The Marvelous Elijah’s Return

Chapter 93

Loose ends

A sense of rage awakened from Madam Jewel’s bruised ego at the thought that a lowlife would dare challenge the Hayeses with such a direct insult to their faces, and a feeling of disbelief overcame her as she mumbled, “Elijah, Elijah? Melina‘s ex-husband… Peach’s current husband did that... to your face?”

The way his mother pressed on those words made Elmer even more irritated, and with a sharp inhale he finally snapped, “Yes… Now, can we just drop it? I already have a plan to deal with that bastard, so can we just focus on the company and the fact that I‘m Peach now owns Investistic Co?”

A shock coursed through the entire group, except Madam Jewel, who sighed out her frustration, feeling the tension in the room build–up, as she turned around, walked back towards her seat, saying in a hushed voice, “I can‘t… This is just...”

“Peach owns what?!” Cora cried out, looking completely confused, and while she glanced around at the others, they seemed just as lost as she was.

Meeting Elmer‘s eyes, Amelia screwed her face into a scowl as she asked, “What do you mean she owns your company? What is this all about?”

Since he was already in the embarrassing zone, Elmer dropped on the couch, relax, and said, “I lost the investment deals with Gordan and the others because Peach showed up with that devil‘s spawn of a husband by her side and the Will mother give her–”

“But the will got burnt... You all were here... you saw the look of doom and despair on her face when mother...” Amelia trailed off, unable to continue with the sentence as she stared into space, still in deep shock.

Squirting his eyes, Eli‘s jaw clenched tightly and he turned away, muttering, “Exactly, Peach left us no doubt that the Will got burnt.”

“Well, she does have the exact copy mother gave her and a young lawyer that seems to be with Elijah... Honestly, I am still confused about the shit that went down this morning...” Elmer responded, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.

Fixing his eyes on Madam Jewel, Dean hesitated for a moment, before mumbling, “Was it the exact copy of the will or...”

“Meeks has a spare copy. We made three originals for just–in–case situations, and now, judging from Peach‘s mood a day ago, it‘s not possible that these wills are the same...” Madam Jewel explained in a grave voice, her eyes fixed on her son.

“What if she was just calling a bluff then?“ Amelia blurted out.

“Why would she call a bluff? What would she have been trying to accomplish by doing that back then?” Cora wondered, voicing her thoughts aloud.

A couple of silent minutes passed as everyone thought about the situation, until Elmer cleared his throat, breaking the awkward atmosphere, and replied in a humble voice, “That Elijah dude is a piece of mystery... First, he‘s living off Melina, then he‘s a thug, he‘s hanging around Bryan Checks, and now, he has Mr. Bamford doing his dirty work-”

“The chief of police?” Tommy piped in, raising an eyebrow and glancing at his little brother.

“Yeah... I don‘t know how, but after everything that happened, I was the one walking out of the company with this messed up face and handcuffs around my wrist.“

“So the police allowed him to walk free after seeing you like this?!”

When Elmer nodded, Eli‘s eyes widened, and he exclaimed, “Who the fuck is this guy?!”

“Seriously… like… was it wise for him to marry Peach?” Amelia mumbled, instead of thinking the words in her head.

“I don‘t care who the hell he is?! No one comes for me and what I have worked hard for before I even became a wife of a mother, and expect me to stand aside and let it happen!” Madam Jewel exclaimed,

The rise in her voice, and how deadly her tone sounded caught her children off guard, and each of them exchanged nervous glances before turning their attention back to her.

Silence settled in the air as she reached for her phone, and they watched her aggressively tap her screen.

“Mr. Meeks,” Madam Jewel said, her tone softened the moment the old lawyer accepted her call.

“Madam Jewel.” His voice came back over the receiver, sounding weary and exhausted. “How may ! assist you?”

“Can we meet up?”

“At the mansion or my office?”

“No. I will send you a location and don‘t make me wait on you, or I will have to ask someone to come to get you.”

The line went quiet for a moment, and there was a faint rustling noise on the other end before she heard Mr. Meeks say, “Of course. See you later...”

When his mother ended the call, Dean couldn‘t hold back his tongue and asked, “I thought you already took the real will father left out of Mr. Meeks‘ hands-”

“I do have it somewhere safe. I just need to know if he‘s not running his mouth about it to others.” Madam Jewel interrupted before adding in a rather annoyed tone, “I thought after years of keeping his lips shut, I could trust his ass, but if Peach has a different will than the one I gave her, then Meeks has to disappear. I don‘t like loose ends.”

Her words made everyone else tense, but no one dared speak for a while, and then Dean smirked, mumbling, “You are right, mother.”

“I know!” Madam Jewel mumbled in response, her eyes still focused on her phone, before snapping it shut and tossing it onto the coffee table.

Then she focused on Elmer, frowning at his bruises, and said, “About Investistic Co, it‘s time for it to die. If Peach has a small taste of success with that company, then that will only boost her ego to want more... We can‘t have her wanting more of the Hayes wealth, especially when she lawfully has the right to.”

Like reality had slapped all seven siblings in their faces, they nodded slowly, and Elmer mumbled, “Well, we can get all the employees to quit... With no one to assist her in running the company, it is bound to die.”

“Right, do that. Also…” Madam Jewel let out, meeting Elmer‘s eyes. “Leave Elijah alone. I will handle him... Peach cannot die right now, but he can.”

The ride was quiet as Elijah silently watched Peach nodding off, her head swinging slowly back and forth, as her body leaned against the window.

A smile crept onto his face as he reached his hand across her shoulder and pulled her head towards him gently until it rested on his shoulder, letting out a soft sigh as he felt her warm breaths blow on his neck.

“We are almost at the hotel,” Elijah mumbled as she snuggled into his chest.

Torre

When Dice finally brought the car to a stop, he sat still for almost two minutes before looking down at Peach and then tapped her arm. When she stirred slightly he said quietly. “Peach, wake up. We are here.”

“I’ve been awake.” She whispered, not moving a muscle as she kept her eyes closed, “Just one more minute.”

A fluffy feeling filled Elijah‘s chest upon hearing that, causing him to chuckle softly, staring at the window as his smile grew wider.

Then he suddenly burst into a loud laugh when her stomach suddenly growled loudly, making Peach‘s head instantly lift from his shoulder as her eyes shot open, she turned to face him, only to find that he was smiling widely at her, showing off his dimples.

A pout formed on her lips when he chuckled again, and it didn‘t help when the second growl echoed from her belly, and she hugged her stomach tightly in embarrassment.

“We should head in, and I will call room service, or we can stroll to the restaurant, huh?” Elijah asked with a raised brow, still grinning at her red cheeks.

Looking down at her stomach, Peach said softly, “Yeah. Sure. Whatever.”

With all his might, Elijah suppressed the laugh that wanted to erupt, and he unlocked the door, stepping out before reaching in for her hand and gently pulling her out of the car.

As Elijah shut the door, Matt and Ryan approached them, and one looked at Ryan, he knew there was more on his mind.

“Matt, can you keep Peach company?” Elijah absent–mindedly mumbled, not breaking eye contact with Ryan.

Not waiting for a response, he walked off with Ryan a couple of distance, and a look of curiosity crossed Peach‘s face as she stared after Elijah, knowing that whatever they were going to talk about, she had a slim chance of knowing.

“Don‘t worry... you have already accomplished the hard part.” Matt whispered, looking at her with a friendly smile. “Give him a little bit of time.”

“The will... there is something fishy about it.” Ryan said when he was sure that they were far from Peach‘s ears.

“I figure...” Elijah answered, rubbing the back of his neck, as his eyes shifted around the area for a few seconds.

“The texture of the paper is just too intact, smooth, and new–looking for a will written by a man that has been dead years ago... even if it was preserved in some way. Something doesn‘t add up here...”

After thinking for a second, he added, “And the fact that there is more than one will is a serious issue. Honestly, there is a possibility that an original will and a copy can exist, but these two wills are identical, and are both giving out the identity as originals, and not one as a copy...”

A look of hesitation flashed across Ryan‘s face for a moment, and then he mumbled, “I don‘t think these wills are Mr. Hayes‘s original will, Boss.”

“If that‘s the case, then his signatures were forged?” Elijah questioned, furrowing his eyebrows together as his brain tried to put together the pieces of information.