Love’s Lasting Legacy

CHAPTER TWO:ZANE’S POV

‘How could I have given her so much information,’ Zane thought to himself as he shut the door to Maya’s office. He ran his fingers through his raven-black hair to let out his frustration. He wondered why he told her it was personal. After thinking about it through in the elevator, he realized if he wanted Maya to handle this case properly, he had to be completely open to her.

He was soon in the parking lot where he parked his car. He sank into the exquisite leather seat as his mind raced. He took out his phone to check the time, and it was only then he realized that many anonymous blogs had already been posting about this condescending issue, and now they were beginning to slide into his DM to ask if the rumors were true.

But among all the messages, one stood out because it had only two words.

‘Remember me?’

‘Who could this be?’

‘Why is this person hellbent on ruining my life?’

For the first time in Zane’s life, he felt extremely annoyed about having so many enemies. Nevertheless, he couldn’t wallow in self-pity as every minute that passes by is enough for his enemy or enemies to strike even harder. He forwarded the message to the media department of his company and instructed them to trace the anonymous account.

While his team was trying their best to find who was behind this anonymous account, Zane decided to take a drive around the city to help cool his nerves down. This matter is not about his company at all but about personal issues that will destroy his life and take away everything he had ever worked for.

The only incident that he can recall being able to put him in this sticky situation happened more than 20 years ago… he can barely remember how he ended up at the hospital bedside of Vivian Granger, the illegitimate daughter of Luca Granger. He remembers waking up to see her in damage, and he also had an injury to his head. Soon things got rosy between the two of them until the day he took her on a date. It was safe to say that Zane had fallen head over heels for Vivan.

To be honest, she was a sweet and genuine girl among all the girls who only saw him as a way to upgrade their social standing in socialist society. Though there were a lot of cracks in their relationship, like how they both ended up in the hospital with bruises and Vivian was also a minor, it was not a big deal to her as they were only one year apart in age. Zane was eighteen while Vivian was seventeen. At the time, the age of consent in NYC was eighteen, which meant that Zane had broken the law.

They had both agreed to keep their relationship on a low profile until her eighteenth birthday, but Vivian never made it to her eighteenth birthday. A few weeks before Vivian’s birthday she disappeared without any trace. Zane had taken her on a dinner date to private property he had just bought. He was planning that after Vivian’s birthday, they could both move in as a couple. Zane remembered that day to be the best day of his life. For the first time in his life, he was vulnerable enough to discuss how drained he was about being the heir to his family fortune. Vivian also shared how life had been tough ever since her mother abandoned her to marry her lover in Europe and her father married another wife who wasn’t the nicest to her.

He felt Vivian was quite uneasy and tried to ask her what was wrong, but she only replied with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. Zane kissed and hugged her and soon the two of them had lost themselves to pleasure. After spending the whole afternoon together, Zane had his driver drop her at home as he was not allowed to be seen anywhere close to Granger’s mansion. This was to preserve the secrecy of their relationship.

The days that followed were so dark it was driving Zane crazy. After their date, Zane had not heard from Vivian. He had called, texted, and even sent spies to check on her, but they only came back with horrifying news. Vivian had disappeared. Zane couldn’t believe his ears, the driver who had dropped Vivian off at her house that night had also mysteriously quit his job and disappeared. What surprised Zane the most was how unbothered Luca Granger and his wife were about Vivian’s disappearance. As desperation at Zane, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

The deeper he dug, the more he found out that Vivian’s life had been wrapped in layers of secrets. He couldn’t help but wonder how she got injured the night he met her. How did he sustain the injury to his head that led to him being in the hospital? Was he responsible? Even as the confusion grew, Zane was still holding on to the belief that Vivian would come back to him.

His hopes were destroyed when he heard the newsletter of Vivian's decomposing body found in an abandoned office building. The police said she had been found with lots of bruises, suggesting that she was severely tortured before she passed on. Suddenly, Zane’s father, Damon Carrington, is summoned by the police department in NYC. All Zane remembers is his father returning furious and giving him a lecture. The news also stopped reporting about Vivian’s disappearance. Strangely enough, the Grangers never confronted him, they only pretended to mourn the loss of their illegitimate daughter. Ever since then, Zane has lived his life in guilt.

The sound of horns honking behind him brought him back to reality. The red light had turned green. He quickly matched the gas, and soon he arrived at his penthouse and decided to check on his team if there was any lead on the anonymous account, but there was none. He could only sigh in defeat. The penthouse reflected Zane’s cold personality as its interior was painted in a dark gray color with touches of white and black minimalist furniture. The side of the apartment has glass walls which give a view of the busy city of NYC.

It was quite early to be home as it was just 2 pm, but Zane had already decided to work from home. This house had memories as this was the last place he and Vivian had been together before she disappeared mysteriously. Zane rushed to the luxurious bathroom and the scent of oud filled his nose. He undressed and stepped into the sleek bathroom. The bathroom also had a dark gray theme. He had his bath before changing into a comfy sweatshirt and pants. After that, he continued with his work while hoping that Maya would agree to help him regain his company’s name and free him from the guilt he had been holding onto for 20 years.

*****

MAYA POV

I was sitting at my desk staring at the screening of my laptop. While lost in thought, since Zane left my office it seemed as though my brain had suddenly developed obsessive-compulsive behavior as it had been pondering over the word ”personal”. He had left me with so many unanswered questions, questions that didn’t seem to have any answer to them. l had often heard from other clients how far Zane was willing to go if he wanted to destroy a particular company, but the question is why would Zane come after my company? Even with this fact, it is still known that Zane was very good at cleaning up any mess, thereby making him the only CEO in New York to never be in a scandal or involved in tangled personal drama.

Ding, Ding, Ding.

The notification sound from my phone took me out of my thoughts immediately.

“He is trying to use you…”

What the hell?

Who is this psycho and does he have my number?

Are people spying on her?

“Jane!!!’’ I anxiously called out to my assistant, and she was in my office immediately.

I showed her the message and immediately instructed her to help me trace who was behind the unknown number. She simply nodded, and I did as I told her.

After trying for an hour, she came back into my office.

“There is no lead to who is behind the number, and it also seems to be a foreign number as the country code is different.”

“Can you track the country the sender is in?” I asked while staring outside the large window. The sky looked quite pretty as it was already six pm.

“Yes ma, I can, but it will take a while to get it all figured out,” she replied honestly before proceeding to leave, but I stopped her.

“Jane?”

“Yes, ma?”

“Jane, could you stop addressing me so formally? It’s past working hours already,’’ I said with a little smile plastered across my face.

She giggled a little before coming to sit right across from me. Jane has been my friend since my foster service days. We did everything together with my best friend before she decided to betray me. Jane has been my pillar of support in my worst days. It started as us just bounding over the fact that we were orphans to us being like sisters. And in recent years we have become each other's comfort zone in a Platonic way. She has always been there for me, even in my toughest days.

“Maya, is everything good? You have been quite stressed since Zane left your office this afternoon,” Jane asked me with concern in her eyes, as she knew I had a bad history with Zane.

“It is nothing too serious,” I said, trying my best not to look into her eyes.

“We are like sisters, you know, and remember after Ke…

I looked at her with fury. She was trying to remind me about the guy who dumped me, not to rub it in my face but to remind me that she will always be here for me.

“Hmmmm…,” I exhaled.

“Zane said he was being blackmailed, and it seems to be a personal issue,” I explained to her.

“Wow… who would dare to blackmail Zane Carrington?’’ she said, as shocked as me when I found out.

“I also noticed that some blogs were beginning to threaten him on the internet but none of them are stating what he did wrong. I believe they are still scared of him,’’ I said.

“What did you decide to do? It seems as though they are also watching his every move,’’ Jane said, quite concerned.

“Remember you said you would never get involved with the personal affairs of your clients,” she reminded me.

“I know that is why I need your advice.”

“Well, if you ask me I would say you should accept the deal. There is no challenge that is too tough for you not to overcome,” Jane replied honestly.

I pondered and weighed Jane’s words. To think of it, Jane was right in a way. There was no challenge too difficult for me but the situation was different. The past cases that I have handled have always been about skills, not anything personal. I ran my hands through my hair to try and relieve stress.

“I have never known you to be a quitter, so why start with the man who demeaned your ability at the beginning of your journey into the PR world?”

“Honestly, I believe you should use this opportunity to prove him wrong.’ Jane tried to convince me.

“I won't push you to do anything you do not want to but Maya, see this as an opportunity to be known globally,’’ she said with a smile.

“On that note, I would like to take my leave. Seth is taking me on a date.”

I rolled my eyes as she spoke. Since she met this guy on her vacation to Miami she seemed to always find a way to talk about him. She noticed me rolling my eyes and let out a loud laugh.

“You know it has been almost ten years now,” she said as she stood up to get water to drink.

“Have you had lunch yet?’ I attempted to change the subject of discussion.

“Nice try… I just said I was going on a date with Seth!!!” she said as I failed horribly at changing the subject of discussion.

“You know men are not to be trusted, right?”

“They will always leave you when you need them the most,” I said as I collected the glass of water she was offering me. I was speaking from a place of pain. I used to believe in love, but now I was all about making a name for myself.

“You should give love a try again, you know. Plus, I think Zane likes you.”

“Are you mad?!” I asked in disgust. Suddenly, I could now smell the scent of his strong loud perfume in my office as I remembered how he stared at me that morning.

“No. If he doesn’t like you, why would he come to you for assistance in his ‘personal’ matter? He could have chosen any other PR company in New York,” Jane insisted as she gave me a doe eye.

My only response to her childishness was rolling my eyes.

“You are too hard on yourself, and you shouldn’t forget that no one can manipulate you. You have come a long way from when you and Kevin broke up at university,” she had a point with that statement, but still, I didn't want to jump to a conclusion.

“Jane, let’s not jump to a conclusion. He could be using this as a trap.’’

Jane shook her head in defeat before picking up her handbag to leave. She stared at me one last time before saying, “You are incredibly smart, and I am pretty sure you can help him out and still be able to keep things professional.”

Jane was right. I am incredibly great at keeping things professional between my clients and me.

“You know what Jane, I am going to help him with solving this mystery,’’ I said to her with a smirk on my lips.

“That is more like the Maya I know. You have got this, but for now, I ordered a Chinese takeout for you so you don’t feel left out on the joy of going on a date,” she teased.

“Thank you, Jane. I have not had anything to eat all day.”

“You are welcome. Besides, what are friends for? Should I email the Carrington Enterprise stating that we are ready to work with them,” she asked.

It was at that moment I received a call from an unknown number.

“Hello?” I said while trying to hide my fear.

“I am watching every move you make,’’ the voice on the other line sent chills down my spine.