The Secret Obsession of the CEO
Chapter 97: The Phone Call(II)

Chapter 97: The Phone Call(II)

The more the detective "talked" to her, Rory realized that she is more interested in the whereabouts of Liam the past week than in hers.

As she was talking to her, she got a call from Derick and she ignored it. He didn’t call her again and she wondered if he called her to warn her about the call from the cops.

Rory’s alarm bells started ringing as the detective talked more about Liam. She didn’t give out many details to the detective. She said that she had a fight with Liam the day he left for LA and that she didn’t keep in much contact with him until he returned.

The detective wanted to know what the fight was about. "Just something..." Rory didn’t tell her anything.

She did wonder if she should be truthful about Liam’s plans for divorce. But then she remembered Liam telling her that there was a serious reason behind it.

And so, she decided to keep it from the cops for the time being. She didn’t like propagating that Liam was planning on divorcing her. But she was not sure if it would be a good idea.

Rory tried to find out the time of death of Allison. She probed the detective, but the detective was a veteran and avoided leaking any information.

Talking more, she realized that the issue is very serious. Rory, fearing for Liam, told the detective about the phone call she made to Liam’s lawyer and that Liam was present with the lawyer at that time.

She didn’t know if it would create any more trouble. But still, she decided to tell the truth.

She suffered a lot hiding the truth from the feds the last time. She didn’t want to repeat her past mistake.

The detective asked for the exact time. Rory checked her call logs and told her the time. The detective’s tone softened after hearing the time. Rory was relieved a bit. That should mean that Allison must have disappeared/killed around that time.

Killed..? It was not killing. It was something more terrible and terrifying. Allison was mutilated by someone having a vengeance.

She never liked Allison but she didn’t deserve to die like that.

And oddly, the images she saw of Laura Brown’s body flashed in her mind for a moment. Could there be a connection?

There can’t be... There can’t be... Laura Brown’s case is investigated with a serial killer in mind. If so...

Rory drank some water to calm her nerves.

The detective did warn Rory that she has all the means to cross-check the story about the phone call. "We know your..." the detective said and then stopped from completing the sentence.

Ah... they know my history of lying to the law enforcement agents!

Rory respectfully told her that she expects her to cross-check. She also expressed her desire for the killer to be found.

"Did you like Allison Stewart at all, Aurora Roberts?" The detective asked.

"Me..?" Rory let out a deep breath. This is where she should lie or say something ambiguous. But Allison is dead and they will unearth a lot of truths about her. Allison was not liked by a lot of people.

And her animosity toward Allison is known to many. Being ambiguous will backfire.

The recent fight I had with Allison is going to haunt me! And so are the rumors that Allison was Liam’s girlfriend! Ahhhh! F*ck this!

"No, not very much, detective..." Rory told the truth. "But that doesn’t mean that I don’t want her killer to be found."

"Why?" the detective asked. "Why didn’t you like Allison?"

"Hmm...A lot of reasons... And I can assure you that the hate was mutual," Rory answered.

Her heart pounded. No matter how anyone looks, she would seem suspicious. But she has a tight alibi and so she was not scared for herself.

Liam on the other hand...

"Yeah, you recently had a big fight with her in your husband’s office, didn’t you?" The detective asked.

Rory pressed her lips. "I... I would rather not talk about it by phone, detective," she didn’t want to talk about it to the detective without the presence of a lawyer.

She might be an aspiring lawyer, but she is in no way qualified to know whether this question is loaded or not. She didn’t want to say something that might probably be used against them in the future.

"...Okay, as you wish, Ms. Roberts!" The detective said after a short silence.

Rory could imagine at least another detective sitting beside this detective, deducting and analyzing everything she says. She was scared.

She was in this kind of situation before, but a disappearance and a murder are not the same things!

The detective asked her when she is returning to LA. Rory told her that she is sick and she has a baby to look after. She also told her about Derick Roberts’ wedding that she has to attend.

"Are you suspicious of anyone, Ms. Roberts?" The detective asked. "Can you point at someone from the top of your head?"

"I didn’t know her that well, detective," Rory answered. "She was acquainted with a lot of people, there is bound to be someone shady among them. And she had a very bold personality--the one that attracts psycho-" Rory was about to say "psychopaths", but she stopped herself.

"...personality that makes a lot of enemies. So I cannot help you there."

"Right... right..." the detective’s tone was very odd.

After asking Rory some more simple questions, the detective ended the call.

Rory plopped on the bed with the phone in her hand. Her hands started trembling and the phone slipped from her hand.

Fizzy!

She sat back up and dialed Liam. His phone was engaged and she patted her pounding heart.

Is he talking to the cops too?

She dialed Derick. He didn’t answer her call. She wondered what that was about.

As she was wondering if she should call him again, there was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" she asked.

She didn’t know why Derick asked her to stay in the hospital for more days, but she did not feel comfortable in the hospital. She had a feeling that she was being watched. Although she did not get the nightmares, she started feeling the same choking feeling even when she was awake.

Liam’s presence calmed her down considerably. She didn’t talk to Liam about it.

She didn’t want him to think that she is overreacting to keep him with her. Also, she couldn’t shirk off the feeling that she might be similar to his mother.

He says that it cannot be the case. She found no reason to believe so too, but at times she will have disturbing thoughts.

Also, she could see that he is busy. he talked about a new launch of something. He is the CEO of a company and he will be having a lot of work.

She did not want to be a hindrance.

"It’s Sidney Roberts..." the soft voice from the other side said, "Sidney with an ’i’!"

"Coming!" Rory shouted and walked to the door.

She didn’t want to have Sidney with her now, but she cannot send away someone who came to visit her, right?

"Hello, Sidney," Rory welcomed Sidney in. "Is Skyla home?"

"Yeah," Sidney smiled through her puffy lips. "She is playing with Chubster."

"That’s good! Chubster is good with kids..." Rory smiled. She didn’t know what else to say.

"Ah, here..." Sidney passed her the flowers.

"Ah, you didn’t have to," Rory smelled the roses. "It’s nice but you didn’t have to. We are family and...Uncle Lenny already sent a fruit basket."

"Yeah..." Sidney sat on Liam’s bed. "He sent me these flowers to pass to you. He always treats Liam’s wife better than everyone else," she said, her eyes empty.

"But look at you! You look amazing covered in diamonds and gold! My husband buys me coffee... that’s it!" Rory chuckled.

Rory thought for a moment there were some misgivings in Sidney’s expression, but then she smiled, and still, her face looked the same.

Rory wondered if filling with botox is good during pregnancy.

"Yeah, Liam’s a good boy. He is staying with you taking care of your every whim, isn’t he?" she tried to smile, but Rory saw the familiar expression she encounters often.

Jealousy!

"I don’t even know what I am doing in this place when I was not even invited..." Sidney mumbled.

Rory pretended she didn’t hear it. She received an invitation and not even a phone call from Derick. And she is here. Derick would have sent an invitation for Uncle Lenny’s family as a whole too.

What more does Sidney expect anyway?

She knew it would be tough for her to stay in the Roberts’ family with everyone treating them as outcasts, but what is the use of telling me anything?

Sometimes, Rory gets the feeling that Sidney thinks less of Liam and her because her husband was the one who made Liam a big shot.

Uncle Lenny did help. But Liam put in all the work. He does not owe Sidney anything, right?

"You’ve started to show..." Rory promptly changed the topic.

As someone who was recently pregnant, she knew that topic would make women forget about everything else.

"Yes!" Sidney’s face brightened up as she rubbed her belly. She looked at her belly and her face looked peaceful. But her smile wavered a bit.

"I hope it is a boy...Otherwise..."