Chapter 6- A Code Red

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"You ended your relationship?!" Andrew's father snapped at him in their living room, eyes seething with fury as he demanded from his son, "are you out of your mind??"

Andrew rose to his feet from the couch, and he plainly retorted. "No, father, I'm perfectly fine! Polly and I are not compatible! She's the one in love with me. Why do I have to fulfill your desires and then suffer to make her happy? No, father."

"Stop spitting nonsense!" Andrew's father silenced him. He was unable to comprehend how he was going to fix the mess his useless son had made.

Bringing out a file, he dropped it on the table for his son to see, "this file, Polly's brother brought them here as early as 7am. The partnership between you two has been terminated! Do you know what that means for our own company? Did you not think about the losses we would incur if you went ahead and exposed your affairs?? Because she loves you, do you expect her to simply accept your involvement with another woman??"

"W–what did you say??" Andrew was bewildered by the news. He didn't believe his father and hastily picked up the file. He went through the documents, and his father had signed in his place.

"You signed the documents, father??"

"What should I have done? He came here prepared!" Andrew's father defended, "You broke his sister's heart, do you think he would want to indulge in any form of partnership with our family again? Are you not aware of his lack of temper?? We were so close! All you had to do was control your urges for a couple more months until after the wedding, but you–!!"

Andrew shook his head in disbelief, his face pale from the revelation. He suspected something like this would happen, but he didn't know Norman would take it this far. This termination contract, he was the one who offered it to Norman back when he was still dating Polly.

The termination contract had aided his manipulation on Polly. His desire to partner with Norman drove him to take the risk, and his strategy paid off. Norman tore up the termination contract before his very eyes, solely to appease his sister, but now he wondered; if this was the termination contract, what papers did Norman destroy on that day??

Could it be that he was also fooled? Did Norman see this day coming and hid the termination papers??

No! This can't happen.

"I… I have to speak with Polly."

"Speak with her about what??" The father could not believe the nonsense that was coming out of his son's mouth. "you want to apologize when the deed has already been done?? What makes you think she'd want to see you again?"

"She still loves me, Father!" Andrew reminded his egoistic dad, "I can use her love for me to get it back! It hasn't been long since we parted ways, her feelings for me can't be dead! I'll find a way to speak with her, I'll beg and plead as much as I can, and if she doesn't budge, I'll have to resort to plan B. I refuse to let two years of effort go to waste, it can't!"

He rubbed his nape frustratedly, wondering if Polly had talked her brother into this to get back at him.

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When the sun was down, Polly had no intention of leaving the house for the rest of the day. She'd rather work from home than have another car scare the living daylights out of her– just the mere recollection gave her goosebumps.

The scenario at the security authorities office was still unsolved. The footage was shown to both Polly and her brother, and the man driving the car was the same man who had been pronounced dead, even before the incident— so how did he start driving?

More importantly, why was she the main target?

She had requested to see the body with her own two eyes, but her brother suggested she head home, while he handled everything. She understood he was being protective, but this concerns her life and she had every right to understand exactly what is happening.

Unable to concentrate on her work, Polly dropped her laptop aside and laid on the bed like an abandoned puppy. Her green eyes flickered to the letter on her nightstand, and a look of recognition dawned on her visage.

"The letter!"

Polly got out of bed and approached the table, picking up the envelope.

She brought out the letter and sat on her bed.

Flipping it open, she read;

"Come to Aleyska lane." And that was it.

Bewildered, she turned to the back of the letter, but there was nothing written except for those four phrases.

"Aleyska lane?" Polly's eyebrows furrowed. Aleyska lane was her hometown.

But why…

Her phone suddenly vibrated on the bed, and Polly reached for her phone. Seeing Emily's name flash on the screen, she didn't hesitate to answer the call.

"Yes, Emily?"

"Miss! Can you come to the company right now? There seems to be an issue with the product! Code red!"

Polly's face turned pale, and she didn't hesitate before jumping out of bed. She quickly wore her usual black sweater along with her tight pants, then darted out of her room.

Malcolm was in the dining room going through the rest of the mail when he noticed Polly coming down the stairs in a hurry.

"Slow down, what if you trip?" Malcolm didn't hide his worry. "Those stairs aren't there for running, you can get seriously hurt if you fall."

"Malcolm, I'm going to the company, I just got a code red from Emily."

"Right now?" Malcolm's concern grew as he watched Polly head for the door, "today's incident shouldn't be taken lightly, you can't just leave the house! It's past 8pm." Malcolm stole a brief glance at his clock to confirm the time.

"Your brother hired some bodyguards outside, why not take them with you?" Malcolm immediately suggested. He knew the stubborn Polly would not budge if he told her to stay back, so advising her to take the bodyguards outside was his best option.

Talking about the time, and facing the night made Polly halt at the door. She was reminded of the message she got from the unknown stranger, but shook it aside as quickly as it came.

She refocused her attention on the pressing needs of her company.

The stakes were high, with potential repercussions looming large. Fulfilling her obligation was paramount; failure was not an option, especially with the contract she just signed hanging at a balance.

For once in her life, she was doing something right!

Taking a bigger coat that was hung on a stand close to the door, she put it on and assured Malcolm. "It's just a quick check-up on something, I'll be fine!"

And she was out.