The Billionaires Too (#2)

Awake

"Ah, Mrs Dos Santos!" Logan said cheerfully while reading his newspaper. "Welcome back to the land of the living." He said sarcastically as he placed the paper down and stared at her.

Her eyes were still adjusting to the light and she kept swallowing and clearing her throat due to thirst. Logan smirked, the woman was always drinking water back home, she literally could not survive a few hours without it.

"W-water," she croaked out.

He rolled his eyes and stood up, and then he picked the glass of water on her bedside and helped her drink with a straw. "You are welcome," he said as she laid back on her pillow.

"When can we go home?" She asked.

Logan sat directly next to her on the bed and crossed his legs, displaying his black three-piece, Armani suit. "Funny you should ask that, because you already cost me days from work."

Antonina scoffed and said stubbornly, "I also lost days from my café, I have never missed a day from work."

Logan smiled. "I know," he admitted sheepishly. Hell would break loose if ever Antonina missed a day of work, he made sure of it. "But don't worry, the employees are doing well on their own, and Lola has been popping in to check on things."

Antonina sighed and relaxed, she looked exhausted and a day older. Her eyes were sunken and her lips dry, and her skin looked slightly wrinkled, while her hair ashened at the edges.

Logan wondered where she was coming from in terms of trials and tribulations, and who she was before she became Antonina Dos Santos. She seemed like a load of secrets, and she looked like the perfect community member everyone looked up to. But Logan saw through her surface and that was why he hated her for so many years, she could fool anyone else but not him.

When he forced his way into her business, he walked in with the aim to drive her out and bury her in endless debts, and if possible, drive her out of town. She was unnecessary competition and for some reason, everyone loved her; the community at large, supported her.

His mission to force her out, failed, and he was in turn forced to give her half of the café and stick to making her life a living hell; but as usual, she stood her ground. She fought like a woman who had lost everything and was holding on to the last meaningful thing she had in her life.

Logan was curious, he wanted to know who she was, so he looked her up, but he could not find anything about her; it was as if someone was working extra hard to cover up every little thing there was to know about Antonina's past life as well as her marriage.

When David went to Mozambique to find out what happened, he was led back to Mexico, where upon arrival he was arrested in suspicion of drug possession. Logan did not want to go down that road again, so he let the entire thing go.

"Are you okay?" Antonina asked worriedly.

Logan eyed her suspiciously, maybe she was not that much of a mystery anymore; that man from the memorial service and the strange nurse, held the answers he needed. But he did not want to put her in danger by making them aware that he was onto them, maybe she would answer his questions.

"Who are you?" He asked seriously.

Antonina looked at him and laughed. "Is this some kind of a routine check-up or something? 'Cause my memory is still strong, boy," she said nonchalantly, unaware of his impassive face.

"Mrs Dos Santos, as you may have already noticed, I am not particularly in a good mood today." He said calmly, an impending warning in his voice. "So, I'm going to ask you one last time; who the hell are you?"

Antonina's eyes widened in panic. "What is this about?" She asked, her chest rising and falling in predicament.

He did not want to scare her, but he was not particularly in the right state to sip tea with her either. He was currently bummed due to the fact that he wasted his time by coming to London, he did not know what he was thinking when Antonina convinced him to come and show his support to MJ.

From the memorial service two nights ago, MJ Billings did not seem like she needed any support; she was putting prices on people's heads. To top it off, she did not even come to the burial ceremony yesterday. He did not even know why he bothered to come, provided he did not even know this Alastair Cooper.

The only thing he needed right now, was to get back to his business. "You meet some guy at a stranger's funeral and then you faint. Later on, they send a nurse to take you out." He smirked subtly as he watched her face pale. "There is no smoke without a fire, so I refuse to believe that someone would put a hit on an ordinary café owner," he said firmly. "Now, my dear Mrs Dos Santos; either you tell me what is going on, or I leave you here to fend for yourself. You choose."

Antonina took in a shaky breath as tears streamed down her face, and she laid back against her pillow and stared up at the ceiling. "That was Javier Mendoza, I used to work for his parents' friends back in Mexico, the Monteros." A pained expression crossed her face at the mention of the family. "I was just an ordinary girl, Antonina Viola Sandoval, 26, born and bred in Puerto Rico. Moved to Mexico at age 18," She said with a sad smile, and Logan found himself holding her hand. "When I was 26, I found a job at a ranch, owned by the Montero family; one of the most richest and elite families in Mexico. They had five children, but I was to babysit their two youngest kids, Xavier and Rafaela; Xavier was 14 and Rafaela was 4. They were the most beautiful children ever." She smiled and looked at Logan. "I stayed with them and helped take care of the kids when they were out. The Monteros were nice people and they loved their children dearly. The eldest three boys were all grown and they helped their parents run the family business.

I don't know what kind of business they owned, but I knew they were in cahoots with another family, the Mendoza's. Mrs Montero always said those people were snakes, well, with the exception of the two children; Javier and Brianna. But soon, the two families were forced to make peace since Mr Montero and Mrs Mendoza were brother and sister." She shrugged. "All was well, until one day, they were murdered in their own house during a family dinner. I managed to hide Xavier and Rafaela and the Mendoza kids, but everyone else was murdered, including Mr and Mrs Mendoza." A lone tear escaped her eye, and Logan wiped it off. "The people killed the entire family and set the house on fire, so I had to get the kids to safety. When I first started working for them, Mr Montero showed me the basement; he said it was for safety reasons and emergencies just for in case something bad happened.

Thankfully, I got all the children down the basement and went out to look for help, but I was captured by the intruders. I swore they were going to kill me, but their boss, Rodrigo Dos Santos, spared my life and kidnapped me same time.

I lost my freedom that night, and up until this day, I don't know what happened to the kids. I was forced to marry Rodrigo and have his children." She said quietly, staring into space. "I married the man who killed his family, so I understand why Javier would want to kill me."

Logan took in a sharp breath and squeezed her hand. "Don't worry, nothing is going to happen to you. I'm going to call the doctor to check up on you, then we can leave."