Ariana was long gone before Rodrigo arrived the Sterling mansion, panting and breathing heavily liked he was chased by a ghost. He met Mister Sterling sitting in the living room with a hard scowl on his face.
"Where is she?" He asked Mister Sterling who turned to him, looking like he was about to pounce on the young man like a predator would pounce on its prey.
"Where is she?" Mister Sterling mocked before reprimanding Rodrigo. "You came late, she's not here anymore! I told you come quickly but look at the time you arrived".
"I'm sorry I was caught up in traffic" Rodrigo explained.
"Listen young man, I don't know what your parents have to say for this nonsense you did but you're going to apologise to Ariana and get her back okay?" Mister Sterling said before rubbing his temples. Trying to ease his anger.
"This generation.." he mouthed to himself.
"About the pictures, I've found someone who can take them off the net" Rodrigo walked closer to Mister Sterling.
"Oh good for you." The man said without sparing a glance at Rodrigo.
Rodrigo sighed, slightly disheartened the man was pissed at him. "Please help me speak to your daughter on my behalf, she isn't replying any of my texts" he pleaded.
"You're on your own now Sanchez. I tried. What I want to hear from now on is good news, wedding bells, renewed trust. I don't want to know how you'd do it but do it" the man said, standing up from the couch and heading towards the stairs.
Prior to Rodrigo's arrival, Mister Sterling had noticed Ariana wasn't anywhere to be found. He summoned the housekeepers and kitchen staff and no one admitted seeing her.
The man entered his room and saw his wife dressing up. "Has Rodrigo gotten here now?" She asked, slipping a shirt over her head.
"Yes honey" he answered.
"And you couldn't find Ariana either?".
Mister Sterling shook his head.
"Where could she possibly be in the city except at that blonde giri's house?" The woman made reference to Yvonne.
"She's naive and gullible, there aren't many places in the city she's aware of. So finding her shouldn't be a problem now honey" Mister Sterling saw his wife pull up a serious expression.
"That's true. I'd find her" Mister Sterling said before walking up to his wife to give her a kiss on the cheek.
"I still find it hard to believe your toothbrush just vanished into thin air" the woman stated worriedly.
"Its just a brush honey. I have others in the shelf, so it isn't a problem." Mister Sterling said, placing soft kisses on his wife's face.
Mrs Sterling giggled and pulled away from her husband's grip before looking him in the eye "On a serious note, we need to find Ariana. You know the plans we have, we can't let anything ruin it. Okay?".
"As you wish my queen" Mister Sterling said whilst taking hold of his wife once again.
Despite their age, Mister Sterling didn't stop loving on his wife.
On the other side of the city at the Hawthorne mansion, Azaiah was seated at the table with his grandfather, Eden. The dining table before them was long, wide and grand but only two of its chairs were occupied.
The atmosphere at the mansion was thick and held a certain eerie and sad vibe that was barely spoken of.
"Your skin looks go good. I'm glad your case isn't as bad as your father's. His brown skin went completely pale due to the condition." Eden Hawthorne said with his eyes carrying a sad emotion of only one who had lost a son would carry.
The fork on Azaiah's hand clanked as it fell on the plate. He stopped chewing his food for a moment as he hated conversations like this because it always reminded him of a pain he didn't like to relive.
But Azaiah always let his grandfather express himself because the way the man got over pain was by talking about it but Azaiah on the other hand, preferred being quiet and letting the passage of time heal his pain.
To others, he appeared put together and perfectly fine but only his grandfather knew the kind of pain he battled with.
Seeing his grandson's reaction, Eden said "I know you don't want to talk about it but let me show you something" Old man Hawthorne dipped his hand into the pocket of this thick coat and brought out a photo.
He handed it to Azaiah who reluctantly took it from his old man.
Azaiah's eyes fell on a picture of a handsome boy with smooth light brown skin, dark curly hair which was shaped like a afro and was seated on a dark majestic horse raising up his little fingers in a peace sign.
Looking at the picture, Azaiah estimated the boy was about ten years old.
"That's my favorite picture of Denzel" Old man Hawthorne referred to his son, Azaiah's late father.
"You know you look exactly like him." Eden stated and finally a smile broke out on Azaiah's face.
"The horse?" Azaiah asked.
"He's in the stable. He's old now, so I only take him for a few walks at times" the old man explained.
Azaiah was quiet for a while before saying "I would bring her home today. In the evening".
A wide smile appeared on Eden's face as he knew who Azaiah was referring to.
"Don't scare the girl away though. You know you have the habit of scaring people" Eden said chuckling and Azaiah scoffed.
"I'd keep this" Azaiah raised the photo in his hand before standing up.
"I'm going back to my house, I need to get some things for work". Azaiah said and Eden eyed him.
"You know you don't have to work right?" The old man stated the obvious.
"I know but if I don't get this hands to do something legal, I fear the damage they might do" Azaiah admitted.
He placed a hand on his grandfather's shoulder and said "See you when I get back".
Azaiah returned to his personal house which was a stark contrast to the Hawthorne mansion which looked like a castle from the medieval era. His home was modern and had some futuristic features.
Arriving, he met his best friend and business partner Kaden Rohan who welcomed him with a smile.