Chapter 4 : William's Pov

"What's this again? Another anonymous threat?" I said, looking confused.

"But Annabel is here, who then is sending those anonymous texts?" Olivia said, looking at Annabel's face.

"Annabel, what are you doing? You hired armed robbers to raid the company, now you want me dead?!" I shouted furiously.

"Sir ... .I…I…..don't know anything about these anonymous messages.." Annabel said as I cut in sharply.

"You don't know what?! Are you okay? What do you take me for? I will make sure I deal with you and you will rot in jail." I told Annabel, cleaning my face that had sweats.

"Mr. Williams please exercise patience, yes we have evidence that she led the armed robbers to raid the company but we don't have any concrete evidence that she is the one behind those anonymous threats, She might just have a connection with them." Detective Richard said.

"Even at that, she is fired from this company at this moment and Detective Richard we have strong evidence against Anabel, please arrest her with immediate effect."

I was pained that my staff could betray me for outsiders, I didn't care about the explanation Anabel wanted to give because I felt pained and betrayed.

Detective Richard put handcuffs on her hand and arrested her, then I still battled with my thoughts.

"I pay Anabel enough money as at when due, so why would Anabel do such and who is sending the anonymous messages to me?" I thought to myself.

We left the control room after getting the necessary details, it was left for the detective to interrogate Anabel and fix all the puzzles. And I drove back home and met my wife, Layla Robinson.

"Why are you just getting home, Williams?" My wife asked me.

"Layla, is that how to welcome your husband?"

"Don't teach me what to do, you left home in the morning and you are just entering! I'm your wife and I have the right to question your movements!" Layla yelled.

"Layla, I told you that we are trying to track the armed robbers, we both saw an anonymous letter threatening me and this is all you have to say? Do you realize that I'm still treating my wounds?"

"That's just an excuse, where did you go? Don't hide anything from me, confess." Layla said.

"I don't have your time, I need to rest because I've been stressed."

"Stress?! I said it! You are already tired, because of where you went and what you did!!" Layla shouted furiously.

I was tired already, from the shocking revelation from work and the nagging of my wife, Layla. I picked up my car key and went out of my house.

I needed to clear my head so I decided to call Chloe, my assistant.

"Hello Chloe, good evening."

"Good evening sir," Chloe replied on the phone call conversation.

"Are you less busy?" I asked.

"Yes…hope nothing, Sir?"

"Can we meet at Mambillah bar,"! I said, mentioning the popular bar.

"Yes Sir," Chloe said.

I headed to the bar, took a seat, and reserved one for Chloe, as I sat in one corner of the bar. A few moments later, Chloe came into the bar and I waved at her for her to see where I was seated.

"Good evening sir." She said,

"Evening Chloe, please have your seat." As she sat next to me.

"Hope the journey wasn't stressful?" I asked, looking at her face with a smile.

"No sir, it wasn't."

I ordered drinks and food on the table before continuing the discussion, as I opened up about the challenges I was facing at home.

"Chloe, I know you might be wondering why I called you. I'm going through some challenges with my wife Layla, and I needed someone to talk with, to ease the burdens and the stress." I said, sipping a cup of drink.

"Okay, I'm all ears." Chloe adjusted her chair, to pay keen attention to what I was about to tell her.

"Layla, my wife, is focused on blaming and accusing me for risking my life to save my staff, instead of her joining hands with me to find the person sending an anonymous threat to us."

"But sir, is she aware of everything in detail? Did you explain it to her?" Chloe asked.

"I explained little, but Layla nags a lot and won't bother to calm down and listen. I'm fed up with the marriage, she gives me a headache."

"I'm sorry about that, I know how it feels when you want to talk to someone and they don't give you listening ears, it hurts so much." Looking at my face, Chloe could understand my pain.

"Thank you, Chloe, I'm still bothered about those anonymous messages because I don't have any quarrel with anyone nor do I do any fraudulent activity. I don't have an idea of where it could be coming from and why."

"At least we have gotten one piece of the puzzle, detective Richard should be able to fix everything and get the culprit. Just put your mind at ease, Sir." An assuring speech came from Chloe.

As we continued to talk, the environment of the bar made it more conducive for such conversation. The lights and solemn music were cool. We continued to talk as Chloe told me about her past, parents, and personal challenges.

We delved into various topics, as we were no longer in the professional mode but a casual dinner between us.

"Should I order my drinks? Do you drink that much?" I asked Chloe.

"Yes, sure." She responded.

I ordered more drinks, and we drank and laughed amidst the challenges we were facing at the moment. After a few minutes, I noticed that Chloe was feeling tipsy and she was behaving weirdly.

"Chloe, It's getting dark already, I think we should start going before it's too late."

"No, I don't want to go home," Chloe said, under the influence of alcohol.