Chapter 9 Greatest Dissapointment

Hozier's POV

I could see everything clearly, it took me a while, but I could finally see how much of a deposition this was, and all I could feel was nothing more than disappointment in both my kids. I sat at this table with an unbiased mind until Chris said what he said.

"Are you proud of yourself? I left both of my sons a share of my company to take care of, and you sit here taking your brother's side, even after knowing he extorted someone else's creativity? And you tell me it wasn't part of the laws, both of you are savages." I spoke with utter bitterness before resting my hands on my head.

I pictured all this differently, and the outcome was totally different from my expectations. Benita must be so disappointed in her kids, this was the last straw. I had given them several means to improve, but it seemed as though my legacy and hard work ended with me. I would rather burn everything to the ground than watch these two tarnish my hard work.

"For being nothing but fools in broad daylight, both of you are canceled. Whatever you believe you got as profit from my allocations is all you get. I would rather burn my empire down to the floor than let any one of you get it." I fired at both my sons.

"Sir, you can't do that. Henry is your son, he deserves to be treated right by you. His mother died; he has only you, and the best you can do is give him all he deserves-at least it's the only fair thing to do." Henry's fiancée spoke, once again out of turn. A low growl escaped my lips. I had never seen a lady so out of touch with reality, and her voice had become more taunting than a fly.

I might have grown so soft on Henry that he had forgotten what talking to me felt like. But I had to address her saltiness.

"What made you think you have a say in my decision?" I asked, my brow furrowed in a frown as my knuckles knotted against each other, eagerly waiting for her to say something worth listening to for the first time since I knew her.

She made a quick attempt to respond but was cautioned by Henry immediately, "Babe, don't..." Henry whispered beside her ear, pulling her down. Now I stared at Chris, who hadn't dared to look up at me since this conversation started. Now I turned to Emily, who had her eyes fixed on mine. She had the same look in her eyes as she did at the airport.

Lost and sad. And I felt a pang in my chest again.

"There's a case of murder in this house, and as far as I am concerned, my grandchildren were involved. Everyone in this table is on trial. I am already disappointed that you chose to harass your ex-wife out of sheer assumption, aren't you embarrassed of yourself?" I fired back.

"Dad... I"

"Stand up, step back six feet." I commanded.

He stood up, walked six feet, then held both hands behind his back. "You are not allowed to be in the family house for a month for speaking out of turn. Right after this meeting, get your fiancée and yourself out of my house. Immediately."

"Yes, sir."

Now back to Chris, who still had his head lowered.

"Who is responsible for the kids, a chauffeur?" I asked.

"I take them to school every day except yesterday, so either Henry or Chris was supposed to take them to school." Emily finally said.

I sighed again.

"Who dropped them off?"

"I did," Henry said.

"And how were they taken?"

"I didn't get to inform the school about my divorce from Emily and she sent someone to pick them up using her name. That was how they got kidnapped-the car and the details. It was all hers, the kidnapper had stated that they were sent by Emily."

"Didn't the school camera capture the face of the culprit? Why isn't there a search for that rather than an aimless quest?"

"Because his body was found dead, with Emily's DNA all over it, dad. I tried talking about it, but you seem to be taking-I am sorry for speaking out of turn, sir." Henry paused before sparking my temper.

The case about the murder of my grandkids was nothing but a plot gone wrong. whoever the culprit was was obviously planning on doing this to Emily; it was channeled to make her go down for their murder, and the evidence was so conflicting and rushed that it was silly to think she would pull it off.

But now the case of murder could not be closed because I had proven she wasn't where she was suspected to be, even though she was the only culprit in the entire scene and the only conflicting evidence was the videos given to the lieutenant handling the case that at the point of call, which was recorded with a perfect response to Henry's queries, it was not Emily but someone who was forging her voice, probably with AI.

And to top it off, all throughout the time of this kidnapping and ransom request, she had checked into the airport earlier than the time marked for her flight to take off, and when it was cancelled, she was with me.

There was no way she could have done it, that was why I said whoever must have planned it was either a newbie or had a fetish for being caught and I knew what this was: it was a ploy, but by whom? I surveyed everyone at the table, and out of four people seated, I had three suspects with obvious reasons to harbor murderous intents.

The faucet-mouthed lady who had done nothing but take sides without a sense of reason, Chris, who had lost the challenge, and Henry, who had done nothing but disappoint me greatly.

I sighed and I sat back down. I was back home now. Bye-bye to peace.

"The case is ongoing, and I will be keeping a watch over it, and while that is in place, I need all of you out of my presence , except you, Emily. sit right there. Henry, get out of my house. Chris, out of my presence."

At once they stood up, all daring to take a second glance at me before they walked out, now I was at the table with Emily.

"Is this what you meant by 'I will hate you'? You knew I was coming back home. Funny, I had thought of a thousand things, and this never crossed my mind." I said.

She visibly quivered, her head rested on the table, and she broke down again. My heart felt like it squeezed as I watched her, but I didn't know how to console her. There were so many to break down at this moment, I could only imagine.

"I will help you bring out the culprit, I promise."

"They...they were supposed to be in school, I told them I was coming back for them. I told them that-"

She broke down again. I forced myself up and reached out to her hands. The moment I walked up to her, I pulled her in for a hug, and she cried even more: "They must have been so petrified. I was away just one day, and someone took them away from me. My babies... I wasn't aware of the kidnapping; I shouldn't have left– I"

I dreaded the outcome, and I suspected my sons knew she suspected them as well. "I will bring their killer to the face of justice." I repeated it again, she finally pulled away, then cleaned her eyes.

"Thanks." She chuckled. " And for your question, I didn't know I would see you at the airport. And I knew if you came back home to your family as you should, whatever you were told about me would be what you believed and your first impression of me. I would not be here to defend myself. That was why I said you will hate me, no one likes me around here, and it took me seven years to realize it."

"Well, you are wrong. You have me now." I took her by her knuckles and kissed them slowly and I pulled her in for a hug again.

"Both your eyes are swollen and you can't stay here. Do you have anywhere to stay or should I help you out with a hotel room till I find you a conducive apartment?"

"I will go to Joan instead; I bet she would be blown away as much as I am." She said I couldn't agree less; anyone would be shocked to hear this, and that was the truth. But with that being said, she needed to be with someone who genuinely cared for her, and she had spoken highly of her sister, whom I was so eager to meet.

"Let me take you to your sister's place then; I can't trust you to drive now. And I am curious to see her." I held her by the hands and I escorted her to the exit but she halted in her tracks before she entered the car.

"Can I see my babies? I haven't seen them. Where are their bodies?" She broke down again.

"Mogue."

"Please, can I see them? Just one last time, please."

"As much as I would love to, we can't, at least not now. it's an active homicidal case, we can't. it belongs to the investigators till all the information is extracted to aid the investigation, but what I can promise is that in a day or two we can see them, but while this is ongoing, I will urge you to go back and get the consolation you deserve."

I opened the car and I led her into it. Just then my phone beeped with multiple notifications. I pulled it out of my pocket to see that it was the lieutenant who had sent a text demanding that I meet him immediately at the station for a further review of the case since there was a new development.

"Emily, can I have a chauffeur take you home? I will be at your sister's place in about two hours. There's a recent development in the case, and I need to be there, but I promise to pay a visit."

"Can I come?" She asked in a hurry, but I couldn't let her, the weight of the new evidence was not disclosed, and I couldn't let her be present while it was being announced; it would only break her even more.

"No, go back to your sister, you haven't heard from her for a while, and you only slept for three hours last night-you need rest." I kissed her forehead, then opened the car for her to enter before I shut it.

I called one of the chauffeurs present and I watched her drive away before I walked back to my car.

Whatever was stated today could be the beginning of an uproar, but I wasn't prepared to relent. My grandkids were killed before I got the chance to see them. I knew how much I hoped to have little children running around again, and somehow I was stripped of this joy by an unknown person.

sad...