"What happened, Edan?" I asked, my voice showing no emotions at all.

"Nothing..." He continued, "Christian, my biggest rival of all time, the only enemy I hate so much... I heard he is after you, Ramona. He wants to use you in some way. I don't know how but he wants to. I called you to be wary of him, okay?”

“If he ever tries to contact you, just let me know. And, please don't listen to him no matter what he tells you."

"Okay," I said, not that I was going to obey him. He took a sigh of relief, and then made himself sound as if he really cared about me, saying,

"Ramona, I know I should have been with you at this moment. But, I'm stuck with some urgent work. I'll be back soon. Please take care of yourself, okay?"

"It's okay, Edan," I said, "Take your time and don't worry about me. I can take care of myself."

After throwing out these words, I hung up. As soon as I hung up the call, my phone rang again. This time from an unknown number. I recalled what Edan told me as I instantly picked up the call.

"Hello, who is this?" I asked,

"I'm sure your husband would have given you a million reasons not to talk to me but I'll give you only one to talk," a deep male magnetic voice sounded from the other end, each word carrying the weight of millions, forcing me to listen more.

"Are you Christian Williams?" I asked, my voice laced with suspicion and anxiety.

"Yes," he replied, "I'm the one who knows what you don't."

"What do you want from me, Christian?" I asked.

"Want something from you? Nothing! I just want to give you something." He replied, his tone mysterious but sounded sincere.

"I know what you have lost and that nothing can compare to it. But, what I know might give a direction to your life. Do you want to take a risk and meet me?"

He asked in a deep magnetic voice. He had something in his tone that was sending shivers down my spine but I agreed to our meeting.

***

The time and location that Christian shared on my phone led me to a very extravagant auction, running in a very luxurious hotel. An act of showing off your wealth and power. Having been raised in a well known Mafia family, I was completely aware of these cultures.

In the name of charity, undercover agents and people involved in illegal business gathered in these kinds of events to share some information or meet some people who they couldn't meet in broad daylight.

After coming out of the cab, I asked the chauffeur to leave. I was standing nervously near the main entrance, because I knew entry to these kinds of events needed special invitation but I was empty handed.

The guards were staring at me as if I was a trespasser. I could feel their eyes scanning me from head to toe, sizing me up. I knew I had to think fast, or I'd be turned away at the door.

Just as I was about to come up with a plan, a sleek black car pulled up beside me. The window rolled down, revealing a familiar face - Edan. The chauffeur opened the door for him. He came out, holding Lyra’s hands affectionately.

Lyra smiled at the faces staring at them with adoration. She had held her baby in her arms, and a dozen guards dressed in black and laced with weapons followed them.

Seeing such a high class security after Lyra forced me to think how Edan kept telling me to stay inside the castle for my security but didn't bother to keep any guards for me and here he was, arranging dozens of guards for his beloved.

I was still standing at the entrance, listening to the sneers and whispers of the guards while Edan walked past me with his ‘family’. I was standing so close to him but his gaze was too occupied staring at Lyra to even notice my presence.

However, his ignorance had no effect on me. My heart was already dead. I didn't feel hurt anymore. I was about to turn and leave, thinking it was a bad idea to trust somebody on a phone call, that someone called me from behind.

I turned back only to find a man dressed in a well tailored grey suit.

"Need a ride?" he asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

I raised an eyebrow, surprised by his sudden appearance before I said, "I think I need more than a ride, Mr. Williams?"

“Mr. Williams doesn't meet people very often. I’m his assistant, Miss Ramona. But, don't worry, you will get to see him very soon.”

He replied before walking over to the guards, flashing a charismatic smile. "Gentlemen, this is Mr Williams’ guest. Please, let us through.”

After leading me in Christian’s man slipped away, leaving me alone in the crowd of strangers yet familiar faces.

Out of all the people my gaze was fixed on Edan, whose eyes were not moving from Lyra’s child. He seemed quite content with Lyra and the child by her side.

So, this was why he murdered my son. To get this family of three, he sacrificed the family we could build together. For him, it was a son for a son.

After a few while, Edan took the baby from Lyra's hands and kissed his cheeks, began playing with him while making funny faces, a very rare sight to witness. He called him ‘Roney’.

So, they had already named the child while my child passed away unnamed. I couldn't even remember my baby by his name.

Soon after the auction began and Edan won the highest bid for a pink diamond necklace, the hall erupted in appreciation and praise as the Mafia lord just won the most expensive artifact.

When the host presented him the necklace, he didn't hesitate putting it on Lyra's neck as he said, “To the most beautiful woman who brought the most beautiful child to my world,”

“Omg! Edan, it's so beautiful.” Lyra exclaimed with joy. “Thank you so much for the precious gift, Edan. You always surprise me with something extraordinary.”

“For a moment, I thought you were buying it for Ramona. After all, she is your wife and your wedding anniversary is coming.”

“Don't think too much, Lyra. It's for the mother of this cute little baby. I can give anything to Ramona, but this necklace. It looks good on you.” He replied, his voice soft and gentle, and a smile on his lips that I never witnessed for me.

“Are you sure, Edan? Don't you think your wife will get jealous if she ever finds out? You know the media is taking our pictures. They are surely going to make headlines for tomorrow. Do you really not care about your wife's feelings?”

She asked, however, her voice was teaseful as if she was enjoying hearing Edan saying he didn't care about me.

However, before Edan could say anything further to humiliate me before his mistress, someone recognised me and said, his voice loud enough to reach Edan’s ears, “Isn't she Mr. Beckham’s wife? What is she doing alone in the corner while her husband is presenting such an expensive gift to the wife of his business partner?”

Only now did Edan notice that I wasn't standing very far from him.

“Ramona…” he whispered, the lines of curve visible on his forehead. He walked up to me as he asked in a panicked voice, “What are you doing here, Ramona?”

“Shouldn't I be the one asking the same question to you, Edan? As far as I know, you were out of the city on a business trip.” I replied, voice distant.

“Ramona… I’ll explain everything to you once we go back to our home. Please don't overthink anything, okay?”

He said, his voice lacking the confidence he always carried with him.

“Congratulations, for winning the highest bid.” I said, my tone sarcastic.

He bit his lips, his eyes appeared to be regretful as he stepped forward, reaching out to hold my hands. But, his hand paused in the air as he heard Roney crying.

He immediately turned back to look at Lyra and Roney as he asked, “Why is Roney crying?”

“He is probably hungry, Edan, and I can't feed him in front of so many people, can I?” Lyra said, trying to make Roney stop crying.

Edan looked terrible watching Roney crying. He immediately took Roney in his arms, saying, “Come on, I’ll lead you to our private suite. You can feed Roney there.”

Without sparing a glance at me, Edan took Lyra and Roney upstairs. After his departure, the auction hall filled with snickers and whispers, directed at me.

“I heard Mr. Beckham’s wife was also pregnant but went into labor one month earlier, resulting to lose their child,”

“A woman who can't keep the child in her womb for nine months, deserves to be treated like this.”

“Lyra is so kind and gentle. In this modern world where people leave their child for the caretaker to feed formula milk, she is breastfeeding. She is an amazing woman unlike Mr. Beckham's wife.”

“We all witnessed how much Mr. Beckham loves children. Lyra is giving him what he needs unlike someone who is just robbing him off his money, living like a lazy ass in his castle.”

Just then my phone rang. It was Christian’s call. His voice sounded as soon as I picked up the call, “Miss Ramona, I’m waiting for you.”

“Mr. Williams? Can you stop being so mysterious and show up instead of just waiting in a private room?” I asked, my agitation directed at him.

“Just come upstairs! You will get the answers to all of your questions.”