Chapter 9: Stop

Erica quickly got into the car that had the door open for her already. She gave instructions to the driver to follow the cars that had driven past them. The benefactor of her and her brother needed to be identified.

Her driver stepped on the gas and they were on their way.

She was conflicted she wanted to know but she also did not want to know, especially if it was another enemy. Her father had made a lot of enemies during his time due to the type of business he was dealing with. He made enemies with people from the underworld as well as the government and any people who were after his and his family's heads at that time. Though they knew his father and mother plus her perished in the fire the more worried she was now that her younger brother had made a public appearance. All those hawks had their eyes on him.

"Stop!" Erica shouted. She got out of the car and frantically felt her jacket and trouser pockets. She tried feeling for her pockets and finally got a lighter from one of the pockets and lit a cigarette. She took a long drag of the cigar and then leaned on the car door letting out the smoke she had inhaled.

Then she took out her phone from the pocket of her jacket and opened the messaging app.

There was a message from a string of unknown numbers that read ' Hey honey, no need to bother yourself chasing after me, I will be visiting you later today, I would love it if I could taste your cooking tonight, I remember you used to stick by your father when he was cooking and I have eaten your cooking countless times, I would have to have the pleasure of eating it today Erica, Love Fiance."

Erica kept pondering and thinking about where she might have known the man from. She did not remember him and she did not remember having him as a fiance either. The man who so desperately wanted to be accepted by her parents was not accepted. This is because the accident happened before their engagement was made public. She knew his every move, so he couldn't possibly be him.

But who was it? He even knew how much she loved cooking, he even knew she was adept at cooking. Plus, he had eaten her food countless times. She did not remember meeting him or having any connection with him. She was clueless about the happening of what the man was saying and the more she thought about it, the more her head ached. It was painful that she gave up on trying to think about it and remember him. However, since he had already promised to meet her tonight at her residence, she could only wait.

She had a lot of questions she needed answers to, like how he knew she was Erica and not Dracon. No one but Linda knew she was a woman even after she had a lot of dealings with her underworld people whom she met every day.

After smoking a few cigars and getting some fresh air, she threw the cigar on the ground and stepped on it. She made her way inside the car and ordered the driver to drive them back to their residence.

After leaving behind a message for Linda to be called up to her room, Erica got out of the car and walked straight to her room.

"Did you ask for me?" Linda asked as she peeped in through a small gap in the door.

"Come in Linda no need for etiquette between us, look at this," Erica handed her phone to Linda with the messaging app open. She looked for another cigar and lit it while making her way to the balcony.

With a cigar on her lips taking a drag, she had her hands on the balcony, tightly clenched looking at the expansive garden that stretched as far as one could see. Her hands though clenched were shaking and her eyes looked unfocused. There was anger, confusion, conflict, blood lust, pain, loneliness all sorts of emotions in her eyes.

She did not know why she felt that way, why she could not remember anything about what the man said. It was impossible for her to doubt him since when she tried to recall if they had ever come into contact she got a throbbing headache. In addition, she got flashes of images as if some of her memories had been erased or trapped. This was the first time she had experienced anything like that. She had no idea she had forgotten a part of her past. She thought she had everything under control, but apparently not.

She did not like the feeling of being controlled at all or not being under the control of her own life or any situation.

" Who is this person Erica do you know him, have you seen his face?" Linda asked, her voice trembling slightly. As much as she tried to mask it, Erica still picked up on the slight tremble in her voice.

She knew something but she was acting ignorant.

" Linda I want to know the truth. Think carefully before you answer me. "Being kept in the dark is the thing I hate most, especially when it comes to my trusted aide and the key people in my life," Erica cautioned.

"I do not think you are ready to hear what I am about to tell you, Erica! I promised your father I wouldn't say anything about it to you until the right time," Linda was avoiding Erica's face as she answered.

She did not want to keep anything secret from her lady but she had to. She wasn't the one to tell her, and it wasn't her place to do it.

"Erica, he is your fiance but if you would like to know more then I will advise you to wait for him and he will tell you everything that you need to know," stated Linda.