Chapter 41: In Hot Water
Liz
“Goodbye Jojo” I said as we left. “Goodbye Rosa and Liz. Stay safe” he says, and I smile. That is something my grandpa always used to say before I left for school. I can’t believe Zander didn’t tell you about the panic room. Did he tell you about the one at his house?” she asks.
No, he didn’t.” I say and she chuckles.
“Seems like all he thinks about is love.” She says, laughing while we move the coats back into
place. We headed to the kitchen, so I could help Rosa with dinner. Before we even get started. the doorbell rings. One of the maids, Clara, comes walking into the kitchen with two men dressed in black suits. “Sorry to disturb Liz, these are the gentlemen Zander sent.” She says
and I nod.
“Welcome, I am Liz, and this is Rosa. What are your names?” I asked. “Ricardo and Brady
Rosa said, pointing to each of them. “It’s good to see you, Rosa. What trouble have you gotten yourself into today?” Ricardo asks and Rosa chuckles. “You know me, always up to no good,”
Rosa says, chuckling.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Ms. Elizabeth. Brady says. “It’s just Liz, come have a seat. Can I get you anything to drink?” I asked. “Not at the moment, thank you, Liz. We need to check the house and the property, if you don’t mind,” Ricardo says. “Sure, do whatever you need to do. Come find me if you need anything,” I said, and they both nodded.
*Is Jojo still operational?” Ricardo asks Rosa. “Yes, I just took Liz to meet him earlier.” Rosa says. “Good, we will be back shortly.” Ricardo says before they both leave. “They are Zander’s regular protection. There are another two, and you may meet them soon. Ricardo has been with Zander the longest. They met in college and Zander hired his security company the
minute someone tried to break into this house.” Rosa says.
“What happened?” I asked. “Maybe you should ask Zander. I don’t want to pry.” She says and I nod. I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable, so I dropped it. We continued with our preparation for dinner and the guys actually did come by for some coffee. They both seem like really cool guys.
A few hours later, Zander came home and found me in the library. “Hey love,” he says and
kisses me. “Hi Zander, what’s going on?” I ask him and he sighs. He sits down next to me and
takes out his phone. He shows me a picture of a note in a box with a white rose.
The rose has red splattering on it. I zoomed in and read the note. ‘Elizabeth, Pay what is due to
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Chapter 41: In Hot Water
us in two days, or we will come for you,‘ That’s all the note says. No name, no number, not address, no amount, nothing. “Who sent this? I know I don’t owe anyone money.” I said.
“The police have been informed and due to the nature of the threat, the FBI are taking over the case. They will be here shortly to take our statements.” Zander says. “The FBI? Why them?” I
ask. “Did you see the rose in the picture?” Zander asks me. “Yes, what about it?” I asked.
“It’s the calling card of the cartel Kyle was working for. A white rose with blood on it.” he
says,
and my eyes widen. What the f**k has Kyle gotten me into? “What would they want with me? I
don’t know anything and I don’t owe them money.” I said. “That’s not how they see it. They
must know who you are and that you have money. Kyle owes them a lot of money Liz, and he
has gone missing.
He checked out of the hotel he was staying at with Tiffany, and he had gone completely off
the grid. He took all his money out of his accounts too. The last time anyone saw him was the
day we had him arrested.” Zander says. “So, basically I am in hot water because Kyle is missing and owes them money?” I ask.
“I won’t let them get to you Liz.” He says and pulls me into his arms. I feel so confused right
now. “How can they hold me responsible for anything Kyle did? We aren’t even married
anymore.” I said. “They must know you won the lottery. I am sure they are after more than
what Kyle owes them. I don’t even think it is about Kyle anymore,” Zander says.
*That f*****g asshole, hasn’t he ruined my life enough?” I said in anger. “It’s okay my Liz, it will all be okay. We will find Kyle and get this cartel off your back.” he says. “When you say cartel,
what exactly do they do? And are they here?” I asked, looking up at him.
“The cartel is originally from Cuba, but there are many of them here. They started with
narcotics, but have branched out to racketeering, and a host of white–collar crimes. That’s
where people like Kyle fit in. They use them to launder money and to help them with cyber theft.” Zander says, and I nod my understanding.
“So, what do I do now?” I asked, feeling rather deflated. I just got a new start and now this. When will I ever be able to live my life the way I want? This is not fair. I f*****g hate Kyle and his lies. “Let’s hear what the agent in charge says first. I have a plan, but I have a feeling they will put you in a type of witness protection.” He says and I frown.
“How safe is that, Zander? I have watched too many shows where the people in witness protection are found and killed.” I said. “I won’t let you do this alone, I will be with you,” he says. “No, I can’t expect that, Zander. You have a law firm to run. I already take up too much of your time,” I said, looking at my hands.
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He cups my face and lifts it up so I can look at him. “Elizabeth Ferley, you should know the
extent of my love for you by now. You wound me if you thought that I wouldn’t drop everything just to keep you safe. I love you and I will go wherever you are. You are my fiancé and I won’t leave your side,” Zander says, and kisses me softly.
I rest my head on his chest and closed my eyes. What a big f*****g mess. Now Zander is also dragged into this mess. He holds me and soothes me until Rosa comes in. “Sorry to disturb you, but there are two gentlemen from the FBI wanting to see you.” She says and Zander nods.
“Thank you, Rosa, you can show them in.” Zander says.
She nods and leaves and comes back a few minutes later with two men in suits. “Good
evening Mr. Caine, Ms. Ferley. I am special agent Keith Johnson and this is my colleague, special agent, Alvaro Perez. We will be your contact throughout the investigation.” one man says and shakes Zander’s hand and mine, and so does the other man.
“Ms. Ferley, how much do you know about the cartel?” agent Johnson says after we are all seated. “Please just call me Liz. I only know what Zander just told me. My ex–husband never shared details of his work or private life for that matter. I know his previous employer, and he is a good man, but other than that, I didn’t know what he was up to. The past year of my marriage, I hardly saw him. He seemed to have been too busy cheating on me.” I said.
“I understand, we have a statement from Mr. Mansly as well as a list of Mr. Stanford’s charges. I will be honest with you Liz, you are in for a rough ride. The cartel in question doesn’t care if you know anything or not. They may have sniffed around and figured the best way to
get the
money owed to them is through you.
We will offer you protection, but I will be blunt. You deserve the truth and nothing less. They will come after you. Your life as you know it, will never be the same. Not until the cartel has been taken care of. We will need to work together to achieve that goal.
We know they have informants in the local police department, so this case will be run strictly by our white–collar division and the Marshalls office. I can tell you that we already have surveillance on the cartel and its members. We just haven’t had enough evidence to arrest
them.
We can’t arrest them prematurely and risk them getting off on a technicality. We need hard evidence to convict them. For now, we can discuss security upgrades around your home. If we can keep you safe here, we will do that instead of uprooting your life.” Agent Johnson says.
“We had an attempted break–in here before my parents died, so I had the whole place. upgraded. Let me get Ricardo, he does all the security for me.” Zander says and agent
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Johnson nods. “I am aware of that. I did a bit of research before I came here.” Agent Johnson says. Zander gets up and leaves the room. I really want to ask him what happened here, but I
will wait for him to tell me.
“How are you feeling about all of this? Mr. Caine mentioned that you just got engaged. Congratulations, by the way. Did you make an official announcement?” Agent Perez asks. ” Thank you, no announcement that I am aware of. I think only the staff, my best friend Robyn. and Zander’s PA, Toby know. As for how I feel… maybe ask me tomorrow. I may still be in
shock,” I sais.
“What led to the divorce, if I may ask? Did you know about what he was doing?” Agent Johnson asks. “I didn’t know about the cartel and what he was doing at work. Like I said, he hardly even spoke to me. My ex–husband was an asshole and a cheater. I am beginning to realize I never knew him at all. He was sleeping with my cousin and apparently some other random women.
He tried to leave me with nothing, but Zander helped me get a proper settlement. Then I won the lottery and what should be an exciting time for me, has turned into a nightmare. As soon as Kyle found out about the money, he came to demand what he believed he was entitled to. Are you also aware that one of his mistresses, my own cousin, tried to kill me?” I asked and they both nodded.
“Yes, we are, we are going to see her too. Hopefully she knows where Mr. Stanford could be hiding.” Agent Perez says. “We are sorry for all your troubles. I hope we can resolve this very quickly. We have been after this cartel for a while, but they are always one step ahead. That’s how we know they have informants in law enforcement.” Agent Johnson says, just as Zander walks in with Ricardo.
