Under The Mistletoe | HS [Completed]

CHAPTER 23

Harry POV

"What do you mean by Tran is working with his friends now?" Liam spoke, as I rested my head on the arm of the couch, of the lodge room. I have never visited Jessica's home after she was gone. That home always brings me memories of Jess. It is too painful for me to stay there. Therefore, this lodge.

As Liam continued to speak to Louis on his phone, I was contemplating the idea of visiting Jess. Though I know it'd mean removing my mask and showing my vulnerable state to her, one or the other day I had to. I had to grieve for her, I had to become realistic.

"Did you find out who are his business partners?" Liam continued, "Ok, cool. Let us know if you find anything else about these guys." He ended the call.

"What did they find?" I asked Liam.

"Tran is working with a different group of friends. Not with him, but for him." Liam replied.

I frowned, "Do we know who they are?"

Liam shook his head. "No we don't. We've only known their names so far. Zayn and Louis are on it."

I sighed.

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Shaw POV

As I left my hotel room in Holmes Chapel, I didn't really have a plan. At first, I thought I might just drive straight to the B&B and confront Rebecca face to face. But after considering my options, I figured that seemed rather careless. What if they had an audience and she refused me, making me look like the bad guy? And then what if they called the cops? I wouldn't be able to prove Rebecca's indiscretions to authorities, making me appear crazy, too. No, I had to be smarter than that. As much as I wanted to take care of the matter that had been plaguing me for so long, I needed to be patient. Everything would work out in due time, and Rebecca would be forced to pay the price for her many crimes.

Instead, I decided to plan a stake-out. If Edwin could play super sleuth, certainly I would be able to investigate, as well. Afterall, Ed and Matt were no rocket scientists, and look at all the information they had uncovered.

Plugging the address of the B&B into my GPS, I let it direct the way, leading me straight to the tree lined street, the cosy B&B sat on. I circled the block, finally deciding to park my rental car in the lot of an antique shop that sat on the opposite side of the road. It was still early, not even 7:00 am, and there were very few people on the street. I sat in my vehicle, sipping on the luke-warm cup of coffee, I had picked up at the local diner.

They call this Macchiato? This junk is unpalatable! It tasted stale and bitter, so unlike the beverage I had become accustomed to recently. I had developed an unfortunate addiction to caffeine over the past several weeks, and began to frequent a quaint coffee cafe near my penthouse suite in downtown Manchester. I hated feeling desire for such chemicals, but I couldn't help myself. Everything Rebecca had put me through was keeping me up at night, and I needed a little pick-me-up most mornings to help keep from dragging. Just one more nuisance I could blame my dear wife for...

I was looking around for a nearby garbage to dispose of the disgusting swill, when suddenly something caught my eye. It was a young woman, pulling up to The B&B on a bike. I observed her carefully, trying to make out her features. Could this be Rebecca?

Silently, I watched as the girl parked her cruiser and hopped off. She began to make her way towards the front door, stopping briefly to pick up weeds from the garden. She looked an awful lot like the young woman who had boarded the bus in Manchester, the one Ed had showed me pictures of. She was not wearing the glasses she wore that day, but she had the same short, brown hair and thin build. The same frame that Rebecca had. My wife.