Blind Billionaire Bride

CHICAGO, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

AT AINSLEY HOSPITAL

The door opened up and Ian saw Detective Chad and Derrick at the entrance. Chad said few words to the men behind him before stepping in with Derrick.

“Good evening, Ian.”

Ian acknowledge their presences by nodding his head.

“How are you feeling?” Detective Chad asked Ian.

“I am fine. Thanks.”

“I am glad that you are fine.” Detective Derrick said to him.

Ian nodded. “So what’s up with Frederick?” He requested.

“We are yet to find him. But we are trying our best to find him. We have issued a warrant of arrest and even place surveillance everywhere just to find him.” Detective Chad replied.

“He can’t hide for long. I am sure he will reveal himself to Ria soon.” Ian said.

“You need to tell us what exactly happened at the factory.” Detective Derrick requested politely.

“I received a call from the manager that morning that I should come around and check out the new machines they purchased. Though it was Piper’s job to inspect it but she was busy at the office and she doesn’t know much about machines too. I was just at the factory to inspect things as usual.” Ian explained.

“And did you suspect any unusual movement when you got to the factory?” Detective Chad asked.

“Everything was fine. I didn’t suspect any unusual movement.” Ian responded.

“Are you sure? Ian, try to think about it.” Detective Chad.

Ian closed his eyes and memories of that day flooded his mind.

********

FLASHBACK

“Good Morning, Mr Ian.” Sam the manager of the textile factory greeted cheerfully.

“Good morning, Mr Sam.” Ian replied glancing around the factory. Everyone was busy. “Where are the machines?” He asked.

“We haven’t installed the machines yet.” Mr Sam replied.

“So where are the engineers that will build them together? I was expecting that everything would be set by now.”

“The engineers are on their way.”

“Alright. Let me have a look at the machines.” Ian sighed.

“Please come with me.” Mr Sam led Ian to the room where the machines are kept.

“Mr Sam, are you sure everything is okay around here?” Ian asked as he checked out the machines.

“Yes sir. Everything is okay. We have been able to-” Mr Sam was interrupted by a loud spark in the corridor and then everywhere went black.

“What’s wrong?” Ian asked.

“Power outage I guess…” Mr Sam replied.

Ian muttered profanity as he brought of his phone and switched on the flashlight. “Does this happen more often?”

“No sir. I will check out what’s going on?” Mr Sam said and stepped out of the room.

Minutes clicked by and he didn’t return. Ian stepped out of the room too. He heard noises close by and he also caught a glimpse of a figure at the corridor leading to the main factory. Everywhere was still dark as the figure made a sharp corner to the factory.

“Mr Sam.” He called but no one responded.

Ian coughed when he inhaled smoke after he came out to the opening. Workers were running helter skelter in the factory. He was confused. “What’s going on?” He murmured.

Ian placed his palms on his nose. Someone bumped into him and his phone fell to the ground. Everyone screamed loudly at another spark ripped through in the air!

“Fire! Fire! Fire! Everyone exit the building!”

Ian heard Mr Sam’s voice. He wanted to know what had caused the fire. He moved closer and noticed a cable was disconnected from a machine nearby. It sparked but he managed to turned away. He didn’t know what to do amidst the chaos!

“Everyone move out!” Mr Sam barked out orders to the workers.

Ian coughed continuously. His chest tightened and his breathe cut in his chest and he couldn’t breathe well. He searched for his inhaler but he couldn’t find it and then he recalled that it was in the car. He held the big box close by and he tightened his grip on it.

“Sir Ian! Please watch out!”

He heard Sam’s voice. He looked up and saw the box almost falling but he couldn’t move off from that spot. The two loaded box fell down before he could dodge them. His eyes rolled to his head as the box hit his head and he hit the ground hard.

“Sir Ian! Somebody help!” Mr Sam screamed out.

Two out of the security men guiding the workers out of the building came around. They placed Ian on the man’s back and then rushed out of the building. Firemen made their way into the building to put out the fire. The medical teams were attending tooInjured workers when they carried Ian out of the building. They helped Ian on a stretcher into the ambulance as they tried to resuscitate him.

*******

FLASH FORWARD

“So you saw a figure when you came out of the room where the new set of machines were kept?” Detective Chad asked.

“Yes… and I thought it was Mr Sam.”

Detective Chad and Derrick exchanged glances. “But Mr Sam would have responded.” Derrick said.

Ian nodded in agreement. “Can you give a quick description of the figure you saw.” Detective Chad requested.

“Everywhere was dark.”

“But you had a flashlight with you.” Detective Chad added.

“Yes.”

“Try to remember what he had looked like at that moment. And you can help with the direction of where you saw the figure.” Detective Chad persisted.

Ria squeezed Ian hands gently. “It was obviously a man since I assumed him to be Mr Sam.” Ian said as he closed his eyes. He thought deeply. “He was tall… about the same height with me-” He paused.

Ian remember vividly that the figure he saw had a face cap on. “And is Mr Sam about your height?” Detective Derrick asked.

He reopened his eyes. “No. it wasn’t Mr Sam. The figure I saw was on a face cap.”

Derrick and Chad exchanged glances. “And it was like he was coming from the cable room… the room that powers the factory. But he could be one of the operators in charge of power supply.”

“Well I don’t think so.” Detective Chad brought out his phone and showed Ian an image of a man. It matched Ian’s description of the figure.

“It could be him… I don’t know. I mean, I am not sure about what I saw because everywhere was dark.”

“We checked the CCTV at the factory and we found this man. He was in the cable room around the time the fire started.” Detective Chad said. He collected his phone and played a muted video for Ian.

Ian saw himself talking to Sam. Workers were working but his eyes caught a worker looking around also on face cap.

“And this is another one totally different from the one who was in the power room.” Detective Derrick said as he paused the video.

“What are you trying to say?” Ian queried.

“Two men were sent to destroy the factory.” Detective Chad played the video again.

The man was close to a machine and slowly he dropped something on the ground. Ian wasn’t around at that time. The camera showed the man in the power room where he was checking some cables before everywhere became dark.Text © 2024 NôvelDrama.Org.

“One pulled out a cable and the other one started the fire.” Detective Chad added.

They were both dressed in workers uniform but their faces hidden under the face caps. “Killers under disguise.” Ian muttered.

“The question now is who sent them?” Detective Derrick said.

“Frederick Robert.” Ian spat as he clenched his fists.

Ria rubbed his hands gently to calm him. “We are not sure yet. This video is not enough evidence to decide that this is Frederick’s doing or maybe Drake. We are looking for the culprits and also Frederick too.” Detective Chad replied.

“Make sure you find them.” Ian grimaced.

“Sure. And you guys have to be careful from now on. I don’t mean to scare you, Ria, but you have to be prepared that Frederick might reveal himself to you soon.” Detective Chad said with a serious look on his face.

“Thank you very much.” Ria replied.

“Her bodyguards will always be around to protect her. Please make sure to find Frederick Robert as soon as possible.” Ian gritted.

“I will give you a call if we find anything.” Detective Derrick said again before they stepped out of the private ward.