Chapter 15: Never there

The food was getting worse by the day. At first, Rauf could bare to manage it, but now, he couldn’t even swallow one bite of it.

And every time he complained, Amie promised to do better.

She promised to replicate the taste he was used to.

But now, If Rauf hadn’t ate it for five years, he would have said the food never existed but the only other possibility was Amie just wasn’t who had cooked the food for him.

Whenever he was present at home, the staff tried to make themselves scarce and his mother had increased her visit to the mansion. She always had one or two things to discuss with Amie.

They were always shopping or going to some ladies hangout.

Rauf wasn’t bothered about it all, as he was glad to be absent from Amie’s presence. He hated every topic of her discussion.

And it was as if the intelligent wife he knew no longer existed.

Every night, she tried to make him sleep with her, but Rauf usually refused. His body just wouldn’t cooperate when it comes to her.

And now, they had resulted in sleeping in different room.

Thankfully, she had changed the colour to his room. It still wasn’t his favourite colour, but it was a bit bearable than grey.

"What about the licence to the drugs?" Rauf asked, he held a knife as he poked it into a small packet to sniff the content.

Good stuff.

It was just how he knew it to be.

"The Junox Mafia has taken over it." His right hand man confirmed.

"Again." He chocked, placing the small packet into a box along with the other small content.

Every important deal seemed to be going to the Junox Mafia group. And the fact that they rule over New Central State, Rauf had tried to avoid them.

He owed the owner from long ago, but he couldn’t continue living on their crumps not especially when he had a lot to rebuild after five years of inactiveness.

The report his personal assistant had dropped on his table was still foremost on his mind.

And though most of the guards and maids had tried avoiding his contact for some reason, he had decided to bring them to him.

"Fine. I think it’s time I pay them a visit. After resolving the case about June, I’ll be going to New Central State."

Henson nodded.

His right hand man, Henson had confessed to trying his best while Rauf was blind. But most of their partners barely respect a gang with a blind leader, especially one that was always indoor.

It didn’t help that he was unable to see Rauf, as his mother had changed all his house guards during those period, and had refused his entrance into the house.

Henson knew how much Rauf respected his mother and decided not to trespass.

That had made some of their men to defeced to the rival gang. Something Rauf was never going to forgive.

"Okay, boss." Henson nodded.

When Rauf found Henson out from where he was hiding, a shadow of who he used to be when they were active. He had wept.

He was so glad his boss was alright that he had no idea he had started crying, until Rauf tapped his back.

And so, the task to find more about June was moved from Colin’s to Henson.

"Let me go." A man struggled as two men held him by the arm, dragging him to Rauf’s front. He was blindfolded and almost lost his footings, before he was dropped unceremoniously in front of Rauf.

One of the men who had dropped him yanked off the blindfold from his eyes.

At first, he shouted, but as soon as his eyes dropped on Rauf, he kept quiet. "Boss!"

Rauf relaxed on the armchair, staring at the guard that had gone mute when he had questioned him back at home.

Now that he was desperate, there was no way he would take silence for an answer.

"I’m done playing hide and seek with you guys." He started. "I have some questions to ask you and I demand you give me immediate response."

The guard nodded, as he looked around him.

He had heard rumors about his boss being a dangerous man, but he never knew it was in this way.

"So," Rauf said. "Has June Trevor been living with us for the past five years."

Silence.

Just as he has heard of Rauf being dangerous, he had also heard of his mother’s. He wouldn’t want to take a risk of betraying her.

Rauf noticed the hesitation and looked directly at Henson who landed a deep slap at the back of the man’s neck.

The guard who hadn’t expected it almost jumped. "I’m sorry, sir." He said.

Rauf nodded. "Better. Next time you decided to be silent, it wouldn’t be just a slap at the back of your neck."

The guard nodded.

"So?"

The question rushed back to his head. "Yes, sir. Miss June Trevor had been living with us for the past five years."

Interesting, Rauf thought.

"What has she been doing in the house?"

The guard gaze moved to Henson again, and he turned to Rauf. "I think she has been cooking, cleaning, and taking care of you, sir. I only know the little I saw, I promised you sir."

Rauf nodded.

Fine.

Maybe that was why the food taste different? It had been June cooking for him and not Amie?

But why would Amie pretended it was her.

The look on June’s face when he had torn whoever was in her hand, flashed back in his mind.

He needed to make it up to her.

Even if it was for nothing but the fact that he had been taking care of him.

He turned to Henson. "Fine out where June Trevor is?"

Then he turned back at the guard who thought he was done answering all his questions.

"So if June had been taking care of me. What had Amie been doing for the past five years?"

The guard looked like he would piss on himself. As he saw Henson take a step closer to him, he spit out. "Miss Amie never lived with us during those five years."