Twisted

THE SEARCH

CHAPTER FOUR: THE SEARCH

"Good morning, Mr. Hayes."

"Morning, Clara. What is it?"

"There has been an update regarding the cheque you issued last night."

I looked up from the document in my hand.

"The bank contacted us this morning. The cheque was presented for payment, but the transaction has been placed on hold pending your confirmation."

A faint smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

So she accepted it.

For a moment, I had wondered whether she would tear it up out of pride.

"What reason did the bank give?"

"It exceeds the automatic approval limit, sir. They require your authorization before releasing the funds."

I nodded once.

"Approve it."

Clara blinked, clearly surprised.

"Sir... it's five hundred million dollars."

"I know exactly how much I wrote."

She hesitated before asking carefully, "Should I notify the bank to contact the beneficiary?"

"No."

I rose from my chair and walked toward the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city.

"Not yet."

There was a brief silence.

"Did the bank obtain her name?" I asked.

"I'm afraid not, sir. According to the bank manager, a woman perhaps in her fifties attempted to cash it."

My brows drew together.

An older woman?

Something about that didn't sit right.

"What else?"

"The manager said the woman appeared... anxious."

I turned to face Clara.

"Get me the bank's CCTV footage."

"I'm sorry, sir?"

"The footage."

She looked uncertain.

"That may require legal authorization."

"Then have Legal obtain it."

"Yes, Mr. Hayes."

After she left, I looked down at the copy of the cheque on my desk.

The image of the young woman from the hotel crossed my mind once again.

Whoever that older woman was...

She wasn't the person I'd written the cheque for.

************************************************

Evelyn

“What do you mean the cheque needs to be verified?” Jeff asked me for the hundredth time this morning and I was getting sick of it. I've tried calling Jared twenty times but it kept going straight to voicemail. I don't even want to imagine that that bastard slept with my daughter and played with me.

“ Listen, if you keep asking dumb questions I'd be forced to shut you out completely. Do you really think I still need you? If not for you and your poor choices I wouldn't be in the situation in the first place.” I finally snapped and that shut him up. I called Jared again and this time he answered on the fourth ring.

“You damned motherf….” I began but the i***t cut me off

“Where is she?” He asked, startling me. Is he drunk?

“Where is who? You gave me a cheque that I can't cash without your presence. Who the hell do you think you are? Do you really think you're that important? You are actually a disgusting bastard” I exploded

“ I didn't write any cheque. Your daughter did not come to me. And well, since I'm not important, you'd have to look for that investment elsewhere. I'm glad your daughter is finally making good use of those natural beauties. Unfortunately for me I didn't taste her first but that doesn't mean I wouldn't.” He spat and hung up the phone.

That f*****g bastard. If Elaine didn't get the cheque from him then who did she sleep with?

************************************************

Elaine

I overheard mum scolding my step dad in the living room and I knew all hell was about to let loose. I ran up to my room and slammed the door. It's at times like this that I really wish I could lock my door but my mother had the locks removed because she didn't want me to do anything “nasty”.

I went into the bathroom to wash my face, trying to calm the racing of my heart but it didn't work, and when I heard the door to my room open and my mother yell my name, my heart leaped out of my chest.

I came out of the bathroom shaking like a fish. My mother looked calm. Unusually calm, but that didn't calm my racing heart. It was like the calm before the storm.

“ Who did you sleep with last night?” My brain went blank. Do I tell her the truth? Would she believe me? Of course she wouldn't believe me.

“ I..I .. I don't know his name. I was drunk and I entered the wrong room.” I said with a small voice, staring at the floor.

“ Ohhh my sweet child! You've finally made yourself useful. You have to find him. As you have heard, he was generous enough to give us this whopping sum of money but I still need an authorization from him to cash it. Don't worry I'll help you find him. The sooner the better. What does he look like?” She said sarcastically sweet.

I felt like I had died and ended up in an alternate universe. Did she just call me her sweet child? What happened to Helen? Which reminds me, I haven't seen Helen in days (not like I'm complaining).

“ I think he's African but he had gray eyes. That's all I can remember.” I hadn't even finished talking when I felt a hot slap on my face.

“ You stupid w***e! You had one f*****g job to do! Just one and you f****d it up. Even when I think you should be able to redeem yourself but you're just too stupid! How could you forget important details? How can I be of help to you when you're too stupid to remember important information? You know what? You've got exactly three days to find this mystery guy and get him to authorize the cheque or else…… and till then, you will eat nothing in this house.” She slammed the door and thumped angrily down the stairs.

My cheeks stung. I couldn't breathe. My head was spinning. My limbs trembled. My legs gave out and I fell onto the floor. I couldn't move. My brain only registered one thing before darkness consumed me….I must find him.