Chapter 5

A week ago

"Jack, have you seen it?" Jack raised his head and glanced towards his best friend, Robert Evans, that just entered his office.

"I am looking at it." words had a hard time coming off his mouth.

"Dude, it's her. That Maggie, your wife! What the hell?"

"I know!" Jack growled at Robert. "Apparently, her name is not Margaret Colt, and she's a murder victim in a casino in Las Vegas." Jack leaned back in his chair, took a deep breath, and sighed. "What the hell is happening here?" he was asking, but the question was more meant for himself rather than his friend.

"We have to contain this as much as possible. I'll call a PI that I trust, I've worked with him before. Maybe he'll find something that will clear this mess up." Robert offered. "Good thing that nobody actually saw you with her in public in the past month... ha. So listen, if the police come, call me? Don't do anything stupid."

Jack didn't answer. He was looking at the empty space in front of him, trying to collect his thoughts. He registered a clicking sound of the door closing, but he didn't react.

It was early Monday morning, the second week of July, and exactly a week since his newly wedded wife disappeared, leaving him alone with a month-old baby at home. Thank God his old nanny was still alive and ready to help with taking care of the baby, while he was at work that he could not leave unattended while trying to find his runaway wife.

"That's what you get for being stupid!" he cursed at himself out loud, remembering the events that led to this outcome.

Almost a year ago, after another successful deal that he signed with the French aircraft company, he and his best friend found themselves at the popular club celebrating his success. They managed to gather the whole crew from college, and they were enjoying the loud music, lots of alcohol, and all the beautiful women that came that night.

By accident, some girl slipped and almost fell next to him, but he caught her just on time. She looked a little too young to be there, and he remembers teasing her about it, but she showed him her ID just to prove that she was old enough to buy her own drinks. One thing led to another, and he ended up taking her to his place, where they spent the night. The next morning when he woke up, she was gone, so pretty soon, Jack forgot everything about it. It was just another one night stand, one amongst many others that he had before and after that. He was never really a type for relationships, so he never had an actual one with a woman before. He was good at finding those who wanted from him the same that he wanted from them, some good sex and no strings attached.

But when almost nine months later, a girl, a heavily pregnant girl, appeared in front of his villa, claiming that the child she was carrying was his, he had a hard time remembering her. She refreshed his memory, and he let her in where she stayed until the baby boy was born. As soon as that happened, Jack ordered a DNA test to be done, and true to her word, the test showed that he indeed was the father of the newborn.

With the help of his best friend, one of Chicago's finest lawyers, Jack managed to register his marriage with Margaret Colt without going to the City Administration Office. Margaret accepted his proposal without complaints or any requests.

They lived together in his villa for a month like roommates, sleeping in different rooms, not eating their meals together, leading completely separate lives. The only thing they had in common was the baby, and they both seemed completely fine with it.

A couple of times, Jack tried to talk with her, to find out something about her, about her life, about what she was doing and where she was for the most part of her pregnancy before she showed up at his door, but every time she would shut him out refusing to answer. He was planning to enlist the help of his friend to find out more about her if she continued to act like that, but before he had a chance to do anything, she fled. One day he woke up to find her gone, almost all of her things gone. What was left behind her too was a letter in which she begged him not to look for her, to take care of the baby... she said that she was never cut out to be a mother, that she loved the crazy life she'd been living too much and that everything was a mistake, and finally that she's sorry for all the mess she's made.

That was the last thing Jack had heard from her until this morning when he saw her picture in the news. A girl was found dead in the casino in Las Vegas, and what the reporters manage to find out until now was that she went around by many names, some of them were Julia Hendricks, Jennifer Lewis, Natasha Bright. There was no mention of Margaret Colt, and no reporter has connected his name with her for now.

Jack didn't know what to think about all of this. The only thing he knew for sure is that he will do anything he has to protect his child.

After staring at the documents in front of him for the rest of the morning, he realized that he won't be able to do anything while he's like this. He put on his jacket and headed out, stopping in front of his PA's desk on his way out.

"Simone, reschedule all of my meetings of this month for the next. I won't be coming in. Everything that the department directors can handle, direct to them. And if something that absolutely needs my attention comes up, call me on my personal cellphone. For the extra work that I'm putting on your hands, you'll be rewarded accordingly." Jack stated everything that he could think of at that moment.

From the city center where his office building was located, it took him more than half an hour to get to his villa, where his son waited for him. It was a strange thing, a love for the newborn. He doubted that the baby was his until the results came back positive, even though he had that tug in his heart every time he looked at the baby. Baby's eyes had the same depth to them as his own eyes and looking at him, was like he was looking at his reflection in the mirror. And he had this strange effect on the baby... whenever the little one was crying, and Jack came into the room, all the screaming would stop instantly. He was days old when he first smiled at Jack, and that smile... caused him to feel things that he never thought was possible to feel, the feelings that were unknown to him, the emotions that made his heart melt and eyes water.

Without even realizing it, he received a gift that gave him a reason to go back home every day and the urge to spend all of his waking hours with his son. Before this, everything he was doing with his life outside his job gave him no purpose, no meaning. He was living like an empty shell, working, drinking, having his way with every girl that was willing to spend the night with him, but all along he was feeling empty, nothing really felt right. He used to wonder so many times before what it was that he was doing wrong, what was he missing... why did he feel so lonely even when he was not alone and now he had his answer.