Chapter 328: An Investigation
"So, what did you find?" Cadence asked his assistant as he stared at the man.
His assistant cleared his throat, hesitated, then stepped forward. His hands were clasped behind his back, but his shoulders were too stiff for it to seem casual. Cadence gave a amused smirk. The man was too scared of him even now.
"Sir... there were indeed two women in the car at the time of the accident."
Cadence said nothing, even as his eyebrows raised. He’d thought that Melody was being ridiculous by insisting that she was not Melody but Melanie. But if there were indeed two women with the same face.... Cadence remained seated, eyes focused on the paperweight spinning slowly beneath his fingers. The only sound in the room was the faint tick of the antique clock on the wall and his assistant’s slight trembling as he continued.
"Our men had been staking outside her home when they received news of her leaving. But they couldn’t confirm which door she had entered. The angle was off. They saw her approach the car, but whether she got into the driver’s side or the passenger’s, they weren’t able to see. And form what I understand they didn’t focus much on that, intent on only following her.
He shifted slightly.
"When the accident was staged, the goal had been simple- to make it look like a robbery gone wrong with the people kidnapping Melody as the hostage. A quick job. No questions. But..."
Cadence’s hand stilled. The paperweight stopped spinning.
"Since, there were two women, both with the same face. Same build. Same hair. The men didn’t expect that and got confused. It is why, in a hurry and panicked, they grabbed both the women and hauled them to the car.. One of them lost consciousness in the crash. The other was conscious... barely. They questioned her. Asked her name. And whehn she said her name was Melanie, they robbed her and roughed her up a bit and then threw her out of the car, bringing Melody with them.
Cadence looked up then. Just a slow lift of the eyes, calm and unreadable.