Secretly Mine
Chapter 61: An Introduction and Promise [Christian POV]

Chapter 61: An Introduction and Promise [Christian POV]

I closed my eyes, doing my best to calm my thoughts.

The herbal tea that Jonathan brought was finally kicking in and helped soothe my spiraling thoughts.

I sat in the study until the first rays of sunlight began to filter in through the windows, absorbed in various documents and business contracts.

The best way to keep my mind off the nightmares was to keep my brain occupied with other things.

"Today is Sunday already. Maybe I should try to visit Leslie," I mumbled to myself as I placed the scattered documents back into the folder.

Immediately, my stomach tightened into a knot in protest. There was a new war inside of me; my heart wanted to see Leslie, yet my mind prevented me from visiting my mother’s killers on her death anniversary.

The contradicting emotions were so strong that I began to feel faint once more.

I’ll visit my mother’s grave first, then I’ll take things from there.

-

Jonathan arrived just as I stood up to go get dressed.

"Sir, I prepared the flowers. They’re on the table by the door." He looked at me closely, ensuring that I was doing okay.

"Thank you, Jonathan. I truly appreciate your efforts and concern," I replied with a smile. I truly meant the words I said. Jonathan has been an immense friend to me for many years now and has always been sensitive to my needs.

"Of course, sir. I’m glad I can be of use," he replied and left to return to his duties.

I went back up to my room, where I noticed that my sheets have already been changed to clean ones.

I hope Jonathan finds the love of his life soon. He deserves it.

Twenty minutes later, I came out, dressed in an all-black suit.

"I’m leaving. I’m not sure when I’ll be back, so don’t worry about lunch or dinner today," I said, walking past the kitchen, where Jonathan was making himself a cup of coffee.

He nodded, "Have a safe trip."

-

Today, I decided to take my low-key black car. The cemetery where my mother was buried was very small and out in the countryside.

On my way out, I grabbed the bouquet of white tulips, my mother’s favorite flower, and walked off to my car.

As I drove out of the city, I couldn’t help but enjoy the multicolored morning sky. The world seemed more peaceful in the morning, which made the drive enjoyable.

It took me almost an hour to make it over to the small cemetery. I smiled, seeing how well-kept it was as I stepped out of my car. One of the first purchases I made with my newfound wealth was upkeep on this cemetery.

My mother’s grave was towards the back, only a short walk from the parking lot. I held the bouquet of flowers and walked over to her white marble gravestone.

"Mom, I’m here. Jonathan helped me prepare your favorite flowers," I said as I placed the bouquet into an existing vase.

I pulled her photo out of my pocket and stood silently in front of the grave. Memories of her smiling face came flooding through, causing my eyes to water.

"I miss you, Mom."

There were so many moments in my adult life when I wished I had her guidance. She always had a solution for any problem, no matter how difficult.

Every year when I came here, I would give her an update on what was new in my life. However, today I hesitated slightly.

"Mom, I found someone whom I think I love. I’m scared to admit it due to my past experiences, but she’s a very kind person. The only thing...is that she’s a Moresi."

I carefully slid my fingers across her photo.

"I promise that I will deal with them. I’ll uncover their secrets and show the world what that family was built on...but Leslie, she’s not part of that."

Leslie’s smiling face appeared in my mind, and warmth spread through my chest. "I think you would have liked her. She has your warmth."

After standing in front of her grave for a little while longer, I felt the phone in my pocket vibrate.

[Hey, I know that today is an important day for you. If you need anything, let me know.]

But before I had a chance to reply, I received another text.

[We need to find a way inside the auction house. All of my efforts to get in were cut off immediately, and recently, there has been a good amount of movement there.]

My eyes widened. Why would there be action there? I don’t remember hearing any auction events planned.

It has to be it. I need to find a way in.

Closing my eyes for a moment, I thought of the best way to get in.

Leslie’s season launch will be the next big thing. I’ve already made my mind up to have it at the Moresi auction house, so this works out well.

I looked down at my mother’s gravestone one last time.

"Mom, I’ll avenge you. I promise."

-

The sun was fully in the sky by the time I made it back to my car. Zach’s texts reignited my fighting spirit.

Every time I heard a new piece of information about the Moresi auction house, the more suspicious of them I became.

On my drive back home, I thought about what sort of reasons the Moresis could have for having a lot of activity at their auction house, but nothing good came to mind.

I couldn’t hold it in anymore and decided to call Zach.

A few rings later, he picked up the phone.

"Hey, Christian."

"Zach, tell me more about what you saw at the auction house," I asked, straight to the point.

"So, I’ve been following that scary-looking guy you told me to tail last time. Well, it’s been three times now that he made a commute between the port and the auction house. Now, I’ve seen a large number of people going in and out of there, but no matter what I tried, I couldn’t get in."

I frowned, hearing that he frequented the port. A very bad feeling appeared, causing my stomach to turn.

"Good work, let me know if you find anything else. I’m going to have the Sophia season launch there. It should be happening shortly after I come home from my business trip."

"Sounds good. In the meantime, I’ll continue keeping my eye on that scary guy."

I hung up the phone and sped up, eager to set things up for this season’s launch.