The Joy of Revenge

CHAPTER 75 Chimes Joy After ridding my boutique of bugs and miniature spy cams, I made a brief stop at the hospital to check up on Abigail. Unfortunately, her condition hadn’t improve although her parents still had hope. Abigail’s mother gave me a warm hug when I came into the hospital room with some flowers. and a box of eclairs. “It’s so nice to see you, dear. Since the accident, sadly, her friends haven’t come to visit her. I’m happy you remembered her and dropped by, Mrs. Reynolds said as she tenderly brushed the hair away from Abigail’s face. Some of her bandages were gone and there was some color in her cheeks. “Sweetie, your friend Virtue has come to say hi.” Abigail’s mother waited for some kind of response, but the only response came from the incessant beeping from her vital signs monitor. I took Abigail’s hand in mine and squeezed it, silently thanking her for helping me after 1 was raped. I noticed her hands were warm and I prayed it was a sign she might wake up soon. I bought take-out from the diner, then headed home to unload my groceries. Since I had nothing better to do, I went over to Noah’s house to read to Mrs. Jensen and wait for Noah. The e sun had already begun to set when I realized Noah wasn’t coming home. After politely. declining an invitation for dinner at the Jensen’s, I went home, debating whether or not I should go to Cynthia McDowell’s viewing. A part of me wanted to go. Aside from the information I could get, it was also a way t everyone in my sights. As they say, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. to keep Earlier, Cristos had messaged me to put in my earpiece, so we can all decide on our next course of action in case we ran into a snag. I’ve been listening in on their conversations noticing Cynthia’s death

was a main topic. No doubt emotions were running high. A large number of people were upset and furious while there were certain people looking for someone to blame. Since Liam was in the middle of everything, he was the one holding the short end of the

1/5 CHAPTER 75 Chimes ick. We knew Pete would meet with him, the only question was where and when. Although ristos was listening in on every bug we had strategically placed, we couldn’t find answers. I argued Pete was still busy at the funeral home making arrangements for his mother. Business would come after. I believed Pete would meet with Liam after the funeral, but the boys had a hunch it would be tonight. They said Pete was like his old man, a hot head. I was placing my dirty dishes in the dishwasher when I finally heard Cristos’ voice through my earpiece. I listened eagerly, hoping it was the news we were all waiting for. “Heads up, everyone. Liam is causing mayhem at the Murdock residence,” Cristos said. “From what I gathered from all the yelling and shouting, he’ll be meeting with Pete at the funeral home later and he’s bringing Cris with him. I have also received word from Leo and Benny. Liam has instructed them to go to the funeral home.” “Liam is going prepared,” Xavier said, sounding impressed. “Have Leo and Benny place a bug so we can listen in. Since Noah isn’t moving from the Hughes’ residence and Nicole is at home, I’ll have Sam put a tracker on Pete’s car.” “What is Noah doing at Sarah Hughes’ house?” Cristos asked, surprised. “Renovations,” Sebastian answered softly. He was probably still with Marla. “They were at Dom’s earlier. And get this, Noah is also in charge of fixing up her headquarters for the election. I think he’s doing it to sabotage.” “Of course,” Cristos said, agreeing with Sebastian. “I did hear Liam mention something like that when he was on the phone at his office.” He paused for a bit before speaking again. “Seems Cris is better.

He’s talking in coherent sentences again and from what I can hear, he’s constantly apologizing to Liam for the Chicago incident.” “Chicago incident?” It was my turn to ask. “What happened in Chicago?” “Cris and Pete made the grave mistake of kidnapping Capo B astone Alejandro De Vega’s niece in Chicago, Xavier answered. “De Vega, in turn, put up a closed contract for the assassinations of Cynthia McDowell and Cris Murdock without the approval of their boss. Since either death will be deemed as an unsanctioned hit, none of the assassins of the Angels of Darkness had the guts to deliver. So, we used that knowledge to our advantage.” “What do you mean?” I asked, puzzled. Xavier chuckled. “Sam and I made it look like either De Vega did it himself or someone close to him killed CHAPTER 75 Chimes. Cynthia for him. No one can deny the weapon used is a s niper rifle De Vega specifically out of the country,” Xavier explained. Unfortunately for Liam, Pete is already De Vega got his intel. I bet Pete thinks there was someone on the inside who that kind of sensitive information. Of course, both parties will deny the he truth remains, Cynthia McDowell is dead.” n’t that cause a war between the two divisions?” I asked, knowing it will be a never- ding cycle of revenge until both Pete and this De Vega were dead. I highly doubt it. Pete doesn’t have the balls nor does he have a private army of loyal soldiers. He could speak to their boss though and ask for a mediation. But there is no doubt in my mind, Liam will bear the brunt of Pete’s anger.” Xavier had a point. If there was someone who needed to pay for all of this in Pete’s twisted. little mind, it was Liam. I rushed upstairs deciding it was in my best interest to go to the viewing. Something was going to happen at the funeral home and I wanted to be there when it did. Since tomorrow was reserved for my little black dress, I opted to wear a dark gray sleeveless. dress paired with a black sweater and bla Upstodatee from Novel(D)ra/m/a.O(r)g

kitten heel pumps. I styled my hair in a neat bun and accessorized it with my favorite bladed hair comb. I kept my make-up light and placed everything I needed in a small black purse. I arrived at Chimes Funeral Home around nine and noticed the parking area was at capacity. Apparently, a lot of people had come to pay their last respects to Cynthia and give their condolences to Pete. I parked my car across the street, hoping the owners of the flower shop wouldn’t mind. I kept my head low as I walked through the parking area, slowing down as I passed Liam’s BMW and Pete’s silver Audi. Both cars were empty. Meeting was definitely inside. Before entering, I signed the visitor’s log while scanning through all the names listed down. I noticed Bo Xavier, Chad Hendrix Palmer and Dominic Samuels had already signed the logbook, including Liam Cohen and Cris Murdock. As expected, the viewing room was full of people. Some were sitting, quietly sipping their coffee, while others stood in groups and mingled with each other, speaking in hushed voices, but pointing with their eyes. One group, I noticed, was the group of middle-aged women at the grocery earlier, all dressed in black co cktail dresses, sipping on champagne while glancing at Xavier every now and then in the hopes of grabbing his attention. Unfortunately for them, Xavier, Sebastian and Cristos were standing together at a corner, talking amongst MM. CHAPTER 75 Chimes themselve sof all the people around them. yed the room looking for Liam and Pete while I walked to the snack ere. in one of the empty rooms. greeted the server, smiling brightly. “Would you happen to know where the ladies’ nis?” When you back at me. exit this room, turn right. It’s at the end of the hall,” the young man said smiling

“Thank you,” I replied. I lowered my head and ducked outside, covering my face from the people who were in line to sign the logbook. If anyone would ask where I was, at least they knew I went to the ladies’ room. Since the left side of the hallway of the funeral home led to the coffin shop, I immediately turned right and walked into the dark hallway towards the restroom, crossing my fingers they were here somewhere. I doubted they were at the back in the embalming area, but there are stranger places to hold a meeting. Honestly, whoever owned Chimes Funeral Home had a sick sense of humor. As I walked through the dark hallway, I felt as if I was in a scene of a horror movie. My heels sunk into the thick carpet with each step, the air was surprisingly cold, and only a few of the antique wall sconces were working… nope, flickering. I pulled out my hair comb from my bun, arming myself, and slowly made my way to the doorway of the next viewing room. The door was slightly ajar, so I took a peek. All the lights were off. After checking if someone was behind me, I squinted my eyes looking for lights shining through any of the doors. I smiled. There was a light coming from the door at the corner, nearest the restroom. I quickly went to the corner, lying flat against the wall, and tried the doorknob. It opened just a bit giving me a view of the inside. Seated at a small wooden table in the room were Pete, Liam and Cris. I didn’t see any sign of Leo or Benny. S hit! If they were able to plant a bug in the room, I could just wait for Cristos to tell me what they talked about. But what if Leo and Benny were unsuccessful? There would be no way for us to know what 4/5