One Night Stand With Alexander Blackwood-Chapter 53 — Fifty-three

Alexander didn’t think too much about Rhea’s appearance. Apart from recalling terrible memories, he slept peacefully, even dreaming about Serena.

But Rhea didn’t feel that way. When she arrived at her home, she walked straight to her room, ignoring her parents who had been waiting for her.

Once she was in her room, she fished out her phone. She dialed a number and it didn’t take long before the call was picked up.

"I want every information on Serena Wilson." Her hands gripped a fistful of her sheets.

"How much are you willing to pay?" The person on the other end of the phone asked lazily.

Rhea took a deep breath. It took everything in her to not lash out.

"How much do you want to be paid?" She asked instead.

"Five." The person replied.

"It’s just information about an unimportant girl. Why charge that much?" Rhea screamed, surprised by the large fee. In her opinion, Serena was just a girl beside Alexander who could be discarded anytime. Why didn’t she have to pay that much just to get information on her?

"Are you paying or not? If not, I can hang up." The man said.

"Wait." Rhea stopped him. "Fine, I’ll pay." She could only give in. She needed more information on Serena for her plan to be successful.

She immediately wired the money to the man.

"Your information will be delivered in two days." He assured. "Nice doing business with you again."

Rhea didn’t reply but directly hung up. She then deleted evidence that could implicate her.

Her lips slowly curved as her thoughts drifted to Jessica. She crossed her arms, thinking to herself. "Alexander is mine. No one is allowed to take him away from him."

The night passed by eventless. Everyone went to bed peacefully, all except Thomas.

He was seated in his study, eyes fixated on a picture..

"Leonora," he started, tracing the line of the picture. The picture was of a beautiful woman. If one looked closer, they could see that Alexander bore an uncanny resemblance to her. But no one paid attention to this, treating it as ’coincidence.’

"I failed our son." He wailed, tears escaping from his eyes. "I made him lose 5% of shares."

Then, Thomas wiped his tears. "But you don’t have to worry. Our son won’t have to suffer for the rest of his life. Once the time is right, I’d introduce him to the world as the son of the woman I love."

"Be rest assured, okay?" He vowed, determination crossing his eyes..

What he didn’t know was that Grace was watching him from the small crack in the door.

She smirked. "Very well. You had better keep your word. I wonder how you’d feel when you find out that the son you think you had with Leonora isn’t yours."

She laughed softly before walking away as though she wasn’t there.

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Serena woke up gloomy. She rubbed her eyes, then took a deep breath.

Today wasn’t a good day for her. It was her mother’s death anniversary.

When she walked into the dining room, Mama looked at the dark expression on her face, and she sighed.

"Are you going to visit your mom today?" She asked carefully.

On this day, every year, Serena would be extremely irritable. Her mother’s death had always been a shadow in her heart.

Having lost her mother at a very young age, and not experiencing motherly love, Serena dreaded this day.

She took a deep breath before nodding.

"Here, have a toast." Mama pushed a plate towards her.

"I’m not hungry." She said with a clipped tone, then pushed it away.

"Your mom would want you to eat. Rather, she would not want you to starve yourself because of her." Mama advised, her voice low.

Tears gathered in Serena’s eyes. "W-why did she have to die?" She sniffed, trying to clean her eyes, but the more she did so, the more her tears fell.

Mama sighed. She walked to Serena, then embraced her.

"Mama, I miss her." She sobbed, wetting Mama’s dress with her tears.

Mama said nothing, only rubbing her hair. Her eyes stung with tears as well while shd listened to Serena sob..

After a considerable amount of time, Serena felt better. She disengaged from the embrace, and muttered shyly.

"I wet your clothes." She pointed out, while covering her face.

"Silly girl." Mama shook her head. "Your mom would be proud of the woman you’ve become."

Serena forced a smile. "I should visit her. It’s been a long time since I’ve visited her."

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The cemetery was quiet, wrapped in a solemn stillness that felt heavier than usual. Serena knelt before the gravestone, brushing off fallen leaves with trembling fingers.

"Mom..." her voice cracked. She swallowed, forcing the words out. "I’m sorry I didn’t come earlier. Life’s been... complicated."

A cold breeze swept past, rustling the trees. Serena hugged herself, lowering her head.

"I wish you were here," she whispered. "There are days I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing anymore."

She placed the flowers gently at the base of the stone and closed her eyes. For a moment, she allowed herself to imagine her mother’s warm smile, the comfort she never had long enough to remember. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

Footsteps echoed behind her.

Serena stiffened.

She turned slightly, expecting another visitor, but the path was empty.

Her heartbeat quickened.

’Maybe I’m just imagining things,’ she thought, shaking her head. She rose to her feet, dusting off her skirt.

That was when a sharp sting pierced her neck.

Serena gasped, spinning around, but a strong arm clamped over her mouth. Her scream was swallowed whole.

"Don’t fight," a rough voice muttered near her ear.

Her vision blurred almost instantly. Panic surged as her limbs weakened, strength draining from her body faster than she could comprehend.

’Mom,’ was the last thought that crossed her mind.

The world tilted.

Serena collapsed, her body going limp as darkness consumed her.

Moments later, a black van pulled up silently beside the path. Two figures moved with practiced efficiency, lifting her unconscious form inside.

Then they dialed a number.

"Miss... it’s been done."

The doors then shut, hiding Serena from the outside world.

The cemetery returned to its silence, as though nothing had happened at all.

Only the flowers remained. It was untouched, resting at the foot of her mother’s grave.