500 Lucky Charm

Young Mansion

At seven in the evening, a Range Rover pulled to a stop in front of the mansion's entrance. Damien turned to Katherine and reached out for her hand. "You've been quiet since we left West… Are you worried about your friend?"

She squeezed his hand and placed her other hand on top of his, shaking her head as she replied, "He can take care of himself. There's just too many things going on at the moment that it's overwhelming… We just ended last night on a good note and we've been able to avoid getting harmed until now. It makes me nervous thinking that we would run out of luck anytime… I hate this feeling."

"I understand how you feel… Don't think too much. We're taking this one day at a time. Come here..." He pulled her towards him in an embrace and kissed her forehead. "No matter what happens tonight… tomorrow… or the day after that... One thing is for sure, we'll always be together. We'll be each other's luck so we wouldn't run out of it."

The worry in her heart dissipated and she felt better feeling the warmth of his embrace around her. Inhaling his familiar scent, she smiled and nodded her head in agreement. "You're right. Thanks for reminding me."

The two climbed out of the car and walked hand in hand to meet Grandpa Theo who was waiting by the huge door.

"Grandpa… I missed you!" Katherine embraced her grandfather and her heart throbbed at the thought of being with family. When she pulled away and looked at him, she frowned. "Have you been eating properly? You seemed slightly thinner than the last time I saw you."

Grandpa Theo laughed. "Really? I've been doing some walking every morning and afternoon out in the garden. The weather is too cold for me to go out and do some golfing." Turning to Damien, he had a huge smile on his face when he placed an arm around the young man and pulled the two inside the house. "Ah, it's so nice to see you two here. I'm glad you thought of coming over."

The food was delicious as always. Caroline joined them for dinner, so it was only the four of them at the table. They talked about the current Young Corporation and Crown Resort Group's project and other possible projects that they could do in the future—the two men were definitely excited about the topic.

When dinner was over, Caroline went to her bedroom, leaving only the three of them for some after-meal drinks in the sitting room. Later, Katherine looked at Damien and held his stare before she told her grandfather that she was going to the toilet.

Once she left the room, she looked from side to side to check if anyone was around and went up the stairs. On top of the staircase, there was a hall leading to different areas of the mansion—to the right were some bedrooms including Caroline's and her grandfather's study and to the left was the library and a few other bedrooms where her grandfather's and her aunt Deborah's were.

Standing in front of the dresser, she let out a sigh when she didn't find anything. She didn't know if she was relieved or frustrated that there was nothing. Did she expect that she would? Would she have felt better if there was something?

Katherine glanced at the drawer that she checked earlier. It was still open, so she held the handle and was about to close it when something caught her eye.

Under a soft pink silk scarf, there was a clear plastic sticking out with some pink stuff in it. How could she have missed it earlier? Curious, she pulled the dresser open again and checked. Pulling out the clear plastic, she saw round pink tablets inside it. If she were to guess, there were probably around fifty pills. Her brows knitted as she tried to guess what it could be. 

The pills weren't in a bottle and there was no label on it or anything at all, so it couldn't be prescription drugs. Katherine found it so suspicious—what with the way her aunt was storing it. Holding the bag of pills in her hand, she quickly took a picture of it. She paused for a second as she stared at the pills and then decided to take one out just in case, wrapping it in a tissue before keeping it in her pocket and placing the bag of pills back inside the drawer just like how she found it.

There were voices in the hallway outside the room and she became alarmed—it was Caroline and Damien.

"Yes?" The young woman turned to Damien when he called her, a hint of a blush creeping up on her cheek when she looked at him. She couldn't help it… The man before her was just too damn attractive. "I'm… just going to get something from mom's room. Can I help you?"

"I was looking for Katherine. I forgot where the washroom was. Could you show me the way?" he asked, keeping a neutral expression on his face.

"Ah… She might be downstairs. It should be the one near the… You know what, I'll just show you." Caroline tucked her dark hair behind her ear and walked down the stairs with Damien.

"Thanks. I've circled a couple of times but I couldn't find it. There are too many doors," he said as they landed on the first floor. He subtly glanced at the top of the stairs where he thought Katherine must be somewhere near it. Following Caroline, they went towards the direction of the dining area and the sitting room. "So, how's school?" he casually asked the young woman as they walked.

Meanwhile…

Katherine exhaled a sigh of relief as she stood behind the door and heard the voices and footsteps growing smaller. When she thought that it was safe to leave the room, she walked out of it slowly and closed the door behind her without making any sounds, descended the stairs, and headed to the sitting room.

On the way, she bumped into Caroline who was confused as to where she came from and told her that Damien was looking for her. Ever so naturally, Katherine told her that she was out the front for some fresh air. Caroline didn't think much of it and went back up the stairs.

Katherine started walking and was about to reach the sitting room when a hand suddenly grabbed her arm and hauled her into a small room. She gasped in surprise but immediately recovered when she realized that it was Damien pulling her into a powder room.

The two of them stood inside the small room face to face. They looked at each other without speaking until she slumped her head to his chest and sighed loudly. His arms went around her waist and he softly chuckled, shaking his head in resignation. "Did you find anything?" he asked, his voice low and gentle above her head.

She straightened up and took out the pill wrapped in tissue from her pocket and showed it to him. "I didn't find anything suspicious except for this…" Then she told him how she found it inside the dresser.

"It could be anything. Is your aunt sick or something?"

"I don't think so… She doesn't seem to be… But shouldn't it have a label if it's a medication of some sort?"

Damien nodded. "I'll ask Jeffrey if he recognizes it. If not, maybe we can get a lab to check on it."

"Okay. You keep it. I don't want to lose it." She carefully put it inside his inner coat pocket. "Thanks for earlier by the way. How did you know she was going there?"

"Luck. You were gone for a while and I was going to check on you when I bumped into her just as I got at the top of the stairs."

Katherine gave him a sweet smile as she slid her arms around his neck and kissed his left cheek. "What great timing... You are indeed my lucky charm."

A small crease formed between his brows and he pinched her waist. "I think this lucky charm needs more than just a kiss on the cheek, don't you think so?"

Without protest, she pressed her lips to Damien's and gave him a long and passionate liplock.