One Wild Night

Chapter 924  A Friend

Jeff paced his hotel room, his mind a storm of worry and fear. He hadn't heard from Mia since their last conversation, and each passing minute felt like an eternity.

He replayed her words over and over, the anxiety gnawing at him relentlessly. Frustrated, he tossed the phone onto the couch and ran a hand through his hair.

Sick with worry, Jeff finally decided he couldn't wait any longer. He picked up his phone and dialed Tom's number disregarding the fact that it was late at night over there in Ludus. n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

His heart pounded as he waited for an answer. "Tom, sorry to disturb you so late in the night," he said urgently when Tom picked up. "Have you heard from Mia? I can't get in touch with her, and I'm losing my mind here."

Gruff

Tom's voice was gruff with exhaustion since he had only just gone to bed, "I understand. Call Barry. He knows what's going on. He will explain everything."

"Barry?" Jeff repeated, a flicker of hope igniting. "Alright, I will call him. Thanks, Tom. Sorry for disturbing your sleep once," Jeff apologized as he hung up.

Jeff quickly dialed Barry's number, his fingers trembling. After a few rings, Barry answered.

"Barry, it's Jeff. I need to know what's happening with Mia. Is she okay?"

Barry's voice was calm. "Yes. Mia is at home now. She's safe. We managed to get her away from Henry."

"Henry took her? What happened?" Jeff asked and Barry calmly explained everything to him.

Relief flooded Jeff, and he sagged against the wall. "Thank God. Thank you, Barry. I will head over there now."

Without wasting another second, Jeff grabbed his room key and rushed out the door. The drive to Mia's house felt agonizingly slow, but he finally arrived, his heart pounding with anticipation.

He hurried up the steps and knocked on the door, trying to calm his racing thoughts.

The door opened to reveal Mia's father, Robert, his expression wary and tense. "Can I help you?"

Jeff took a deep breath. "Mr. Lawson, I'm Vanessa's friend. I need to see her," Jeff explained and Robert let him in.

"Vanessa is indisposed right now, so you can't see her," Robert said, his brows pulled together as he tried to place Jeff's face and why he looked so familiar.

Maria, who was seated in the living room, raised her head when Jeff walked in, and she recognized him instantly, "Aren't you one of Henry's domestic staff? What are you doing here?"

Recognition flickered in Robert's eyes, followed by a surge of anger. "You work for Henry? Get out of here. We don't want anyone associated with that man near our daughter."

"Please," Jeff implored, his voice breaking with desperation. "I'm not associated with him. Just tell Vanessa I'm here. I'm sure she would want to see me. If she doesn't want to see me, I will leave."

Robert's eyes narrowed. "I said, get out. If you don't leave now, I'll make you." Robert threatened.

"Please leave. Our daughter has been through enough in one day. We don't want any more drama for her," Maria pleaded.

Desperate, Jeff shouted, "Vanessa! Vanessa, are you in there? Please, come down!"

Robert's face turned red with fury. He grabbed Jeff by the collar and began pushing him toward the door. "I told you to leave!"

Jeff struggled, calling out again. "Vanessa! Please, I need to see you!"

Upstairs, curled up in her bed, Mia's sobs were interrupted by a familiar voice. At first, she thought she was imagining it, but when she heard it again, she sat up, her heart racing.

She hurried out of her room and rushed down the stairs when she heard the voices. When she reached the foot of the stairs, she saw her father push Jeff.

"Dad, stop!" she cried out, her voice shaky. "Stop it!"

Robert froze, his grip on Jeff loosening. Mia ran to Jeff, throwing her arms around him and bursting into tears. Jeff held her tightly, his own eyes moist with relief.

"Mia," he whispered, his voice choked with emotion. "I'm so glad you're okay."

Mia clung to him, sobbing into his shoulder. "Jeff, I was so scared. I didn't know what to do."

Robert and Maria exchanged a look, confusion, and concern etched on their faces. "What's going on here?" Robert demanded, his tone softer but still stern.

Before any of them could answer, Diana walked in through the still-open door, her eyes widening in surprise at the scene before her.

"Vanessa? Josh?" Diana called, and immediately Mia and Josh separated when they heard her voice.

"Diana?" Mia said, her voice tinged with shock as she looked from Diana to Jeff.

Diana's gaze shifted from Mia to Jeff, her expression unreadable. "Josh? What are you doing here?"

Jeff gently pulled away from Mia, though he kept a protective arm around her. "I came to see her. I needed to make sure she was okay."

Diana nodded slowly, "Did you two know each other? You don't exactly seem like you're mere acquaintances," She observed, her tone tinged with suspicion.

"Why are you here?" Maria asked Diana with a frown.

"I'm here to check on Vanessa, to find out how she is doing," Diana explained, looking away from Jeff and Mia.

"Why do you care? Are you not Henry's mistress? Did he send you here?" Robert asked and Mia stepped away from Jeff to Diana.

"We are all on the same side," Mia said softly, causing her parents to frown.

"And Josh too?" Diana asked suspiciously, glancing at Jeff.

Although Jeff had not meant for his cover to be blown, he nodded, "Yes."

"I don't understand what's going on, but I think we all need to sit down. You all go to the living room. I will get snacks and some tea," Maria said as she shut the door and headed for the kitchen with her husband while the others headed to the living room.

"Who are you?" Diana asked Jeff once they were seated, "And how long have you known each other?" Diana asked Mia.

Jeff and Mia exchanged a look, not sure what or how much to reveal to her, but Jeff figured that since she now knew he was close to Mia, he couldn't deny it. The best he could do was not to make any slips.

"We met for the first time when I started working in the house. We became friends…"

"How? I don't understand. Who are you?" she narrowed her eyes when something suddenly occurred to her.

"Are you the one I've been speaking with over the phone? You asked me to let go of the former chef so you could come in, didn't you?" Diana asked, and Jeff shook his head.

"I think you are focusing on the wrong thing. It doesn't matter who I am or how I got here. What matters is that we are on the same team," Jeff said, and Mia nodded, understanding what Jeff was doing.

Diana sighed, "So, why did you come into the house? What was your plan?" Diana asked as Maria and Robert returned.

"I wanted to find something I could use against Henry. But then I realized that the security in the house was too much and I couldn't do anything. I wanted to leave but when I saw how she was being treated I felt really bad and decided to hang around for her sake to make sure she doesn't get hurt," Jeff lied.

Diana frowned since his explanation wasn't really making sense to her, but before she could ask any more questions, Robert spoke, "I'm sorry for treating you that way earlier. I had no idea you were looking out for my daughter."

"No. It's okay. I understand. I appreciate that if it wasn't me you would have kept away any threats from her," Jeff rushed to assure him.

"Thank you very much for looking out for my daughter," Maria said as she handed him a cup of tea while Mia looked at Diana with interest.

"Won't Henry be mad that you came to see me?" Mia asked, wanting to check if Diana knew that Henry was missing.

"He isn't in any position to be mad at anyone right now. I just want to know what happened. I heard from your parents that he took you earlier, and then I saw him in a hilarious state. How did that happen?" Diana asked, looking at Mia curiously.

"You saw him? Where? How?" Mia's father asked curiously.

"At an abandoned Asylum. Is that where he took you?" Diana asked and Vanessa nodded.

Vanessa took a deep breath and then told them how Henry had dragged her there and how the people there had turned on him and injected him instead of her and let her go.

"There is some sort of poetic justice to this, isn't it? He took you to the Asylum but ended up being admitted there instead. Just like he wished to do to you, I'm going to make sure he spends what's left of his miserable life in there. You don't have to worry about anything, Nessa. You can go. I've handed the divorce papers to his lawyer to process it. You should leave the country. Go to somewhere far away. You can come back after you hear of his death if you want to," Diana advised.

"Won't that make me a suspect if they find out he is missing…"

"Not at all. He won't be missing. Don't worry. He bought the dilapidated asylum himself because he was trying to keep his mental state a secret. And now his mental health has deteriorated and he doesn't even want to let anyone else close to him," Diana said with a confident smile.

"I will handle it all," she assured them.

"What if you get caught?" Mia asked with a frown.

"I plan to turn myself in after I kill him anyway. But for now, I just want to enjoy ruining him and all he has," Diana said and Mia sighed.

"Is it worth it? Ruining your life just so you can ruin a person like him?" Mia asked with a frown.

"Unfortunately, that's the only way to destroy a person like Henry. Only a monster can destroy a monster like him. And I don't mind being that monster. He destroyed my family. Do you know how it feels to attend to an emergency call at the hospital only to find out the victim is your only family? My only brother, Nick committed suicide because of him. He was the only family I had. His wife was heavily pregnant and she went into premature labor when he died. Her blood pressure was too high and she died, and so did the baby. Do you know what that feels like? Losing all the family you have in the twinkle of an eye? I am dead inside, Vanessa. And destroying Henry is the only thing keeping me alive," Diana said with a deep sigh.

"I have to go back to him. Go live your life, Vanessa. Forget your past and be happy. You too, Josh. I don't know what he might have done to you but don't worry. I will pay him back for every one of you," Diana promised as she rose.

"This is all so heart-wrenching," Maria said as they all sighed deeply.

Mia embraced Diana, "I'm sorry for all the pain Henry has caused you."

"As I am for all he has done to you," Diana said, patting Vanessa's back.

"Be safe," Diana whispered to Vanessa before pulling away, and with a nod at the rest of them, she headed for the door.

They all remained silent for a while after she left, and then Mia turned to Jeff, "I suppose Tom knew about Diana's plan?"

"Yeah. I guess so," Jeff said.

"Who is Tom?" Robert asked in confusion.

"And who are you?" Maria asked looking at Jeff.

"A friend," Jeff and Mia said in unison and then smiled at each other.