Chapter 242 - Thinking About It

Alex exited the entrance of the building, went to the parking lot, and entered his car.

He left the hospital going to the beach house of his sister.

He needs a quiet relaxing place to sit down for a while, and the amazing view of the ocean can calm his tense nerves.

After thirty minutes of traveling, he finally reached his sister's property. He parked the car in front of the house and saw Saling emerged form the door together with another woman of similar age, probably her relatives who will watch over the house for the meantime.

"Sir Alex, this is my sister, Dorena. She will be staying here for a few days while I'm away," Saling informed him.

"Okay. I will go to the ocean..." he said and turned around going to the direction of the beach.

The salty breeze caresses Alex's skin. The weather is fantastic today and the ocean is calm.

Alex lowered himself on the sun lounger and stared at the bluish clear ocean water displayed magnificently in front of him.

Then all the happy memories come back in his mind, a bitter smile curled up in his lips. He and his siblings were playing volleyball and swimming in the water. That day, the seashore was filled with their merry laughter. He will always cherish the fun times they shared that will last forever.

That was wonderful and happy times that can never be repeated in this lifetime. But the happy memories will keep him company after Greg will pass away. Sadly, nothing will last forever in this world, everything has to come to an end at some point in time.

Allison's passing and Greg's imminent departure from this world are making him a broken person inside.

When all his siblings were gone, the only thing left is their memories.

He felt so sad and lonely.

Right now he wanted to cry because he felt like all the people he cared for in his life were slowly leaving his side.

First, his adoptive father.

Second, his wife.

Third, his sister Allison.

And Greg will be next.

He felt intense sadness squeezing his heart. Since no one is around to see him cry, he allowed the tears to fall from his eyes.

His heart was grieving hard because he was losing a family member, he was devastated. He never expected that Allison will pass away so quickly.

Everything happened so fast he was caught unprepared.

The wind blows steadily in the area. It was a cloudless afternoon and the sky is clear.

After a few minutes of crying, he wiped the tears from his face with the handkerchief taken from the pocket of his pants.

Alex released a deep sigh.

He was done crying, his heavy load was lightened a bit.

He remained seated on the chair for a few minutes staring at the pristine sea and looking up at the sky above. Four hours from now, the day will fade away and will give way to the night. Darkness will take over the land, and it will be time for everyone to rest.

They need to hurry back to the city.

There's still a lot of things for Alex to settle especially his sister's house and the staff who run the mansion. They need their salary. Now that his sister is gone he needs to decide for them from now on. They all become his responsibility and there's also Allison's adoptive daughters from the orphanage.

Ugh, so many things to do, so little time!

He needs to keep going.

Reluctantly, he rose to his feet and left the beachside.

When he went back to his car, Saling was already waiting near the door. She was holding a bag containing her stuff, eager to see her Madam for the last time.

Saling deposited her bag in the trunk and entered in the backseat of the car. Alex started the engine and drove the vehicle towards the road that will bring them back to the hospital.

Thirty minutes later, they reached their destination and Alex parked the car in the parking lot of St. Benedict hospital.

After exiting the car, Alex and Saling entered the entrance of the building.

"Saling, you go to Owen's room and get him ready. I will talk to his attending physician to ask for his discharge paper," Alex said.

"Yes, Sir!" Saling responded and walked towards Owen's room.

While Alex proceeds to the office of the attending physician.

After talking to the physician for a few minutes, Alex was finally given a discharged paper for Owen. He went to the billing section and settled Owen's hospital bills.

Done settling everything, he went to Owen's room and together they exited the hospital and boarded the car.

They traveled back to Metro Manila.

The journey was smooth sailing, their heads were preoccupied with different thoughts running in their minds while listening to the mellow music coming from the car stereo.

Two hours later.

They finally reached Metro Manila, Alex dropped Saling and Owen in the funeral homes and proceed to his sister's mansion. He needs to check the mansion and supervise the people there for the time being.

Next, he will introduce Owen as the next master of the house and then he also needs to get the children from the orphanage and settle them into their new home.

It's ironic that despite his sister's evil personality, she was kindhearted and help other people willingly through charities.

Sad, such a conflicting personality in one person's body.

A few minutes later, he arrived at the mansion and was greeted by the guard pleasantly.

He already instructed the house staff to take a turn in visiting the funeral home since they can't leave the mansion at the same time.

Alex entered the house and went upstairs to his sister's room. He stood in the middle of the room, intending to find the phone including the tablet that Allison confiscated from Caroline. Returning those stuff to Caroline is what he should do since those were her belongings.

Walking towards the closet and opening all the drawers, he can't find what he was looking for.

He shifted his attention to the bed.

With big strides, he reached the bedside table in seconds and opened the three drawers. There, he finally found what he was looking for. He immediately picks up the phone and the tablet then went back to the closet, took a shopping bag from the bottom drawer, and put Caroline's stuff on it.

Time to leave.

He will be back here some other time when he's no longer busy.

For now, he needs to go back to his house and rest for a few hours before facing the world again.

Alex exited the bedroom, locked it with the key that was given to her by the maid the other day, and went downstairs. For a moment, he looked at the housemaid busy cleaning the living room.

"Is everything okay here?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir. We're okay here," the housemaid replied politely.

"Okay, I'll take my leave now. Call me if something comes up," he gave his instruction.

"Yes, Sir," the maid replied quickly and resumed her task in cleaning the living room.

Alex exited the house and went to his car that was parked in front of the house.

He boarded the car and started the engine, he was out of the gate of the mansion within seconds.

A few minutes later, he was already traveling on the busy highway going to his house.

He plans to call Caroline after he arrives home, hoping that they can meet again since he will return her stuff and he would like to see her again. He kinds of misses her presence in their life. He also needs to ask how she's doing right now considering that she was back on her husband's side.

Twenty-five minutes went by.

Alex finally arrived at his mansion. He wastes no time and went upstairs straight to his room. He entered the bathroom and took a quick shower.

After exiting the bathroom, he donned a comfortable t-shirt and shorts and went to lie on the bed.

Picking up his phone, he placed a call to Caroline's number. It rings once...twice..thrice and on the fifth time, his call was finally answered.

"Hello, who is this?" a woman's voice said.

"Caroline...how are you? It's me, Alex!" he said in a cheerful voice.

"Oh...you call me...why?"

"I got your phone and tablet. I found it in my sister's room. I would like to return it to you. Can we meet somewhere?" he said excitedly.

"I dunno...I can't go anywhere without a chaperone. My husband is suspicious of me. He hired a housemaid to watch over my activity. You call me at the right time when my maid was outside the building on an errand. But she will return any moment now and I don't want her to report to my husband that I'm talking to someone on the phone. I hope you understand me," she explained.

"It's okay, I know Mike's feeling right now. I understood his situation. Believe me, I know everything..." he said.

"W-whaat? What did you know?" Caroline's heart was beating fast due to fear.

"Owen and I have a long talk and he confessed to me everything about the secret that you and my sister have shared," he revealed.

Caroline's face was drained of color.

"So...yo...you're going to blackmail me as well just like your sister?" she asked in alarm, already shaking in fright.

"Oh no! That's not my intention," Alex replied quickly. "Don't worry, I'll keep my mouth shut forever. Your secret is safe with me, I promise you that," he said with utmost sincerity.

Caroline released a deep sigh of relief. "Thank you..."

"So, you don't want to see me again?"

"I dunno...It's not that I don't want to see you but just for the sake of my husband...I think that we should not see each other again. I hope you understand," Caroline said begging for his understanding.

"It's okay. So...um...how to return the phone and the tablet to you?"

"Can you please send it to my mother's address. I will tell her to receive it for me. Please? I'll just send you the money for the courier," she suggested.

"Alright, I'll do it. No need to pay me back, it's just a small amount. Just text me your mother's address..."

"Thank you..."

"Don't mention it."

"C-can I ask you another favor...? Please..."

"What is it?"

"Can you stop calling me again. I mean...do not call me again on this number. Please?" she begged.

There was silence on Alex's end.

A few agonizing minutes went by.

"Alright, I will not call you anymore. But I want you to promise me one thing..." he said.

"What is it?"

"When the time comes that you need someone to talk to and you need help, don't hesitate to call me, okay?"

"OK, sure, I will," she said without hesitation.

"Alright, let's end this conversation now. Just send me your mother's number and address. Take care of yourself and your baby," he said and ended the call at his end.

"Thank you..." Caroline said softly and placed the phone in the bedside table. She was deeply bothered by the fact that Alex already knew everything about those murders that she associated herself with.

Due to her happiness of obtaining her freedom, she almost has forgotten that Owen was still alive and he was the one who told Alex everything.

She was hoping and praying to God that Alex won't follow his sister's footsteps. She's worried to death thinking that he might resort to doing the thing that she feared the most from happening again.

Her heart was filled with dread just thinking about it.