddenly backing my ex husband?!” Melina
asked, raising an eyebrow. “No, he didn’t. But he wrote me a check and told me to forget about the
charge I plan to file against Elijah for punching me. He said that I would be doing myself a favor if I
don’t mess with such a man.”
“What the hell is going on?!” At that moment, a knock came on the door, and both Melina and Josh
turned their heads toward it, seeing Celina, a journalist, walking into the room.
You too?!” Melina exclaimed, staring at her with wide eyes.
“Sorry, but I desperately need to talk to you,” Celina said, shrugging apologetically,
“What is it?!”
“‘The chief of police showed up at the motel and demanded all reporters to leave the premises.
According to him, we are not allowed to stay at the motel any day, or else we will be arrested for
trespassing.”
Melina closed her eyes briefly and nodded, knowing that if the chief of police had arrived at the motel
and insisted, then there was a serious reason for why.
“But why is he willing to go against the Hayes for my ex-husband’s sake… A man with no title, no
money, and no power, or connections?!” Melina asked, furrowing her eyebrows.
Nothing was adding up… It made no sense whatsoever to her! Why did the Chief of Police want to
protect Elijah, when he was just a man that lived off her for years and had nothing to his name.
“Is this Peach doing?” Melina mumbled beneath her breath, shaking her head and laughing
humorlessly. “The chief of police though. There is no way she has a connection to pull that kind of
strings,”
With a confused look on their faces, Josh and Celina glanced questioningly at Melina, but neither of
them had any idea what she was talking about.
“But I could be wrong, can I,” Melina muttered, closing her eyes once more as her thoughts ran
rampant through her mind, making her feel dizzy.
For years Peach has kept her distance away from the family and refused to acknowledge their
existence, so Melina had never seen her as a threat or competition.
But she refused to believe that Elijah had the means to convince the Chief of Police to stand up for
them, so that left her with only one explanation… Peach and her mother. After all, her father is the
biological and first son of the Hayes family.
‘I think it’s time to snip my cousin before her wing grows, and she starts flapping it,’Melina thought to
herself with a smirk as the corner of her lips curled upward.
Standing outside the room, Matt knocked on his boss’s door and waited patiently for him to open it.
Once Elijah did, Matt cleared his throat and said, “Are you okay…? You have been in here for quite a
while.”
“I am,” Elijah mumbled, looking at James, Ryan, and Rookie standing behind Matt.
Then he stepped aside and waited for them to walk into his room before shutting the door closed
behind him, turning to face the four of them.
“What is in the envelope?” James asked, looking at his boss with concern clear on his face.
The truth that he would never tell his men is that he got lost in his thoughts and feelings after he met
Peach, and he forgot about the envelope. Reaching into his pocket, Elijah took out the fancy black
envelope and carefully opened it. Taking out the letter inside, he read it out loud slowly, “Invitation to
‘League private club’at’ Hotel Del Rey…”
Taking out his phone, Rookie stared at it, ignoring the others and focusing on his screen. Then after a
moment, he mumbled, “That’s the club for Elite men in the country… I just research it and only the rich,
famous, and important people get invited.” “Checks said there was no catch behind the invitation, just a
drink. But why invite me to such a club?” Elijah questioned himself, frowning.
“Why is this Bryan Checks guy so obsessed with you anyways?” Ryan asked. Putting the invitation
back into the folder, Elijah sighed before replying, “It beats me.” The room fell quiet, nobody having
another thing to say until Rookie finally raised his gaze from his phone and suggested hesitantly,
“Because his grandfather is from Bordoria.”
Everyone’s attention snapped towards Rookie when he said that, but Elijah remained silent.
62fb1bb41dcb31934bd49bda