Love to Die for (SEQUEL)

Chapter 9: Information on The Man

"What?" I barely managed to formulate a word.

"William Afton went missing two years ago, presumably dead. I heard all about it. Sad, really. He had so much potential..." Cole trailed off and I looked at him madly wondering what he possibly meant by 'potential'. "Anyways, I found him around eleven months ago. It was my first time meeting him and certainly not my last. We're pretty good buddies if you want to know his location."

I hesitated. He was a terrible man. Manipulative, off-putting, and most likely engaging in some sort of illegal affiliations. But at the same time, if there were any possibility he knew Afton...

"I want proof."

"Well, you're not very trusting. That's fair. You haven't seen him in a while, I'd probably assume him to be dead too." He chuckled. I wasn't amused. "Here's the deal. You continue minding your own business, and I'll tell you where Will is. As long as you let me construct this establishment."

I remembered something about the man he had hostage and froze once more. I knew it was for the sake of my hypothetical lover, but that might not even be the case, and I'd be jeopardizing someone else's safety.

It felt wrong.

"I read your letter." I stated. Cole's smile dropped and he seemed to have lost all confidence in his body at that moment. It seemed I may have won the argument.

"So you know..." He frowned, not daring to add on to the possibilities of the sentence.

"About that man held against his will, yes." Sassing him didn't seem like a very smart option, seeing as he was probably a danger to me and my family, but I felt like a winner right now and my ego was at a high.

"That's no good..." He started and tapped his fingers against his forearm, seemingly in deep thought. I looked over his shoulder to make sure the kids were definitely away from the scene. Thankfully, they were all in the arcade in the other side of the pizzeria.

"I don't think the man you're keeping is good either. Do you have any idea what I can do with this information? I could ruin you."

Cole decided to laugh at this. The whole situation was a huge joke to him. He wasn't taking it very seriously and I was about to take it up a notch and call the cops, when he settled himself down.

"You just told a criminal about their misconduct? Do you really think you're going to get away with that information,
Y/N?  I could and will ruin you." His confidence is back and a sneer was implanted on his face. For once, I felt threatened by his presence and wished to no longer intimidate him. I felt the desperate need to go check up on my kids...

"I'm sure you've figured out that James is a terrible guy along with me, then, right?" He continued, undisturbed.

"Who is that man you have?"

"I don't have an obligation to tell you." He retorted right back. I had lost all my power and felt completely helpless.

"It's of concern to me—"

"You don't want to know." Cole scolded my curiosity, "Listen, doing anything to you would be bad for the company, so I'm willing to make a deal. If you can keep a secret, which I know you can with that crazy-ex, I will let you continue going on with your life, no consequences."

I couldn't believe what I just heard. In fact, I wished I had recorded it. That way I could've had evidence to show to the police or something. He was now threatening my life—or at least my rights to safe living.

"But what about that man?" My voice was laced with nothing but concern.

"Jeez, Y/N, you care more about this stranger than your little boyfriend? Don't you want to know about him?"

I knew Cole was trying to switch the subject on me, and it was working. I couldn't help but wonder the whereabouts of William. But at the same time, half of my concern was still focused on the unknown man in their clutches.

"I do. But you have a citizen held against their will. I want to know about both of them." I explained.

"Well, we don't always get everything we want." He spoke with gritted teeth. His body tense and rigid from my undying questions.

"Where is William?" I asked, dropping the subject for now. Though, I'd definitely look into it more later.

"I don't really even know myself. You should ask that guy, James. He sees Afton everyday, all the time. Must be why he was so interested in meeting you..." Cole mumbled, bantering his own thoughts.

"You just told me you knew where William was earlier!!"

"If I wanted to know, I could. But I don't really care. He doesn't really mean anything to me, that's what I meant." I had to admit, this side of Cole was really hard to berate. He was so cruel.

"So just speak to James?"

"Yes. He's in charge of me, Ms. L/N." Cole smirked, throwing in his idiotic pun.

"Right..."

I didn't have much else to say. The argument had calmed down, he had no more ongoing threats to me, and I couldn't say anything else to him without him coming back with something worse. So I just decided to leave. I walked past him, unfazed and heading for my children.

"Have a good one, Y/N."

"It's Ms. L/N!"