Husband With Benefits
Chapter 162: Not A Trap?

As Lara stood there, unsure of the man with Demetri Frost’s face, Erasmi spoke calmly, his tone oozing confidence, "I know you must have many questions, but do you really need the answers? We have a common goal. You want to end Nora and I want to end my enemy. Only then can I get my rightful place back. So...trust me."

Lara Anderson hesitated, her distrust warring with her desperation. Her mind raced as she considered the implications of this unusual alliance with this strange man. She’d already guessed his intentions to replace himself with Demetri once the man was dead.

This also meant that this alliance could be useful in the future as well. Later, she could force this man to cooperate with her by threatening him that she would reveal his real identity.

In the end, the urgency of the situation and the possibility of future gains swayed her and she conceded," Fine. But you better not be lying to me."

Erasmi nodded, his cold eyes never leaving Lara’s. He could see the madness in her eyes and wondered how she was even able to live among normal society for this long. "I’ll prove my intentions. Let’s go to where Nora is, and then we can work together."

***

Demetri looked down at the phone in his hand, his happiness warring with intense pain. Never had he imagined that the day he had been waiting for over a decade would come in such a way. Should he be happy that Erasmi had recovered or should he curse the fates for his untimely return? And to think that the moment he had returned, he’d gone straight to Nora. It was what made him even more worried.

Quietly, he drove the car towards the location that had been sent while everyone’s voices echoed through the phone’s speaker since they had now been updated of the situation and were already gathering information about when Erasmi had recovered to this extent.

Ever since finding his existence, they’d all been visiting him every week and though they were sometimes sent back after being told that he was not in a good condition, they had seen him sitting motionless for a long time as well.

The question here was not just when Erasmi had recovered but why had he hidden everything while continuing to fool them.

"Demon, have you tried calling Erasmi on the number from which you received the location?" Gabe spoke quietly.

"No. He’s already disposed off the number. But it doesn’t matter. Nora’s GPS is showing the same location so she is definitely there."

"Demon, Erasmi’s condition is too delicate, and we have no idea of his intentions. Are you sure it is a good idea for you to go there alone without assessing the situation?"

"I don’t have a choice, Ian. That is what Erasmi wants."

"I don’t think Erasmi will hurt Nora. He is our brother... He won’t, would he?"

Lucien’s hesitant question was met with silence.

"Demon, we can deal with Erasmi’s intentions later. For now, we have to focus on rescuing Nora. Even if you have to let these people escape, do it, Demon. We’ll catch them again." Seb spoke quietly, echoing Demetri’s thoughts.

"That is the plan for now. I am about to reach. I’ll contact you later."

***

As they ventured deeper into the dense forest, a growing sense of unease washed over Lara. She had agreed to trust this man, but the feeling of uncertainty continued to gnaw at her. Finally, she couldn’t bear the silence any longer and broke it with a question.

"How far is Nora from here?" she inquired; her voice tinged with anxiety.

"Not far now. We’re almost there," he replied smoothly.

Lara eyed him with suspicion, her instincts warning her that something was amiss. Her gaze narrowed, and she decided to confront the man whose face mirrored her enemy’s. "Why do you hate Demetri Frost so much? What has he done to you? And why do you look like him?"

"I don’t hate him. I just hope to take him out of the picture. What about you? Why do you hate your daughters so much? You’ve done everything to kill the elder two while doing the opposite to save your youngest. It cannot have just been money. And what about the man? Sara’s father? You are a widow why is he not with you openly?"

Lara looked at the man in alarm. He knew too much about her life. This man was too dangerous. Her brain warned her that instead of planning to help him get rid of Demetri, it would be safer for her to kill him right now, once she had Nora in her grasp.

"Those two girls are the ones responsible for ruining my life! They are sentences of my life imprisonment instead of my flesh and blood! Because of Nellie, I had to marry that man and stay with him. And then just when I found real true love and would have left that odious man, he forced me into having Nora, so that our marriage would be saved! As if I would let him hold me captive! Nora should never have been born! I tried so much to kill her but she is like a fox with a hundred lives! My Sara on the other hand is a result of my love. My lover was my husband’s accountant. When my husband discovered our affair, he put him behind bars under false charges. He was only released a few years ago..."

Erasmi listened to her words carefully, his expression inscrutable. He understood the depth of Lara’s bitterness, and also how that bitterness had consumed all her rationality.

Soon, she could see a small light glowing in the distance and this time, Erasmi gestured her towards the door," Your gift is there."

As he said that they marched forward, the glow of a moving light in the distance letting them know that a car was heading towards them.

"It seems like you other gifts are also here, Miss Lara. Would you like to see your beloved daughter first or get rid of Nora first."

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