Private security

The entire estate was shocked into silence. Nobody reacted while they stared at the now-dead Adam. 

Officer Jenkins wore a pair of latex gloves as he examined the dead body. "He's dead. I suspect he was poisoned."

Sienna's face was unreadable. She didn't react and kept staring at the dead body.

The police officer called his team and the forensics while he barked off orders on his phone.

Dark clouds hung over the place and Kyrell studied the remaining guards thoughtfully. They were mortified by their comrade's sudden death. With no warning or indication, he had dropped dead all of a sudden.

Frank felt a headache creeping in, and he glanced at Sienna. "Miss, do you want to rest for some time?" He wanted her away from the bloody mess. 

Why were troubles piling up one of the other? When would the chaos end?

"I'll stay here, Frank." Sienna didn't budge from her place. She wanted to see how the investigation would proceed. 

"Miss..."

Frank surrendered when he noticed Sienna's determination. She wouldn't budge under his coercion, so he could only step back and continue to protect her.

"What do you think, Miss Lawrence?" Kyrell approached Sienna and whispered, ensuring it was just her who heard him.

Sienna's eyes flashed with ruthlessness and she looked at Kyrell mysteriously. "I would like to keep my thoughts to myself for now."

Kyrell understood her cautiousness. After all, in her current predicament, she couldn't trust anyone. Everyone was out to kill her, and she couldn't deduce who was a foe and who was a friend.

"I understand, Miss Lawerence. I'd like to have a word with you in private. Of course, please bring your trusted man with you." Kyrell glanced at Frank who was staring at him warily.

"Fine."

Sienna tilted her head and Frank understood what was expected of him. Without a word, he pushed the wheelchair and led Kyrell to the study room on the ground floor.

Sienna noticed that Kyrell gestured to Officer Jenkins who was still handling the mess in the living room.

The police officer returned a thumbs up, discerning what Kyrell intended to do.

Kyrell waited until Frank had closed the door before he began his analysis. Not once did his gaze wander away from Sienna. 

"Miss Lawrence, I want to put forth my analysis before you. I don't know if we are on the same page, but please give my words a thought."

"Go ahead," Sienna nodded, allowing him to speak his mind.

"Miss Lawrence, was Adam one of the guards stationed to protect you at the hospital?"

"No. As far I remember, he wasn't one of them," Frank replied instantly.

"Just what I thought," Kyrell mused. Did the guards or anyone in the estate know about your discharge? I mean did you inform them?" he clarified and Frank shook his head again.

"No. We didn't inform anyone in the estate."

"So, besides the guards protecting you at the hospital, nobody else knew about your discharge or us accompanying you. Am I right?"

Sienna realized where this was going. The man was on the same page as her. 

"From Adam's behavior, it was evident that he freaked out when he discovered we'd be interrogating all the guards in charge of security that day," Kyrell continued, speaking more to himself.

"So, someone fed him poison to get rid of them," Sienna finished it for him and Kyrell's lips pressed into a firm line, betraying no emotion.

"There are at least two people in this group who intend to harm you," he warned.

Sienna had already deduced it. But the difficulty lay in finding the people trying to harm her. They were too wicked to leave any traces.

"Miss, do you..."

Sienna's phone rang suddenly and interrupted Frank, forcing him to put a halt to his thoughts.

Sienna wasn't interested in answering the call. She rejected it instantly.

But the caller was persistent and kept calling until she couldn't ignore it anymore.

Sienna was annoyed. But she had to handle the issue. "Excuse me. I'll have to answer it."

Kyrell nodded in understanding and was about to leave when Sienna stopped him.

"Please stay, Mr. Winchester. This won't be long."

Kyrell was surprised. But he didn't reveal his emotions and stood in his spot silently. 

To his astonishment, Sienna answered the call and put it on speaker, allowing him to listen to her conversation.

"Yes?" Sienna's tone was utterly cold. It was as if she was speaking to a stranger.

"Sienna, I just found out about your family. How did the mishap happen? Why didn't you tell me?" the man spoke, his voice dripping with concern.

"Dane, I'll talk to you later. I'm busy."

"Sienna, what..."

Sienna ended the call without waiting for him to finish and directly blocked him, much to Kyrell's amusement.

"Miss?" Even Frank was baffled by her actions.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with him right now. Let him remain blocklisted for a few hours."

"But Miss, Mr. Ledger is your boyfriend."

A strange emotion passed through Kyrell's eyes. But no one noticed it.

"You already know how I feel about him, Frank. If not for Dad, I wouldn't have agreed to give him a chance."

"I know, Miss. But..."

"Frank, given my current circumstances, I don't want to be in any relationship and Dane isn't as good as the world thinks him to be."

That put a halt to Frank's words and he relented.

"Let's continue." Sienna directed her gaze at Kyrell who was watching her quietly.

"Do you suspect him, Miss Lawrence?" Kyrell didn't continue. Instead, he threw a question at her, studying her expressions keenly.

"Except Frank and his family, I suspect everyone else. Forgive me for saying this, but I suspect you as well." Sienna was direct and showed her stance without hiding.

"Why? May I ask?" Kyrell wasn't offended. Instead, he genuinely wanted to know her thoughts.

"Why would a stranger involve himself in my matters? How would you benefit from this?"

"Fair enough. I won't defend myself and leave it to you to judge."

"May I ask you a question?" Sienna queried, a strange notion popping into her mind. "Are you a police officer too?"

"No, Miss Lawrence. As I said previously, I lead a private security corps. I'm more like a private military contractor."

"And why are you helping me? I don't think I sought your help."

"You didn't, Miss Lawrence. Your elder brother did."

"My elder brother?" Sienna's brows contorted into a frown. "I don't remember him mentioning anything about it to me."

"We hadn't signed the contract yet, Miss Lawrence."

"Frank, please verify." Sienna was doubtful. Travis would have told her for sure if he had hired new security.

"Wait a minute. Miss, I remember the young master mentioning a security agency a few weeks back. Let me check."

"Call Edward Jones. He might know about brother's matter." 

"Yes, Miss."

Frank immediately called the man and put the phone on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Jones, this is Frank Alvarez, Miss Lawrence's butler. I called to enquire if the young master had been in touch with any security agency recently.

"Yes, Mr. Alvarez, Mr. Lawrence had contacted a private security agency. Let me find the name. Give me a moment."

"Ahh, yes. It's the Cheetah Corps," Edward answered after a few seconds, and right on cue, Kyrell pushed a business card toward Sienna. It held his name, phone number, and the security agency he owned.

Cheetah Corps.

"Do you know why young master was looking for them?" Frank questioned after receiving Sienna's signal.

"Yes. He wanted to hire a personal guard for Miss Lawrence."

Sienna's frown deepened. Even Frank was surprised by the discovery.

"Which Miss Lawerence?"

"Sienna. It was for Miss Sienna."