Luna’s Recrimination

Chapter six

Stella’s POV

As I stared at Elena, I could see a picture of my daughter right in front of me. I didn’t want her to stay with us. It didn’t seem like a brilliant idea. I knew it was only a matter of time before it’ll be clear that no one can replace another, no matter how hard they try. Besides, she wasn’t part of the family. Letting her get too close to Andre might lead to some development of feelings between them. I didn’t want anything like that.

At the end of the press conference, I didn’t know what to feel. I looked at Elena and I could still tell that something within her felt her husband and friend were innocent. It looked like she wasn’t keen on believing what was right in front of her and I did have some pity for her.

I’d faced a lot of challenges, I’d seen the ups and downs of life countless times and I knew when something was wrong. This was one of those times. There was something about those two that got me thinking.

After some long, hard thoughts, I decided to do as my son had said. I took some pity on her and decided to give her a chance. She was a woman like me, after all. If I abandoned her, especially seeing that her life was in grave danger, I might have to struggle to live with that. She looked to also be of help to my son, so I thought, why not? What was the worst that could happen?

“You’d be staying with us for a few days,” I said to Elena, whose face brightened up as soon as I spoke. Andre’s too. I spotted a huge smile springing forth on his face. “With my influence and the resources at my disposal, I’d personally investigate this story and know what exactly happened. Until then, do stay put.”

She nodded.

“Elena, I’d love you to be very strong. You have to be. By the time the truth will be revealed, which I promise you will be soon, you’ll have a big decision to make.”

With that, I walked out and headed straight to my room, winking at Andre as I left, so he could follow me. We had a case to solve.

As I got to my room, I sat on my bed and waited for a few minutes before Dre showed up. He must have talked a bit with Elena before heading to my room.

“What do we do, mom?” He asked, immediately he got into the room. He seemed all fired up. He had only spent a little time with this woman, yet, it seemed she already made a strong impression on him.

I took out my phone and began to scroll through my contacts. “I need to call Detective Ben. Normally, he may not want to help out due to his busy schedule but of course, he owes his life to your father so he has to make an exception.”

“Okay. I’ll put him on call right now.”

He picked after the second ring.

“Detective Ben.”

“Good day ma’am”

“Yes. There’s something I’ll need you to do for me. I’ll send a name across to you, she just had an accident yesterday and it’s all over the news. I’ll love you to help me find out everything that happened and see if somehow, her husband and friend who claim that she’s dead, even without confirming the body, have a hand in it. Can you do that for me?”

“Sure. Why not?”

“Alrighty then.”

I hung up and smiled at my son. I had complete trust in the officer. He was the best detective I’d ever known. There had never been a case that I brought to him that he failed to investigate properly. I hoped this one wouldn’t be an exception.

I got my feedback later that evening via email. The detective was so effective and swift. He had gotten some proof and had forwarded them to me. I thanked him and quickly checked it out.

“What’s with you and my hair? Why do you love it so much?”

“You know, apart from late sister, I’d never seen anyone that has this same texture.”

“Hmmm!”

I heard giggles and loud laughs from the sitting room where Andre and Elena spoke. They were having a great time. I hated to be the one to ruin the moment but I had to. There were far too important things to talk about than red hair.

“Welcome, mother.”

“Welcome, ma’am.”

They greeted me as soon as I walked into the sitting room. Dre had his left-hand grazing the top of Elena’s right hand. It seemed so intimate and she must have noticed my eyes, because she flushed red and quickly withdrew her hand as soon as she saw me.

I acknowledged their greeting with a nod and proceeded with what I had to say. “I got all you need to know about what happened to you and it doesn’t look so good.”

They all sat up to hear what I had to say. I walked to a sofa, adjacent to the one they sat on and did sit.

“Well,” I began to say, taking off my wristwatch and placing it just beside me. “I got a call from the detective and he told me that…”