The Debt That Changed Everything

CHAPTER 8

The drive back to the mansion was quiet.

Gabby sat at the back seat, staring at the streets of Beverly hills through the window.

She couldn't stop thinking about Mara's words.

Someone has been asking questions about her.

She was worried about who it was, and why.

She took a glance at Manuel, sitting right beside her and paying attention to his phone.

His expression had returned to its usual unreadable state, as though nothing unusual had happened.

She finally broke the silence.

"Who do you think was asking about me?"

Manuel didn't look up.

"I don't know."

"Then why did Mara sound so concerned?"

"Because she understands the importance of information."

Gabby frowned.

"That doesn't answer my question."

"It wasn't supposed to."

She stared at him.

His coldness could make a simple conversation feel like an interrogation.

Gabby simply folded her arms.

"You don't have to be rude."

"You could try sounding less intimidating."

Manuel finally raised his gaze and shot her a cold look.

She blinked her eyes.

He then returned his attention to his phone, while Gabby turned back to the window.

For several minutes, neither of them spoke.

Then Manuel's phone rang.

He answered immediately.

"Yes."

His expression hardened as he listened to the caller.

"Keep the information restricted to the executive team."

"No, don't alert the employees yet."

Gabby glanced at him.

"Understood?", he said before ending the call.

"Is it about the person asking about me?"

Manuel gave her a sharp look.

"Don't involve yourself in things you don't understand."

Gabby's eyebrows rose.

"That's becoming your favorite sentence."

"And you seem determined to make it necessary."

A faint, almost invisible curve touched the corner of his mouth but it disappeared so quickly that Gabby wondered whether she had imagined it.

Their car soon arrived at the Reyes estate.

Manuel stepped out first and then Gabby followed.

Before walking inside, he turned towards her.

"From now on, if anyone approaches you asking personal questions about you, me or my family, make sure to tell me."

Gabby stared at him.

"Why?"

His eyes hardened.

"Because I said so."

Then he walked away.

Gabby watched him disappear through the entrance.

She couldn't understand the man.

He could be impossibly cold one moment and unexpectedly protective the next.

And somehow, that confused her more than his cruelty ever did.

The next morning, Gabby woke up earlier than usual.

She had barely finished breakfast when Ms. Bennett entered the dining room.

"Mrs. Reyes, Mr. Reyes asked me to inform you that he'll be leaving for the office shortly."

Gabby nodded.

"Thank you."

"Is he always this busy?"

Ms. Bennett smiled politely.

"Mr. Manuel has been working this way for years."

Gabby sighed.

"Of course he has."

She returned to her breakfast, but her thoughts weren't on Manuel, they were on the questions.

She couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her.

After breakfast, Gabby returned to her room.

While sitting on her bed, her mind slowly drifted to her father.

She then opened the drawer beside her bed and brought out the old watch that belonged to her father.

Whenever she thought of him, the old watch was her only comfort.

"Dad," she whispered.

Her eyes stung.

"Where are you?"

A soft knock interrupted her.

Gabby quickly placed the object back inside the drawer.

"Come in."

A maid stepped inside.

"Mrs. Reyes, there's a package for you."

Gabby frowned.

"For me?"

"Yes."

The maid placed a small parcel on the bed.

Gabby looked at the package for several seconds.

There was no sender's name or detail of any sort, just like the last one.

Her heartbeat quickened.

"Who brought this?"

"I don't know ma'am, It was delivered to the front entrance."

Gabby stared at the plain wrapping.

"Thank you."

The maid left.

Gabby waited until the door closed, then she carefully opened the parcel.

Inside was a small envelope that had her name written across it.

Gabriella Edian.

Her hands trembled as she opened it.

There was only one sentence.

"Don't go looking for your father."

Gabby's breath seized.

She read it again and again.

Her heart began pounding violently against her chest.

Someone knew she was looking for Chris.

Someone was watching her.

And suddenly, the mysterious object in her drawer didn't feel like an old possession anymore.

It felt like evidence.

Across the city, Manuel sat behind his desk at Reyes Enterprises.

He was checking some information on his tablet when he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in.”

Mara entered the office carrying a folder.

"Mr. Reyes."

Manuel looked up.

"What is it?"

"The revised contract from the Lawson Group."

He took the folder and scanned the first page.

His expression immediately hardened.

"They changed the payment terms."

"Yes."

"Without informing us."

Mara nodded.

"They said the changes were necessary."

Manuel closed the folder angrily.

"Tell them we're withdrawing."

Mara hesitated.

"Completely?"

"Completely."

"Even though we've already spent weeks negotiating?"

Manuel's eyes lifted to hers.

"I don't do business with people who change the rules after I've agreed to play."

Mara nodded.

"Alright, I'll inform them."

"Do that."

She turned towards the door.

"Mara."

She stopped.

"Yes?"

"And find out which competitor is trying to take that account from us."

Her expression tightened.

"I'll look into it.”

Back at the mansion, Gabby sat on the edge of her bed with the note remaining in her hand.

She had spent minutes trying to convince herself that someone was simply trying to frighten her.

But the timing was too perfect.

Someone has been asking questions about her, and now, someone has warned her to stop searching for her father.

And whoever had sent the message knew exactly what she had been up to.

Gabby folded the note and placed it beside the mysterious object in the drawer.

She looked toward the bedroom door.

For the first time since arriving at the Reyes mansion, she wondered whether the danger surrounding her had nothing to do with the debt that had brought her there.

Her father's disappearance, her marriage, her father's old watch and the questions.

Perhaps they were all connected.

Gabby reached for her phone to make a call but before she could place the call, the screen lit up.

An unknown number was calling.

She stared at it with so much fright.

The phone rang again, and again.

Finally, she answered but said nothing.

For several seconds, there was only silence on the other end.

Then a man's voice spoke calmly.

"Gabriella Edian."

Her blood ran cold.

"I know where your father is."