Chapter 432: My Old Friend

When Ian and Zane walked into Mina's apartment, Zane turned to stare at his friend as if he were only just seeing him for the first time. He shook his head, fully aware that it was Ian who had scattered Mina's things high and low. While nothing was broken, the apartment reeked of booze, and there was paper of all sorts covering the floors.

Zane went to Mina's bedroom, hoping to find the woman there, but he did not; what he did find was another mess. He surveyed Mina's bedroom and felt like Ian had crossed a line in some of the things he had done. Every clothing item Mina owned had been tossed onto the floor, and every draw ransacked.

"What were you looking for?" Zane asked his friend who had gone quiet with guilt.

"I don't know." Zane nodded before sending a punch at Ian's arm. He could tell that Mina had started cleaning, and with her arm injury, she was probably struggling to do so. "Clean it up," Zane demanded and Ian, who was unused to being ordered, felt anger boil within him before Zane poured cold water on him. "Or you could just continue to hemorrhage."

Ian's anger was quenched at once, and starting from the sitting room, he started to carefully pick things off the ground. The paper he had scattered was nothing but pages upon pages of contract details between Mina and her various employers. There were also a few draft contracts that she had drawn for what looked like the purchase of a home and the sale of the apartment. One copy had been signed by Mina's roommate, who had left the country with James.

Ian had not arranged it, but the woman received an offer of some sort, and James who was fond of her asked if he could go as Emma's escort. Ian of course agreed because that was before Mina started searching for 'average male time'.

It was then that Ian shut her phone down, hoping that whoever was sparking her curiosity would be made unable to do so. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how Ian looked at things, it may not have even been Mina who was using the phone, and he had jumped to conclusions.

Ian had no idea how to clean, he knew how to pick up trash, but when it came to cleaning, he was lost. By the time he was done, he felt exhausted and he wondered how Mina kept her surroundings neat when she was barely home and always working.

Mina's coffee table had a sticky coating on it from the several bottles scattered over it, so he tried using soap and water to wash it, but the smell of watery alcohol almost made him sick. Zane opened the windows to Mina's apartment, finding it hard to suffer in the disgusting smell.

"She can't stay here tonight," he offered.

"I will take her to my place." Zane looked at Ian as though the man was truly an idiot.

"By force?" He asked, because that was probably the only way Mina would go anywhere with Ian. Ian had not thought about how he was going to convince Mina to leave with him, but he had a strong idea that money might be a motivating factor.

----

Mina did not immediately return home, the secure car Madam Rue had called for her was meant to take her wherever she needed to go, so Mina stopped at a local restaurant to eat. She ordered the most expensive meal and was disappointed when it was tasteless. She decided to walk around looking into some of the stores she had never had the courage to walk into. Mina was in an expensive district, and at one point in her life, buying anything from any of the boutiques was a far cry away from reality.

"Hello beautiful," Mina heard and she turned to see a man holding a small knife toward her midsection.

"I see," Mina said, unafraid of the man she assumed had been sent by President Lee. "I guess he is going for 'accidental'. That is smart." Mina looked at the man with dead eyes, waiting for his next instruction, but he did not move. She walked closer to him, allowing the small knife to push into her flesh, but just as she felt pain, the man withdrew his weapon and ran.

"Crazy b!tch," he shouted. Confused, Mina shrugged and assumed she had been poisoned. She went back to where the secure car was waiting, and the man drove her to the original address he was given.

When Mina entered her apartment, the first thing she noticed was that it did not smell like a bar. She felt bad thinking that Emma had returned to find the place a mess and had straightened it up. She strolled inside to find Zane sitting on her sofa, and she wondered why the man had chosen to visit.

"What is it?" Mina asked, no longer feeling the need to make pleasantries with anyone. Her tone was dead, and Zane noticed it immediately. Mina stepped fully into the sitting room and saw that President Lee was arranging some of the paperwork that had been scattered on the ground.

"What?" Mina asked, she had begun to take large steps backward, fully prepared to run. Knowing she was going to die did not mean she was not afraid.

"Nothing much, just came to visit my old friend; Mr. Arlo Nimwa," Zane said, and Ian saw Mina's feet doing the slow-motion step thing that he associated with her sprinting away.

"Don't run," Ian said, but his words seemed to trigger the woman who turned to flee, but he was able to catch her before she made it to the door. Ian pulled her back, and the woman started to shout about her arm, so he released her, but she tried to run again. Zane, who had been watching the sh!tshow of a 'conversation', pinched his brow. It had been sometime since he had seen Mina running away from Ian, but he did not miss it.

Eventually Mina ended up seated in the living room, her expression had gone blank, because she had fought all she was willing to fight. She just hoped that President Lee was not planning to seize her money, which had already hit her E-traders account.

Zane noticed a slight tear in Mina's jacket that was too neat to have been made from ripping, and he questioned her about it. she shrugged as it was nothing, because to her it was. She did not tell him what happened, because in her mind he already knew and that was why the men were sitting in her apartment.

"You lied to me," Ian said, and Mina just stared, as if he had not spoken to her at all. "You told me that you didn't see anything."

"I told you that I 'peeked' while you were transferring funds. I never said how long I looked or how much I saw." A small smile creased Ian's face because it was the truth.

"Mina, do you know what happens when a 'top earner' account suddenly sells all their investments?" Mina considered whether she should answer or not, because both men should know, but she spoke anyway.

"It creates speculation."

"Want to guess what kind of speculation was made?" Ian retorted and Zane handed Mina a tablet to scroll through.

Mina looked at chart upon chart of data and felt her heart clench for the file she was reviewing. The person had taken such heavy losses as people left and right sold their investments, and without being told Mina knew that person was President Lee.

Seeing all she needed to see, Mina looked up at the man, and her once passive expression morphed into something else. She opened her mouth and burst into hysterical laughter, tossing the tablet onto Zane's lap with a satisfied expression on her face.