"Hi, I am Jacob Richmond."
"Oh! Mr. Richmond, thank god you are here. She has wanted to talk to you ever since she gained consciousness. She had a minor head injury, but we stitched her up. Physically, she is fine. But I think mentally; she is traumatized".
"Thanks, doctor. I will go speak to her now."
"Yes. Just be easy on her, it's still all very overwhelming."
"Sure."
I entered the room and saw her head wrapped in a white bandage and an IV drip attached to her left hand.
"Hey! How are you?" I slowly walked to her bedside.
"Jake. Where the hell have you been? I have been asking to meet you since last night." She immediately sat straight and extended her hand in my direction.
I reluctantly took her hand and stood close to her. She hugged me by my waist and started crying.
"I am so scared, Jake. Dad thinks somebody tried to kill me. I don't want to die." She wept inconsolably, holding me in a tight embrace.
"Relax Erica. You are safe now. Nobody can hurt you here. We will get to the bottom of this."
"I don't know Jake. As soon as I got back from Norway, I felt I was being followed. I tried calling you a dozen times in the past 2-3 days, but you didn't pick any of my calls; then Augustin told me that you are not in the city."
I felt a bit guilty for avoiding her calls. I didn't know she was in trouble, but I was with Emma, and I did not want to upset her thinking about Erica. She already thought Erica was my girlfriend.
"I am sorry, Erica. I was attending a personal matter."
"I needed you, Jake, and then this happened." She whimpered, her skin looked so pale, defeat and fear were donning her face.
"Do you want to talk about the accident? What happened?"
"Can you just hold me for a while first? I really can use a hug." I couldn't help but nod at her request, and she just took a deep breath while still having her arms wrapped around me as her head rest on my chest.
After a while, I saw her eyes; she was feeling dizzy. It was either due to the medicines or because she was exhausted, but clearly, her eyelids were drooping, exhibiting her exhaustion.
"Hey, just take some rest, everything will be fine, alright."
"No, I don't want you to leave, please."
"I am not leaving. I will wait here. Just go ahead and take a nap". I said softly, trying to coax her to allow her body to rest.
She finally nodded in agreement and lied down on her bed comfortably. Usually, Erica was the one who had everything under her control. Right now, this woman in front of me was weak and vulnerable; I felt sad for her. No matter how arrogant she was, she still didn't deserve this.
Nobody deserved to die at somebody else's hand. I quietly exited her room, making sure she wasn't disturbed. I met Augustin in the waiting area outside.
"What happened Augustin?"
"She met with an accident. Her car breaks failed and then she ran into a black Mazda. It's a miracle she didn't get hurt too bad."
"Break fail?" I was shocked.
"Yes, exactly, that is very disturbing, Jake. That's what I wanted to talk about". Augustin took me to the far corner of the corridor and whispered, ensuring he was audible only to me.
"There are way too many similarities between Erica's accident and your father's planned accident that led to his untimely demise."
I was numb, all I could do was nod, gesturing him
to continue.
"I have a hunch that Erica's accident may have something to do with the Richmond's, with you."
"With me? But why?"
"A lot of people think that you both are dating, probably she is a leverage against you, or has become a target to cause you harm."
"But what will they gain by hurting someone close to me?"
"I can't say for certain yet; maybe they want you to suffer or get distracted, I will look into this to know more," Augustin said while still in deep thoughts, trying to calculate the odds.
"Did we check the security footage at her car park and what about hiring bodyguards for her safety?"
"Ben Muriel has already taken care of that. As we speak, there are more than five guards deployed on this floor, all keeping a close watch on Erica. He is also investigating the matter."
"Of course! Erica is his only child."
I was perplexed, completely taken aback to see how dangerous this was getting. "Could this be related to the Windson's? They saw me together with her during the Norway deal. Did David Windson get to know that we have been investigating him behind his back?"
"I don't think there could be a leak about our deal with their ex-employee, very few people know about it," Augustin replied immediately.
However, he paused for a bit, and then continued, "But you might be right. Maybe this is his way of warning you."
"Where are we with the Windson's? When is our contact providing us with the evidence?" I was now pacing back and forth, I had to take all necessary measures, and that too sooner than later.
"Coming Saturday, I will arrange for a meeting. You stay put; we may have to fly out on Friday."
"I have a bad feeling about David Windson. Make sure we are discrete. I don't want to alarm him". My hands were now rubbing my temple.
"Me too. What do you suggest?" Augustin gave me an earnest look.
"I am going to take that bastard down. To begin with, I am going to file a million-dollar lawsuit against him by slapping him with corruption and bribery charges." I pondered for a minute before answering, "If we can
