The Mystery Of Elizabeth Matthews (SLOW UPDATES)

Chapter 18.

I may not be able to upload this week and the next and maybe the next. So this is me, making up for that. This is by far the longest chapter btw. Enjoy reading.

Jayden didn't waste any time in the morning to arrive at the headquarters and head straight to Tom's office. As he reached just outside the office door, he could hear more than one person's voice from inside. He knocked and entered. Grandpa Sanders looked up from the file, he was reading.

"Good Morning, Jayden. How can we help you, this fine morning?" Grandpa smiled.

Everybody looked up to Grandpa. He was one of the most influential and respected person in the country. People always knew him as a cold-hearted person who would only bend to his wife's will. Now that grandma was not here anymore, he was known to be a cold-hearted person all the time. And that was not true. They knew the other side of grandpa. The one who was fond of kids. The one who gave them gifts every now and then. The one who stood by his rules firmly. Who never differentiated between them and the other employees. Moreover, he was so much more likable than Mr. Sanders would ever be. If a person found himself on his bad side though, let's just say he was scarier than Tom or Mr. Asher for that matter.

"Jayden?" Tom's question brought him back to reality.

Jayden cleared his throat. "Good Morning. Uh... I wanted to show you'll something."

"Sure. What is it?" Grandpa closed the files and gave his full attention to Jayden.

Jayden swallowed. How do you tell a person that his son or grandson may be guilty of something? "You need to come to my office for that."

Tom looked at his dad in question. Grandpa shrugged and stood up to follow Jayden.

They waited patiently as Jayden typed in his laptop. Once he was done and the beep sounded, he didn't dare look at the screen or their faces.

Silence. He was met with absolute silence.

Yesterday when he had a suspicion on Jack, he had decided to track his location as well. Jack had said that he reached Bridgewood at around 11.30pm but his location said that he was near the back alley at midnight, exactly where Ryan was supposed to be. That meant, Jack knew something they didn't.

Maybe he never sent Ryan on a mission. Maybe he did, and made sure that he never returned. But he wouldn't have done that, right?

When he had enough courage to look at their faces, his eyes widened.

Confusion. That is what their faces showed. Pure confusion.

Confused, he glanced at the screen and froze at what he saw.

Wha–? How?!

The results clearly showed that Jack was on the Main Street alright. However, the timings were all wrong. They matched Jack's story.

"Son?" Grandpa started. "Is this the only thing you wanted to show us?" He asked.

Jayden couldn't move his eyes off of the screen. His own device had been tampered with, right in front of him. He felt as if the words on the screen were mocking him.

And suddenly he was angry. His jaw clenched.

"Yes, Sir. Jack was saying the truth." He tried not to be bitter in front of them.

Jack had someone protecting him, which just raised his suspicions a hundred times more.

* * *

Brian confided the most in Jack. Whenever he took off and disappeared for days, nobody knew where he went except him. He always kept track of Brian's whereabouts. Not that he skipped from one place to another. He usually stayed in the city, wallowed in self-pity and became a drunkard bastard for three days straight. Last time when that happened he had almost died of alcohol poisoning. After that, he had managed to get help and had been sober for months.

Jack didn't know what to expect when he made his way inside the hotel lobby Brian had been staying in. He always selected the hotels, which were on the opposite side of the city. So that no one would recognise him at all. Brian had already texted him the details about the hotel and his room a day back, just in case if it was needed for an emergency.

As he waited near the elevators, his phone vibrated in his pocket. It was a message from Jayden.

'I know you are hiding something. I will find out soon enough.'

He knew he should not have reacted the way he did last night. But he couldn't help it.

Inside the elevator, he let his mind wander to that night when he first saw Elizabeth. The way she talked. The way she moved. She was so confident about herself even when she knew that someone witnessed her, killing Ryan. Why did she even do it? He was a traitor, sure. But that can't be the only reason. And all the mess with Peter and Frank Davis. One member of Golden Grove was her friend and wanted her safe no matter what whereas the other was an enemy who was hell bent on killing her. How was she even connected to them, he had no idea. Why did he lie about that night? Again, he had no idea. It was only a matter of time before Jayden gets his location and the truth would be out. What would he do then? What would Elizabeth do when her location is also checked? In the end, he would have to tell everyone the truth. He didn't want to get involved with Elizabeth more than he already was, not when he didn't even know who she was.

The elevator dinged and he snapped back into reality. He walked out and headed for Brian's room.

He knocked and called out his name. Within seconds, the door opened. Jack was fully prepared to deal with a drunken Brian but was surprised to find him sober. He entered and settled down on the couch in the living room. Brian silently went inside the bedroom and came back with a diary in his hands. Jack looked at him questioningly but took the diary nonetheless. Now that he noticed, Brian's eyes were blood shot. He knew that he hadn't been drinking, which meant...

"Have you been crying?" Jack asked incredulously

Brian looked away.

What the hell happened?

"Brian, what's wrong?"

"She was abused." He said quietly.

At first, Jack didn't understand what he was talking about. His breath caught in his throat when he realized he was talking about Elizabeth. Brian was very sensitive about the abused. He would always have a soft spot for them. He knew how it felt.

"That diary is hers. I had one of my sources trailing her. He had an opportunity to steal it and gave it to me. That's what I have been doing here." He continued.

Jack didn't know what to say. This changed everything.

"She was six, Jack. Only six." His voice laced with pain. Jack felt a pang in his heart. He slowly opened the diary and looked at the first page. As soon as he read the words, his heart started beating faster.

"Brian." He started slowly. "What did you say her name was?"

"I never said her name." Brian looked at him. "It's Emily Green."

Jack closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "I am sorry, did you say Green? Because I am sure I heard Grey."

Brian stared at him strangely. "No, Jack. I said Green. Emily Green."

Jack's eyes snapped open. His entire body went rigid. Everything made sense now. Like the pieces of a puzzle were put together in the right places to get a clear picture. But that picture made him question even more.

He didn't know Elizabeth Matthews. But he certainly knew Emily Green.  

And suddenly, he realized that he had always been a lot more involved than he wanted to be.

Hi! *smiles innocently*

Uh... Please don't kill me?

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-DS