Losing Control

Chapter 12

Mariela grabbed for Balca as she fell backwards but Balca merely stepped out of her way and didn't make any effort to help her. If she had to do it over again, she would have run downstairs and gotten the littlest brat, run back upstairs and tossed her down the stairs with her mother if only to stop her screaming. The little brat started screaming and would probably continue until everyone came running. Balca wasn't going to wait around and find out.

She had run back into the bedroom, "Mariela fell down the stairs, the fool broke her neck I think. We need to get out of here."

Aptekin was already getting dressed, "What do you mean she broke her neck?"

"I didn't stutter Aptekin, Mariela fell down the stairs and broke her neck. That screaming is your youngest brat."

He stopped dressing and listened for a moment then grabbed his keys and wallet from the nightstand before dragging Balca out of the bedroom and down the back stairs. He hissed at her, "Did she see you?"

"I don't know what you mean Aptekin," lied Balce.

"Cut the crap Balca. Did the brat see you?"

"Maybe, why?"

"We can't have her telling everyone what she saw."

But there were no worries on that front, the kid never talked again. The shock of seeing her mother lying dead at the foot of the stairs from a broken neck, blood pooling around her head, and her eyes staring lifelessly at nothing, on the floor in front of her, was enough to frighten her into silence.

Aptekin had dropped Balca off at her apartment and hurried back to the house, pretending as though he had been gone the entire time. He had relayed the details to her and then did a little blackmail of his own. Aptekin had the security camera feed and knew what happened. He made his copy before deleting it. She would help him get money from Serkan. It would be no hardship for him, she had seen the man.

They had been planning all along to get her into his inner circle. Balca would bed Serkan, get more incriminating evidence, pictures this time, and the blackmail would begin again. With the death of Aptekin the plan was a bit more difficult but not unmanageable and now Serkan Bolat had handed her the perfect opportunity himself.

She waited three days before making an appointment to see him in the office. On Wednesday morning Balca called ArtLife and requested a meeting with Serkan Bolat. The receptionist indicated that he had an availability at one and would see her then.

Serkan was curious why Balca Kocak would think to schedule a meeting with him. He already told her that he wasn't giving up custody of the children, her lawyer hadn't been in contact with Eda. He would hear her out and send her on her way. Ayfer had gotten no additional information about her from either Defne or Emir, but she too knew that there was more to the story. If Serkan had to guess, Balca was another mistress, regardless of whether she was Mariela's sister. Being his wife's sister would actually appeal more to Aptekin.

He put the meeting out of his mind and got back to work. Engin had left Selin to work with the client when he returned. He hadn't let her go yet at the client's request. On Monday he had broken the news to Serkan, "He asked that we postpone the firing until they worked through their environmental issues. He'll keep her down there until then. When she comes back she's gone."

Hands on his hips Serkan stared at Engin, "How hard is it to get rid of one woman? Is she doing that good of a job for them? If she is why can't they hire her?"

Engin laughed, "He tried, she said that her life was in Istanbul."

Serkan groaned, "She doesn't give up, does she? Don't answer Engin," his friend wisely stayed silent knowing that it was a rhetorical question.