BOUND BY CONTRACT: Billionaire's Obsession

The sound of glass shattering was followed by a loud, ear piercing scream. The maid’s eyes were wide open, a look of horror painted across her face. Abigail remained still, unperturbed by the scream and the sight before her. She looked down at her pale hands, which had been tainted with blood.

On the bed laid her grandmother. She would have passed for someone who was taking a nap, in fact, Abigail had thought she was sleeping. Except that her skin had lost color, cold to touch. And a knife was buried in her chest.

Abigail recognized the knife. It was the same one the old woman used to slice her apples, cutting into different shapes.

No, no, no… she kept telling herself. It could not be real. It was definitely one of her bad nightmares that she would soon wake up from.

Just moments ago, she had spoken to the woman on the phone, and she had invited her over.

Earlier….

Abigail let out a small sigh, as she looked down at watch on her wrist. She clicked her tongue at the inconvenience. Her business meeting was in the next ten minutes, but there she was standing by the door of her fiance’s house, holding a cake she had bought last minute.

The door let out a ping when she punched in the code, opening for her. Abigail walked in, the sound of her heels clicking against the floor the only thing that could be heard.

“I should have told him I was coming”, Abigail muttered. But then that would have ruined the surprise her grandmother had forced her to plan. It was Caleb’s birthday, a day she could not have bothered herself with nothing less than a wish. And maybe if she had time, they would go out for dinner.

However, her grandmother, Felicia, was insistent on her playing the role of a loving fiancee. 

Abigail dropped the box on the table. She fished out her phone from her bag, and tried to dial her fiancé’s number, whom she saved as Mr. Cooper. Her brows drew together, when she heard the phone ringing.

Abigail turned her head, stopping when she caught sight of the phone lying on the couch. She picked it up and ended the call herself, looking around the place. It was then she noticed that the dining table was occupied. A half-eaten cake, two bottles of wine, and two glasses, one smeared with lipstick.

“Well someone has been celebrating”, Abigail muttered, her frosty blue eyes scanning the dining table. If his phone was in the living room, then it meant Caleb was home.

Abigail walked towards his room. She tilted her head when she saw a flimsy red dress, lying on the floor beside a shattered piece of vase. Abigail quickly put the pieces together, into a fact that her fiancé was cheating on her.

Her brows shot up, a look of annoyance crossing her face. She was more surprised than hurt by the discovery. They had been ‘dating’ for a year, engaged for three months. 

Due to her complicated condition, she had given Caleb the freedom to sleep with other women, one which he refused. Why do it behind her back when she had opened the relationship for him? 

Curious, Abigail opened the door. She walked inside the room, her eyes set on two people sleeping on the bed, obviously naked under the covers. However, that was not what made her freeze. It was the fact that she recognized the woman lying with Caleb.

The bag she held dropped on the floor, startling the young man on the bed. His eyes twitched, only to widen when he saw who was standing in front of him. He made to jump from the bed, but realizing he was naked, he sat with the blanket wrapped around him.

“Abigail”, he called softly, swallowing nervously. His movements woke Selena, who was lying beside him. She gasped when she saw Abigail, covering her chest which had been exposed.

“Seriously, Caleb?” Abigail asked, her expression blank. Her cold, blue eyes moved to her cousin, who was watching her cautiously. Abigail watched her for a while, then let out a sigh. She bent down to pick up her bag from the floor.

“Abigail wait…” Anthony called, trying to leave with the blanket wrapped around him, but Selena dragged it from him, covering her body.

“For what?” Abigail asked, tilting her head to the side in question.

Though Abigail could not say she and Caleb were as close as two engaged people were to be, he was the only man in her life whom she could call a friend. Sleeping with another woman was not the issue, but the fact that he did it with her cousin of all people made her chest burn with anger. 

The betrayal hurt her more than she wanted to admit. 

“I… made a mistake. Let’s… we need to talk about this”, Caleb licked his lips nervously.

“A mistake?” Selena asked, looking at Caleb with a bemused look. “I thought you said you loved me”, Selena said, with a hurt expression.  

“I never said that!” Caleb denied forcefully, sending Selene a scathing look. 

Abigail raised a brow at him. It did not matter whether Selena was telling the truth or not. 

Selena’s eyes turned teary at Caleb’s words. However, when he turned to look at Abigail, her lips pulled up into a smirk.

If Abigail noticed the smug look on her face, she did not show it, as she continued to stare hard at Caleb. She had never expected anything from Selena, and somewhat, she was not surprised that she would try to sleep with her fiancé. However, Caleb was another issue.

Clenching her jaw, Abigail turned around and left the room, ignoring Caleb who was calling her name. On her way out, she pulled off the ring and let it slip from her hand. Her steps quickened till she reached her car. Inside, Abigail took a deep breath.

Her phone rang, disrupting the silence in the car. It was her grandmother, Felicia calling. She answered the call.

“Have you done what I asked of you?” Asked the old woman from the other end.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to call off my engagement grandma”, Abigail said.

There was silence for a moment, before Felicia asked, “What happened?”

“Caleb is… sleeping with Selene”, Abigail said, starting her car. “I walked in on them”, she added.

“Oh dear”, Felicia exclaimed. “Can you come over?” She asked.

“Sure”, Abigail agreed, Felicia ended the call.

Abigail had gone to her grandmother’s home, told the maid to bring her a cup of orange juice while she walked upstairs to her room. She knocked but no one answered. Worried and confused, Abigail had entered the room, only to see that the old woman was lying on her bed with the quilt over her body.

Having received no response from trying to wake her, Abigail had pulled Felicia, only to notice blood on her hands. And then the familiar knife buried deep in her chest.

Now….

The incidents that happened after that felt like a blur to Abigail. The police arriving, her being ushered out of the room and into the car. All the while she was accompanied into the police station, Abigail was hoping she would soon wake up from whatever nightmare she was having.

“Miss Rivera!” Abigail flinched, when her name was called for the third time. She looked at the detective in front of her.

“Look I know you are still in shock from everything that has happened, but I need you to answer my questions”, he said, his voice rather gentle compared to his buff and intimidating statue.

Abigail looked down at her perfectly manicured nails, and then she clenched her hands into a fist. Her lips trembled, as realization washed over her. She was neither dreaming nor hallucinating. Her grandmother was dead, murdered. A whimper escaped her lips.

“I will give you more time to calm down”, said the man, noticing Abigail become paler.

“I thought she was sleeping. When I walked in, she was… already gone”, Abigail said, remembering the feeling of her cold skin and wetness of blood on her hands.

“You were the one she spoke to on the phone last”, he said, observing her.

“Probably. We did speak over the phone, as she had asked me to come over”, said Abigail, taking deep breaths, as though it would help calm the ache that was building in her chest.

After series of questions, Abigail was finally allowed to leave the police station, as there was no evidence to detain her for Felicia’s murder. The knife did not have her finger prints, as she had not touched it. The time the security camera caught her walking into the room and the maid walking in, was too narrow for her to have killed the woman.

Abigail tried to start her car, but with trembling hands, the key slipped. She held on to the steering wheel, and lowered her head, a sob breaking through her lips. Her body shook violently as she cried out loud, tears falling freely from her eyes.

Memories of her time with Felicia flashed through her mind, making her cry harder. The only person she had, had been snatched away from her in such a brutal manner. With no one around to see or comfort her, Abigail cried her heart out.

Her phone rang, interrupting the moment. Abigail abruptly stopped crying. She wiped her tears, and picked up the phone. Her entire face turned cold when she saw who it was. Her aunt, Caroline. After watching it ring, Abigail turned off her phone.

As she started her car and driving out of the police station, the pain slowly vanished, turning into unrestrained anger. At the monster who murdered her grandmother, and at her so called family who were anticipating the moment the old woman would die. While she knew they were not particularly fond of her, she also knew they would never try to murder her. Then who did?

Abigail’s mind spiraled in different directions as she thought of the possible reason why anyone would want her grandmother dead. And to do it in such a way that there was no evidence left at the scene. No one to point fingers at.

However, it did not deter Abigail’s resolve to catch the culprit. She had never had murderous thoughts about anyone in her life, up until that point. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened.

Abigail was merely driving on the road, over a long bridge, with no destination in mind with her speed over the recommended limit.

Her eyes widened when she saw a car running towards her with speed, from nowhere. Her heart pumped wildly against her chest, as she maneuvered the wheel, tires scraping over asphalt. A scream tore through her throat, as her car spun around.

Abigail’s car stopped abruptly, her head hitting the steering wheel on impact. She let out a groan, raising her head. Blood trickled down her forehead, her vision blurry for a moment. With eyes squinted, she looked through the window of her car. The other black car that had crashed into her had hit the bridge, smoke coming out from it.

“Shit”, Abigail cursed under her breath. As far as she knew, her car was still in good condition. She stepped out, her legs slightly wobbly.

Standing in front of the car whose windows were tinted, she knocked on it. However, there was no response.

Abigail tried to open the door of the car, but it seemed to be locked from the inside.

“Hello”, Abigail called out loudly, banging her fist on the window.

“Dammit”, she muttered. There was no response, which meant that the person might not be conscious. Just as she was looking around for something she could use to break into the car, the door clicked open.

Abigail let out a sigh of relief. She pulled the door open widely, and a man nearly fell out but she held quickly on to his broad shoulders. There was blood all over his forehead, and he seemed barely conscious. However, Abigail was still able to recognize his face. How could she not recognize the face of one of the most influential men in her country?

“Alistair Alvarez”, she muttered.