Free Web NovelChapter 233: THE MYSTERIOUS PACKAGE
Abigail
"Wait, so you’re not at home with Angel and River?" I asked Annette while riding the elevator to the top floor.
Sitting through meetings all day representing Finnegan was exhausting, but I loved every second of it. If anyone had told me my cold, aloof boss would trust me enough to stand in for him during high-level meetings, I would have laughed in their face.
"Nope," Annette replied. "DHQ needed someone to set up firewalls for their intranet, and that’s where I am currently."
"Ooh, that’s cool. They better be paying well."
"You know they will. I don’t take peanut jobs," Annette chuckled.
The elevator doors parted on the top floor, and I stepped out. The office felt strangely quiet after such a long, grinding day.
I had sat through three back-to-back meetings — design reviews, supplier negotiations, and a tense session with the marketing team about the racetrack launch.
Finnegan had handled some via conference calls from home while staying with Angel and River, and I had pushed the rest to later in the week. My shoulders ached from hours in a chair, but at least the work was done.
"When do you think we can move back home?" Annette’s question had me going still.
"You want to leave?"
She laughed lightly. "Don’t get me wrong, your boyfriend’s house is very nice and all, but I like my space, girl. You know that."
Heat crept up my neck. I had been so tangled up in my own chaos that I hadn’t stopped to think about Annette.
"I’m sorry," I sighed.
"Nothing to be sorry about, babes. I just mean with Gavin dead and all, can we move back?"
"I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Gina and Devin are still out there. What if they send someone after us? Especially now that they know we’re looking for Owen."
"Well, shit," Annie grumbled. "That’s true. I guess we’re stuck in the suburbs."
"Or we could rent somewhere else?" I offered, and Annie snickered.
"Nah, where are we going to find security men as yummy as the ones Wolfe keeps in his compound? Forget I even brought this up. I was wrong."
I laughed, shaking my head at her. When the call ended, I locked up Finnegan’s office, double-checking the door before heading to the elevator.
When I reached the ground floor lobby, I spotted my favorite work trio gathered at Kate’s reception desk.
Marcus and Ted were leaning against the counter, clearly running out the clock before leaving. Kate was packing up her things, cheeks faintly pink as Marcus said something that made her laugh.
"Oh, good — the queen has arrived," Marcus announced dramatically when he saw me.
"The boss’s right-hand woman. Come join the peasants, Your Majesty."
I smirked, walking over. "Flattery won’t get you anywhere, Marcus. Especially when you still owe me coffee from last week."
Ted chuckled. "He’s been dodging the topic. Probably because he spent the money on flowers for someone else."
Marcus shot Ted a sharp look, but his eyes kept drifting to Kate, who was pretending to sort papers while smiling to herself. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
My brows climbed. Marcus was wearing a silver ring on his right hand. Kate had a delicate necklace with a matching ring pendant resting against her collarbone.
"Oh my God," I gasped. "You two finally stopped dancing around each other?"
Kate’s face went scarlet. "Noooooo?"
Marcus puffed out his chest. "Of course we did. It was a long time coming. This beautiful woman finally put me out of my misery last weekend." freēwēbnovel.com
Kate swatted his arm, blushing harder. "Marcus!"
Ted and I dissolved into laughter. I leaned against the desk.
"Look at you two," I teased. "Matching jewelry like teenagers. It’s adorable. When’s the wedding?"
Marcus winked. "As soon as she says yes. I’m working on it."
Kate buried her face in her hands while Ted and I continued roasting them. Eventually I straightened up. "Alright, lovebirds. Ciao."
Marcus leaned in. "The boss left pretty early today. Everything okay? He seemed... tense."
I leveled him with a look. "None of your business, Marcus. Stop poking your nose where it doesn’t belong before I report you for gossiping."
He clutched his chest. "Harsh, Abigail. I thought we were friends. I didn’t know you were a snitch."
"It’s my middle name," I grinned.
They all laughed as I waved goodnight and headed toward the parking lot. The cool evening air was a relief after being shut indoors all day. I reached my car and fished out my keys.
That’s when I noticed a large plain brown box sitting on the hood. I frowned, scanning the parking lot. Only a handful of people were scattered across the grounds.
My stomach knotted as I moved toward it, eyes fixed on the box. Why would someone leave something on my car?
I set my bag down and carefully lifted the lid.
The smell reached me first — thick, metallic, and rotten, the kind that crawled straight down your throat and wouldn’t let go.
What I saw inside sent me lurching backward.
Resting on a blood-soaked cloth was Owen Smith’s severed head. His eyes were open, glassy and frozen in terror. His mouth hung slightly agape.
Blood had pooled at the bottom of the box, dark and sticky. A note was pinned to the cloth beneath it.
"Consider it an early present."
A scream ripped from my throat — raw and ragged and filled with pure horror. I stumbled back, hands slamming over my mouth as bile surged up.
The box tipped sideways, and Owen’s head shifted inside it with a wet, sickening sound.
My vision swam. My knees gave out beneath me.
Security came running, voices shouting my name, but the sounds reached me as though from underwater. My chest seized and black spots swarmed the edges of my vision.
I gulped for air and found none — only the smell of blood, thick and everywhere.
"Miss Kellerman! Are you okay?!"
I hit the ground, my whole body shaking beyond my control. The last thing I saw before the darkness closed in was Owen’s lifeless eyes staring up at me.
