Dania {18+}

Chapter 21

Reyn's POV

I marked a line on the contract in front of me with my finger before striking through it with the pen in my other hand. A minute later my cell phone sitting on the corner of my desk rang.

"Yes, father?"

"Son, the gala is tomorrow. I require your presence. I simply refuse to entertain any excuses." His gravelly voice was barely intelligible over the phone. My shoulders sagged at his demand.

While the gala was for an admirable cause-- an orphanage back in Turkey-- I knew that it had a very selfish undertone. It was just another way to flaunt his wealth and connections to anyone who cared to entertain him and attend his extravagant gathering. The entire thing left a sour taste in my mouth. Perhaps, it would be a little less unpalatable with my sweet girl by my side.

"Very well. I shall be bringing a date. Please make the necessary arrangements."

"A date? But--" I cut the phone before he could respond with what was most likely an objection. There was no way I was going to play into his elaborate chess game of opulence. This time I wasn't going to let him parade me around as his eligible bachelor of a son. I was taken; he had to respect that.

The cordless phone's chime echoed through the room. I sighed before putting it on speaker.

"Reyn Sadiq speaking."

Sariah's voice sounded from the other end of the line. "Sir, the PI is here." I had arranged a meeting with him on Friday after it was clear the police weren't going to be able to satisfactorily fulfill their obligations. It never ceased to amaze me how such incompetent people retained their jobs. If they worked for me with such a blatant lack of effort, they would've been gone before they could even receive their first paycheck.

"Great. Send him in, Sariah."

Seconds later, the door was opened to let in a stocky man in his late 40s.

"Mr. Edwards? It's nice to meet you." I offered my hand in greeting.

He shook it firmly and took a seat in the chair in front of me.

"So what can I do for you?" He opened his hands in an inviting gesture.

"My girlfriend was nearly kidnapped Wednesday evening-- it's clear that this threat is becoming more serious than I explained over the phone. I have received a message on my personal phone containing pictures of her and her bodyguard, who I hired after the incident. I need you to conduct an investigation as fast as possible. She has a stalker sending her messages through Instagram primarily. Here's a file I put together with screenshots and any information that may be useful." I explained.

I handed him a file with printouts of all the screenshots and any information I could get from the police as of yesterday, which was not much. Hence, the need for a private investigator.

He looked through the file. I watched as he thumbed through the pages, perusing their contents. He let out a hum of consideration.

"You're very thorough." He complimented. "Messages from an Instagram account. It seems like this person has eyes on you guys from what he says. It seems like there's definitely multiple people involved: someone keeping tabs, whoever is messaging, and then the kidnappers, there could be more people than that. I'm gonna have to look into all the people around you guys to establish whether they have the means or motives. Could you send me a list of people whom the two of you have contact with on a daily basis and anyone who may have been important from both your pasts?" I nodded and made a note to myself to get that done.

"I'll have it to you by the end of the day." I write down a few names I thought of from the top of my head. I met with a lot of people every day; I had a lot of clients. This would take a while. "I'll have it for you tomorrow morning at the latest.