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Chapter 157: Ash And Smoke.
Chapter 157: Ash And Smoke.
“What do you mean, set on fire?” Thomas said in a loud voice, but underneath his tone, Silas could hear the panic.
Wade swallowed and wiped sweat from his brow. “Your house… it was…” He trailed off, glancing away.
Silas’s stomach churned as Wade’s words settled inside him.
Fire. At Thomas’s house.
Only one person was capable. Only one name came to mind–Rosie.
He quickly moved to his brother, trying to offer some comfort, to ease whatever storm was brewing inside Thomas. He studied Thomas’s face and watched as confusion
etched on it.
Thomas shook his head, his mouth twisted in disbelief. “What are you talking about?”
Before Wade could repeat himself, a woman joined them.
“Hello, sir,” she greeted, her eyes shifting nervously.
Thomas’s confusion turned into irritation as he faced her. “Detective. What’s this news I just heard?”
Silas watched as the detective blinked rapidly, forcing a smile that didn’t reach her
eyes.
“I apologize… about your wife escaping. We’re doing everything we can to get her back and prosecute her,” she said with a sheepish smile, like someone who wasn’t used to failure.
Thomas stepped forward, pointing a finger at her. His face darkened. “How did that even happen? She was in a police station, for heaven’s sake! How did she escape?” The woman’s cheeks turned bright pink. “We don’t know exactly how yet, but—”
Thomas scoffed.
“-we’re working to find her. I have my best officers on it.”
Thomas went silent, his expression clouded with distress. Silas stepped forward, addressing the detective. “How soon can she be found?”
She turned to him. “All available units are already searching. You have nothing to worry about.”
But Silas knew better. He had every reason to worry
Successfully unlocked!
Rosie had done horrible, unbelievable things over the past few months, things he hadn‘ t wanted to believe she could. And now she had escaped from the one place that was
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supposed to keep her away from all of them.
Fear gripped him, tightening in his chest, but he pushed it away. He couldn’t afford to show it not with Thomas barely holding together.
She was out there, and he was a hundred percent certain she was behind the fire. The thought doubled his fear and he shuddered.
Thomas looked at him, and he tried to hide his worry with a small smile.
“We want to believe you’re working on it, Detective,” Wade said, his own fear painted bright on his face.
“We are,” the detective nodded, though Silas could see she was barely holding it together herself. “And we’re also investigating the fire to prevent it from escalating further. In the meantime, we would like you all to keep an eye out and contact us immediately if—”
“The fire?” Thomas interrupted, his brows furrowed. “What fire?”
Wade and the detective exchanged a quick glance, before looking at Silas as if silently urging him to explain.
Silas sighed, his stomach twisting. How the hell was he supposed to say this out loud?
He swallowed. His voice caught before he managed, “Wade… said your house… was on fire.”
Thomas snapped his head toward him, his eyes narrowed. “Are you saying Rosie is responsible?”
Silas looked at Wade, hoping he would take over, but it was the detective who spoke instead.
“We’re… just working on guesses,” she said cautiously. “Rosie escaped, and then your… house… caught fire. We assume there’s a connection, but…” she trailed off.
Thomas shook his head. “Take me home, Si.” Then, he turned to the detective, “You better find that woman!”
Silas immediately turned toward the exit, but then he saw Mason walking out the door with an older man. Quickly, he stepped in front of Thomas, blocking his view until he was sure Mason was out, then he forced a calm smile.
“Ready?”
Thomas nodded.
“I’m coming with you,” Wade said.
The three of them exited the station. Fortunately, most of the reporters had followed Mason to his car, giving them enough space to slip into their cars unnoticed.
“Who’s that?” Thomas asked as he entered the car.
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“No idea,” Silas lied, climbing in beside him.
Now wasn’t the time to talk about Mason, especially not with Thomas in this state. But Silas couldn’t shake the questions in his mind.
Why did Mason leave the station? Uncle Mike had told him Mason had been arrested.
Was he free now? Was he working with Rosie again?
He had no answers, but the thoughts terrified him. He pushed them aside, focusing on
Thomas.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly.
“Yes,” Thomas replied, but Silas could tell he was lying.
Silas sighed, his heart aching. “You know I’m always here if you need to talk.”
“Yeah,” Thomas muttered, turning to stare out the window.
The gesture crushed his heart but he refused to show it. Thomas wasn’t opening up anymore and it was unbearable.
Silas’s phone dinged, and he reached for it. He frowned when he saw that it was another message from Rachel.
‘Mr. Stone, I sincerely apologize for my actions. Please, sir, it will never happen again.‘
Annoyance surged through him and he replied:
‘Text me again and you’ll regret it.’
He sent it, blocked the number, leaned back in his seat, and looked over at Thomas
who seemed so out of it.
“We’re here,” Victor said as he brought the car to a stop.
Silas looked out the window. “Oh shit.”
Thomas’s house was almost unrecognizable. Smoke rose from the roof, the rest of the building was blackened, charred.
Even from where Victor had parked, Silas could smell the acrid sting of smoke in the
air.
Firefighters were still working, their hoses blasting water at the remaining flames.
It was chaotic everywhere. Some of Thomas’s staff were scattered around, coughing, crying, clinging to each other in despair.
Silas’s stomach twisted at the sight as he approached Thomas.
“You… think Rosie is capable of this?” Thomas asked, his voice cracking.
Silas didn’t have the heart to answer, so he just reached for Thomas’s hand.
How the hell was he supposed to tell this man that his wife of many years was trying
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to ruin him?
As they neared the ruins, a firefighter in full outfit approached.
“Good morning, Mr. Stone,” he greeted, facing Thomas. “I’m-”
“What happened here?” Thomas interrupted, his eyes locked on what remained of his house.
“Fire,” the man replied. “But we stopped it in time. Only half of the house was affected.” He said it like it was good news.
Wade joined them, the worry still sitting on his face. “Do you know what caused it? Were you able to identify the source?”
“Not yet,” the firefighter replied, “but we can confirm the origin was internal.”
So Rosie was inside?
“How the fuck did she get in without anyone seeing her?” Thomas asked, voicing the same thought running through Silas’s head.
“Any casualties?” Wade asked before the fireman could say anything about Thomas’s questions.
“Three,” the firefighter answered. “One person was seriously injured, the other two were not so bad, but all of them have been taken to the hospital.”
“Fuck!” Thomas growled, swinging his fists in the air.
Silas moved to him. “Easy now.”
But Thomas was beyond calming. He stomped away, screaming at the sky. Wade and
Silas rushed after him.
“Calm down, please,” Silas urged, his own voice trembling.
“Let’s find you somewhere to sit,” Wade added.
Thomas shook his head, moving away from them. “I’m fine. I just… I need to find Rosie. We need to find her.”
Silas looked at Wade, who was doing an awful job keeping it together too.
“Detective-‘
A loud crash from the house cut Wade off before he could finish.
“What was that?” Thomas asked.
“Excuse me,” the firefighter said, dashing toward the house.
They turned to see the left side of the house collapsing into a cloud of ash and smoke. Silas’s heart dropped.
Thomas groaned, gripping his head, but before Silas could reach him, Thomas’s phone
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rang.
“What?” he barked into the phone, and then froze. “Keep her there.”
Silas raised a brow as Thomas ended the call. “What is it?”
Thomas’s eyes lit with determination. “Rosie was found in my office. We’re going there.’
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