Chapter 3: Uncovered
1762 Words
Niall has only seen less than 10 footage of Henry going to Winchester’s house for the past 5 years, but the last one was recent: when he went to Victoria’s house.
For the past week, he used his connections to find his address. He figured he might find something there. He’s planning to sneak in. He has to be careful though. Henry might suspect that Niall's investigating him. He has to execute the plan the least Henry expected it.
The next morning, he left early to go to Henry’s house. He hid somewhere that he wouldn’t be easily seen. He has to know his daily routine so he will find an opportunity to sneak in.
He saw Henry come out of his house. He’s wearing a black sweater and a hood over his head. He looked around as he walked.
Niall shook his head in amusement. “Not a good way of acting naturally, dude,” he said as he followed him discreetly with his hands in his trousers’ pockets. He pulled out his phone, pretending to use it.
Henry met someone a few blocks away from his apartment. Niall hid again near them so he could hear their conversation.
“ Is the security footage erased?” Henry asked, whispering.
Is he talking about the footage I already have? Too late. Niall thought.
“Yes. What about that P.I.? Have you talked to him?” the other guy asked.
“I haven’t. He’s better at hiding than Ms. Demetria but I’ll find him before he tells Ms. Winter anything,” Henry answered.
“Do you want me to help you?”
“No. I got this. I’ll just give you a text.”
“You could have just called me, right?” the guy said.
“My phone may have been hacked,” Henry said.
The guy nodded. “Okay. Better safe than sorry.”
“Yeah. Well, I gotta go. Thanks,” Henry said as he patted the guy’s shoulder and left. The guy left as well in the opposite direction.
It’s confirmed, then. He knows everything. Niall thought as he left his hiding spot.
His observations went on for a week. He listed every detail of his routine. Every morning, he goes out jogging for an hour. That’s the longest time he’s out of the house. When he’s meeting with someone or the Winchester’s, it only takes minutes. He had the footage erased over and over, but Niall always has a copy.
Another week came and he decided to execute the plan. In the morning, he saw Henry come out of the house, wearing his gear, and started jogging. When he turned the corner and made sure he didn’t come back, Niall made his way to the back door. Before going inside, he made sure he disabled all the cameras and deleted the footage around the street. He went through the dining area and tried to find his room. The house only has one floor, so it wasn’t hard for him. He opened the door and closed it behind him as he went inside, turning on his phone’s flashlight. He immediately went to his desk where the computer was. He turned the lamp on as well as the computer and plugged a cable from his phone to the monitor to hack his way in. While waiting, he opened the drawers to see if he could find anything. When he opened the last one, there was a binder. He pulled it out, placed it on the desk, and opened it.
“Bingo,” Niall said, seeing Demetria’s pictures.
He took his phone to capture the pictures that are on the binder. Then, something caught his eye. When he was about to take a closer look, the desktop finally opened, he went to copy all the files the computer has to his flash drive and phone while scanning through them. He also saw some e-mails sent to the Winchester's.
He sighed, frustrated. He didn’t see any address. Maybe one of Henry’s visits to Winchester's involved him giving the address.
He still decided to copy the e-mails. Any information he finds, he’ll tell Winter. When he’s finished, he turned off the computer.
The door busted open and lights turned on, revealing Henry, full of sweat.
Niall casually turned off the lamp and faced him.
“Who the hell are you?” Henry asked.
Niall leaned on the desk with his hand in his pockets. “Someone who’s doing the job you’re supposed to be doing,” he answered.
“I am doing my job!” Henry exclaimed.
“By hiding the truth?” Niall asked.
Henry ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “I was greedy…,” he said. “The Winchester’s doubled what Ms. Winter could pay me.”
“Ms. Winter can double your pay with a snap of her fingers,” Niall said.
“Yeah, but it was in our contract,” Henry said. “She was very specific and made sure she could trust me.”
“But you broke it.”
“I know!” Henry shouted. “You think it’s not eating my conscience? But I had already made my choice when I decided to take her parents’ money.”
“I’m just doing what you can’t,” Niall said.
“Please, don’t,” Henry begged.
Niall showed him his flash drive. “I already have everything from your computer.”
Henry tried to snatch it but Niall moved it away.
“Not so fast.”
Henry stared at him. “What do you want?”
Niall looked at his flash drive. “What I couldn’t find.”
Henry thought about it. “You want Ms. Demetria’s address.”
Niall nodded. “Yep. I’ll give you this if you tell me.”
“Wouldn’t that be too easy?” Henry asked.
Niall furrowed his eyebrows. “Is it easy for you to tell me?”
Henry shook his head. “No.”
Niall stood up. “Well, then. I’ll get going so you’ll be eaten by your conscience,” he said. “You can’t sue me for trespassing. I turned off all your cameras.”
Henry sighed. “Wait,” he said. “Do you want to know everything?”
Niall faced him. “Yes,” he said. “Will you tell me?”
“I’ll try,” Henry said.
“But why now?”
“Ms. Winter deserves to know the truth,” Henry said. “It’s my fault that she waited this long.”
Niall nodded.
“Just don’t tell them that you discovered this from me.”
Niall shook his head. “Oh, no. She won’t buy it. She knows that you know everything.”
Henry sighed. “I’m busted.”
“You have to own up to your mistake,” Niall said.
Henry nodded. “I’ll tell you and you can keep the flash drive.”
Niall listened.
*
Niall looked at the piece of paper he was holding. Demetria’s address is written there. “I’m really a good investigator,” he muttered, proudly.
He tucked it in his wallet so he wouldn’t lose it. He went to his car and as he was about to start the engine, someone opened the door and pulled him out by his collar. Before he could look at the person’s face, he received a punch, landing on the ground.
He wiped his lips and saw blood. He looked at the hooded figure and saw his four other companions. He laughed as he stood up. “So, the Winchester’s sent you?”
“Yes, to teach you a lesson,” the guy who punched him answered. “After this, you won’t get to talk at all.”
Niall smirked. “I apologize but I learned Martial Arts,” he said.
“We’ll see about that,” the guy said and tried to punch him again.
Niall caught his arm and punched him. He ducked the second one and elbowed his back. He also caught the arm of the third one and twisted it. The last one has a baseball bat but he managed to get hold of it and swing it on his back. Then, he immediately went to his car and sped off.
Niall sighed. “That was close.”
He went to Winter’s house and didn’t waste any time, ringing the doorbell.
Winter opened the door. “Niall.”
“Hi, can I come in?” Niall asked.
Winter nodded. “Yeah. Sure.” She gestured for him to come inside.
Niall went in as Winter closed the door and sat on the couch.
“Have a seat. What happened to you?”
Niall sat down and immediately gave her the flash drive and the address. “On the way here, I was ambushed. They didn’t want the information leaked.”
“Are you okay? You should have that cleaned,” Winter said, taking the flash drive and a piece of paper.
“Don’t mind me. I have it covered.”
Winter opened the paper and looked at him. “This is it?”
Niall nodded. “Yes. You can finally see her.”
Winter smiled. “Thanks, Niall.”
“Pleasure.”
“I’ll call Vic to tell her,” Winter said, pulling out her phone.
Niall stood up. “I’ll get going.”
Winter stood, too. “Be careful out there.”
“Thanks.” Niall smiled and left the house.
Winter dialed Victoria’s number and she immediately answered. “Hey, Vic!”
“Win! What’s up?”
“I have good news. I finally found her,” Winter told her.
“Really? When will you be leaving?”
“I’ll book a flight right now.”
“We’ll come with you,” Victoria said.
“Are you sure?” Winter asked.
“Of course! Maybe I am against this but I’ll support you,” Victoria said. “Summer will support you.”
“Okay, I’ll book three tickets,” Winter said.
Meanwhile, Niall made a call, too. It kept on ringing.
“Come on, pick up, pick up,” he muttered.
After a few minutes and several dials, someone finally answered.
“Finally!” Niall said.
“What…?” The voice was hoarse. “I just woke up, Niall. What do you want?”
“What the hell are you doing in Paris, bro?” Niall asked.
“Work.”
“That’s crap.”
“What’s with you?”
“How did you know Demetria Carlisle?” Niall straightforwardly asked.
- Writer
