Chapter 08

Irene and Ezekiel sported a strange look at Genevieve's and Archer's flustered state when the two made it back to the mansion.

"What happened?" Irene asked, rushing towards Genevieve whose hand was swollen. Ezekiel indicated a maid to bring an icepack.

Genevieve told them the entire story about Archer was almost kidnapped. Both Irene and Ezekiel didn't say a word after she had finished, they were busy looking for any bruises on their respective siblings.

"Were you hurt?" Ezekiel murmured, his hands gripping Archer's face as he looked for injuries.

"No," He said, "Genevieve beat them up."

"She did?" Ezekiel looked at her in surprise. The latter shrugged in response.

"How'd you do it?" Irene asked, crossing her arms across her chest.

"Elbow jabs to the stomach and back, kick to the crotch." She said and Irene nodded.

"Good," She said. From her tone, Ezekiel wondered if both the sisters were trained how to fight. He wasn't undermining them but it was rare for him to see women who were skilled in taking down men who were obviously bigger than them in a fight. When Irene had told him that Archer and Genevieve were going to a club, he was worried for their safety because Archer hated taking bodyguards around with him. Irene had assured him that they would be fine with Genevieve around and at that time, the same thought had crossed his mind.

"Anything peculiar?" He asked.

"Actually yes," Genevieve said in a serious tone, "they did not look like kidnappers."

"What do you mean?" Irene asked, taking a seat next to her.

"They looked like they were about 20 years old and they didn't know how to fight." She said.

"What is that even supposed to mean?" Archer whined, still not over the shock that he was about to be kidnapped.

"What she's trying to say is that they were students who were only given money to kidnap you, not hurt you," Irene explained.

"Which indicates that whoever hired them only wanted to scare us and make us back off from looking for the crown," Ezekiel said, connecting the dots in his head, "My guess is that this is the same person who sent us the note."

"Nevertheless," Irene said, "We need to be careful henceforth. I'm going to that club for the CCTV footage."

"Right now?" Ezekiel narrowed his eyes, "it's too late."

"I have a hunch I need to confirm. I need to see those recordings." She replied.

"I'll ask someone to send the recording--"

"No, it's important to see both the recording and the actual place."

Ezekiel thought over it for a minute, doubtful of her strange behaviour. They had spent the entire time researching, none of the two speaking for the entire time until it was absolutely necessary. They had exchanged ideas and theories but none of it seemed relevant to their situation.

"Let's go in the morning, I'll come with you." He said finally.

Irene looked like she was about to object but Genevieve held her hand, looking at her with pleading eyes. Ezekiel realised that even if Genevieve was strong, she was still dependent on her sister for comfort. She did seem shaken up herself, even though it was subtle.

"Fine," She let out a sigh, tightening her grip around her sister's hand.

"Stay the night here, I'll ask someone to open the guest bedroom for you," Ezekiel said, "it's too dangerous for you to go on your own tonight."

Ezekiel didn't know why he said that, he knew that the two women were perfectly capable of taking care of themselves but he felt a sort of a tug that wanted them to stay, where he can see them. If it was protectiveness or mere suspicion, he couldn't point it out.

Irene considered it for a moment before nodding. "Thank you."

The rest of Ezekiel's family were already asleep so there was no need for unnecessary introductions. He doubted if it was even needed since Irene and Genevieve would be gone the moment they had the crown back.

Twenty minutes later, Ezekiel was pacing around his room, deep in thought. There were too many unanswered questions, the biggest of them would probably be the involvement of the Pierce sisters in the entire situation. He made a mental note to talk to his grandmother the next morning, hoping she'd be able to clarify certain things for him. He decided to not tell her about Irene and Genevieve as of yet so that she would not worry. He did not want her to doubt them for some reason, he decided to keep the suspicions regarding their identity to himself. After all, the responsibility was his which also meant that success would be his credit and failure, well, he didn't want to think of the consequences.

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Ezekiel did not sleep the entire night. In the morning, he sluggishly dragged himself to the kitchen for his daily dose of coffee. The aroma of the drink filled the kitchen and he sighed in content, feeling his brain starting to awaken.

As he sipped his coffee, he scrolled through the news on his phone. There wasn't anything that even remotely interested him so he clicked it shut. He remembered that he had to talk to his grandmother so he went back to his room for a quick shower after finishing his drink.

His grandmother was an early riser, waking up at exactly six every morning. He had always wondered what she had to do that she woke up so early but she never gave him a satisfactory answer. Ezekiel knew that he'd find her near a small pond in the back of the mansion in the morning, she was almost always there. After his quick shower, he made his way towards the pond and spotted his grandmother sitting by the water pool on a chair, staring aimlessly at it.

"Good morning, grandmother," He greeted her, startling her slightly out of her thoughts.

"Ah, Ezekiel. You're up," She said, looking at him briefly before she shifted back to the water, "Finally decided to listen to me and wake up early?"

"Not really, I couldn't sleep last night," Ezekiel replied, knowing full well that his grandmother hated the fact that he stayed up late for work purposes.

"Don't risk your health over the crown, grandson," She tsked, "I don't want you falling sick and making me worry."

"Well the theft itself is worrying, speaking of which I had to talk to you."

"You brat, I knew you'd only come to talk to me if it was too urgent."

"Grandmother!" Ezekiel whined. He didn't feel awkward, behaving like a child in front of a powerful figure like his grandmother. He knew she liked it when he would spend time with her, joking around. His parents had died when he was very young so his grandmother was the only parental figure in his life.

"Okay, okay," She sighed, "what is it?"

Ezekiel told her about his worries, Archer being almost kidnapped and the mysterious note. He did not mention the involvement of the Pierce sisters and the letters, he had decided to tell her when the time was right.

"Hm," His grandmother mulled over what he had told her, "So, you think that there is one person or a group of persons who know about the crown beside us?"

"That is the only reasonable explanation for both the kidnapping and the note," He nodded.

"To tell you the truth," She turned to face him, "The crown had almost been stolen once and that was a long time back. I had received a similar note back then but we managed to dodge the problem."

"Did you have any suspects then?" He asked, hoping he'd get a clearer idea.

"There was one, though we could never prove it. He used to go by the alias 'Echo'. I don't know if he's alive, this was almost twenty-five years ago. We had killed almost all of his associates--"

Ezekiel's grandmother's eyes widened as if she had told him something she was not supposed to.

"What do you mean 'killed', grandmother?" Ezekiel prodded, wondering why she stopped so suddenly. "And you said, 'we'. Who helped you?"

"It's too dangerous, Ezekiel, digging into the past," His grandmother replied, hesitant. "But you should look into this 'Echo' person. It may help you."

"You did not answer my question, grandmother. Who is 'we'?" Ezekiel asked again. He had come to her for answers and he wanted just that.

"Just someone, it's not important." She said, standing up suddenly. She started to make her way towards the mansion.

"It could be, grandmother!" Ezekiel exclaimed, frustrated.

His grandmother spun around to face him, eyes furious. "Don't talk to me in that tone, young man. I told you, it is dangerous to dig into the past. I won't put your life at risk."

"Grandmother--"

"No more questions, Ezekiel." She held up a hand, stopping him. "I helped you as much as I could. Even though I want the crown back, it won't be at the cost of the lives of my family."

She turned around, walking away from him. Ezekiel ran his fingers through his hair, trying to calm his anger. He did not like being kept in the dark, especially by his grandmother. He knew it was hopeless trying to prod it out of his grandmother but he had to try. He didn't understand what was it that she was so afraid of. His grandmother had the answers he was looking for but she was insisting on making it difficult for him.

Sighing, he went back inside the house himself. He saw that the others had woken up and showered, waiting for him in the living room.

"'Morning," Genevieve greeted chirpily.

"'Morning," He replied, sitting down on the seat next to Archer, feeling his head pain already.

"You look tensed. What's wrong?" Irene asked, leaning forward.

Ezekiel told them about the conversation he had with his grandmother and by the end of it, everyone bore the same look he had on earlier.

"Echo? The name doesn't ring a bell," Irene frowned.

"She said it was almost twenty years ago. What information would we even find?" Archer asked, slouching.

"Leave that to me," Genevieve replied, a hint of playfulness lacing her tone, "I'm particularly good in this field."

Irene nodded. "I trust Genevieve's skills, I'm sure we'll find something on Echo."

She looked at Ezekiel before continuing, "While she does that, I think we should check out that club from last night."

"Okay," Ezekiel nodded.